How hard is it to get accepted to HEOP program?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I am thinking about the HEOP program and I want to apply to Cornell, Columbia, and NYU.
My grade point average is around a 91 or 3.65 (weighted is around 93.5)
My family is very poor. I am middle eastern.
I was a member of 6 clubs and two sports.
I did two summer college programs.
I have job experience.
I have over 100 hours of community service.
My SAT is 1700. I am planning to take it again to get 1800 and above.
I have taken 6 AP's.</p>

<p>So my questions is what are my chances for the three colleges above? How many people apply to the HEOP program, and how many get accepted? </p>

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<p>Bummmmmmmppp</p>

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<p>Bumpy. please reply!</p>

4

<p>You’re very good for HEOP but you should apply more widely than these three.
Often, NYU requires HEOP students to commute, would you be okay with that?
For very low income students, living on a residential campus might be more conducive to
studies and involvement.
See with your guidance counselor how successful your school has been with HEOP students
getting into these three schools, but I’d replace NYU with Hamilton or another top school.</p>

5

<p>Many students apply for HEOP/EOP for very few seats. I heard that one of the SUNYs takes all their qualified EOP applicants and chooses randomly. Great to try but nothing to bank on, ever. You should definitely look into more schools. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!</p>

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<p>@oldmom4896 , </p>

<p>i am going to be applying to more schools, like Colgate University and like 4 suny schools. It is just that i really want to go to an ivy school.</p>

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<p>@‌MYOS1634</p>

<p>I don’t care if i commute, i am fine with that. Could you just give me a percentage of what are my chances for each of the three. i am also planning to apply to Colgate University if that helps.</p>

<p>But why do you want me to replace NYU? i heard (and know) that NYU is one of the top schools in NY?</p>

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<p>@MYOS1634</p>

<p>I don’t care if i commute, i am fine with that. Could you just give me a percentage of what are my chances for each of the three. i am also planning to apply to Colgate University if that helps.</p>

<p>But why do you want me to replace NYU? i heard (and know) that NYU is one of the top schools in NY?</p>

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<p>By applying through HEOP your odds may raise to about 10-15% at Cornell and Columbia, perhaps 30% at NYU.
I would replace NYU because you’d have to commute, which means you’d be losing on some important aspects of the experience, and beside HEOP their financial aid is lousy.
If you’re looking for elite schools, are you applying to Hamilton?
Note that “I really want to go to an Ivy school and it’s in NYC” is “an easy way to cut applicants” who give this reason to Columbia, dixit. What specifically about the <em>school</em> (not its status, not its location) attracts you? what makes you a good fit for it?</p>

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<p>@MYOS1634</p>

<p>I don’t know about Hamilton. I might apply to it. And I never said i want to go to a school in NYC. I don’t care what the school is as long as it is in the state of NY. Like i said these are the four Heop schools i am applying to as of now: Columbia, Cornell, NYU, and Colgate.
And you are asking about what the school attracts me, and that is its location and its status. However since you said i cant use those, then i would say its major. I just want to go to a school that has a good BioChem program so that after undergrad, i could do med. Also i want a school that will give me full tuition or almost. When i am out of undergrad, i don’t want to be in debt. At most 10K in dept.</p>

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<p>Well, you spoke about prestige, and Hamilton is one of the state’s most prestigious schools.</p>

<p>I’m asking, because each of these schools will be asking you, and “location+prestige” is sure to get you cut. Those are external reasons. You need to speak about the school itself. Not the town. Not rankings. The school itself. and you need to be specific, ie., an aspect of the curriculum, a professor and her research, etc.</p>

<p>HEOP should give you full tuition regardless of where you attend. In addition, if you qualify through HEOP, you’d also qualify for a lot of financial aid from many private colleges in the region.
As a freshman, you can only borrow 5.5K your first year. The federal limit is 27k but I agree that if you’re from a working class family, you should try and keep your debt to as low as possible. Fortunately, lots of “meet need” schools also offer scholarships and work study, but no loans to students up to a certain income bracket (it goes from 40k to 100k depending on the school!)
This is a website designed to help first-gen students get into college; on this link, they list colleges that are best for financial aid to people with a low EFC.
<a href=“Colleges with Need-Blind Admission for U.S. Students”>Colleges with Need-Blind Admission for U.S. Students;

<p>Med school is the least “prestige-based” selection. They do not care where your GPA comes from or where you attended school. They want a 3.7+ (from Geneseo, Columbia, Cortland, Hamilton, Wells, New Paltz, Marist, St Lawrence, or Siena, doesn’t matter), they want a high MCAT score, they want the core subjects achieved with the highest possible grades and the science core achieved with the highest possible grades. The advantage at the private colleges is that they have a very strong support system for the premed students and all the resources to help students succeed. They make the most difference in the lives of first gen, lower-income, and immigrant students.
In order to have a shot at med school, your stats should place you in the top25% applicants. Because HEOP candidates have determination and grit to a point that most other students can’t touch, you’ll be able to go through the summer prep program and learn when/how to reach out to tutors and advisers, and you’ll be able to use the support system there, but I really don’t advise you attend NYU nor Columbia as a premed as it’d likely mean you couldn’t remain a premed. You have to think about what matters most to you, a shot at med school or a shot at these great schools.</p>

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<p>@MYOS1634</p>

<p>Thank you for all your information, but i want you to be a little more patient with me.</p>

<p>You said that these schools are going to ask me why i want to go to these schools. Like in an interview, right? Then could you help me and explain to me a little more on what i should say.</p>

<p>And you said that i shouldn’t choose NYU nor Columbia. But why? Cornell has a harder pre-med track than NYU. And what about Columbia? Is it really that tough? I know a friend of mine who got accepted to Columbia undergrad and she got a 33 on her MCAT. However, Columbia didn’t accept her to grad school.</p>

