The Basics
Iona College was established in 1940 as a private liberal arts institution offering comprehensive undergraduate, and graduate programs in several different fields including their hallmark Business School Program. The college also has a strong campus ministry program through it’s relationship with the Christian Brothers of America. The school itself is located in New Rochelle (Westchester County) New York, within minutes of the New York City border of the Bronx N.Y. Iona College is unique because it’s located within 30 minutes of the city via the Metro North Train System to Mid-town Manhattan. The school is also unique because it’s situated within a quiet hill top suburban community within New Rochelle. The footprint of the site is large for a small-sized private school with approximately 35 acres of park like property that winds through the Westchester County community.
The campus has approximately 37 buildings including lecture, sports, performing arts, and student housing facilities. The issue of student housing on campus is not a challenge for Iona due to it’s relatively small on campus, and large commuter student population. The college provides does not provide guaranteed housing for students according to school officials, students receive housing on a first come, first served basis. The physical layout of the academic buildings, athletic fields, and residence halls is designed to separate the campus into 2 parts, for easy access to students. The campus housing is located across the street on North, and Summit Avenues on the western edge of the campus map.
The internal campus setting provides students and employees with several types of student services including physical fitness, library services, and cultural meeting places and dining halls. The college also has several performing arts, music, and a radio station for students and local residents to enjoy. Iona’s observed focal point of reference during the campus tour was the LaPenta Student Union, which is the main student life hall. My tour guide told me that students come to the Union to relax, and eat in the dining hall. Students also use this space to socialize and talk about school and life. The facility is large for a small school with offices for all the student clubs and activities, a school bookstore and finally a Starbucks Coffee shop for students to enjoy.
Iona is home to approximately 1,534 male, and 1,809 female full time undergrad students. The college also has 72 male, and 92 female students attending the school on a part-time basis. Iona also has 321 male, and 495 female graduate students attending the campus. The average age of a freshman is 18 years old; all undergraduates are 20 years old. 77% of students are state residents with the rest coming from 40 other states, and 32 foreign countries. 2,733 students are white, 435 are Hispanic, 296 are African American, and 71 are Asian. The total number of students with on campus housing is 1,059, and 68% of Iona students commute to school according to published handouts.
Iona College offers a Liberal Arts and Sciences programs for undergraduate students. Below is a list of specific admission requirements for admission.
- Freshman Class: 6,017 applied, 3,550 accepted, and 908 enrolled to the school. SAT Verbal 540, Math 550. Act: 23 Application Deadline February 15. Retention Rate: 14% of students do not continue beyond the first year; 60% remain to graduate.
- Faculty/ Classroom: 67% of faculty is male, 33% female. All teach Undergraduates. The average class size in an introductory lecture is 26, Lab 16 and 20 in a regular course.
- Student / Faculty Ratio: 19 to 1
Student Housing
The purpose of student housing is to provide safe and reasonable accommodations for students living away from home. The issue of housing and dormitory life is a critical element of overall campus life because students spend a large amount of time in their rooms. Student housing units historically come in 3 different styles including traditional corridor, suite, and apartment style units.
Iona doesn’t guarantee housing for all undergraduate students who have filed their intent to reside on campus by the stated deadline and who have continuously registered as full time students. The college uses a first come, first served system to provide available housing. Iona College can presently provide accommodations for 1,059 Students and will increase that number in the coming years with it’s new residence halls on North Ave coming on line in the fall of 2012. The college has several high-rise residence halls for student housing including the South Hall facility, which is considered the freshman dorm. Information about student housing can be found within Iona’s quick link page in the back of this document.
Off Campus Housing
The City of New Rochelle has been described as a medium-sized suburban community within driving, and commuter distance to New York City. The reason I have mentioned the overall community of New Rochelle/Westchester County is to re-assert the point that Iona is situated in a suburban setting with a high number of homes that are privately owned. The college does provide off campus housing resources for students including the Apartments at Eastchester. Information about services can be found on the quick links page.
Campus Life
Iona College is an active private campus environment that provides students with a comfortable educational, and social atmosphere. The admissions demographics paint a picture of a local educational community with a relatively small number of in state residents on campus as full time students. The local community of New Rochelle is very supportive of the schools mission to provide educational opportunities to local residents and on-campus students. The county itself has several student friendly venues within walking distance on North Avenue, or driving distance to several areas of the city. The point is, New Rochelle is small, only 10 square miles, compared to the other nearby boroughs in greater New York. The size, population, and community resources give the county a main street feel to it due to the restaurants and shops along the main avenues.
The emotional climate and culture of the entire community is social due to it’s close relationship with community, and educational resources in my opinion. Iona is an attractive institution because it offers students a quality business school within a beautiful suburban community landscape in close proximity to New York City The College also provides student activities for everyone including cultural, athletics, and performing arts to enjoy throughout the year. This issue of school culture is also a very important part of campus life because everyone wants to have a connection and emotional fit to their new school and community.
This type of process provides a foundation for learning and personal growth providing over 65 academic, athletic, and student organizations. Iona College also has 21 NCAA Division I & III teams for men and women to participate in. Student at the college also enjoy a substantial Greek system with 4% of Male student participating in 4 national fraternities, and 6% of female students enjoying 6 national sororities.
