Lesley University welcomes prospective Threshold students and their families to visit our Cambridge campus. Attend an open house, take a tour, or meet one-on-one with a member of our team. You’ll meet the professionals who provide live-in support, explore where students live and learn, and get answers to all your questions about our program.
Follow our three step guide to exploring the threshold programs below!
1. Review the Program Materials
Get a comprehensive overview of the threshold students experience, all from the comfort of your own home and on your own time.
2. Ways to Visit & Learn More
Led by a current Lesley staff member, you will begin your Threshold visit with us touring the Lesley campus, which is a chance to visualize day to day life here. You can begin your Threshold tour by meeting a staff member on the Threshold team.
Click here to register for a virtual information session
Click here to book your spot in an upcoming tour
3. Get in Touch with Us!
Want to learn more?
Reach out to our Colin Brady, Director of Threshold Admissions and Engagement at cbrady5@lesley.edu to get your questions answered and learn how The Threshold Programs at Lesley can help you achieve your goals.
Making the transition to campus life is a big step. But when you know what to expect, everything seems easier. Here are the most common questions we receive from prospective students like you:
Threshold classes focus on 3 areas:
In your first year, you'll explore different career options through internships, and learn fundamental work skills in class.
As a second-year student, you'll choose an employment path for your year-long internship, and learn more advanced independent living skills like cooking and managing an apartment. You'll also explore your creative side in electives like Dance, Improv, Creative Writing, and Creative Arts.
Our students have internships in a variety of places such as offices, preschools, nursing centers, pharmacies, fitness centers, doggie daycares, stores, restaurants, and cafés.
In your first year, you'll explore different career paths in a Fall Semester internship and a Spring Semester internship, working 5 hours twice a week. Most second-year students stay at the same internship all year and work 5 hours for 3 days a week.
Some internship sites are on campus or within walking distance. Most students take public transportation to get to their sites. If you’re not used to traveling on your own, we’re here to support you while you learn!
Threshold has two residence halls located near the Threshold offices and Lesley’s Doble campus. They are recently renovated, have ID card access, and are fully accessible.
Each residence hall has a kitchen, a lounge, shared private bathrooms, and laundry machines. Your ID card gives you access to 4 on-campus dining facilities and 19 meals per week.
You'll find support from a Residence Life staff member who is on duty every night, with a phone number for emergencies. Most first-year students have a roommate that we match you with, based on what you tell us about your interests and habits.
Second-year students can choose a friend to live with or choose to have their own room.
Of course! Watch a video and get a sneak peek at one of our residence halls.
Yes!
You’ll take classes with other students in Threshold, but you’ll share campus facilities with 2,000 undergraduate students. Threshold and undergraduate students eat in the same dining halls, use the fitness center and library, and participate in 30+ organizations and 16 sports teams together.
We support you in making choices about how to fill your leisure time and pursue your academic and extracurricular interests. You may choose to participate in undergraduate student activities, clubs, and sports to varying degrees, or you may prefer to spend most of your time with other students enrolled at Threshold.
You may choose to take an undergraduate class in your second year, or you may want to stay within Threshold’s course offerings.
Between classes and your internship, you’ll be busy at Threshold, but you'll also have unstructured time to yourself for meals, doing homework and laundry, getting involved in the community, and having fun! There are dining facilities on each of Lesley’s 3 campuses to sit down and catch up with friends.
Many of our students join clubs–such as the dance team–run track, or sing in the Cambridge Voices choir. Threshold hosts basketball every Saturday for students and alumni. Some students play, while others come to socialize and make plans for the rest of the weekend.
Threshold students organize many of their own activities and events, from going to the movies and baking, to crafts and other fun projects.
You can find them all here in our activities blog!
We encourage you to stay on campus as much as possible for the first 6 weeks because it is an important bonding time with your classmates.
Some students go home on the weekends to visit family and friends, but most want to stay on campus for activities and to spend time with the friends they’ve made at Threshold.
Threshold’s curriculum helps you to become independent, and to grow socially and personally. You’ll get support in these skills in your classes and in the residence halls. Small classes mean you’ll get lots of personal attention. We have two weekly Study Group sessions to help manage your homework assignments.
Our live-in Residence Life staff can handle concerns you have as a young adult in a college setting, including the unique topics experienced by students in Threshold. Each student will have an advisor to discuss how things are going at internships and meet with a mentor once a week to check in and get extra guidance when needed.
As a college student, you have a lot more independence than you did in high school. This can make some students a little nervous, while others are excited to step out on their own a bit more. When you come to Threshold, you'll find a network of faculty, staff, students, and alumni here to support you.
What might surprise you is finding out how capable and independent you can be!
In this video, find out from our students why they chose Threshold.
After graduation, you can continue to prepare for independent living in one of two optional programs—Transition Year or Bridge Year. And, you can start using the Threshold Alumni Center’s support services. No matter what path you take after graduation, our faculty and staff are here to offer support and encouragement. Threshold Programs alumni live full and independent lives.
More than 75% of graduates live on their own and 95% of them tell us that they're satisfied with their levels of independence. Our alumni are working at jobs they love, pursuing their goals for higher education, spending quality time with friends, and starting families of their own.
But don't just take our word for it. Check out these alumni stories in this video:
Meet just a few of our Threshold alumni and learn firsthand how they've found independence.
Seeing your student go off to school is a rite of passage for many parents. But that doesn't make it any easier. Learning how your student will find success and support while at school will help you rest easy.
We receive between 75–90 applications each year for 24 spots. We are committed to making sure the students we select have an optimal chance for a safe, successful, and positive experience while attending our programs.
The documentation that is part of our admissions requirements helps us determine if Threshold is the appropriate program for a candidate.
We invite qualified applicants for an interview after we've received all the admissions materials.
Threshold students have completed high school and have received inclusive special education services in public or private schools. They would have achieved a high-school diploma, certificate of completion, or are on a transition plan.
Because we are a college experience program, our accepted students are 18–26 years old.
At Threshold, students engage in learning that helps them:
Our model integrates academics with practical, professional experience and promotes social engagement and self-reflection. All of this occurs on a diverse, inclusive, and welcoming college campus with a social justice mission and a student population that embraces peers from all backgrounds.
While some students prefer to stay within Threshold’s course offerings, others choose to take an undergraduate class in their second year.
Threshold classes focus on 3 areas:
The first year is exploratory. Students begin to learn fundamental work skills in their courses 3 days a week while working 2 days at an internship. In their second year, students choose an employment path for a year-long internship 3 days a week and spend 2 days a week in courses focusing on more advanced independent living skills.
As Lesley University students, Threshold students have access to events and clubs sponsored by the university’s Student Activities and Support Office, as well as programs unique to Threshold. Some of our students have qualified to become members of Lesley Athletic teams, including track and tennis. While classes are in session, Threshold runs a basketball game every Saturday morning for students and alumni, a yearly trip to Great Wolf Lodge, and many other activities.
Explore the clubs your student might want to join.
Our students do not qualify for Federal Financial Aid; however they would still need to complete a FAFSA. This is how we determine the amount of scholarship awarded to each student. Some school districts fund students in the Threshold Programs through an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) to fulfill the student’s Transition Plan.
Find more information on funding options, financial aid, and scholarships.
Ready to begin your journey with Lesley? Share some basic information by filling out one of the forms below so that we can reach out to you with more information about our programs. Or, email admissions@lesley.edu to connect with a member of our admissions team.
Undergraduate Inquiry Form | Graduate Inquiry Form | Threshold Inquiry Form