Got it, thanks!
Thank you, and congratulations to your daughter!
Its clear by this thread I was under the wrong impression about SUNYs- mainly that they had less resources and therefore wouldn’t prepare me as well. But again, this is clearly not the case
Once again thank you, and ill make an update in a week or two with my new report card grades, new psat, guidance advice, and researching the schools recommended here
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Thank you! Again i was clearly very wrong lol, and ill make an update in a week or two after researching the schools given here, my new report card, psat grade, and guidance counselor advice
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You are a junior in HS. Right now I would focus on doing well academically (watch your stress levels), going out with friends, participating in ECs etc. When the time comes, apply to a mix of schools and choose one that is affordable and seems to be a fit for you.
You do not need to focus on careers right now (you may shadow and love it, or you may realize that it isn’t for you), but if medical/graduate school is a possibility then it should be considered when discussing costs. $300-$400,000 for undergrad plus an additional $400,000 for medical school is a tremendous undertaking for most people.
Attending a SUNY school or a school where you might receive merit money can help reduce costs.
Fordham should be in also included in the list, especially if this student is a semifinalists by the National Merit Recognition Program.
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You can probably relate the “SUNY” debate (or public universities in general) to your own High School experience. You are taking honors classes and AP classes, and doing well. Let’s say you’re somewhere in the top 10 to 20% of your class.
That means 80-90% of students are not doing as well academically, some might be doing poorly. Yet YOUR results are not being “devalued” by what the majority of your class does!?
Clearly, within a SINGLE (and relatively small) school, a wide range of academic abilities will coexist, and the fact that the average student at your high school is quite below your own academic level is not preventing you from excelling - and from graduating with great “credentials”.
That will be even much, much more the true at public universities, often 10-fold the size of your high school. There will be much, much more stratification: You can choose to pursue difficult majors, pick highly advanced classes, make deep connections with professors and use their connections to end up with very relevant internship experiences, and eventually graduate with respected degrees that will be no different than those from other schools.
No professionals will care what the “average” student at whatever college looks like - that’s only in the mind of your fellow teenagers who among their peers are eager to appear knowledgeable about things they genuinely don’t yet know anything about.
(Kinda like getting reproductive advice from middle-schooler friends.)
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I think that this is a very good way to think of it. OP has done very well in high school. If they go to a university with a high acceptance rate (say 90%) the bottom half of the student’s high school class might mostly be missing (they might not attend university), but OP can excel among the students who are there. If they go to a moderately selective university (say 60% acceptance rate) the bottom half of the high school class might not have applied, and 40% of the rest will have not gotten accepted, implying that mostly the bottom 70% of the high school class will not be there. OP can still excel among the top 30% that are left (and find good opportunities such as internships or research). Strong students will be much more common compared to high school. If they go to a very, very selective university (10% or less acceptance rate), then the bottom 90+% of the high school class will mostly be missing, and OP might be average among the strong students who are left (although details will vary).
Either way the student can excel (or not) where they are. Either way medical schools or graduate programs or employers will see how the student did in very academically demanding classes. Premed classes are going to be tough anywhere. A biology major, even if they are not premed, will be taking classes full of premed students.
One daughter had a friend who was close to being the top student in the middle school (they attended different high schools but stayed in touch). The friend’s parents were divorced, the mother was unemployed, and the father’s small business was struggling. This friend attended community college because that was what she could afford. Then she transferred to a local public university (80% acceptance rate) with a full merit scholarship because that was what she could afford. She graduated with nearly straight A’s, great references, and a very marketable degree (and a big grin on her face when I happened to run into her in a nearby store one month before graduation). She did super well, even having attended a “not all that selective” university. She excelled where she was.
A strong student can excel almost anywhere (although finding a good fit can help).
And the best of the SUNY’s are way more selective than the local school where my daughter’s friend attended, and are very close to equally selective to the two very good universities where both our daughters attended, and did well, and found great opportunities, and found the resources that they were looking for (such as labs and equipment).
There are two unrelated issues that OP mentioned in the original post that might be worth commenting on.
You mentioned that you do not want to be too far from home (10 hour drive – which is actually not all that close). To me this makes sense. We live in the northeast of the US (east of you). Both daughters had situations when they were coming home for Christmas during snow storms. Flights can be cancelled. Driving can be hazardous. Regardless of where you are, if you are going home to NY then snow is possible. Being not too far away makes sense.
Also, you mentioned not liking UCL. I happened to once have a business meeting with a colleague who was at UCL, and got to visit him where he lived in London. This is definitely an environment that fits some people and does not fit some others. There was a lot within walking distance of his “flat”. However, London is HUGE, and can be hard to navigate. I can definitely see wanting to go somewhere else that is not quite so much stuck in the middle of a huge city. Finding a good fit for each student is important. There are plenty of great universities in the middle of big cities, but plenty more that are not.
