Decade of Direct Admits

A record number of School of Business direct admits attended their first BLAW 220 class with professor Joe Sheehan on Tuesday. (Photo by Mike Nolan)

ALBANY, N.Y. (Sept. 2, 2016) – UAlbany’s School of Business is celebrating 10 years of direct admission by enrolling 156 new students this fall – the largest class in history.

As direct admits, students are welcomed into the school as freshmen, two years sooner than most. They have the advantage of small class sizes, an opportunity to immediately become involved in business clubs and events, and the ability to network through the school’s Office of Career Services.

The program has an 80 percent graduation rate, with entrance determined by high school GPA and SAT/ACT scores.

“Many of our direct admits start college with 20, 30 or even 40 credits earned through advanced placement classes offered by their high schools. They are graduating with dual or in some cases triple degrees,” said Jason Cotugno, assistant director of undergraduate student services for the School of Business.

This year’s freshman class adds to the more than 1,110 direct admits welcomed since the program’s 2006 inception. They’ve come from across the country and world, including Australian brothers Sam ’15 and Mike ’17 Rowley, best known as standouts on the men’s basketball team.

UAlbany junior and School of Business direct admit Harlan Ginsburg. (Photo by Mike Nolan)

There’s also plenty of students who hail from New York State, including the Capital District. Junior Harlan Ginsburg was accepted after graduating from Albany High School with a 4.0 GPA in 2014. He said the program has allowed him to stay close to home, while still growing a network of business professionals and inching closer to a career in sports marketing.

Since enrolling, Ginsburg has interned for UAlbany’s athletic department, co-founded the Albany Sports Business Organization, and was named a 2016 Massry Community Fellows Program Fellowship recipient.

“This program has already opened so many doors for me,” said Ginsburg, who’s majoring in business administration with a double concentration in management and marketing. “By taking business classes early on, collaborating with classmates and meeting alums in my field, I’m getting ahead of the game professionally.”

Janelle Murphy ’10, ’11 concurs. Now a senior associate at Duff & Phelps, she said the Direct Admit program provided her with opportunity almost immediately.

“I was introduced to contacts in the accounting industry from a very early stage, some of which I am still connected to today,” Murphy said. “As a freshman, I was already attending programs hosted by the Big Four accounting firms and meeting industry leaders because of the connections I was able to make through the program.”

Questions about direct admission can be directed to undergraduate advisor Jason Cotugno. Interested high school students are encouraged to visit the program’s official website to view requirements.

Each spring, students accepted as direct admits are invited to attend receptions in New York City. They are hosted in the Big Four corporate offices of Deloitte and Ernst & Young. You can learn about past receptions here.

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