My college list, and where I will ultimately go

Pre-College Topics High School Cafe
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I’ve already decided which school to go to, so this is more for fun.

But if this were your stats, and these were the colleges you were accepted to, which one would you pick?

Asian (Taiwanese American, 2nd generation): suburban school in NJ, 3.6 unweighted, 4.2 weighted GPA, 1350 SAT score, 6 AP classes, no class ranking (only Top 10% are ranked), captain of varsity tennis team, film critic for school newspaper, president of film club, founder and VP of anime club, volunteer work at hospital, part time job at Barnes & Noble and formerly worked at an independent store selling vintage media including vinyl records and VHS tapes

Major: undecided, but want to double major in business and media studies. Interested in a career in the entertainment industry as a media planner.

I applied to the following schools.

Princeton University: rejected

Columbia University: rejected

University of Pennsylvania: rejected

Carnegie Mellon University: rejected

University of Michigan: rejected

Georgetown: rejected

USC: rejected

UCLA: rejected

NYU: rejected

Boston College: rejected

Boston University: rejected

University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign: rejected

University of Texas: rejected

University of Maryland: waitlisted (accepted)

University of Washington: accepted

Rutgers: accepted

Penn State: accepted

George Washington University: accepted

Ohio State University: accepted

University of Pittsburgh: accepted

Syracuse University: accepted (pretty sweet scholarship, like half tuition)

Stony Brook University: accepted

Fordham University: accepted

University of Connecticut: accepted

University of Delaware: accepted

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If you have a budget I’d go with Rutgers.

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Syracuse if you can handle the weather, or Fordham

Given your majors would be useful to know more detail eg media - is it Newhouse at Syracuse? Business - is it Gabelli at Fordham?

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Rutgers, Syracuse, or Maryland.

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5

Syracuse.

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In that case, I’m not sure it’s helpful to ask a bunch of strangers on the Internet who don’t know your specific situation, preferences and constraints to pick a school, and cause you to second guess your decision.

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Can you list your budget and net cost at each?

Net cost is (tuition, fees, room, board) - (grants, scholarships)

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This student has already selected and based on timing, committed to a college. As such, I’m closing this thread.

If the OP would like to tell us where they chose, they can PM the mod team and we’ll reopen the thread.

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18

Reopening so OP can update on what school they chose.

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Just hopping in quickly to say it might be nice if OP used their first post + result to post here too:

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Syracuse is the clear winner here

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Can I ask why? My son got into Syracuse with merit (3.7, 30 act) and chose in state Rutgers, which was $120,000 cheaper over 4 years.

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I don’t want to derail this thread. The OP asked opinions based upon his stats/goals/etc., and I responded with that in mind; it was not meant to be construed as a one-size-fits-all approach. Had your son asked, I might have responded differently.

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In my mind, this immediately puts a finger on the scale for colleges particularly well-networked in major media markets. In your case, it looks like NYC would be an appropriate epicenter.

Off your accepted list, obvious top possibilities would be Fordham, Rutgers, Stony Brook, and Syracuse. Syracuse is not quite as physically proximate, but my understanding is it has plenty of long-standing ties to NYC in media fields. Penn State could sneak in there as well, like it can be more of a NYC school than I think some realize.

I think you could reasonably choose then on cost, non-academic experiences, and so on. But all else equal, I think I would be looking at Fordham. Hard to beat in terms of being plugged in to NYC, including the NYC business scene. Their business program is well-known and well-regarded, and my understanding is their Communications and Media Studies Department is also very well-regarded. Again, assuming costs and other non-academic factors were favorable as well, I would see that as an exciting choice for someone with your interests.

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Syracuse would be my choice IF the school is Woodhouse. :thinking: :blush:

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Cue Jeopardy think! theme…

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I decided on…

University of Maryland when they took me off their waitlist!!!

Strong academic reputation, large Asian American population, proximity to DC, Philadelphia and New York, and strong business and journalism program. Technically I am undecided right now but planning on dual major. Definitely business and deciding between media studies or media related or psychology.

I am actually a big horror movie fan. I enjoy the works of Wes Craven, George A. Romero, Tobe Hooper. I even have some industry experience having worked as a production intern at Troma and even worked as a production assistant (uncredited) for Terrifier 3! I was actually even a stand in for one of the teen actors! I’ve directed short horror films and worked on production in several others. So im a movie guy as opposed to engineering or medicine that most Asians take.

Even my college essay was literally about working on the set of Terrifier 3 and describing my experience there and what I’ve learned from that experience. I dont think it went well with my college admissions though – every single Ivy league and top 30 school i applied to rejected me. Though Columbia actually interviewed me and the guy seemed amused – but they probably saw i wasn’t exactly somebody they want in the hallowed halls of an ivy league campus.

Unfortunately unlike a lot of Asians i didnt win any major academic awards though I was a member of National honor Society. All my ECs are related to media or film.

My interest is being a media planner and working to elevate Asian American filmmakers and cinema.

I am looking for internships at film festivals and such. I am currently involved with the tribeca film festival and its a lot of fun!

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Congratulations! UMD CP is a great school. Enjoy your undergrad years there.

And thank you for updating us!

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