Iona also addresses the issue of ecology in a positive way. The physical environment is reasonably clean and well maintained and the economic conditions are favorable to students and local residents due to the available services in driving distance to the school. The college is also going through a growth period with construction of new state of the art student housing facilities that provide scenic views of the entire campus footprint. The development of a state of the art student center also helps students connect with each other in non-classroom environments by providing a central meeting place for clubs and student run activities.
Public Transportation
Public transportation resources for Iona College students are virtually unlimited due to the location of the campus. Students who attend the college usually drive to campus because parking is readily available, but students can also enjoy public transportation resources. The college has a mixed number of in-state students who know the streets and highways very well. Knowing the area is key because students who come from other states may not know the area as well and might opt to take a bus or train to their destination because they don’t want to risk getting lost on local roads. Information about campus transportation services can be found on the quick links page.
The public transportation for the college is served by The Westchester County M.T.A., which serves the residents of New Rochelle. This transit system connects with several other transit, and bus lines within NYC including the Metro North line, and the main transit network within the Bronx. This main system connects to Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, New Jersey Transit, and the Long Island Railroad service. Public transportation resources are directly linked to local resident commuter schedules for bus and train service, students should pick up MTA handouts or service information.
Community Profile
The Iona College section of New Rochelle is a quiet suburban community within an overall population of 73,446 residents in Westchester County New York. The area has been described as a gracious family centered residential community within striking distance to New York City. This section of the county also has an intellectual side to it due it’s historical neighborhood architecture, and community ties to Iona College. The community has a real small college town feel to it when you are walking, and driving to neighborhood eateries. The City of New Rochelle also has several community parks and ball fields in and a round the area for people to enjoy. These parks, along with public tennis courts, swimming pools, outdoor skating rinks, and theatres make outside activities very enjoyable to everyone.
The city itself is geographically located between New York City to the south, and the Connecticut state line to the north making it an ideal commuter destination for both locations because they can be reached in relatively short period of time. The short distance to these areas from the school makes Westchester County a student friendly destination throughout the year. The Metro North Transit Authority (MTA) & the Westchester County MTA provides several types of public transit resources to NYC including express bus, and rail service throughout the year on a 24-hour basis. Local residents have access to several major transportation hubs within the northeast including JFK & LaGuardia Airports, New York Penn Station (Amtrak) in nearby Midtown Manhattan, and countless roadway systems including I-95, the main north/south corridor in the area, and the Cross County Parkway & Hutchinson River Parkway to all points north & west.
Finally, Iona College is close to several local avenues that links students and residents to a large number of restaurants and shops within a short drive from campus including North Avenue and East Chester Road within the hilltop area of the city. New Rochelle also has numerous shopping, and dining options in the Bronx and Connecticut due to their geographical location. Residents can be in these areas in a matter of minutes, or they can also be in New York City quickly because they are surrounded with bridges within a 15-minute drive from the campus.
Community demographics
The following demographics for the City of New Rochelle in Westchester County describe a culturally diverse community within a total population of 73,446 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The survey highlights several characteristics to describe the population including: 48% of residents are male, 52% are female. 68% of residents are white, 20% are African American, 9% are Hispanic or Latino, and 3% are Asian. The median age of population is 39 years old. 77% of residents are 18 years old, and 16 % of town residents are over the age of 65. The issue of housing in New Rochelle is also interesting. 92 % of all housing units within the city are occupied. 48 % of housing units are renter-occupied, while 52 % of units are owner-occupied. Only 8 % of total available housing was vacant according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Local weather
Weather is also an issue to consider for students preparing for a college experience. The State of New York enjoys all four seasons of weather including rain and snow. Northeast weather patterns sometimes allow for temperatures to drop below 32 degrees for a considerable amount of time during the winter. Westchester County also gets it’s share of rain during the spring and summer months as well.
Iona College Quick Links
The Your College Profile web site also contains an “Everything in New York City” document for families who wish to explore the NYC while visiting Iona College. This site contains a full list of hotels, restaurants, shopping, and entertainment, and tourism resources for families enjoying the region. Below is a sample list of local hotels and restaurants in New Rochelle N.Y.
Radisson Hotel New Rochelle1 Radisson Plaza
New Rochelle, N.Y. 10801
Hampton Inn & Suites Yonkers
160 Corporate Blvd
Yonkers, N.Y. 10701
Residence Inn by Marriott/ New Rochelle
35 LeCount Place
New Rochelle N.Y. 10801
Restaurants in New Rochelle N.Y.
- Westchester Restaurant: (American/Family Style)628 North Ave (914) 740-7401
- Jani’s Restaurant: 33 LeCount Place (American/Family Style) (914) 632-1116
- McKiernan’s (Pub Food) 47 Lawton Street (914) 576-4724
- Fratelli Pizza & Pasta: 679 North Avenue (914) 654-9619
- The Avenue Deli Café: 704 North Avenue (914) 632-5624
- Arthur Avenue Italian Restaurants (20 Minutes away in the Bronx N.Y.)
- Ann & Tony’s Restaurant 2407 Arthur Ave
- Umberto’s Clam House 2356 Arthur Ave
- Mario’s Restaurant 2342 Arthur Ave
- Giovanni’s Restaurant 2343 Arthur Ave
- Morrone Pastry Shop 2349 Arthur Ave
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