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Thank you, I dont want a nyc School tho
Thank you, lol.
Were/are you nervous about fewer resources for public universities in general, or just SUNY? I am asking because you have a few publics on your list.
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Sunys/cunys mainly
Do you have concerns about funding and resources for the out of state publics on your list?
I understand that you are in HS and many students do not want to attend their instate school. I get it. I just think it is a mistake not to add another SUNY to your list.
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Here are some suny suggestions to add to your list:
Binghamton
Stony Brook - strong in the sciences and based on first year profiles appears to be a target school (awaiting your updates from guidance)
Geneseo- you might make honors
Buffalo- you might make honors
Keep in mind that premed at these schools will be competitive. This does not mean you cannot do it. It does mean that you will be in class with students who were high achievers in HS. If you look at the NYS budget for FY 2024 you can read about SUNY funding. I think you will be happy.
I would move Wake Forest and UNC CH to the reach category. If you are interested in the UNC system you can look into some of the other campuses.
If you pick 2 SUNYs then I think you will have a nice mix of schools. I went to Buffalo and I did not consider the main campuses to be urban.
One of my kids attended UNC as a biology major, OOS. I would ask your guidance counselor if UNC has accepted students from your HS in recent years. There is a 19% cap on OOS students and they get a LOT of applications.
Good luck, and please let us know when you speak with your guidance counselor. Once we have that information we will be in a better position to recommend schools where you may receive merit.
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I’m going to repeat my advice…and add something.
You can take the required courses for medical school applicants at just about every four year college in the country…arts conservatories excluded. So, as you revise your list, please keep that in mind.
I would be cautious about grandparents paying your costs. They just might need the money for their own needs, and that should come first.
And lastly, I would strongly urge you to take medical school/premed out of your undergrad college equation. Go to a school that you really like, that is affordable, and where you can do well…and enjoy undergrad school and all of the things you can do there. Happy students get better grades.
Also, if you really have an issue with public universities, you need to completely revise your list, or adjust your thinking about public universities. There are a gazzillion college grads from public universities who do very very well in their careers 
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A TEN hour drive is a very long drive.
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It seems you have concerns about the acceptance rates at some of the SUNY schools (ie Geneseo, which is an excellent school) yet do not appear to be concerned about some of the other schools on your list with similar acceptance rates.
This leads me to believe that what you are looking to do is leave NY and avoid your instate options (very common among HS students) and that the acceptance rate at Geneseo is not the real issue.
My kids graduated HS and I really do get it, but keep in mind that once you leave HS none of this will matter. What will matter is what you do/accomplish at your chosen school and that you enjoy your 4 years.
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My daughter had similar stats, we are from Georgia and she went to Clemson. They accept a lot of OOS especially from the northeast. You should make a visit sometime with your parents. It’s a great school and she loves it. I am originally from NY and I know what you mean by the SUNY schools. They are good but not for everyone especially if you prefer to be far away from home and want a new experience. Also, take a lot at Florida State, Penn State, Pitt, Maryland, Virginia Tech, U of SC, and Auburn
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Not wanting to attend SUNY is common. I am from Long Island and attended an upstate SUNY. There are big differences between downstate NY and upstate NY and at times it feels like you are in two different parts of the country. Exploring the different regions of NYS is definitely a new experience, imo.
These are good suggestions for the OP, but I would classify Maryland as a reach for now (awaiting further information). I still think it is a good idea to plan for 6 or 8 years of school rather than 4, from a financial perspective.
I love Pitt but it is urban and the OP specifically stated that she doesn’t want urban. Penn State has a big northeast draw and has the sports if that is important to the OP. Clemson is a school that many seem to like and it may be an option for the OP.
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We are in NJ and my daughter visited Clemson and Bing the same week (Covid so no tour at Bing, first tour after Covid at Clemson but all outside). She’s a junior at Clemson in spite of Bing being even cheaper than in state Rutgers after merit, but I do think Covid was a factor in her choice, even though classes were online there as well.
No SUNY Stonybrook? Very strong for biological sciences and sciences in general. Big pre-med feeder school with lots of research and clinical opportunities for undergrads in their Medical Center. (Possibly more competitive atmosphere than Binghamton given the sheer number of people interested in pre-Med there.)
For Cornell, the College of Human Ecology has double the acceptance rate of the College of Arts and Sciences, offers the pre-med courses and pre-med advising, and the opportunity to do pre-med relevant research (e.g. Psych department offers Psych with behavioural neuroscience focus, cognitive neuroscience focus etc).
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