<p>I'm a junior in high school and considering going to Baruch college (as an out-of-state student) in New York if I get that coveted full ride scholarship that comes with Baruch honors or Macaulay honors. What are my chances of getting into the honors college? Intended major: Finance</p>
<p>City: Memphis, TN
GPA: 4.0 unweighted
ACT: 32
Class Rank: 6 in a class of 500
Rigor of schedule: I will graduate with 4 AP classes and many honors classes under my belt.
Extracurriculars: My weakness... I don't have a large amount of extracurriculars, just one main one. I am an advanced classical pianist and have been playing for about 10 years now. I practice about two hours a day and have won several competitions. I also have some little extracurriculars (National Honors Society member, Latin Club member, Mu Alpha Theta member) to compliment my piano playing.</p>
<p>A final question: will being from Memphis help in any way in the admissions process (I would think that Southerners are underrepresented at any of the CUNY schools.</p>
<p>Any answers, comments, advice would be MUCH appreciated!</p>
<p>Whats up. I’ll be a Macaulay student at Hunter next year so I think I can help. My stats (in state but not from the city) were 33 act and about a 3.5 uw with 8 ap’s/college classes. Are you sure you want to apply to Macaulay at Baruch because while Baruch is a much more finance/econ oriented school it doesn’t provide dorms like Hunter does. Hunter gives you your own room on 25th street and that as you know ammounts to thousands of dollars a year. While I am very much a econ/finance oriented guy I chose to apply to Hunter for the dorms. The good news is not only are the dorms really close to Baruch (like down the street) taking classes there is really easy with the system they have set up. I personally plan to double major in econ and poli sci. Also Hunter is by far the biggest program in Macaulay like almost double City/Baruch so there is a much greater sense of community/peers. The only caveat is its the hardest to get into. Personally I think you have the stats to get in but Macaulay doesn’t take that many OOS students. At the accepted students day there was like one kid from cali, a few from jersey, and that was it (there were probobly more but it was by no means overt). Memphis could definatley help though. Kind of a toss up as to whether it’ll help or hurt.</p>
<p>Good luck bro maybe I’ll see you in two years,
Mike</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply. As of now, I’m focused on Baruch as it will probably provide a slightly better education in finance than Hunter (the mock trading floor is a draw for me as well). I don’t feel the need to live in a dorm because I’ll be happy to rent a apartment in the city if I get a full ride scholarship.<br>
Your HS stats are great; what were your extracurriculars like (like I said, my limited extracurricular activities are my main weakness)? And do you happen to know the stats of any other kids who were accepted into the Macaulay program?<br>
One more question: if I don’t get accepted into the Macaulay program, can I still get the Baruch scholar scholarship and get the full ride. Is getting just the Baruch honors scholarship easier? </p>
<p>Thanks, and yeah hopefully I do see you in two years because, being a Memphian, I’m going to know absolutely NO ONE, and I’m going to need all the friends I can get.</p>
<p>By the way, I just realized that I said that I’m a junior in high school in my first post. I meant that this PAST year I was a junior (I’m going to be a senior this fall). So I’ll actually be graduating in one year.</p>
<p>Hunter wise I do know of some kids who did not get into Macaulay but were given like dorm scholarships or partial tuition scholarships. Also just be sure your really set on the whole pre-finance, accounting, whatever track as Baruch is very geared towards it (well not entirley). At the accepted students presentation for the macualay program (in which the f’ing museam of natural history was shut to everyone but us) all the Baruch kids were rocking suits and everyone else not so much lol. Honestly my biggest weakness was my gpa. It probobly wasnt even a 3.5 by the middle of the year when they read my app. My strengh was I had near perfect regent scores on almost everything which is the third thing the look after gpa and act/sat scores. That wont hurt but it wont help as you obviously haven’t taken nys regents. EC wise I had a very solid internship with the AFL-cio and I had captained the varsity x-c and track team among a bunch of other things so I think that helped. Guys also have an easier time getting into Hunter so thats another reason to apply there lol but if you have your heart on Baruch go for it. Write a good essay and you have a great shot. Also are you a guy or a girl? Im just curious. </p>
