Were you financially prepared for college?
I had a modest amount of savings for textbooks and day-to-day expenses, but my family was not prepared to pay for tuition, room or board without substantial financial aid˳
How does the MSF scholarship help you prepare for college?
The MSF scholarships were part of the cumulative package that allowed me to afford my first-choice college˳
Why did you want an MSF scholarship?
I needed financial aid, and a lot of it — plain and simple˳ I had worked extremely hard for years, getting straight A’s and taking numerous honors and Advanced Placement courses˳ After putting in so much time and effort to earn the opportunity to attend a top-tier university, I really didn’t want my family’s financial constraints to take that away from me˳
Did finances affect your choice of school or major?
Finances did not affect my choice of major˳ Nor did they affect my choice of school, but this was only because I received an extremely generous need-based financial aid package from Barnard˳ I was very fortunate — Barnard was my first choice, and it also ended up being the only school that gave me enough financial aid to attend˳ With the aid, it actually cost less than the schools I applied to as financial safeties˳ Had it not been for Barnard’s financial aid — more than $150,000 in grants over my four years there, coupled with a manageable amount of loans and a work-study job — I could not have attended˳
If you could not have afforded college, what other options did you have?
I did not consider options other than college˳ The only question was which college I would attend˳ If I had not gotten that financial aid package from Barnard, I would have attended a public university and taken out larger loans to pay for it˳
In addition to the MSF scholarship, what other types of financial aid or support did you use?
I received need-based financial aid from Barnard˳ The grants and loans, along with my parents’ contributions, covered my tuition, room and board˳ A work-study job (8-10 hours a week) covered textbooks and daily living expenses, along with my savings from summer jobs and internships˳ (Summer 2008, I worked at a clothing store; summers 2009 and 2010, I had paid internships as a reporter at the Bergen Record˳)
Once you complete your studies, what is your plan for the future?
I completed my studies in 2011 and immediately began a summer internship at the New York Times, where I copy edited for the Metro section˳ After the internship ended in August 2011, I spent about six months working as a political reporter for the International Business Times, an online publication˳ I helped cover the leadup to the 2012 presidential race, including traveling to New Hampshire to report on the Republican primary there˳ In February 2012, I returned to the New York Times as a full-time copy editor, and I have been there since˳ I continue to write articles on the side, sometimes for the New York Times and sometimes for BKLYNR, an online magazine covering Brooklyn˳ In the future, I hope to move into a reporting position at the New York Times, preferably covering politics˳
What would you say to current MHS seniors who seek financial aid?
Apply to every potential source of financial aid you can find, and apply to your first-choice schools even if you don’t think you’ll be able to afford them˳ As I learned, top-tier private colleges can actually be more affordable than public or even community colleges if you qualify for need-based financial aid˳
What do you remember best about being at MHSMontclair?
Academically, the Center for Social Justice at Montclair High School, which stoked my interest in politics and helped shape the way I see the world as a journalist˳ Non-academically, the friends I made in Montclair, with whom I am still close eight years later˳
Did you do any volunteer/community service during high school?
I volunteered at New Jersey Peace Action from sophomore year through graduation˳
