Help choosing a college?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>'ello all. I apologise in advance for this rather lengthy post. :(...</p>

<p>Well, I know I'd really love to go to school in New York (preferably near New York City, but if not nearby, then at least within a reasonable journey...no more than 3 hours). As a CA resident though, I'm open to schools in my own state.</p>

<p>At any rate:
Gradewise, I've only got a 3.1 Weighted. Kind of an issue, I know. And my grades don't really...trend. They remained pretty much constant all the way through: mostly Bs, with the occasional A and the occasional C.
---And my school doesn't rank. We're supposedly a rather good public school (I hear we're in the top 10% in the state, but I've not been able to verify this).</p>

<p>I took APUSH, APcomp, APLit, 3 years of honours English, and a year of honours spanish (and 2 years of regular). I've only taken the APUSH exam so far, and got a 4. I take the Lit and Comp ones in May, but that's likely going to be too late to affect anything one way or the other, right...? :l.</p>

<p>SAT: 1940/2400. (740CR/520M/680Wr)
ACT: 29/36. (34CR/34Wr/25M/24Sci)
I just took the ACT again, and I'm taking the SAT next week, so the scores might improve, especially since I didn't...um...study the first time through/had just been hospitalised in the couple weeks preceding the tests. </p>

<p>EC's:
119 hours volunteering at a hospital (over 3 years); 72 hours at a church (over 4 years); founder of community spirit club, Junior Statesmen of America for 4 years, Spanish club 4 years, and then 6 other clubs for 2-3 years each
(of those I'm unsure of as to their eligibility as ECs: I play guitar at least 3 hours a day, do the occasional show in cafes and the like, repair musical equipment for a bit of money, and ran in the 5k Run For Education three times). </p>

<p>I reckon I've got a pretty good essay.</p>

<p>I'm Hispanic, from a fairly low income family (30,000 after taxes, if that...matters). I'm also the first American in the family. Anyway, we're willing to take out a loan, but would rather the school didn't cost an arm and a leg to begin with. I think we can put up around 10k or so without a loan, but I can't be completely certain. [we also don't own a house and only own one car; I've not been able to get ahold of my parents' tax forms though, so I haven't calculated the EFC yet).</p>

<p>I don't really care about the size of the school, because I can see advantages and disadvantages to both large and small ones. D:</p>

<p>(on another note, has anybody heard anything about The King's College? It's in the Empire State Building, apparently, and they sent a letter offering a fairly nice scholarship, should I be accepted).</p>

<p>So..um..any suggestions? :).
Thank you very much if you've read all this, btw.</p>

2

<p>What is your major, and just why exactly do you want to study in New York? </p>

<p>Your financial and admissions safeties are in California. Your family income is very low, so institutions that offer significant need-based aid will be better choices for you. You need to sit down with your parents and run some of the financial aid calculators to get an idea of how much they may be expected to pay. The formulas change every year. Here is a link to some information about the FAFSA formula for next year: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1016853-link-10-13-2010-efc-formula-guide-2011-2012-a.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1016853-link-10-13-2010-efc-formula-guide-2011-2012-a.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>You can get more good ideas by reading through some of the other threads in the Financial Aid Forum. Click on the link at the left-hand side of this screen to find it.</p>

<p>Wishing you all the best.</p>

3

<p>I’d really like to go into journalism, but failing that, marketing would be nice.</p>

<p>Well…New York is my favourite US city; I’ve wanted to move there since I was 10…it’s a big, giant, busy, crowded, diverse city. </p>

<p>And, on the more practical side, if I were to be a journalist (or…go into any field involving writing/publishing/communications of any sort—including marketing, I would imagine) NY is kind of the place to be. It’s a publishing mecca and a major place for the media and business. And they have amazing pizza and most of the original/surviving punk artists are in NY now, but that’s besides the point. </p>

<p>In CA, I think I’m going to apply to San Fran State and Cal State Long Beach. 'less there are any other schools I really, really should look into?</p>

<p>I’ll go over the financial stuff when my parents have the time. Thank you for the advice and help. :).</p>

4

<p>Your CR score is good! If your math comes up you might have a chance for NYU. Otherwise maybe Fordham. But limiting yourself to New York City may not be the best way to get financial assistance and the best academics you can get with your scores. A few Pennsylvania liberal arts colleges are an hour or so from the city and being a URM might help. Lafayette, for example. I think you can do way better than Kings College. The only reason I heard of it is because a friend’s son got an e-mail from them and I looked it up.</p>

5

<p>O.o.
I’ll give NYU a shot, then. It was originally my first choice, but…you know, I didn’t figure that I had a shot there at all. No harm in trying, right? If I DO bring my math score up, what would be a good number to aim for?</p>

