[Baba booey]

well here's the deal. I'm going into my senior year. I got an 1150 on my SATs not counting writing(580 on that) and my gpa is around a 3.4(~89 weighted). I'm leaning towards a major in either business, math, or maybe history. I live in NJ but establishing residency in NY is possible(grandma lives there). So far I have visited Binghamton and Ithaca. Ithaca cannot be on my list due to the exorbitant cost of tuition(~32k a year in tuition). Binghamton is about 20k a year for out-of-state, but it's about 15k a year in-state. I have plenty of schools on my mind that I plan to visit that are somewhat close to home, i.e. Iona, Ramapo, St. John's, St. Peter's.
Money is a big issue, obviously. If I dorm, it shouldn't be too expensive.
I don't want to go to far. Even a school like Binghamton is a stretch in terms of distance(2 1/2 hours). I prefer a school that I'll already know a fair amount of people that I go to school with.
If it's private, it should be a school that gives a fair amount of money(not a private school that is a reach, but more of a safety school).
what would you guys say is a good bet for me?

 

[Baba booey]

help?

 

[PFKMan23]

You seem to want it all, but are not willing to put in that much work. I will say that these questions are all research and questions you can and should answer yourself.

Namely:

Have you asked what colleges your friends are applying to?

Have you visited any of these campuses you are considering?

Have you looking into scholarships, grants, and financial aid?

Without answering these questions, you'd be doing yourself the greatest disservice, as what a good college is to us is one that may not be right for you. I highly advise you to visit the campuses, talk to the professors, go look at the doors and go talk to the financial aid departments and ask or look into scholarships and grants. Once you do that you'll be able to find what's the best fit for you.

 

[crappyjones123]

rutgers, city college of new york, rochester institute of tech, any of the suny schools, ithaca, cornell...there are plenty of others. check out the usnews magazine at any bookstore. thats where i started my college hunt. looked at what the top schools for my major were, and then started doing research on their websites...calling their past graduates. thing of that nature.

do some reading man. a wrong choice might potentially ruin your college experience. start thinking about it now, applications are due in a few months. good luck buddy.

 

[The Actual]

Go visit as many schools as you can.

Most important things to me which may apply to you in your search:

Find a campus where you feel at home. Somewhere you can imagine yourself living and working for four years in a row.

Speak with professors in a department which might interest you. Approach admissions officers one on one after an information session. Find a school where the people working there are intelligent and curious.




Also, be careful about just going to school with high school friends. It can be great certainly, but just be aware that you probably won't make a ton of new friends if you start day one of orientation standing in a circle with people you have known for four years already or longer.



good luck it is hard to find the right place. You can do it.

 

[wavoman]

x2 on Rutgers, the obvious choice to me. Great business major.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

It's kind of useless to major in history unless you're going to become a teacher.

 

[Baba booey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMarchingMule /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's kind of useless to major in history unless you're going to become a teacher.

although it's not my #1 choice, I know that's what I'd have to do.

EDIT: And I know you guys mention Rutgers, but I'm not too sure if I'd be able to get into the main campus.

 

[jinp6301]

2 Pieces of advice

Dont do math if you cant handle it

and if you come to Binghamton for a science major, prepare to work

 

[Imaginary Fanfare]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jinp6301 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Dont do math if you cant handle it

also of note: even if high school math was easy for you, college math is an entirely different beast, a beast that feeds on the hopes and entrails of incoming students

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Oh man, high school Trig/Pre-Calc...it was my teacher's first year, and he decided to make it into an AP-level difficulty. If it wasn't for my tutor second semester, I would have probably gotten a D- instead of a B.

 

[NoPants]

math is actually a good oppurtunity around the NJ/NY area if you're already a beast at it, that's probably something you know by now already in HS

I think it'd be a lot healthier to come back with like 2 or 3 choices that you chose for yourself and then get input. Even then asking random people to evaluate a handful of schools in NY is pushing it

Sorry I'd probably be of more help if I chose based on visiting and etc. haha

 

[aaron313]

I have my own Trig story. We were allowed to grade our own homework, and it seemed as though the teacher only prepared lessons if students were confused. Obviously, everybody gave themselves perfect scores, and so the teacher quite literally never taught a lesson. Well, I cared enough to teach myself the entire course, as well as study hard for exams. So I got the highest grade in the class both semesters, with other top students getting low to mid A's. But the bulk of the class? 100% lost, and they pretty much got D's on every test (leading to mostly B/C grades). Some people actually need to be taught.

 

[Baba booey]

well I talked to my dad earlier and he said basically this weekend we're going to decide where I'm going to visit and where I'm going to apply. And I'm going to throw out all those ridiculously expensive private schools that wouldn't give me a decent chunk of money.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baba booey /img/forum/go_quote.gif well I talked to my dad earlier and he said basically this weekend we're going to decide where I'm going to visit and where I'm going to apply. And I'm going to throw out all those ridiculously expensive private schools that wouldn't give me a decent chunk of money.

Um...you could always do financial aid.