Chances-All SUNYs?

Colleges and Universities A-Z SUNY at Albany
1

<p>I noticed, again (since I was here around summer going into my junior year as well), that no forums exist for SUNY Oneonta, Oswego, New Paltz, Plattsburgh...etc. So I was hoping by a regular chances topic, perhaps if anyone here knows of the criteria needed for those schools (which I know a bit of, but it'd be great if students/parents/the like can help me out!). Albany as well of course! So with that, here's my outlook.</p>

<p>Male, Caucasian, resident of upstate NY
2.9 GPA (UW; haven't had my guidance appointment yet to tell me final results)
My class rank at the end of 3rd quarter junior year was 301/520. To some that could seem frightfully low, but I guarantee you it's gone well up into the 200s by now at the least! By Thanksgiving, 1st quarter of my senior year will be finished.</p>

<p>SATs: 520 Math, 520 Critical Reading, 550 Writing
ACTs: 24 Composite (do any of these schools suggest to take the writing?)
(Also if I'm allowed and if it will make a difference, I'll try to take the SAT IIs in English, World History and Biology.)</p>

<p>Sports
JV Track and Field 9-10
Varsity Winter track and field 11-12
Varsity Tennis 11-12</p>

<p>Jobs
Dry Cleaners, August '07-Present, Part-time</p>

<p>Clubs
Key Club (community service through a specific organization)-10th grade
Creative Streak (art/literature magazine) 11/12
Yearbook 12th
Symphonic Band 9th-11th</p>

<p>Classes
Principles of Marketing-9
Business Law-10
French-9/10
Journalism-11
Photography, Sociology, Creative Writing-12
Career Exploration Internship-Spring Semester (Journalism)-12
4 Years of English, Math, Science and History
~Currently taking Pre-Calculus and Physics (not sure if physics makes a difference, but yeah haha.)</p>

<p>I'll probably have one teacher recommendation and one from my guidance counselor.</p>

2

<p>I have been looking pretty closely at most of these schools for my son, including visiting a few, and my son has also met with his guidance counselor a couple of times on this issue. My one big disclaimer for what follows is that I don't have a clue how your sports activity improves your situation. Although you don't say, I am assuming you are getting an advanced Regents diploma.</p>

<p>From what I haver read and heard, I would say that Old Westbury and Buff State College are safety schools for you. Plattsburgh is a good match, and probably Potsdam too. Borderline good match/slight reach for Oswego and Cortland. A bit of a reach at Fredonia, Oneonta, Albany, Buffalo and possibly New Paltz. Big reach at Stony Brook, Binghamton and Geneseo. Not sure about the rest. </p>

<p>Given your apparent quantitative skills, I highly recommend that you go on the SUNY website. Under the links for undergraduate admissions, there is a link to a table that shows admissions statistics. I am pretty sure that alot of the schools cook the books to make themselves look better, which makes me doubt some of my conclusions, but I nonetheless think that the numbers generally indicate the relative difficulty of getting in. Also, the College Board website has some other statistics on the "how do I stack up" link for each school which gives further insight.</p>

<p>At our high school (which is very highly rated) kids with an average over 80 and SAT's over 500 in both verbal and math routinely get accepted to all of the SUNY's except Geneseo, Binghamton and Stony Brook.</p>

<p>You should ask your guidance counselor whether your school publishes such statistics for its graduates. Given your apparent interest in business, I would aim for Albany if you are looking for a big school experience, and Oswego if you are looking for a smaller school experience.</p>

3

<p>To be honest, business is a consideration of mine but I'm looking into Journalism/Publishing/Communications. Unfortunately, it seems like only SUNY in NYC has the greatest journalism program and I'm really not into big city life, but Albany suits me academically and I could live at home. </p>

<p>I wasn't considering applying to Geneseo, Binghamton or Stony Brook; with the exception of Stony Brook, they don't really have what I'm looking for. Plus I know how competitive they are! Oswego, Oneonta, New Paltz and Albany, possibly Plattsburgh are my SUNY choices. </p>

<p>I go to high school in Saratoga. I'm on the regular Regents diploma track though, not the advanced (I'm in the standard math level, I just happen to be trying harder and taking pre-calculus instead of statistics this year to show colleges I'm motivated.)</p>

<p>Oh and no, my sports activity is just for well-roundedness; I may even consider taking a track scholarship if I'm recognized this winter, or playing college tennis (but I don't intend on being recruited for tennis, I'd just like to play).</p>

4

<p>My d is looking at the same list as you, although she also wants Cortland. I think people from her public high school with your stats did get into Oswego, Oneonta, Plattsburgh, Albany. New Paltz, unfortunately, just got named as a "hot school" in Newsweek, so this year will be extra competitive.</p>

5

<p>As a comparison My son who is a freshman at Albany got a 1250 (out of 1600) on his SAT and had a 3.2 or 3.3 average in HS. He also got into Stony Brook, Cortland, New Paltz and was wait listed at Bing. New Paltz originally told him that he was wait-listed but just a week after they told us that he was accepted. Cortland was easy...they did not even ask for his HS transcript...his SAT score was good enough. Stony Brook has a really nice campus, but the idea of it being a commuter school turned him off. </p>

<p>Wateradept - I have a friend that has a son that went to Albany with similar grades as yours...however he was wait listed and at the last possible date they accepted him. I think you are on the edge at Albany, far from a lock on getting in...but very possible. They look at math and critcal reading only, not the third part. I think you are a definite at Cortland, Oswego and probably Oneonta.
Honestly I don't think you can get into New Paltz unless your SAT was higher. They are pretty selective. Again with New Paltz it was very quiet on the weekend...that was a turn off for my son...a lot of people go home on the weekends. We are actually close to New Paltz..my wife is going there for an advanced degree...I thought it was a very nice campus. Some of the dorm rooms were very nice and new...something you will not get at some of the other schools.
My suggestion is to go to as many schools as possible, talk with the advisors, take your SAT's again (take a class to help push them up). All the schools take the highest of the Math and Critical reading sections, from all your SAT's which is great.</p>

6

<p>Thanks! I've actually ruled out New Paltz already; no one seems to like it when they visited and my guidance counselor suggested the same thing. I'm focused on getting good teacher recommendations, writing creative and well thought essays that won't bore the admissions office and I plan to score 550 on both CR and Math when I retake the SATs. I'm only going to apply to Oneonta, Albany and Oswego. I've also told my counselor I want to take the subject tests for English and Biology in December, so those scores might be a little late and may even help to push my "hmm, well we can consider him" to a "your in". </p>

<p>I'm DEFINITELY going to the schools to schedule interviews with either admissions or alumni to show I'm interested.</p>

<p>My class rank is also now 296/529; obviously still not stellar, I'm only about the 52nd percentile so not even top half..that'll improve once my 1st semester is over; I already know I'm doing way better than most of my peers academically. </p>

<p>Thanks for you help everyone!</p>

7

<p>I'm surprised you heard negative things about New Paltz. All the kids I know that go there love it. It is getting more and more selective too. My S is considering transferring there. He spent a night there with a friend of his on a weekened and had a really good time.</p>

8

<p>Might be an upstate/downstate thing? The OP goes to school in Saratoga. New Paltz draws heavily from the NYC metro area and some upstate kids might feel a little uncomfortable with the cultural differences. I have read elsewhere where some LI/NYC/Westchester kids had doubts about Geneseo because it admits a disproportionate number from Upstate.</p>