<p>Yeah I’m dead set on working in some area of finance after graduation. The reason I’m considering Baruch is that it offers (at an affordable price) a finance degree with which I could probably land a solid starting position on Wall Street after graduation (assuming I work my butt off in college). I wouldn’t really have as much of a chance getting a job like that after graduating University of Memphis or University of Tennessee (my other cheap alternatives).</p>
<p>Haha guys in suits? Well, at least it’s not NYU Stern; I hear those kids go to class every day in suits haha.</p>
<p>How is easier for guys to get into Hunter? Is it harder for them to get into Baruch? I’m a dude by the way…</p>
<p>Naw I didn’t apply ED and I didn’t really think I was going but it won me over and now I love it. We also had a pretty big Macaulay thread around decision time but you may have trouble finding it. For girls it is damn near impossible to get into Hunter. The girls I’ve met pretty much have fielded offers from most Ivy’s and the guys as well to a slightly lower extent. I dont really have much info on Baruch except overall its slightly easier to get into than Hunter but boy/girl wise im not sure. Let me know if I can be of any more help.</p>
<p>I’m kind of confused about the Macaualy Honors College Building in the Upper West Side. Is that where you take your honors classes? I don’t get what goes on there. Also, when does the application come out? When did you apply last year?</p>
<p>I applied the day of the deadline (it’s early, dec.15 almost missed it!!!) and I started writing my essay’s the day before. I was unaware of the program until last minute when a friend who graduated a year earlier and is a Macaulay student at Hunter persuaded me to look into it. I was able to recycle my Cornell essay which fit perfectly as well as my common app essay but I had to write an essay on how I think Macaulay would change me. Although I thought it came out a bit corny it was apparently very good. Also you take the honors seminar at your home campus and the building is used for special programs and for some special honors classes (theres a list of honors classes you can take there on the web). Clubs also meet there. It actually doesn’t play as big a role as I thought and I actually haven’t even seen it yet. My schedule is amazing right now and I love my professors. The get some really great ones to teach the honors courses (and im not just talking about the seminars).</p>
<p>Would you recommend that I apply ED? MHC sounds like an awesome deal, but it still kind of makes me weary because i’ll never know if the other colleges accepted me or not and what fin. aid packages i’d get from them. how is the student life? do you find yourself left out/lonely alot? i’d be coming from out of state.</p>
<p>^^^That is what I’m worried about the most. Since I’d be coming from out of state, I would know absolutely no one. And since Baruch is a commuter school, I fear that I’ll be one lonely kid in college…</p>
<p>Truth be told they do not take many kids ED. I heard that Brooklyn had 40 kids apply ED and they only took a few (not sure about the other schools). Of course many were deferred and ultimately accepted later (I met several). Damon if you want to live in NYC this program is great. I saw you posted you were interested in NYU and Pace. I dual enrolled at Pace this year and while my professor was amazing you do not want to be with that kind of student body, complete mental dud. NYU is an amazing school and I’m not ragging on it except that it’s financial aid sucks sometimes. If finances are at all an issue do not apply ED to NYU. If you want to show interest and are sure that this program is your first choice go ED. If you have any doubts at all and think you can maybe get some big scholarships or whatever elsewhere apply regular like most of us. Also Damon MHC is not something to be ashamed about going to. The average stats this year were a 95 GPA (Much of NY is not on the 4.0 system) and over a 1400 sat. Hunters was even higher (think 1450+). All im saying is go with your gut and dont apply ED if you have any doubts at all and want to weigh your options.
