<p>Looking for a 4 Year School, Public/Private, Upstate New York.</p>
<p>Homeschooled, Female, Oklahoma
Latino/Hispanic + White
First Generation College Student</p>
<p>3.8 GPA
26 ACT (E28, M24, R26, S25), Retaking in October
*CLEP Credits; Studied For, Haven't Tested</p>
<p>I have no extracurriculars. No jobs, no clubs, no instruments. I have required courses, most studied at college level. So they are honors courses. (3 Math, 3 Science, 3 Social, 4 English) More than likely will take some CLEP exams, if the college I attend will accept them.</p>
<p>Definitely Pre-Med. I'm interested in Philosophy. Not completely sure what I'd like to study, so a college with many options would be nice. My family is moving to upstate New York next summer, so I'm looking for schools in that area. </p>
<p>Above all, great academics and fantastic financial aid. </p>
<p>Thank you. x</p>
<p>Upstate NY is a large area - pretty much everything north of New York City. Are you expecting to live at home? If so, you’ll need to be more specific with the area. If not, why limit yourself to that area? There are plenty of colleges within a state or two that you might do well at. One that comes to mind is York College of PA in York, PA.</p>
<p>Fantastic financial aid could be difficult with no ECs nor AP/DE/SAT II and without higher ACT/SAT scores.</p>
<p>Two to look at in very upstate NY could be Clarkson U and St Lawrence U. Both meet close to 90% of need and have scores where yours are in the mid-range.</p>
<p>There are plenty more as you head further south. Perhaps it would be good to put the location and your scores in a college search engine (like the one on this board) and see if any of those appeal to you.</p>
<p>Prepare to take the ACT again or the SAT. It will give you more flexibility. Students who want to major in a science, not saying you do, might show greater strength in science and math on their standardized tests.</p>
<p>I suggest looking at some test-optional colleges.</p>
<p><<<
My family is moving to upstate New York next summer, so I’m looking for schools in that area.
<<<</p>
<p>You will be OOS for NY publics, at least for the first year…so that may make them unaffordable.</p>
<p>How much will your family pay each year? </p>
<p>^ This. How much can they pay?</p>
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<p>Only to City people…most New Yorkers consider the Albany area Upstate. Once you get to the Essex Co. area, you’re in the North Country. The Hudson Valley/Catskill region is Downstate; further south is the Metro/NYC/Long Island area. West of Albany is Central New York, and when you get to the Cortland County area you’re in Western NY. </p>
<p>OP, if you’re commuting, it would be helpful to know the general area you’ll be in. Google “NYS regions” for a map that will give you the names of specific regions (Finger Lakes, Hudson Valley, Capital Region, etc.). NYS has a large state system called SUNY (some are 2-year community colleges and some are 4-year schools). Many of the 2-year schools have articulation agreements with several of the 4-year SUNYs, so most credits will transfer. SUNY also has guaranteed admission to the 4-year system (although no particular campus is guaranteed) for all grads of 2-year SUNYs. That means that students with a 2-year SUNY degree will be able to transfer to one of the many 4-year schools; it just may not be their first choice (and may involve room & board costs if it’s not within commuting distance). Google “SUNY colleges” to locate a map of them so you can see how many there are. </p>
<p>Check the websites of the schools you’re interested in to find out if/how you can become an in-state student. My (home schooled) son is considering commuting to our local community college, then commuting to the local 4-year SUNY. The entire 4 years of tuition will be $4K/year for the cc, and roughly $8K/year for the 4-year school. If he wanted to live on campus in another area of NYS, the cost of the last 2 years would be about $20K/year because he’s an in-state (IS) student. The cost for an out-of-state (OOS) student would be higher. </p>
<p>Also, check the admission pages to find out what each college requires from home schooled students. For the 4-year SUNYs we had to submit a school profile, all 4 years of our Individualized Home Instruction Plan, all quarterly reports, standardized test scores, letters of rec, and proof of high school equivalency. The 2-year SUNYs don’t require as much. </p>
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<p>I got a good laugh out of this… but I’ll be sure to tell all my relatives up along the St Lawrence River that they no longer live in “upstate NY!” </p>
<p>They, of course, tell people they meet that they live in “Upstate NY - the REAL upstate, next to Canada, not the Albany region some think is upstate!” ;)</p>
<p>(My laugh, of course, came not because you are “incorrect” but due to the perceptions of each being VERY correct.)</p>
<p>And for the rest from my experience… Syracuse area is central NY - and they still call themselves upstate when I’ve met them. We’ve had to differentiate between “their” upstate and “my” upstate. Rochester/Buffalo is western NY.</p>
<p>In the end, it all goes back to “upstate NY” not being a common definition and therefore covering a huge area north of NYC.</p>
<p>I agreed with @Creekland’s initial statement (said as a boy who grew up in Queens) : My DW from the Hudson Valley area still disagrees with me. :)</p>
<p>OP - no update?</p>
<p>And I realized I forgot to put what “real upstaters” call the Albany/Troy area. It’s the “Capital Region/Area.” </p>
<p>That “label fight” has been going on since I lived there - many, many moons ago and appears to be just as strong now! 'Tis best to laugh at it IME - then ask anyone who tells you they are from “Upstate NY” for a more defining town before getting images of where they live. You can eliminate NYC from that info though!</p>