<p>And lastly, i think that a shot at med school or a shot at great schools are equally important. Because there are many people who apply every year to med school, and most don’t get in. Yet, most of them are qualified. Most who apply did good on the MCAT and have a great GPA. So that is when prestige comes into matter. If a person attends Wells college and has a 3.8 GPA and a 35 on the MCAT, he will less likely get accepted to a med school then a guy who went to Columbia and has the same stats as the guy who went to Wells. Because think about it for a second, if there is only one more spot left for med school, you would pick the guy who went to Columbia (even though they have the same stats)</p>

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<p>Your GPA and test scores are rather low for all of these schools.</p>

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<p>@Alden97</p>

<p>I have taken the SAT again, and probably going to get over 1850+</p>

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<p>Actually, they won’t ask in an interview. There’ll be an essay where you have to convince them you want to attend for the right reasons and how these reasons match your background and strengths as well as their strengths.
If you want Columbia, it means you really understand the concept of CORE, for instance.</p>

<p>The premed classes are the same at basically all schools in the top 50 or so. However if, like most premeds, you end up NOT staying premed, attending a top school does make a difference as to your opportunities postgrad. It just doesn’t make a difference if you want to attend med school. And, sure, 3.8 and 35 from Columbia would be awesome, but you have a 3.65 and an SAT 1700. That’s excellent for HEOP (that’s basically like 3.75 and 1900 non HEOP) but it means you will be cut from premed at NYU, Columbia, and Cornell because there you won’t compete against HEOP students, you’ll compete against students who had 3.9 and 2100 a fraction of whom will make it (that’s the meaning of “weed out”: the class is designed to fail a fraction of the class and to stop premed dreams right away to help the students find classes they can actually enjoy and succeed in). So you have to choose. Personally, I’d pick NYU, Columbia, or Cornell if I get in, and see what I can be good at - if it’s the premed courses, fine, but I’d be open to every class I take.</p>

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<p>@MYOS1634</p>

<p>You don’t understand. I am capable of more than you think. Not because i gotten a bad grade on the SAT means i am not good and will not be able to succeed. I have taken 6 AP’s and I have taken college level courses that the school offers ( such as research and writing). I basically have the hardest schedule from all the seniors. I used to be kind of stupid freshmen year, but now i am on top of my class. I am in the top 10 of seniors. I could work my butt off. I will try a 110% in all my classes when i am in college.</p>

<p>And like you said, i might even change my mind. I might even go to a pre dental track. And like I have stated above, my SAT is going to come out in a couple of days, and is going to be 1850+.</p>

<p>And thanks for everything you have said. And my last question to you is, when do you think is the perfect time to apply. I know the deadline is in the beginning of January. But should i apply in the middle of December? Or even earlier?</p>

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<p>I KNOW you’re capable of great things. I mean, your record speaks for itself.
The issue is that you’ll need a while to catch up with kids who think 2100 SAT is a low SAT and take APs as a matter of course, not because they’re exceptional - and you WILL catch up, because you’re as smart if not smarter, and you have grit and determination, and you know what you’re in college for.
The problem is that, as a premed, you will be cut at the knees right away. You will not be given the time to show your worth. You’ll take Calculus with kids who have had two semesters of it already and are retaking because they want to get an A and don’t want to suffer weed-out in higher level math. Same thing for Bio. And at these colleges, everyone tries at 110% in their college classes, that’s all they know (especially Columbia - a bit less so NYU which has a bunch of dilettantes along with the hardcore students).
An option you could take is to push everything science back by one semester, and only start on the general core premed classes (English, Psychology or Sociology, Calculus only if you’ve had calc before but otherwise some other type of preparatory math where you’re sure you can get an A) but not on the Science core until you’re used to the pace and demands of college. This way you don’t hurt your GPA right away - many freshmen find the hard way that they shouldn’t launch into 4 hard classes their first semester. And if those freshmen wanted to be premed? Well, in one semester they killed that dream.
BTW, When I’m referring to “getting used to the pace and demands of college”, I’m not implying it’s something unique to you, but it’s the case for basically all freshmen. Also, premed is just a core of courses (there’s a general core and a science core) that you can add to any major. Pick economics, philosophy, Portuguese, whatever major you want :).
Is your application to HEOP ready? If so, as soon as you have your SAT score, send it. Make sure a counselor or a reader checks it - better safe than sorry.
I do strongly recommend you include schools such as Hamilton, and/or Hobart&WilliamSmith, and/or Marist.
Where are other Top 10 seniors from your school applying? Going with friends or people you know and who know you can help.
Two GREAT (nonfiction) books to read in the meanwhile:
<em>Hold Fast to Dreams</em>, by Zasloff, Steckel, which is precisely about HEOP students from NYC. You follow their lives from junior or senior year, until college, and then what happens in college.
and
_ A Hope in the Unseen_ by Ron Suskind. This is one of my favorite books ever. We follow Cedric, a young gifted man from the inner city, from junior year in high school to junior year in college.</p>

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<p>@MYOS1634</p>

<p>I have everything planned out. I have already taken Calculus last year, but I will take it again in freshmen year. Same thing with Chemistry, i am taking AP chemistry this year, and i will take it again in college. I have an older brother who is in college, so i basically know what to expect. And that is what many people don’t know in college. They usually take harder courses their first year and they ruin their GPA. </p>

<p>I am not done with the application. I was thinking to have everything done during Thanksgiving break. I probably will send it in the beginning of December. I will keep you informed when i send everything and if i need anything.</p>

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@APmaster007 hey im curious about what happened with ur application process. Where r u going

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@MYOS1634. Hey which college did u go to. What was ur sat