CSTEP Need and Outcomes

The need for CSTEP and STEP is clear.

New York state is projected to have nearly a half million STEM jobs by 2018*. We need an educated workforce to fill those jobs. Yet students from minority groups and economically disadvantaged students are not receiving the education they need to enter these fast-growing fields.

  • Nationally, just 18 percent of STEM and related degrees are awarded to underrepresented minorities**.
  • In 2014, only 13 percent of applicants to medical school in New York state were black and Latino. Nationally, only six percent of matriculants to medical school were historically underrepresented minorities.
  • A diverse physician workforce addresses health disparities in three important ways:
    • Improved access
    • Increased satisfaction
    • Culturally competent care
  • The New York City Bar Association reports that minorities are a small percentage of law school applicants. The group credits “prelaw programs that promote law school and the legal profession” as having a “positive effect on minorities’ awareness and interest in preparing for and attending law school.”
  • According to the National Law Journal, the average LSAT score for Black/African American test takers is around 142.6, and for Hispanics, around 146.6. No law school has a median score lower than 142. These students need help in preparing for the LSAT to help address their under-representation in the field.
  • In 2012 the demographics at CPA Firms showed that just 4 percent of accounting employees were Black/African American and 5 percent were Latino. AICPA's 2011 Trends in the Supply of Accounting Graduates and the Demand for Public Accounting Recruits.***

Fordham CSTEP Outcomes

From 2009 to 2015:

  • 43 CSTEP students have been accepted to health professional schools (medical, dental, veterinary, etc.)
  • 2 CSTEP scholars were awarded Fulbright scholarships
  • 2 CSTEP scholars were selected as Coro Fellows
  • 2 CSTEP students were selected for the Urban Fellows Program
  • 17 CSTEP students were accepted to law school

*according to the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities

**according to the National Science Foundation

*** AICPA's 2011 Trends in the Supply of Accounting Graduates and the Demand for Public Accounting Recruits)