I do not want people to encourage me on my supposed choices, but only offer me insights. And I am providing more and more information, only so that I could have my concepts about everything under consideration, crystal clear.
And I am not a superficial or pretentious student in any way, and am not hankering for a degree from the U.S; just I have to consider each and every factor minutely and considerately. And I am all for positive criticism.
Wow. Nice way to talk to adults trying to help you.
The reason people are having difficulty giving you advice is because your writing style is so over the top that your meaning is getting completely lost. I frankly don’t know what you are looking for. You have been accepted at some very prestigious schools with no aid, which means your family must be wealthy. You have also been accepted at Hofstra which is virtually unknown outside the NYC area. You somehow think that you will be able to stay in the US after you graduate which is not true. I’m not sure what you want people to say to you.
Sorry you took my comments to be sarcastic- I actually am being completely candid with you.
Hofstra is not the “one notch below Princeton” that you seem to want us to tell you it is. I live in an area where Hofstra is a very popular choice for students who weren’t that interested in academics in HS but whose parents think they will get lost at one of the much larger state U’s. I know a lot of young people with degrees from Hofstra and they mostly enjoyed their time there. It is not a college with an intellectual vibe; you will not meet a lot of students (but you will meet some) who chose Hofstra over a more highly ranked University.
It is what it is.
You have come on a public message board to ask for advice but you don’t seem to want to take the advice. If your family cannot afford any choice but Hofstra, then the decision is made for you. You are being opaque about your finances; you are being baroque in the extreme about your academic interests, so how in the heck can a bunch of strangers give you sound advice?
Caveat 1- few employers are going to risk breaking the law by hiring someone without a valid work visa.
Caveat 2- there was a time in the US when overstaying a student visa got a “wink and a nod” from the INS. Now you are dealing with Homeland Security (thank you Bin Laden) and the situation has changed.
Caveat 3- If you truly do not intend to return to your homeland after getting a degree in the US you need a plan B (relatives in Canada?) You MAY find an employer here willing to go through the LPT/OPT rigamarole… or you may not. And nobody can predict what immigration policy will look like in four years when you are graduating, and then two years later when you have a Master’s degree. We have a presidential election here next Fall; the Senate and House as well.
So if your interest in getting a US degree is that you hope to emigrate to the US, it’s a risky plan based on what you’ve told us.
If you do plan to come to the US to study, you would greatly benefit from a class on English syntax and rhetoric before you get here. The clarity of your writing in no way measures up to your vocabulary… or I suspect, your command of spoken English. You are too smart to write as if you are using Google translate.
Sorry to offend you- but you’ve asked for advice and I’m giving it.
I live on Long Island. While it is a serviceable university for some degrees, Hofstra lacks prestige even in the NYC area. Graduate programs are stronger and are attended by students with stronger academic backgrounds. Personally I think the CUNY’s are better academically in the NYC area and have a higher student profile at a lower cost of attendance.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
I am sure that all of the very experienced and knowledgeable posters can dispense advise without the snark and the sideeye. Please plans your responses accordingly. Multiple posts have been edited or deleted. Thank you.
OP got some aid to Ivies/Duke, on the order of 20%. So cost differential per year vs. Hofstra is about 20K or a bit more.
OP, while it’s never pleasant to be on the receiving end of a bit of sarcasm, your response in #40 was disproportionately rude, disrespectful, and offensive. Not cool.
English is the OP’s 2nd language, so I think we can cut him a little slack. His English is for sure much better than my Hindi.
For the OP, if you’re planning on majoring in a STEM field like astrophysics you must have some inkling of what it’s like to read/write a technical science paper. With those types of papers you organize your presentation logically and you stick to basic facts without a lot of extra description. You write as briefly as possible in order to make your point.
I think if you adopt that model for your posts (and college papers) your writing will be much easier for people to understand and will be better received.
The English classes you’ve taken have apparently taught you both incorrect use and definition of many adjectives, so it might be best to try to stick with the facts as much as possible and minimize your use of adjectives. This is why you’ve seen some posts questioning your application essays and potential for success at writing papers at a college level. I don’t think you’d necessarily flunk your humanities classes at an elite university, but the writing requriments would be challenging.
I do not understand the responses to post #40. I saw nothing wrong with it at all. In fact, I am surprised by the tone on this thread in general. And I don’t think the writing style of the original poster is unusual for an international student.
