Please Suggest Some New York Colleges? : )

College Search & Selection
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<p>Hello! ^ ^ I've recently discovered CC, and seeing how helpful you all seem...I thought that I'd give my question a try on forums.</p>

<p>Basically I'm another 09er (yay!) who's checking out colleges and looking to apply to those with good biological science & pre-med advising programs. A good language department would be an added bonus.</p>

<p>So far I have my safety and a few schools like JHU, BU, and Northwestern on my list. But I would love love LOVE to go to New York for college so are there similar colleges with good research opportunities in that area? </p>

<p>As for stats, not too sure what to post but ...4.0gpa, lots of aps, 2300sat, 750ish satiis, captain of a few clubs, internship...yeah...</p>

<p>: ) thanks in advance!!!</p>

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<p>Hm. Not sure is this post is serious because NYC schools are prominent and speak for themselves, but: Columbia, Barnard, NYU, Fordham, Hunter, City, Manhattan, Eugene Lang, should get you started.</p>

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<p>Well, I certainly hope my post sounded serious. : )
Not to seem clueless or anything, but I've only heard of 3 of the schools you've mentioned. Not interested in Columbia b/c of core requirements or Barnard since it's all female. I've heard that NYU is much more business major-directed, is that true?
Thanks for the other suggestions though...I'm also looking at URochester right now.</p>

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<p>Since you obviously mean New York State, not NYC, look at Cornell.</p>

<p>Although, if you hate core requirements, you should look at Brown.</p>

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<p>Other NY state schools: Skidmore, Ithaca College, all SUNYs and CUNYs obviously.</p>

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<p>In my opinion, there are superb schools all over New York State. BUT.....I would say there is no reason to go upstate to Syracuse, Rochester, Albany, Hamilton etc. unless you have a particular affection for a school and a particular program or quality of life you are seeking. They are cold in the winter, somewhat remote etc and if you are not from up there, it can be daunting. Again, outstanding schools abound: URochester, Cornell, Hamilton, Syracuse, Canisius, Albany, Skidmore, SUNY-Binghamton (and all the other campuses) etc. </p>

<p>But if you meant New York City and all that it offers in quality of life, things to do and an education in itself, then you have NYU, Columbia, Sarah Lawrence, Fordham-Lincoln Center, Fordham-Rose Hill (main campus in the Bronx), Barnard, Hunter College, St. John's (Queens), CUNY, Manhattan College (which is VERY strong in math, science, engineering in lovely Riverdale near the Cloisters), etc.</p>

<p>My D is at Fordham-Rose Hill and loves it. Fordham is an academic school, but they know how to have a good time. They are very tight. They do things in groups like go into the city together. Its got wonderful Div 1-A sports, including a competitive women's rowing team. They often play Ivy League teams (including Yale in football at home this year! Yeah!) Its a gorgeous campus...90 acres of beautiful green lawns with beautiful trees, gothic buildings, and the Metro North (New Haven line) stops literally at Fordham's gates and is a 10 minute ride to Grand Central Station for 4.00. Its next door literally to the New York Botanical Gardens and Bronx Zoo, where it shares professors and programs! Its a very typical classic college campus, but its in New York. Fordham has superb internships and job opportunities as well. Its language dept is very strong. French, Spanish, German, Russian, Italian, Arabic, Chinese etc. Fordham is somewhat unique: to go overseas you need to apply and get permission of the Dean for Students, whether that is a Fordham program or otherwise. You must have a 3.0 avg. to be approved. They only send their best and brightest (and hardest working) students overseas. They have an MBA program in Beijing. Lincoln Center is more artsy, with most of the theatre majors there, but not all of them. About 4,500 undergrad tudents at Rose Hill-Bronx, and few thousand more at Lincoln Center. So its medium sized. Obviously, I am biased. But its a real gem. It is a hot school now, with applications skyrocketing to 23,000 last year for 1,700 freshmen seats. (they admit a lot more.....that retention rate thingie....lots of kids cross apply to NYU and Columbia and see what happens.) </p>

<p>Columbia is Ivy League and has a 10% admission rate. Its obviously a superb school and teaches the Great Books freshmen year. Its very special but its uber difficult to get in. Harlem has really cleaned up a lot in the past 10 years or so and is rather toney in sections....and EXPENSIVE. Harlem! Columbia has a gorgeous campus as well. </p>

<p>NYU is a private college (not public like people often think). Its also VERY big. NYU is Greenwich Village. Its urban, its trendy, its eclectic and sometimes gritty. Its very competitive. You either love it or you don't. No sports. Wonderful programs, but its not for everyone. </p>

<p>Sarah Lawrence is also a fine school in Bronxville, upper East Side. Beautiful campus. Another poster on CC said his D was unhappy at WashU St. Louis and transferred to Sarah Lawrence and is now very happy. Just an anecdote of one person. </p>

<p>Barnard is often overlooked. Its now affiliated with Columbia, just across the street. Its hyper competitive, but also a fine school with wonderful traditions and you can cross matriculate at Columbia. Not as hard to be admitted as Columbia.....but still highly selective.</p>

