With a crush of students already flocking to Downtown colleges like Brooklyn Law, a new dorm on tap from Brooklyn College in Flatbush, and a surge in International applications to attend Pratt, our borough is more popular than ever with the university set, says the Daily News. Around 55,000 students now attend institutions of higher learning in Kings, and that number is primed to rise. Applications to attend colleges in Brooklyn have risen almost across the board over the past five years, and a Pratt official says there was a 60 percent increase in international student applications to attend the school this year. Students interviewed for the article say Brooklyn is an appealing option. “I came here because I like New York, but don’t like Manhattan,” says a Pratt sophomore from Columbus, Ohio. “Manhattan is really crazy. There are so many insane people there. It’s a lot cheaper here, too, and I really wanted a school with a campus.” Pratt VP for enrollment Judith Aaron says the borough’s escalating real estate values and overall better rep have lured more students, or at least stopped them from worrying about personal safety. “I never get a question any more about safety – one in the last two or three years,” says Aaron. “Just as real estate has skyrocketed in Brooklyn, so has the borough’s reputation for prospective college students.” Next up: An increase in Brooklyn’s head shop-per-capita ratio?
Brooklyn Becoming a Thriving Center of Higher Education [NY Daily News]
Violet Tide Coming to Downtown? [Brownstoner]
Closing Bell: Brooklyn College’s New Dorm [Brownstoner]
Photo by Louis79.