<p>Okay, I'm in high school right now, going into junior year, and, I was wondering, if I may as well just give up on Syracuse. It's my dream school (I wanted to do acting and/or film making) but I'm beginning to think it's an impossible dream. I already go to an expensive, and competitive high school (all boys school, tuition is $12,000 a year) and I only have a 3.0 gpa going into junior year (didn't do well enough to land ap or honors classes). I know SU is very expensive (52,000 a year) and my family isn't exactly rich, unlike a lot of the people here. I'm actually pretty mad, my friend tries to understqnd, but he can't and never will, he has a multi-billion dollar fortune waiting for him, and I have nothing, it makes me mad, I have to struggle and fight for the rest of my life and he gets to do nothing, I get nothing for everything, and he gets everything for nothing, I have to abandon my dreams to survive, he gets to dowhatever he wants and still have excess, it's not fair.</p>
<p>What, no one? No one at all?</p>
<p>Could you to a public high school and really work hard your junior year? Get a tutor and work towards getting good sat or act scores? I don’t know if your dream school will be affordable, but maybe you can find other schools similar to Syracuse. </p>
<p>Meant to say could you “go” to a public high school…</p>
<p>Syracuse is pretty competitive and you should definitely talk to your high school guidance counselor about the variety of schools that offer the major you are interested in; be sure to get safeties as well as reaches, and also at least one school that’s a “financial safety” for you. Good luck and keep those grades up! Don’t get too caught up in the AP/Honors thing and just get the best grades you can.</p>
<p>No matter what your academic position is, it’s too frequently that kids are disappointed if they laser in on just one school in particular…so be sure to widen your options.</p>
<p>Life’s not fair. Don’t worry about what your friends have or don’t have. In fact, you should appreciate what your family is giving you when they are paying for private school despite being, as you say, not exactly rich.</p>
<p>All you can do is focus on your studies and if you don’t go to Syracuse it isn’t the end of the world. There are 10,000 colleges in the United States and it is crazy to think there aren’t other options that are perfect for you. How many schools have you visited to determine Syracuse is the best fit? If you’re concerned about what other people have and how you think there life may be easier than yours and how life isn’t fair, you may not handle Syracuse very well. At Syracuse will meet a lot more people from privileged upbringings you may do better in school than you. </p>
<p>Take a deep breath and relax. Just keep working hard for what you earn and you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>I think part of it depends on what type of a major you take up. I hear that you if you study into a relatively “lucrative” major like computer science, finance or stuff like that, you will usually end up being able to pay back any debt you take on really quickly. </p>
<p>But like what other people have been saying, there are so many choices for you out there! While I am still having a hard time deciding on which schools to focus on (or major for that matter), the experience is really what you make of it - just like what you’ve already done for all the years of school you have done. So yeah relax and focus on doing the best you can - if you are motivated I’m sure good thing will come out of it.</p>
<p>As an Upstate New York resident, I would say that Syracuse does not give good financial aid and unless you are at the very top of the applicant pool, you probably will not receive much or any merit aid either. Syracuse University is one of the most expensive schools in the nation - not just because of the high up-front cost, but also because of their not very generous financial aid and merit scholarship program.</p>
<p>I know as a young student, you might not consider this as much, but do you really want to be in lots of debt to attend a dream school? Have you actually looked the maximum Federal Loans you can take out (which you would probably need to take out when you are at Syracuse + more loans) and see how much you would need to pay to pay off your student loans each month? Do you know it’s about $300 each month and that’s only if you take the maximum amount of Federal Loans (not including the Private Loans or Parent PLUS loans you’ll probably need to take if you go to Syracuse)? It’s much better to attend a college you know you can afford. </p>
<p>Syracuse is well-known in the Upstate New York area (since it’s the only large research university in Upstate New York other than RIT and U of R), but it’s only prestigious majors at the Maxwell School (IR, Political Science, etc.) and Newhouse (Journalism). I wouldn’t recommend Syracuse for other majors and would not recommend Syracuse at all if you need lots of financial aid. I wouldn’t obsess about attending Syracuse - it’s not entirely worth it.</p>
<p>@TrinityCTGirl The University at Buffalo is the only AAU member in upstate New York. There are only 60 AAU schools and they are the top research school. Syracuse use to be a member but was going to be kicked out of the AAU so they withdrew themselves. </p>
<p>^ Not correct. Cornell University is also an AAU member and I wouldn’t consider them any lower a research school than University of Buffalo.</p>
<p>@OmniGoat Cheer up! I understand that Syracuse University is an expensive school, but use the net price calculator right now. I understand the NPC isnt ‘too’ accurate, but its intended to be and will give you a roundabout based on your family income and situation. If you are dorming, the net price would run around 60k a year(whew). I understand that your family isnt in a very good financial situation(neither is mine) so after pulling out our Tax form and filling out the NPC we found that Syracuse University would be giving around $45-45k a year(for my situation, it will vary for everyone…) According to the NPC my dorming and and tuition per year would total approximately $15k a year. Even if the NPC isnt 100% accurate, thats still a huge difference from paying $60k a year(something your rich friend would probably be paying…). </p>
<p>In terms of getting in, stay positive, study hard, go the extra mile to increase your gpa, and study even harder for the SAT/ACT. EC’s are just as important as grades so get on those too.
Good luck! </p>
<p>@STEMFamily You’re correct. My mistake. </p>
<p>How can you be going to a private all boys high school and say you have nothing and get nothing. You’ve had an academic opportunity many other students, stuck in lousy public schools with no exit ticket, can only dream about. Have you done anything that makes you stick out or that confirms talent? If so, that might be your ticket to a place like Syracuse. It is not true that Syracuse does not provide aid. Further, SU has actively pursued ways to increase the ethnic and economic diversity of the student body. Why are you stuck on one school? What about considering your aspirations and selecting a group of colleges that are known to support the type of goals you have?</p>
<p>Also admissions officers will tell you that the caliber of your high school does matter; they are looking at the rigor of the curriculum. A 4.0 at a crappy public high school that is consistently on the failing schools list may not be given as much weight as your 3.0 at a competitive and rigorous private school. That is why parents pay to send their kids to these schools! You could also ask a high ranking senior at your school to tutor you in the spring to try to raise your GPA this year and get you into a coupls of AP classes your senior year, and then plan to apply to colleges “regular decision” next year so that your first semester senior year grades will count. Do some research if you can on previous students from your school who got into Syracuse and what their stats were. </p>
<p>Also you should take the PSAT if you haven’t already. That will give you a very good benchmark as to where you will be on the SAT. A high score will also put you in the pool for a National Merit Scholarship, and many colleges give automatic scholarships to anyone who is a Finalist and even a Commended Student. </p>