Helping a friend choose a school

<p>Hey all. I don't usually post these kinds of things, but I figured once is okay lol.
I have been helping one of my friends with this whole college thing. May 1st is just around the corner, and she is still not sure where she wants to go. She is choosing between CUNY City Tech, CUNY Hunter , St. Francis and SUNY New Paltz. She just found out she got into New Paltz today, which is wrong on so many levels, and apprently they gave her no money, but ym question is the fact that they notified her two days before the decision is due. Anyway, she is African American and wants a school with diversity. She also wants a good writing or journalism program, psych, Spanish, pre-med. She is not really sure what she wants to major in, and flip flops alot. She applied to alot of high reach schools where she could not get in with an 84 GPA, therefore she is left with theses choices, of those that she has not eliminated. If anyone has any information at all on any of these schools that would like to share, she can't find much as they are not really mentioned much, feel free to chime in.</p>

<p>First, if she needs more time, she should contact each school immediately on Monday and explain the situation and ask for an extension on the deadline. Some schools may say no, but others probably will give her a bit more time if she asks. New Paltz in particular should be accomodating.</p>

<p>In terms of overall academics, I'd lean towards New Paltz or Hunter from among her choices. I always think there is something to be said for having the experience of living on a college campus, so all things being equal I'd particularly lean towards New Paltz which is strongest in several of her interests. However, it sounds like all things aren't equal, and money will be a big issue. In that case CUNY Hunter would be a very good choice. If you're not yet sure of your path/interests, and money is an issue, sometimes a year or two at an inexpensive option that is strong academically like Hunter can be a very good choice. She can then transfer to a more expensive school and still get the college campus experience.</p>

<p>When I'm helping kids sort through more than two schools, I advise them not to try to compare all schools at the same time. Instead, do paired comparisons -- i.e., if you had to pick between CUNY Hunter and SUNY New Paltz, which would you pick? Between CUNY HUnter and CUNY City Tech? Between CUNY HUNTER and St. Francis? Between St. Francis and SUNY New Paltz, etc. After you run through all possible variations, see which school gets picked the most and which the least. Knock out the one that gets picked the least, and try the one that gets the most picks on for size.</p>

<p>Good luck to your friend!</p>

<p>Thank you so much Carolyn. I will tell her. BTW I am going to McDaniel in the fall, i will tell you how it goes.</p>

<p>Congratulations DefyingGravity. As you know, I think McDaniel is a great place! Good luck to you and your friend!</p>