1. ALUM SELF-PUBLISHES BOOK ON BENEFITS OF TWO-YEAR COLLEGES
Breaking In the Back Door to the Ivy League, the self-published book by Manor
College alum Marshall Burstein, J.D. ’05, provides a blueprint for how to get into a top-
tier ivy league university – and how you can still pursue and attain your dreams – even
if those goals arrived after you had already underachieved and, for all intents and
purposes, squandered your high school years -- all through a two-year college
education. In fact, the how-to guide is, more than anything, an endorsement of two-
year colleges and a treatise on the benefits of a two-year college education, specifically,
in Burstein’s case, a Manor College education.
When this magazine when to print, Burstein was in the process of scheduling a visit to
Washington D.C., where he was invited to meet with Sarah Baker, Dr. Jill Biden’s policy
director, to discuss his book and his experience with two-year college education, which
the Second Lady has called “one of America’s best kept secrets.” She has continuously
worked to underscore the critical role of two-year colleges in “creating the best, most
educated workforce in the world,” and she teaches full-time at a community college in
Virginia.
“I wanted to get my story out to other kids like me, who were underachievers, who
needed to hit the reset button and reinvent their wheel,” said Burstein, explaining
his reason for writing the book. According to Burstein, he was indeed writing from
experience.
[Excerpt from book] I didn’t have an all-star high school record. I
graduated with a 2.0 GPA while ranking in the 50th percentile on the
SAT despite taking the exam twice. My involvement in extra-curricular
activities was minimal. I also only attended school as needed. When I did
attend, I felt the need to turn class time into nap time.
A resident of Warminster -- in Bucks County, Pennsylvania – Burstein didn’t spend a
lot of time during his career at William Tennant High School thinking about his
future. “I wasn’t involved, my GPA wasn’t great and I didn’t score that well on my
SAT’s,” he confirmed.
At some point during his senior year, however, though a little late, Burstein did
develop aspirations. He thought he wanted to eventually go to law school and knew
he wanted to attend a top-level college or university. But he also knew that his
academic performance thus far would limit his options. It was then, with the help of
his parents, that he discovered Manor College.
“They suggested that the Paralegal program would let me test the waters regarding
my interest in law,” he explained, “and they recognized the value of receiving an
associate degree, and an opportunity to have a good job, after just two years.

2. “They also knew that I would have a chance, if I succeeded at Manor, of being
accepted into a four year school that wouldn’t have accepted me out of high school,”
Burstein said.
Furthermore, his parents were aware that attending Manor for the first two years of
college would cut the cost of his education dramatically. In fact, by attending Manor
for two years, you could spend less than half in tuition compared to what you would
spend for the first two years at many area four-year schools.
In his book, Burstein provides a guide that is altogether calculating and practical --
and a proven road map to success. He specifies the features that were inherent to
Manor College – and a strategy for maximizing the opportunities Manor provided --
that enabled him to achieve his goals.
[Excerpt from book] You need to forget the stigma that is attached to
attending a two-year college. There are many advantages to attending
a two-year college prior to matriculating into a four-year institution. By
attending a two-year college and transferring to a four-year school, you
will enjoy benefits that most students entering a four-year college
immediately after graduating high school miss out on.
• • •
OPPORTUNITY TO EXCEL ACADEMICALLY
[Excerpt from book] I realized that if I was going to realize my goal of
gaining admission to law school, my grades would have to mirror my
aspirations.
Burstein credits Manor’s small classes, committed and caring faculty and overall
supportive environment with providing the atmosphere that allowed him to
succeed academically, something he knew would be paramount in order for him to
take his next step.
“Manor gave me a better opportunity to learn – and to grow and mature – and a
better opportunity to become engaged in the classroom, which also contributed to
my success,” Burstein explained.
And Burstein did succeed academically. At the end of his first semester, the fall of
2003, he had a 4.0 GPA, which he maintained throughout his time at Manor. In fact,
when he graduated in 2005 he had a 4.1 GPA, attained by receiving A’s in honors
courses.

3. From January to December, 2004, Burstein was Vice-President of Phi Theta Kappa,
the national honor society for two-year colleges, and in his second year at Manor he
joined Alpha Beta Gamma, the honor society for business students at two-year
schools.
“Manor’s Paralegal program gave me the insight I needed into what would be
required of me in law school and Manor gave me the foundation I needed to do well
in classes, both at Manor and in classes I would take after I transferred,” Burstein
said.
Those classes were at Cornell University, which accepted all 60 credits Burstein
earned at Manor, “without hesitation,” he said. “I never would’ve gotten into Cornell
without the support I got at Manor,” he reiterated.
• • •
After Manor, Burstein entered the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at
Cornell University in the fall of 2005, studying human resources and organizational
psychology. While there, he wrote for the Pre-Law Journal, was a member of the
Gold Key Honor Society, made the Dean’s List each semester he was eligible, and
graduated in 2007 with a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations and a 3.94 GPA.
From there, it was on to law school at Villanova University, where he was president
of the Labor and Employment Law Society and worked as a research assistant,
contributing to legal writing textbooks. In 2011, Burstein graduated cum laude, with
a 3.5 GPA, after which he passed the bar exam in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Today, Burstein has been working for two years as a labor relations generalist for a
major corporation based in Tennesseee, administering and enforcing collective
bargaining agreements and doing other types of human resources related work. A
leadership position, which again goes back to his time at Manor, and another of the
aspects of a two-year, Manor College education that Burstein specifies as
contributing to his ability to achieve his goal of attending an ivy league university.
• • •
OPPORTUNITY TO GET INVOLVED AND TO LEAD
“Transfer counselors at the four-year institutions want to see that you’ve been
involved and it’s extremely helpful if you have demonstrated leadership at the two-
year school you are transferring from,” Burstein explained.
[Excerpt from book] Leadership roles are invaluable because they
demonstrate to admissions committee members that you can
accomplish tasks without supervision. Most Ivy League university
admissions counselors admit students who have served in some type of
leadership capacity. Because such positions can add value to your

4. transfer application, you should assess the leadership that are available
at the two-year or four-year colleges where you might first enroll.
In his first semester at Manor, Burstein joined the student government and the
student service organization Rotaract. In his second semester he joined the Legal
Studies Student Association. Joining these organizations early in his time at Manor
allowed him to, “pursue leadership opportunities.” During his second semester he
became president of Rotaract and in his second year, he was president of student
government. He was also the student affairs representative on the college’s Board of
Trustees.
“If I had started at a larger four-year institution, with a larger pool of candidates, I
may not have had the chances to seize those leadership opportunities that I had at
Manor,” Burstein commented. “Those opportunities allowed me to show the
transfer counselors that I was proactive.”
• • •
“Manor gave me the chance to reinvent myself,” Burstein concludes. “It allowed me
to be someone new; people there didn’t know me as the underachiever I was in high
school. As soon as I got there, I was able to put my foot on the gas and keep it there
until I got where I wanted to go.”
Burstein’s book is available from Amazon or at transfereducation.com, where you can
get in touch with Marshall directly. Keep the conversation about two-year college
education going:
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