<p>Pennsylvania seems interesting, so…on that note, does anyone have suggestions for Pennsylvania? The College Board seems to list a very healthy amount of schools, and I know…almost nothing about Pennsylvania. :l.</p>

6

<p>Hopefully your parents can afford NYU full pay. They offer very little FA or merit aid unless you have very high stats.</p>

7

<p>^^^
*
I’m Hispanic, from a fairly low income family (30,000 after taxes, if that…matters). I’m also the first American in the family. Anyway, we’re willing to take out a loan,*</p>

<p>Do NOT apply to NYU…it costs over $55k per year and they will give you lousy aid. </p>

<p>Your family will not be able to afford NYU and they won’t be able to afford loans for your college expenses (and they shouldn’t even be considering loans with that income! If you CARE about your family, do NOT ask them to try for any loans. They might qualify the first year, but they won’t after that…and then you’ll have to leave your school.)</p>

<p>it’s ok if YOU take out federal student loans, but those are for small amounts…not enough for privates like NYU.</p>

<p>$5500 freshman year
6500 soph year
7500 jr year
7500 sr year</p>

<p>Those are YOUR limits for federal student loans. Please do NOT burden your low income family with loans that they will NOT be able to afford to pay back. And, you won’t be earning enough as a new grad to help them pay those loans back.</p>

<p>*I’ve only got a 3.1 Weighted. Kind of an issue, I know. And my grades don’t really…trend. They remained pretty much constant all the way through: mostly Bs, with the occasional A and the occasional C.
—And my school doesn’t rank. We’re supposedly a rather good public school (I hear we’re in the top 10% in the state, but I’ve not been able to verify this).</p>

<p>I took APUSH, APcomp, APLit, 3 years of honours English, and a year of honours spanish (and 2 years of regular). I’ve only taken the APUSH exam so far, and got a 4. I take the Lit and Comp ones in May, but that’s likely going to be too late to affect anything one way or the other, right…? :l.</p>

<p>SAT: 1940/2400. (740CR/520M/680Wr)
ACT: 29/36. (34CR/34Wr/25M/24Sci)
I just took the ACT again, and I’m taking the SAT next week, so the scores might improve, especially since I didn’t…um…study the first time through/had just been hospitalised in the couple weeks preceding the tests. *</p>

<p>Your GPA is going to hurt your chances for merit scholarships even if you’re able to raise your SAT score.</p>

<p>Your GPA is likely ok for SFSU</p>

<p>* * 6% had h.s. GPA of 3.75 and higher
* 12% had h.s. GPA between 3.5 and 3.74
* 18% had h.s. GPA between 3.25 and 3.49
* 26% had h.s. GPA between 3.0 and 3.24
* 34% had h.s. GPA between 2.5 and 2.99
* 4% had h.s. GPA between 2.0 and 2.49
*</p>

<p>Your GPA is likely going to keep you out of CSULB. </p>

<p>*# 23% had h.s. GPA of 3.75 and higher</p>

<h1>23% had h.s. GPA between 3.5 and 3.74</h1>

<h1>22% had h.s. GPA between 3.25 and 3.49*</h1>

<p>68% have a GPA of 3.24 or higher. 46% have a GPA over 3.5</p>

<p>Gradewise, I’ve only got a 3.1 Weighted.</p>

<p>What is your Cal State GPA? Is it lower than that???</p>

<p>I’m concerned about your financial safety schools. You need to apply to some schools that YOU"LL know that you’ll have cost covered. With Pell, Cal grants, and a small student loan, a Cal State should be affordable. </p>

<p>What other CSUs do you like?</p>

<p>Is there a CSU that you could commute to? If so, you should apply to that one as well.</p>

8

<p>It could be worth looking at some liberal arts colleges that might be interested in diversity. Maybe Connecticut schools like Trinity and Conn College. Pennsylvania schools in addition to lafayette and franklin and marshall----Ursinus supposedly gives quite a bit of aid. Susquehana, Muhlenberg.</p>

9

<p>Mom2collegekids: Yeah, that was my other concern with NYU. I reckon it’s still out, then.</p>

<p>I’ve been looking into the SUNYs, though. Financially, it doesn’t seem to be as horrible a burden, especially as compared to private colleges. The one I haven’t been able to find much about is Old Westbury, so does anyone know anything about it? Grade-wise, it seems I have a shot.</p>

<p>Also…does anyone know if the GPA limit for the Calgrants is weighted/unweighted? Because that would let me know which one I qualify for (A or B or C…)</p>