<p>My strong bias is to Fordham. Its a great school, very academic, with Jesuit ethos and ethics. Its a classic college experience and campus, sports, clubs, interesting and varied dorms (integrated learning centers by themes...interesting!), gorgeous campus, yet in NYC. You work really hard, but you have lots of fun. Competitive but not cut throat. WONDERFUL job opportunities. TONS AND TONS of companies, government agencies and firms interview at Fordham. Great feeder school for graduate programs and professional schools. Some of its own graduate and professional schools are highly ranked. </p>

<p>The wonderful thing is that New York City and New York State have many choices for college and all of them are very unique. </p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

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<p>Also, since your stats are wonderful.....you might consider that Fordham has superb scholarships to offer students like you!</p>

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<p>I've heard that it's harder to get to NYC from Sarah Lawrence then the college claims. Also, SLC is very much for a specific kind of student--love-hate relationships abound. To add to the above positive anecdote, my friend is transferring from Sarah Lawrence to Bryn Mawr this year for academic and social reasons (interested in science and doesn't do drugs).</p>

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<p>Could be. I dont know, personally, Keilexandra. I am sorry your friend was unhappy there. But its also important to note, that sadly, there are drug abusers at every college. No exceptions. Yes, some schools are more eclectic, some are more mainstream, some are more academic, some are more artsy-theatre types. One has to consider all of the above when applying to college and that is also why a visit helps out. I am also glad that colleges do transfers because sometimes you 'get there' and realize you made a mistake. On the other hand, sometimes freshmen overreact and make a move too soon. Freshmen funk is really rather common, often occurring after Thanksgiving: exams looming, papers due, weather changes, dorm drama, etc. Its often most acute in January and early February....but the sun comes up again, Spring Break does wonders for attitudes and when they come out the other end of the tunnel they realize its not so bad. In other words, part of it is adjusting to being away from home, growing up, and realizing that the world is full of all types of people. Not to say your friend had adjustment problems. Because I know that sometimes they just know they made the wrong choice. But I would be careful to pick at any school. We have wonderful choices out there and that is the good news.</p>

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<p>I agree with you completely, nocousin. But since your post was largely positive, I wanted to offer a snapshot of the darker side.</p>

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<p>Just a note: Columbia is in Morningside Heights, not what New Yorkers would call "Harlem." Barnard has always been associated with Columbia. If you are a female, and really want to be in NYC, don't discount it. You would not be cut off from male companionship! :)</p>

<p>For someone with your stats and courses, the usual match/reach choices in and around NYC would be Columbia, Barnard, and NYU, with Princeton and Yale both an hour away by commuter train. Sarah Lawrence is an unusual school, with a very independent study/tutorial-oriented setup, strong arts. It's not for everyone, though, and I wouldn't think of it as a pre-med oriented type of place, although I'm sure there are pre-meds there. It is right outside NYC. A little farther afield is Vassar (now coed). I would assume that Vassar students can take a train to NYC fairly easily, although the trip would be longer.</p>

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<p>NYU may be a great school, but it is very expensive and won't give you a penny in FA. If you aren't at Tisch or Stern, it's not worth it.</p>

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<p>Yes, Vassar is the last stop on the train and it takes about an our and half. Bard is just a little further, but it requires a bus to the train. </p>

<p>SUNY Stony Brook is great for pre-meds and is an hour and a half from NYC with the train station basically on campus.</p>

<p>NYU is not business oriented unless you matriculate at Stern, the business school. The school of Arts and Sciences is as broad based as any other liberal arts school and has stand out departments in math and philosophy.</p>

<p>Barnard is my D's school, and just for one example, 60% of her classes have been at Barnard and 40% have been at Columbia, with the Columbia classes yielding a higher GPA. She did not have any "core", though there are distribution requirements. I think she had only three classes (she'll be a senior) her entire time there that were strictly all women.</p>

<p>There are very serious pre-meds there, and Barnard used to turn out half the female doctors in the country.</p>

<p>NYS has wonderful schools. Beyond those already mentioned (or to remention a few): Skidmore, Bard, Vassar, Hamilton, Colgate, Cornell, Ithaca College, SUNY Binghamton, Albany, Buffalo, (smaller SUNY colleges too), Syracuse, University of Rochester, Sarah Lawrence, Union (has a med school and 7 year program I believe), and RPI for a technical education.</p>

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<p>I reccomend Cornell for your interests in biology/premed and languages. U of Rochester would also be an excellent choice with their adjacent med school and medical research laboratories.</p>

<p>Cornell recently completed a new biology building and is investing heavily in their medical sciences programs ($400 million). Cornell is totally awesome for its beauty and academics. You should visit in October for the fall foliage.</p>

<p>Cornell is a 4-hour drive from NYC and their medical school is in NYC. Very good med school placement.</p>

<p>Syracuse also has an adjacent hospital and SUNY med school and excellent pre-med advising.</p>

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<p>Cornell has strong biological sciences and pre med, and is somewhat similar to JHU and Northwestern which you listed you were applying to. I recommend looking into it.</p>

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<p>Thanks for all the great, detailed replies!</p>

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<p>Cornell and Colgate are excellent schools. Both are very highly ranked and get many students in to top graduate schools. (of course there are many other great NY schools, but I am partial to these two, and know more about them.) If you want more diversity, larger choice of classes and majors and a city feel--go Cornell. If you want the small close very collegiate feel--go Colgate.</p>