To the OP: I think that Hofstra is not a good idea. You threw it in at the last minute simply because they have rolling admissions that are still open. Countless schools would be a better fit. (Check out the book and website “Colleges that Change Lives.” Look at Clark U. for instance.)
I think you should either go to Princeton (or possibly Yale, but I think Princeton would be better for your interests) or take a gap year and reapply to more schools that might give you merit aid.
The cost difference between those top schools and Hofstra does not justify choosing Hofstra in my opinon.
Clearly your family has the funds.
Does the family have the funds? They might HAVE the funds…but if that is the case, why the last minute application to Hofstra at all? Maybe the family doesn’t want to spend those funds!
I think your chance of getting in to a US graduate program will be higher if you attend one of the top U’s in India rather than Hofstra. I’m assuming that you must be one of the top students in India and quite advanced in STEM to have gotten into those top colleges. Have you looked at the curriculum offered by Hofstra? Do they even have enough high level courses for you? How many astronomers do they have? (I think one or two?). It’s true that there are many fine Universities in the US and you don’t have to attend Princeton or Yale to get a great education but schools like Hofstra are not known for turning out high powered research scientists.
This is a tough one, because I suspect OP would apply to more/different schools after learning all he has learned:(
Do what you think is right and don’t look back. (personally, I would see If I could make one of your top schools work, or take a gap year. I think some of the issues with Hofstra is that you might be better off at SUNY Stoneybrook for under $30k. There are a number od better schools you could pay less at. Alabama might even be free…)
@compmom, the OP made a rude post to Blossom that the mod edited out.
Oh okay- it did seem as if I was missing something.
A couple of thoughts from a daughter of a pair of PhD research scientists.
If you want to do scientific research, especially within academia, the name of your school matters. It used to drive me crazy when I was young that my parents could never talk about anyone without mentioning where they went to school. It’s just part of the culture; credentials really matter. That’s not to say that you can’t go to a “no name” undergraduate school and then aim for a more prestigious name for graduate schools but, if the big names are within reach, there’s definitely added value in your situation.
Research positions aren’t dime a dozen. I think it’s pretty common to use the connections you make during graduate school to participate in research projects as a research assistant and then transition into a post-doc position. You’ll be choosing your graduate school with this in mind, but keep in mind that so will everyone else who have the same career aspirations. By then, no one’s going to care what you got on your ACT/SAT or which colleges you got into.
My advice would be to take a gap year and apply more widely for fall 2017 rather than pay 50% for Hofstra. It is a perfectly fine school, but nowhere near the caliber of the Ivys you got admitted to. If you are that good of a student, there are better US schools that may give you merit money. However, from what I understand, international financial aid is not the same as US financial aid.
What about the British school? Is that a good school?
Did the OP state his/her 1st language is Hindu? More likely than not, the OP was educated in English.
My Indian friend’s first language is Bengali, second English, and third Hindi. OP could have any combination of those or other languages, in any order. I’m sure that’s not the same for everyone and it’s a moot point anyway. Giving advice is possible without debating how acceptable OP’s writing style is (based on degree of foreign-ness!) or making sly comments about intelligence and grades.
It’s relevant because it’s going to have a significant impact on the OP’s grades at Princeton or Yale. I think it would be less of an issue at a more focused school like Kings College. Would you suggest that a kid who struggles with math attend MIT?
I would suggest that no matter which school the OP chooses, it might be helpful to work on writing skills somehow over the summer.
As OP is seeking an advice based on the personal experiences, I have to mention that my D’s experience was NOT similar. My D. did not apply to any Elite college despite the push of her GC. He was persistent since she was graduating at the top of her private HS. She did not care as she did not care much later at college for her pre-med advisor push either. She decided to apply only to colleges that she knew would offer her large Merit scholarship and she ended up attending on full tuition Merit. Her wise decision paid off for her, since after not paying for her UG, we picked up the tab for her medical school and she graduated loan free.
I would like to mention though that we just share our experiences, so OP should not take our personal experiences as a direct advice. OP needs to decide alone and not let anybody push this very personal decision in one way or another.
The degree wouldn’t be a waste. If you end up being full pay than perhaps one could argue that there would be money wasted, as a nursing degree from an Ivy league school probably wouldn’t make you more employable than a nursing degree from anywhere else. It would certainly provide you a different environment than say a state school.