Got Rejected from SUNY Stony Brook, and SUNY Cortland with 1300 SAT Score, 28 ACT, and 3.4 WGPA. Anyone ran into similar situation as I did?

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I had situation happened 4 years ago, where I had received a rejections from two SUNY’s like of SUNY Stony Brook, and SUNY Cortland, for 4 year program, despite having 1300 SAT Score, 28 ACT, and 3.4 weighted GPA. I received acceptance to current college (University at Buffalo) which I just graduated from with Civil Engineering BS with 3.2 GPA (bit lower GPA compare to my high school, but still above average college GPA).

Following colleges I have been accepted besides current college (SUNY Buffalo):

Pre-engineering Schools Physics 3+2 program: (Canisius College, Niagara University, SUNY Fredonia, SUNY Canton, SUNY Old Westbury, SUNY Buff State, SUNY Oswego, SUNY Brockport, PAHSEE Edinboro, PAHSEE Bloomsburg, and PAHSEE Weschester)

BArch Program: SUNY Alfred State

Mechanical Engineering Program: Alfred University

Civil Engineering BS Program: RIT, RPI, Syracuse, UPitt, and Penn State.

Colleges where my admission were denied (or not considered):

SUNY Stony Brook for Civil Engineering (Note: I got accepted to university, but got straight up denied from Engineering program. This is understandable that Engineering programs can be competitive)

University of Vermont at Burlington (same situation as SUNY Stony Brook)

SUNY New Paltz for Mechanical Engineering
SUNY Cortland for Business Admins, Physics Pre-engineering 3+2 pathway
SUNY Cobleskill for Pre-engineering

  • I was shocked I got denied from SUNY New Paltz, SUNY Cortland, and SUNY Cobleskill. My SAT were way above average for to get into those three colleges, but still got denied.

  • I was eligible for admission to two colleges SBU, and UVermont given that my SAT cutoff was around average. But, I was not able to get admission to any Engineering, Applied Math and Sciences program either one of those colleges. I tried to reapply to both SBU and UVermont as a transfer applicant, my application still were not considered.

  • I may consider trying to reapply to both SBU, and UVermont to see if I get into Masters Program for both. I am confident I may get into UVermont but get denied to SBU, since SBU Engineering Program have been getting competitive.

  • Even though UPitt, Syracuse, and Penn State still considering me for an admission for Masters Program, I have not received full ride for them, but received scholarships (that only covers half of academic tuition). So there would not be point of attending either three of this colleges. If I have to choose any colleges I may attend either UB, or UVermont (if accepted) since I would be likely eligible for scholarship with either of those colleges. Both UB and UVermont, are pretty affordable, and they are very generous with scholarships/financial aid.

*** If anyone had similar situation as mine, please feel free to share, since I am not sure whether or not it is normal to get accepted to reach schools, but get denied to safety schools?

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You didn’t emphasize that you got into RPI for your desired program. This represents a remarkable acceptance to have had.

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So you have just graduated with a degree from U Buffalo. Why are you asking about something that happened four years ago? Or are you now applying for masters programs and have been denied? I’m very confused. Colleges don’t care about your SAT score once you are applying as a college graduate.

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You will never know why you got into some colleges and not others. Certainly nobody here knows enough details of your college application (ex. what course rigor you took in HS, how were your LORs, was your essay strong, did you have good ECs etc.) to opine. The only comment I might make is that some of the colleges you did not get into are small and may have very limited spots in the major your applied for.

BUT it sounds like you got where you wanted to go (engineering degree from a fine college) so I strongly recommend that you stop looking in your rear-view mirror and start looking forward towards a great future.

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I’m not sure why you even care about what happened four years ago. You need to start looking forward, not backward. Apply for your masters wherever you want to. Are your undergrad grades etc excellent?

I will ask…why do you need a masters. Get a job.

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Your SAT was way, way back in the past. No one at your job or at a dinner party is going to ask you about your HS SAT.

Congratulations!
You got your degree. Now, build a bridge and get over it.

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Thank you for your advice. I will definitely focus on getting high-paid civil engineering job rather than getting into good school. I am currently working towards FE and PE, while working on entry-level engineering jobs.

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And in my opinion, that’s what you should be doing. Get some work experience and THEN decide if a masters in something is needed. Many engineers DH worked with got degrees in business. Not very many got advanced degrees in engineering. For engineering, they got real world work experience and good mentoring at a job.

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Looks like to you are on the right track career wise.

Why dwell on what happened in high school?

If you do want to think about it, consider your unweighted HS GPA. Weighted HS GPA can be deceivingly high and cause students to overreach their college application lists. But you should consider it a curiosity now (or a warning to any current high school students you know), not anything relevant for a civil engineering career.