Dylan, community wise I’m just as worried as you. At the accepted students day I met two really great guys, guys who I could see myself being great friends with the next four years and beyond. One is now going to Wesleyan and the other BC. I have met some really great alums and everyone else that I’ve met have been so interesting and down to earth. Honestly I haven’t been to orientation yet so I haven’t really had much chance to connect with the community. It’s a chance that I see worth taking though. Besides its new york city. As long as your not a complete shut in your be fine. Macaulay has a ton of clubs and even though it’s small the community really is growing stronger with each new class. Remember this program has only been around a few years. </p>
<p>Yeah I was worried about PACE being as you described. I’m also looking at Fordham…and possibly The New School. I ruled it out, but then I was thinking that I might rule it back in again. I visited and loved the location, and some of the benefits(like being able to use nyu’s library), but I hear that all the student body pretty much smokes…which i can’t stand. i like the liberalness of the school, but idk about its reputation. what have you heard about it?</p>
<p>in nyc, i want to apply to:
nyu (idk if ill get in, and i prolly won’t get too hot of a fin aid package)
fordham lincoln center (i could see myself going here, but idk if ill get much aid)
pace (worried about the student body and non competitiveness/acceptance rate)
mhc @ hunter (long shot…my test scores aren’t up to par with it, but i’d still be happy to get into hunter and get a dorm and maybe a big scholarship )</p>
<p>Pace is decent but by no means prestigious, Fordham is a step up and NYU is another step up. I’d say Macaulay (although rather unknown) is just as/a little more prestigious than NYU with the exception of Stern maybe. Apply to Macaulay at Hunter and even if you don’t get in you might get a decent scholarship. OOS makes it tougher though if you not from the tri-state area (ny, jersey, and conn.). Good lcuk and if you have any more questions let me know.</p>
<p>Damon1570, I see that you are from Indiana. Why don’t you just go to Indiana University? I would kill for that instate tuition to go to an amazing university…</p>
<p>And miktau, I actually now think that OOS would make it easier to gain admission to the school/honors program. I would think that hardly anyone applies to the CUNY schools from out of state, and being a qualified applicant from the South would set you apart from everyone else thus raising your chances of admission. After all, the CUNY schools are known for their diversity, and they probably want to maintain that image.</p>
<p>Yeah, unfortunatley in your case they are know for their racial diversity not their geographic diversity. CUNY’s are like 3% OOS and you may think that would be good in your case its really not. Macaulay from what i can tell sticks not too far from that percentage (although its not like they have many students applying from OOS, like 2/3’s apply from city high schools).However, on the accepted students day panel there was one kid from Indiana who was a junior at Hunter and he seemed really cool. On accepted students day I also met one kid from cali and a couple from jersey that got in but that was it. Dylan regardless your stats are great and even OOS I think you have a good shot. The fact of the matter is I just don’t have the data to really give you an accurate idea so I’m just saying what I’ve observed, I could very well be wrong dude. So cliffnotes version: No Macauly is not just for NY students but from what I can tell it is difficult to get in if your not from NY (NY taxpayers are footing a bit of the bill in addition to the Macaulay endowment so hey they gotta show progress being made with NY Students)</p>
<p>Also one more thing Elaslawek, I saw in the other thread you posted you stats as well as this.</p>
<p>“CUNY Hunter Macaulay Honors (Safety)”</p>
<p>Even with your stats this program is by no means a safety (Hunter’s avg sat this year was upwards of 1450 and the avg gpa was 95). Yeah you have a good shot enough to call it a match but if this is your safety you want to be careful you’ll have options. Macaulay is becoming very competitive.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help miktau. I’m going to visit New York next week with my family, and we’re going to stop by Baruch for a college visit. Hopefully, my parents will like it enough to consider letting me go there (they’re not fond of the idea of sending their 18 year old son to NYC for college).<br>
Regardless if I get into the Macaulay program or not, I’m still strongly considering going there next year if I get any sort of scholarship. The only thing that’s holding me back is the lack of campus. Although I’m not really into the whole frat partying thing, I have a feeling that I’ll have regrets later in life about not partaking in the typical college experience. After all, NYC will still be there when I graduate.</p>
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