Just saw your CC moniker, lol.
You’ve been doing a great job at your community college, though - wasn’t it because you like to learn? Wouldn’t you want to continue with that? You could always work for a semester and apply to Northeastern + UCincinnati (which basically “invented” the co-op, they’re the oldest program of this type) so you’ll study one semester and work the next one. It’d be an intermediate between working full time and college full-time. Many other universities have co-ops too. Check out Penn State/UP and UF, call them and ask if 1° you can still apply as a transfer student and 2° whether they have co-ops for some majors.
If you want to work full-time, sure, but I do feel it’s too bad if you give up because Cornell didn’t admit you.
The schools in between top 30 and SUNY are primarily private with some out of state publics so the cost would still be high( at least 45k+). My parents then ask the question, “is paying that much for a top 50-100 school really a better option than paying ~20k for a ny state school?” To them, the answer is no.
It depends what you want to do for a career. Stony Brook has excellent science programs. But for Econ… it’s very commuter/suitcase so not the best environment, and it’s really not especially strong in economics.
I think one can easily argue that Penn State or UF are better than SUNY B or SB. For an Econ major in particular, Penn state’s #1 ranking with corporate recruiters should make a difference.
What about if you want to work in finance? Fordham or Pace or Baruch have better odds of getting you there than SB (not that I’d advocate Baruch over SB, but this is to show that depending on what you want to do, you won’t be served as well by all colleges and it’s not “top 30 or SUNY”.) Note that both Pace and Baruch still accept transfer applications, as well as UF and Penn State.
What about Colgate or Hamilton, which would also lead to excellent Finance prospects? Do they count as “top 30” in your parents’ book? (They are very selective though and take very few transfers).
There are literally hundreds of schools between “top 30” and Stony Brook or Buffalo.
Broach the topic of applying to PSU UP and UF to your parents. Costs are less than a private and they have excellent rankings. As an Economics major, you’d be in the College of Liberal Arts at Penn State (you could also apply for Finance after a semester, and be in Smeal); in the CLA you could do Paterno Fellows and graduate from Schreyer, which is one of the top Honors Colleges in the country (founded by W.Schreyer, CEO at Merill Lynch).
Wow thank you MYOS for your wealth of info. I’m still set in a particular way but I’ll definitely look into your suggestions.
I’d look at the list of colleges that are still trying to fill seats. You might assume in state schools would be cheaper and best bets but some other state schools are trying to attract more OOS students to elevate their status as national schools. Here is the danger in putting school off. It is very hard to get back to it. Many students who never took time off think it will be simple to go back when they want but they are thinking from the perspective of a student. Once you are not a student for a while all kinds of things make returning to school harder and more aversive. The only exception to this is a gap year or a year that is highly structured with the path back to school already determined before taking time off. With your grades and effort already put in, don’t let whether or not a school is prestigious enough stand in the way of getting a degree!
@MYOS1634 I have to ask if SB is a commuter school why that’s OK for science but not econ? IMO it’s irrelevant to both.
Interestingly enough, Bing gets a shout out for their econ.
http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2013-06-03/the-best-undergraduate-b-schools-for-economics
Unfortunately the likelihood of transferring to Hopkins or Stanford from Nassau Community even with a 4.0 degree as a Valedictorian is not very strong. SUNY Binghamton is very well regarded for most majors and there are many students who come out from SUNY Binghamton and go on to well regarded positions with major companies or to grad school. Not sure about SUNY Albany or actually Geneseo which is considered the public ivy in NYS. You should focus on in-state private schools or possibly schools like Delaware, Maryland, Rutgers all of which will be familiar with Nassau Community and all will have fine economic departments. By the one one of the most outstanding programs in economics located in NYS is the University of Rochester. Not sure if you had applied there.
The only reason not to move to a 4 year degree other than simply needing to work to pay for it and not qualifying for aid (or trying to qualify as an independent so you can get aid), is because you have a hit record, hit TV Show or were given an offer from the Lincoln Center Ballet Company to dance with them. You have invented the next Twitter and have secured funding for your start up. You are joining the military, the police or fire department or the electrician or plumber unions. Even for the Police, to join the FBI or secret service you need a college degree. Any of those apply? If they do good luck otherwise know that a degree in the USA is not optional.
You have gotten some excellent advice. First and foremost, go and see what the administration will do for you. You have achieved now let us see what they can do. You would be amazed what connections can do, there may be programs that a good motivated person can get you into. Think of it this way, an administrator high up going to bat and saying this person is special carries weight. Most of the time no one is saying that and the colleges are basically buying a pig in a polk when they take a student, even at Harvard. I did not interview with the school I will be enrolling at, the college did not know my teacher references. However, if the prinicipal of my high school tells someone she knows personally at college x that this kid is really great, they may even if they might not otherwise. Why are you giving up so easily? Even with Cornell, while it is probably a lost cause, what is the downside to letting them call. The regional rep is not the director of admissions.
