@HRSMom SUNY schools are excellent, especially Binghamton, Geneseo, and Stony Brook. When I was a student, Binghamton and Albany were considered the most competitive. In the '70s and '80s there was a much bigger middle class, and few people could afford private schools. With the growth of extreme wealth in the NY area, more kids began to eschew SUNY in favor of privates and farther-away schools that require a plane ride.
You’re stats are very impressive. Don’t kill yourself. If you genuinely feel the urge to kill yourself, call 911 and get help. If you are just letting off steam, let it off in another way.
As others have pointed out Stony Brook is a very good school and can certainly get you to a good place in life.
As long as you don’t kill yourself, you have nothing to be ashamed of.
@ClassicRockerDad don’t worry. I made an inappropriate joke and I regret it. So no I’m not going to kill myself.
^^^Good news. Congrats on the Stony Brook admit. Stand proud.
hey follow up: I just got rejected by Irvine!!! Incredible!!! 7 denials in a row!!! I bet none of you guys had that before so I’m the best!!! Can’t wait to be rejected by other colleges!!!Woorrahhhhhh!!!
It happens all the time. You’re being melodramatic.
I’m very sorry. 
Go talk to your guidance counselor in case there is a problem with our application.
You have Stony Brook. But if SB doesn’t suit you, around May 6 there will be a list of colleges that miscalculated yield. Each year there are lots of very good colleges there.
Got two news today: Rejected by Rice, rejected by Stony Brook Honor College program. So even SBU despises me?
I grew up on Long Island not so far from Stony Brook and have worked with grads, hired grads etc.
You are being ridiculous, either because you are uneducated about SB or snobby.
It is a great school, at a bargain price. You are lucky to get in and go there, maybe they made a mistake admitting
you since you are so down on them. They have many bright kids so not everybody can be in their honors.
And frankly honors programs are not that great, I would rather go to a school where there are smarter students that did better than myself.
@theprc3 Stony Brook despises you??! Hardly. They admitted you. Many very good students are not admitted to an Honors College. Rejection stings. But at the end of the day, you are going to have to get up, dust yourself off and earn your degree. It’s going to take quite a bit of work, especially if you are majoring in Physics, no matter where you go to school.
What your high school GPA was, and what your standardized test scores were won’t mean anything at all once you enroll next Fall. You are starting from scratch, just like all the other students out there. If you work hard, your odds of succeeding will be much better than if you don’t.
You have an opportunity to get a solid education, meet some new people and hopefully form some good friendships, and mature into a healthy, well-adjusted adult.
Good luck.
You are taking it personally. You can’t do that. It’s not personal. You must learn not to take these kinds of things personally, otherwise this habit will follow you through college and career. I promise you one thing: You will experience many, many more rejections in your life. Everyone does.
I know many comments here are ‘scolding’ you for underrated/undermining Stony brook, but I see what you mean. Although Stony Brook is awesome (I’m from NY too), I’m assuming you used sarcastic language in ur post not to bash this school, but rather to jokingly convey your interest in other schools over SB, which is ok: we all prioritize our schools and want to go to some schools over others for various reasons.
I think the schools you are talking about (Cornell, Rice, UCB, etc) are out of your reach, if that’s what your asking, mostly because of your SAT (very low, especially compared to other international Chinese students) as well as lack of EC’s. If anything, EC’s are most important; colleges don’t just want smart people; they want smart people who don’t stay at home 24/7 to get A+ and people who have interests/passions outside of the classroom (including clubs, comm serv to serve back to one’s community, etc)
Not sure what you’re asking as in “what to do” cuz you can’t really change your EC’s. It’s also harder to get into those schools as a non-citizen. I’m sorry to be blunt- I understand the frustration! Perhaps you can try to do a PG (post grad) year and reapply to similar schools like Rice and Cornell? Gap year? Or attend SB. Hope this helps!
So do you like beating yourself up?
Look, the way things are, it’s more difficult to be admitted as an International with no ECs and a TOEFL that is borderline in the US.
