oxbridge results

August 2015

To Whom It May Concern:

The New York College Experience is an intensive month-long academic summer program for students 14 to 18 years of age. Under its auspices, over 140 motivated participants from high schools from seventy countries worldwide, live and study at Barnard College.

Our curriculum is taught by an outstanding faculty of teachers and scholars drawn from Columbia, Barnard, New York University, and other top institutions. In addition to daily classroom activities, such as discussions, experiments, workshops and rehearsals, New York College Experience students attend talks by eminent guest speakers, enjoy musical and theatrical performances, and explore local museums, galleries, and historical sites. Depending on their Major course, students take a final exam, submit a portfolio, publish written work, or participate in a musical theater production or art exhibition.

Over the course of the summer, students experience over 100 in-class hours, plus countless hours more of extramural learning and cultural achievement. The level of academic performance achieved by the students is truly extraordinary. We are very pleased to observe that many of our former students carry this standard forward in their college careers at some of the best universities in North America and Europe.

If you have any questions or would like more information about the nature of the program, the work students have done on it, or the colleges at which former students are currently enrolled, please do not hesitate to call or email our New York office.

President, Oxbridge Academic Programs

Richard Gilder Professor of Literary History, Barnard College, Columbia University

Yours sincerely,

Dr. James G. B asker

Barnard College, Columbia University 28 June - 25 July, 2015

Director, Kevin B. Held Founder, Dr. James G. Basker

Major Course Title:

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Faculty: Benjamin Weiss, BA University of Wisconsin-Madison, MA Columbia University

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course sought to introduce students to both the theory and the practice of international affairs. By reading and discussing scholarly literature on international politics, engaging daily with current events, participating in a series of role-playing exercises, visiting the sites of some of the most consequential events in recent political history, and hearing from guest speakers with decades of experience in global affairs, students began to develop an awareness of the key concepts and considerations of international policy making. Students explored several schools of thought on the nature and conduct of international affairs, including Realism, Liberalism and Constructivism, and looked at the role of domestic politics, bureaucratic politics, culture, and human psychology in foreign policy. Students considered the causes of war (reading Clausewitz and Hedges) and the prospects for peace, examined the legacies of colonialism (viewing selections from Gandhi, A Passage to India, and The Battle of Algiers), and the changes brought by globalization. Students also looked at the role that non-state armed actors, international institutions, non-governmental organizations and individuals play in the international system. The course also examined in-depth the debt crisis in Greece and the negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. Together, these lessons were aimed at enabling students to think critically about global affairs and to formulate their own perspectives on some of the most pressing issues of our time. REQUIREMENTS: In-class time amounted to 84 hours. Students were required to complete daily reading assignments, report on news and current events and participate in in-class debates around human trafficking and global economics. Additionally, students were asked to complete creative writing exercises on colonialism, to actively participate in class discussions and to formulate negotiating positions for a final debate on humanitarian intervention. CLASS GUEST SPEAKERS: Dr. Dipali Mukhopadhyay (Assistant Professor of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs): "Warlords, Strongman Governors, and the State in Afghanistan." Dr. Vishakha Desai (Special Advisor for Global Affairs and Professor of Professional Practice in the Faculty of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University and former President, Asia Society): "Culture in Foreign Policy and Indian Politics." PROGRAM GUEST LECTURERS: Adam Allen, an officer of the NY Police Department; Prof. Kenneth Jackson of Columbia University; Oxford Tutors; Chris Fell, an Assistant DA of Queens County; Prof. Rachel Abramowitz of Barnard College; Raj Bhimani, concert pianist; Dr. Michelle Larsen, Asst. Professor of Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine; Rachel Kroll, attorney on the faculty of the Wharton School, UPenn; Prof. James Basker of Barnard College and Columbia University FIELD TRIPS: Guided tour of the United Nations; Guided tour of 9/11 Memorial and Museum; Interactive tour of the Museum of Tolerance New York ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES: Metropolitan Museum of Art; American Museum of Natural History; Frick Museum; Whitney Museum; "Something Rotten" on Broadway; college admissions tours of New York University, University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, Princeton University, Brown University, Barnard College, and Columbia University; Bryant Park Movies; Smorgasburg; New York Yankees baseball game; Plaza Hotel Architectural Tour; Luna Park, Coney Island; walking tours of New York neighborhoods (Chelsea, Brooklyn, the West Village, SoHo, Little Italy, Harlem, Chinatown, and Times Square); sports in Central Park and Riverside Park.



