NYU Questions, and are these good schools for Engineering and will I get in?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

When I typed in NYU engineering I got nyu poly and nyu tandon. Are they the same thing?
I also considered citytech, because it is also close to my home.
I heard NYU is harder, and there are more dropouts, and citytech just gives textbooks and expect you to read a lot of pages.
If I’m wrong correct me please, but I heard NYU is not good for it’s cost.
From what I see, NYU Tandon has an acceptance rate of approximately 70%, which is nearly the same as citytech. While NYU itself has a 31% acceptance rate. What is the meaning of this and how does NYU work?

So about myself.
My current GPA is around 3.3. SAT Score about 1140, but I took it again and am waiting for scores. Expecting around 1200-1300.
I took no extracurriculums and did not do anything besides go to school, finish my classes, then go home.
I do have a lot of absences from cutting. And also, I’m in a low-income family which is more the reason not to go to NYU.
But if I graduate from NYU and get a decent paying job as an engineer I can just pay the debt back. Right? Or am I wrong?
I’m still not sure which engineer I want to be yet.
And I think I need help checking which colleges need a college essay… I heard most do, then I heard most don’t.

I’m right now, mostly leaning towards Stony Brook then NYU Tandon, then Citytech as a last option. Reason is because Stony Brook is cheaper than NYU Tandon and has a engineering program. However, Stony Brook is nearly an 1 hour away from my home by car… Would it be more effective for me to live in dorm there? Are dorms free or pricey?
Should I consider more to colleges than just prices and programs they have? Should I apply for more colleges than just 3? (colleges applications are not that cheap though)
I also thought about applying for Cornell, but thinking of my low chances and probably horrible looking application, with most likely a mediocre essay, I might not…
So far, I plan on trying out to applying to these three colleges:
Stony Brook, NYU Tandon (or poly, is it the same thing?), or citytech.
If possible, please recommend me to any other colleges!

When I thought about my career, I thought about being a scientist, doctor, or engineer. I wanted to learn about immortality and stuff like that. But I heard doctors/scientists need to study years to get just a decent paying job. As a low-income family, I don’t think I can wait that long… I heard engineers, as soon as they graduate college, they can find a job way faster. Maybe like 3-5 weeks and they’d already getting decent pay. Am I correct in all of this or any? And is this a sufficient reason to choose engineer over doctor/scientist?

Also, is there a place where I get help writing my college essay? I’m really not sure who to ask. My school is going to do a workshop to help students do it. But I think forums has more professionals…

Not sure if this is allowed, but I already posted a lot of questions here. I don’t expect all of them to be answered, but please help me a bit!

2

I was searching up a bit of stuff and found out of the option of studying engineering for 2 years at Brooklyn College, then transferring to NYU Tandon. If I transfer to NYU Tandon, would I still need to take 4 years at NYU Tandon or do I only need 2 years to finish off what I learned at Brooklyn College?
If I do it this way, I think it will be cheaper because Brooklyn college is a lot cheaper than NYU. How does this sound?

Honestly, after thinking about Stony Brook a bit more… it is starting to turn me off. Because I live about 1 hour away, by car. I don’t even have a car, and I take a train to school already. So I’d end up going to dorms or an apartment. I kind of don’t want to leave my current home… But I’d love to hear of benefits of living in a dorm. I know of the social benefits, but honestly I’m someone who was able to go through nearly 4 years of high school without making a single friend. I don’t believe in social benefits.
Is Stony Brook that much better of a school, that I should choose to live away from my family?
Anyway, I am also considering Hunter College and Brooklyn College now. And of course NYU Tandon too, since I heard NYU Tandon looks good on job application. Though, not sure how it would look when it says I transferred from Brooklyn College to NYU Tandon.