But if you can afford to be full-pay, a bunch of 5’s on AP’s goes farther in the UK.
Does that make sense or is it fair? Maybe/maybe not, but who cares. You don’t control that. The main lesson to take away from this is that it isn’t you, it’s the way the systems are set up.
So you essentially have a choice:
- Go to Stony Brook (which isn’t a bad place for physics).
- Ultimately apply to UK unis (now or after a gap year or whatever).
Don’t know what more gnashing of teeth would get you.
It’s probably your TOEFL scores. The 105 is good but that 18 is not, and a lot of schools would want to see a higher speaking scores. Also maybe your EC’s?. There are a lot of students applying to those schools that are more proficient in the English language.
I agree with the rest of the people here go where you were accepted. If it doesn’t feel like a good fit then retake the TOEFL get good grades then transfer. All is not lost you have a lot of great opportunities in front of you.
The schools that you are getting rejected from the majority of students applying there get rejected, and they look like super hero’s on paper.
I bet you love Stony Brook especially if they have outside lab opportunities.
Hi there I’m also an int’l student from China.
The only thing I want to tell you is that you still have chances to apply to some colleges with rolling admission, for example, UPittsburgh. It’s also a great school with many opportunities. Since they have rolling admission, before you apply, I strongly recommend to retake TOEFL using some time for preparation. 18 in speaking is toooooooooooo low for a college like Cornell or UCB. Even if you want UK, you need to take IELTS or retake TOEFL whatever. That TOEFL is not enough.
Anyway, wish you all the best.
I don’t think the TOEFL is the problem. If you got 80 (most schools) you’re okay, 100 for the most selective ones… then it doesn’t matter at all , they don’t consider it in admissions, only in cutting you if you don’t meet the threshold.
It’s probably a combination of competitive major, essays that may not have been what they wanted, and recommendations.
Did you talk to your guidance counselor and ask for a review to see if there are any red flags in your file?
I’m sorry you didn’t get into Stony Brook honors.
Your best bet now is to put down a deposit at SB and choose either a living learning community or a quiet/ substance free floor to ensure quiet study time. Do it quickly as the best housing possibilities go fast.
Around May 5th a list of colleges that miscalculated yield will be published. You can always apply to a bunch if them - there are always surprisingly good colleges on there.
Which decisions are you still waiting for?
I know it must be hard for you - you left your home, your family, your comfort, to carry your parents ’ hopes for higher education. Those were big sacrifices for our and them. And now Stony Brook doesn’t seem that much of a return for such a sacrifice. However, it IS a top stem school. Doing well there is not easy and the students admitted are all 'aspirational ’ - academically strong, ambitious, relying on education to improve their lot and climbed the social ladder.
If you want a cozier environment with strong students but a private environment, Hendrix is still accepting applications. Their Odyssey program is very good. St Michael’s in Vermont is in a cool college town (Burlington - look it up) and may still accept your application (email the international admission counselor this weekend to ask). SB is likely stronger for physics specifically but classes will be smaller, it’ll be more personalized and residential, you’ll have more support (SB is a bit sink-or-swim and bare bones when it comes to learning comfort. Basically, only string students are admitted so they are supposed to manage on their own, or advocate for themselves.)
Life isn’t fair - the sooner you accept that general concept the better off you will be in life.
Learn to make the most of the hand you’re dealt, otherwise you are destined to be disappointed many many times in your life.
I know those sound like cliches but to me they are absolute truisms
does anyone know about uk colleges? I am applying to u of Edinburgh, U of Manchester, UCL and Warwick. Can anyone chance me with the stats i posted?
Good for all of them if you had applied in the regular timeframe. No idea for this year now that many have already sent out acceptances and are filling up their intake.
Add one from Glasgow, Cardiff, or Queen 's Belfast. You get five possibilities on ucas, use them. You’d be good for all if they haven’t filled their class yet. (Deadlines for Europeans was January 15.)