@LostAccount is absolutely correct. It is EXTREMELY difficult to finish your degree later. If you think your parents are reluctant to pay money now, try when you have been working. My cousin finished it last year. She is 45, she quit school at 21. She had less than a year to finish.
Another person who grew up in England, went to work out of high school. Expert in his field in finance. Married a US citizen wanted to get a job in USA, could not without a college degree, went back to London and his wife went too.
Not really understanding what is wrong with Binghamton. Many employers went there so it is viewed well even if not as great as in 80s. Why did you attend community college in the first place if your family is so concerned about college prestige. URochester is an excellent school and they give merit money to freshman not sure about transfers
Many other great schools out there
Sorry, a punctuation mark got lost. 
Well Erinsdad, I think the Bloomberg list of business schools is largely based on a survey of graduates about the school. Binghamton students don’t lack confidence and an exaggerated sense of importance lol. They will rate their school the best. You know, the hole pubic Ivy thing. Binghamton is better than not going to school however. I saw someone mention Rochester. Obviously that is a different category; an excellent school. If that is a possibility why even second guess going?
However, Penn State is relatively weak in economics if your interest is more quantitative or pre-PhD. Its intermediate economics courses do not use calculus, except for the small honors courses which use calculus 1.
Not sure how to reply to individually, but to answer saphire’a question, I attended cc because I wasn’t that great academically(around 94 average and 1300 sat). I liked that students from CC transferred to very good schools, so CC was an opportunity for me to start again and amend my hs record. Cost and location were always nice factors as well.
And I will give Rochester a look but I’m concerned if my chances are even slimmer to get in because their admissions this late in the process is done on a space available basis.
At least URochester is within your parents’ range for funding (it’s basically top 30, I think 31 or 32, equal to NYU for instance).
re:use of calculus in econ classes at Penn State. OP hasn’t mentioned s/he wants to go to grad school in economics. If that were the case, taking the honors version would solve the problem.
Have you spoken to your school administration or counselor yet? Can they help you? They do not want people thinking that their top graduates are not getting into decent schools. You said yourself that is why you went. You have improved your record, now have them help you improve theirs. Every time one of their graduates gets into a good school it helps their image. Do not just apply to Rochester, have them call Rochester and other schools. Help you identify schools where their connections can help you.
Saphire, just wondering about your statement that Binghamton was better in the eighties when I was there. What do you base this on?
OP, I think I’m in a different mindset than most here. I know you are vERY limited in where you can possibly attend next year. I’m confused about Rochester. Don’t they have a waiting list like everyone else? I didn’t get the impression you were even on the waiting list. What are your viable options now that we know Cornell is off the table?i do not think it is the end of the world if you work for a year. You will be the same age as the kids that do the gap year. I think you know yourself, and you know where you want to be and how you are going to get there. You may even meet people with connections to colleges at work. The argument that your parents may not pay for your education if you don’t go to school next year is specious. If your parents have told you they are going to pay for your education, then it’s not an issue. They may want you to use any money you have earned towards your degree, but that doesn’t mean you have now become financially independent.
I also wonder at the Binghamton comment. I grew up near Binghamton, and back in the 80’s when I graduated from high school, Binghamton was safe for most people to apply to. But now I’m really surprised at some of the local kids who don’t get in…kids who I’m sure would have had no problem in the 80’s.
Mdcmom, even in the eighties, still do not think it was safe for most people to apply to! Don’t mean to be a snob here, but I would not have gone if that was the case! Maybe they catered to the local kids thinking they could have a better chance of staying after graduation, but it was always competitive.
Educateddarcy, my options so far are 1)Stony brook or buffalo for economics
2)work full time for a year and reevaluate my future options
3)apply late to more schools who don’t have a formal deadline like Rochester. I know I shouldn’t even bother, but it’s also very tempting to apply to Vanderbilt. They have a relatively high transfer acceptance rate but because it’s so late in the process, they admit students on a space available basis.
Now that everyone’s established that Bing is a great school for Economics that you didn’t apply to, HAVE YOUR CC PRESIDENT CALL ON YOUR BEHALF at a school where s/he has pull. I assume it’d be Cornell or URochester.
If you feel like it, apply to Vanderbilt. Add some of the colleges from the Nacac List. At this point, your alternative is to work, but it’s very difficult to go back and it really sounds like your original plan was to continue your studies, which Cornell derailed - but the goal is the degree, at Cornell or elsewhere.