<p>My CalState GPA is 3.065…so, a bit lower, unfortunately.</p>

<p>hm…
I was thinking of either CSULA or CSU East Bay. Almost none of the CSUs are particularly easy to commute to (the nearest are all around 1.75-2 hours away by public transport, and my car is more than a little unreliable), but CSULA seems alright to get to. I’ve got a friend who lives in the area, and I could stay with him a few days a week to make it easier to get to.</p>

<p>Thanks, Hitch. :). I like the look of Muhlenberg, and it doesn’t seem as though my grades will automatically and unquestionably preclude me from getting in. Susquehanna, too. Ursinus wrote to me, I think, but I’ve got a really low GPA as compared to what they’ve accepted.</p>

10

<p>Your test scores are fine for your Cal States. :)</p>

<p>Your CSU-GPA should be ok for those CSUs</p>

<p>What about CSU-Monterrey Bay?</p>

<p>Are you asking about the competitive Cal Grant awards? I think you have to have at least a 3.0.</p>

11

<p>Great. :).
I hadn’t considered Monterrey, tbh. I’ll look into it tonight.</p>

<p>Well…what’s the difference between the competitive and the entitlement awards? The competitive says something about using that one if you don’t meet the prerequisites of the entitlement award, but they…seem to have the same GPA requirement. So is it an income thing, or is there some other factor there?
(also, is the 3.0 based on the Cal State GPA, the UW High School one, the W High School, or…?)</p>

<p>At any rate, my college list so far:
CSU LA
SFSU
CSU East Bay
Muhlenberg
Cazenovia College
Fordham
Rutgers
Hofstra U
SUNY Old Westbury
SUNY Purchase
SUNY New Paltz</p>

<p>The King’s College (eh, I applied anyway. No application fee, and if I don’t get into anywhere, they offered enough of a scholarship that attending won’t be unreasonable. Not my first choice, but…)</p>

<p>any I should add/delete?</p>

12

<p>Maybe look into the CUNYs if you want to be in NYC, the CUNYs shouldn’t be too expensive, either. None of the major SUNYs are truly located in the city. Also perhaps St. John’s University in Queens.</p>

13

<p>I really wanted to go to one of the CUNYs, but since they’re all commuter campuses, I worry about finding an apartment. Agh, but the CUNYs ARE much cheaper. :l. I don’t think the cost of an apartment would necessarily kill me, since the tuition would be so much cheaper. Not to mention I could actually be IN NYC.</p>

<p>But it all depends on if I can find an apartment, and I don’t know how the housing market’ll be come next fall. And finding an affordable place isn’t necessarily going to be easy at any point; it’s NY. There’s some places that are cheaper than here in Los Angeles though, so…there’s always hope?
Anyone happen to know of an affordable neighborhood?
I heard Sunnyside in Queens is alright…and also that Harlem’s been improving rather a lot? I used to live in East LA, so I guess my perception of “safe neighborhood” can run a bit broader…</p>

<p>(I know this isn’t really the right place to ask, but…if anyone can help, I’d bake a cake in your honour).</p>

<p>Also…St. John’s looks cool. They wrote to me recently and offered a free application! I think I’ll apply. Thank you for the reminder/advice. :).</p>

14

<p>Well, not ALL commuter, but what’s the likelihood of an out of state student being able to get a dorm? (I…actually don’t know? Higher or lower chances?)</p>

15

<p>[Muhlenberg</a> College| The real deal on financial aid](<a href=“http://muhlenberg.edu/main/admissions/realdeal.html]Muhlenberg”>http://muhlenberg.edu/main/admissions/realdeal.html) </p>

<p>Muhlenberg is very “Up Front” about its Financial Aid policy and engaging in “Preferential Packaging”, meaning the applicants with the highest stats will get more $ in grants. If you are at the bottom of their applicant pool, then you may get a FA package loaded with loans & very little grant money. </p>

<p>Cazenovia = FA statistics are not very impressive, small endowment & a small school, beautiful location, gorgeous campus.</p>

16

<p>I think you might be making a mistake with the CUNY’s. They do not have a high satisfaction rating with students…mostly commuters, not easy to make friends, high cost of living and low level of academics. You’d be much better off at some of the other schools on your list.</p>

17

<p>I have to say, I like Muhlenberg’s straightforwardness. Though, you’re right, it really really does depend on where I am in terms of their applicant pool, and…well, I can apply and hope for the best, I suppose. </p>

<p>Cazenovia…well, I applied, and the campus DOES look gorgeous. Unfortunately, if they don’t offer much FA, they’re a little too expensive. We’ll see, I guess.</p>

<p>LilyMoon: :(. You think so? I’ll keep them off my list then, thanks.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone, for all your help.
Should mom2collegekids see this, let it be known that I’m applying to Monterrey as well/maybe instead of East Bay.</p>