First Generation (parents did not achieve any degrees)
Intended Major(s) : Undeclared but interested in Physics, Computer Science and Psychology
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: 3.9
Unweighted Class Rank: 4 out of 12 (class size)
ACT/SAT Scores: 28 Act and 1230 SAT (I will likely submit by ACT superscore or go test-optional)
Coursework
School does not offer IB or Honors Classes
School did not offer AP Classes before this year
1 AP Class and Dual Enrollment Classes
AP African American Studies
College Seminar (Community College)
Standard Freshman Composition (Community College)
Introduction to Psychology (Community College)
Introduction to Sociology (Community College)
Introduction to Literature (Community College)
Macroeconomics (Community College)
Statistics 1 (Community College)
Awards
Honor Roll
National Honor Society Membership
Outstanding NYSSMA Award (Level 5)
Extracurriculars
Violinist for 8 years
Inaugural Youth Band Member for at least 1.5 years
Unpaid Internship at Brookhaven National Laboratory through High School Research Program, worked in physics department under mentorship of Ketevi Assamagan
Tutor at my school for junior year, prepared student for Regents exams including Algebra 2, Geometry and Chemistry
Esports Team Member for Overwatch 2 and Super Smash Bros Ultimate, participating in Generation Esports Tournaments
Summer Church Camp Volunteer where I supervised over children and worked in audio management
Center Assistant for Kumon (Both work and volunteering)
Schoolhouse SAT Prep Tutor (R/W section)
Teacher Assistant
Beach Clean Up
Cross Country Runner
Have rehearsed pieces and performed with world-renowned artists in ensembles/orchestras such as Itzhak Perlman and Bakithi Kumalo in special music programs
Have you looked at Cognitive Science? The major is different at each school, but often combines, psychology, linguistics, biology and computer science.
How much can you and your parents afford? For most students, affordability is the main limitation on college choice, and knowing that aspect is necessary to inform the application list (i.e. how much scholarships and financial aid must be targeted). SUNYs may be among the more affordable choices for many NY resident students.
Your 28 ACT (~1300-1320 SAT) is higher than your 1230 SAT (~26 ACT) according to the usual concordance tables.
Note that computer science may be a capacity-limited major at many colleges, so check whether it would be difficult to get into the computer science major at each college if you enter as an undeclared student.
Wow, I’d thought about checking that before posting too . . . In any case, I recommended Geneseo based on the popularity and strength of its psychology and physics programs.
Two schools that come to mind for you are St. Olaf College in Minnesota, and Lawrence University in Wisconsin. They both have phenomenal choir and orchestra opportunities for non-majors, as well as great academic flexibility for undecided majors, and strength in all of your areas of interest. (Lawrence is particularly known for physics, and St. Olaf for math/CS, but both are solid across the board and certainly have good psych departments as well.) Both have generous financial aid, with St. Olaf meeting demonstrated need and Lawrence meeting 90-95% of need, often filling any gap with merit aid.
If your family finances are such that the financial aid you qualify for will be enough to make a school affordable, colleges like this may work well. Run the Net Price Calculators and see (every school has one of these): https://wp.stolaf.edu/financialaid/net-price-calculator/
Of course, there are likely to be many good options for you, including SUNY and/or CUNY schools. But it’s good to know whether financial aid at private colleges like these will make them affordable.