Dorcas Fadare

STUDENT NAME

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS MAJOR

COMMENTS: Dolapo distinguished herself from her fellow classmates as a deeply inquisitive, curious and outgoing student. Her hand was always raised, prepared with a considered response or a probing question. Dolapo grasped assigned readings—oftentimes university-level texts on challenging topics like international relations theory and political philosophy—with ease; she came to class every single day prepared, having read—and taken the time to think about—news and current events, armed with questions and ideas about how what she had been reading related to the topics we were exploring in the classroom. Unlike many of her fellow students, Dolapo is a critical thinker: during a lecture on the role of culture in foreign policy, for instance, Dolapo pressed a guest speaker about the tension between the slow process of creating cross-cultural understanding and the oftentimes urgent nature of international politics and conflict resolution. And Dolapo takes initiative: when she asked for help preparing a list of organizations involved in human rights work, I thought she was simply curious; it turned out Dolapo was hoping to visit and speak with as many practitioners as possible during her brief time in New York City, taking advantage of her time here to learn more about a topic and a line of work she hopes to pursue in the future. Dolapo even offered to try to arrange meetings for fellow students that shared her interest. Dolapo’s unique combination of inquisitiveness, inventiveness and caring impressed me immensely; she was a pleasure to have in class and enriched the experience for all students in the classroom.

A+ Grade

Director, Kevin B. Held

Dr. James G. Basker, Founder

Benjamin Weiss, Instructor



Minor Course Title:

ECONOMICS

Faculty: David Spigelman, BA University of Illinois, DPhil Stanford University

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course set out to introduce students to the fundamentals of economics through a combination of study, field trips, speakers and group projects. The first week focused on principles of economics such as supply and demand, the theory of comparative advantage, consumer theory, the theory of the firm, etc. During class time, we worked in a variety of formats. We used videos, formed teams to do project analysis, organized debates on different topics using economic analysis, etc. Week One: Basic Economic Principles Class 1: The theory of supply and demand. What happens when markets don’t clear? Do markets always work? How do we correct market inefficiencies? Class 2: The theory of the consumer. How do we build models in economics? Are the assumptions built into economic models reasonable? How do income and substitution effects work. Class 3: The theory of the firm. What types of industries do firms operate in? How does monopoly power affect profitability of the firm. Week 2: Different types of industry structure and what this means for firm profitability. Perfect Competition, Monopolistic Competition, Oligopoly, Monopoly. How do firms achieve monopoly power? Week 3: Relationship between economics and finance. Time value of money. Portfolio theory. Introduction of stock market game wherein we form teams to choose stocks. Introduction of macroeconomics? Why do we have business cycles. What is good and bad economic policy? When should policymakers intervene in the economy. Week 4: In-class group projects: 1) East Asia – Why did the Asian economies grow so rapidly compared with other parts of the world? Why is China growing so rapidly? 2) Latin American debt crisis REQUIREMENTS: Class participation in daily activities, debates, group projects, field trips and one quiz. In-class time amounted to 24 hours. CLASS GUEST SPEAKERS: Visit to emogi.com to speak with Travis Montaque, founder and CEO, an inspiring, successful internet entrepreneur PROGRAM GUEST LECTURERS: Adam Allen, an officer of the NY Police Department; Prof. Kenneth Jackson of Columbia University; Oxford Tutors; Chris Fell, an Assistant DA of Queens County; Prof. Rachel Abramowitz of Barnard College; Raj Bhimani, concert pianist; Dr. Michelle Larsen, Asst. Professor of Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine; Rachel Kroll, attorney on the faculty of the Wharton School, UPenn; Prof. James Basker of Barnard College and Columbia University FIELD TRIPS: Visit to Midtown, NY Public Library, and Grand Central Station ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES: Metropolitan Museum of Art; American Museum of Natural History; Frick Museum; Whitney Museum; "Something Rotten" on Broadway; college admissions tours of New York University, University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, Princeton University, Brown University, Barnard College, and Columbia University; Bryant Park Movies; Smorgasburg; New York Yankees baseball game; Plaza Hotel Architectural Tour; Luna Park, Coney Island; walking tours of New York neighborhoods (Chelsea, Brooklyn, the West Village, SoHo, Little Italy, Harlem, Chinatown, and Times Square); sports in Central Park and Riverside Park.



Dorcas Fadare

STUDENT NAME

ECONOMICS MINOR

COMMENTS: Dolapo was a great participant in class this year. She is very engaged and enthusiastic in all she does. I enjoyed our many individual discussions. Dolapo took initiative to meet with me outside of class to explore all of her many intellectual interests and to get advice for college. She takes initiative and isn't afraid to express her perspective on different issues. She knows what she wants to achieve in life and isn't afraid of working hard to achieve her goals. I am sure that Dolapo's intelligence, drive, enthusiasm, engaging personality and willingness to work hard will take her far in life. She is ahead of many others at this age in that she has an idea of her ultimate goals and objectives. I wish her success in all she does and expect her to draw from her experience at Oxbridge to reach new heights in achievement as she moves forward.

A+ Grade

Director, Kevin B. Held

Dr. James G. Basker, Founder

David Spigelman, Instructor

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