hi I appreciate your response! I have a lot of family pressure to get in here because I have elder siblings who attended here! I’m hoping that SBU will accept me because I was under the impression that honestly not many people apply as a philosophy major. people typically go to Stony for stem majors. do u think I am getting in?
thank you! do u have any experience with SBU? do u think I can get in?
I have no experience at all with SBU.
You will find out soon enough.
Can you get in? You applied - so there’s always the chance.
They accept just under half. You have some advantages that you noted.
Wait and see - no one here can give you the answer you seek. But Stony Brook can and you’ll find out soon enough.
I’m sorry for your family pressure - but they should (and hopefully will) love and support you no matter your path.
Enjoy your week off of school. It’s hard to wait for responses from colleges - but eventually they do come.
I think you have a very strong likelihood at your HEOP schools since you’ve got the exact profile they’re looking for (Regents Advanced, honors/IB/AP courses, and a GPA well above what HEOP requires or within parameters for the specific colleges you chose.)
The one worry is math - I hope you noted on your transcript that you’re taking AP Stats& taking the test this Spring. Failing precalculus, not retaking the course in summer school, and not taking any math senior year would be a problem - not in relation to your major (which will not require precalculus or calculus) but because that’s a core component of your education that if not taken at all would indicate you don’t value or want to eschew.
SUNY SB for Philosophy is a good idea.
Regardless of where you attend, you should add as many advanced courses from foreign language&culture departments as you can, plus classics and comp lit, as well as public policy and -studies departments, to present a well-rounded profile with traditional, rigorous courses as well as contemporary applications. Do not skip the hard courses (classics, theory, advanced language/culture..)
If you want to go to grad school in philosophy, they may require French or German plus another one. If you plan on working in public policy, law, etc, it doesn’t really matter. If foreign service or work in contact with native Urdu/Pashto/Arabic speakers, having an advanced class or two in whatever language you can would be useful since it’d formalize/officialize your mastery. PPE is another good suggestion, versatile and prestigious, although microeconomics has a quantitative component you’ll need to be mentally ready for.
Not sure if there’s still time but if it’s possible you could try HEOP at Hamilton, Marist, Hobart&William Smith, and St Lawrence. Hamilton and St Lawrence “meet need” meaning they offer excellent financial aid packages, and all colleges in HEOP WANT to admit qualified HEOP applicants (if they have enough funding).
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First I would like to congratulate you on all of your accomplishments. Your ECs and awards are impressive. I also want to commend you for your perseverance and grit given the challenges you faced. You are clearly an impressive student!
I agree that Cornell, NYU, and Northeastern may not be the right schools for you. I think Stony Brook is a reach, but I also think you could possibly get in- you will know soon enough. Are your targets and safeties affordable? That is important to know.
I know Suffolk County. Given your AP classes, clubs, awards, advocacy, leadership positions, etc…it seems that your school district has some resources (but perhaps less than some surrounding districts) and you did an outstanding job of taking advantage of them…despite the challenges you had. That is amazing and says a lot about you.
I am not disputing that you grew up academically disadvantaged, as I understand that this includes not only your school’s resources, but also the barriers that stood in your way of obtaining them (you are quite impressive). I will say, however, that NYS and NYC both have districts/schools that are significantly under resourced (lack of teachers, counselors, interpreters, no clubs, lack of space, no AP classes etc). Some students have schedules with multiple study halls. You are lucky in that it appears, at least to me, that your school provided some helpful guidance and resources.
Please note that I am not diminishing the obstacles you faced.
You will know soon enough. Hang in there- I have no doubt that you will achieve your goals and have much success moving forward. Best wishes!
I would apply to the schools noted in the post above mine (MYOS).
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I agree that these schools might not work out for you. Affordability is a major concern for some of these schools.
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Hey! thanks for your reply? so NYU through HEOP and Stony Brook are my top 2 schools - do u think I’m getting in?
Cornell and NYU through HEOP would provide me with scholarships - do u think I can get in? Stony Brook as well?
oh btw, for precalc there was no summer school option and there was absolutely no space in AP Stats - trust me I really tried but the only open class was during my mandatory and singleton IB Global Politics class, so it was impossible.
I just want to know if I can get into Stony Brook and NYU HEOP - they are my top schools and most people have told me I can get in, but now I’m getting nervous. Other then math does my profile seem alright?
The disparity between your math grades and your obvious strength in all other areas makes me wonder whether you should be tested for any sort of quantitative learning disability such as dyscalculia. (Not trying to diagnose you myself, obviously, just giving an example.) Three reasons to pursue this now: 1) getting testing while the school system is still obligated to pay for it would be smart, 2) a diagnosis could help to further explain those weak grades and give colleges a frame of reference for giving them less weight, and 3) you could be eligible for accommodations that would carry over to college and help you with quantitative requirements there.
I agree with applying to some additional NY private colleges under HEOP. Here’s the list of participating schools: HEOP Projects and Contact Information | New York State Education Department - in addition to ones already suggested, you might consider Fordham (Catholic/Jesuit, but reportedly very welcoming toward students of other faiths), Syracuse, Union, Colgate, and Skidmore.
Good luck with your apps; I hope your top choice schools work out for you!
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Did your GC say that specifically in their letter of recommendation? CHECK because course unavailability IS the one reason colleges won’t dock you for.
Without EOP, Cornell, NYU, Hamilton, and St Lawrence, would be utterly unreachable. With HEOP, Cornell remain a reach because it’s a reach for everyone. NYU has agreements with HEOP especially for NYC/adjacent students who can commute so it may be possible. Hamilton is similar to NYU in selectivity; it doesn’t have the same agreement as NYU does with commuters but it has fewer applicants so it’s definitely worth a shot.
However, you need to measure the selectivity were talking about: every top student in the country and multiple top students from each NYS, NJ, PA and New England HS are applying to these schools. 90-95% are rejected, not because there’s anything wrong with them, but because of the way they’re shaping the class: they need a variety of majors, they have institutional priorities (a trombone player, the son of a hedge fund manager that donated a million). HEOP is one of these priorities and you do match the profile these schools want. It only means that instead of 0 your chances become “good for that type of school”, in other words, instead of 18-19/20 odds of rejection you double or even triple your odds to perhaps 15/20 odds of rejection. Your odds are much better than others and they WANT to admit HEOP students but it’s still an unpredictable reach!
SBU for Philosophy I think you’re ok.
You should apply to SUNY Geneseo - just check the EOP box and send your app ASAP for best scholarship consideration (on top of TAP/federal aid, you could get $2,500 or up to $7,000 for room/board).
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One thing that might be worth mentioning: There are some statistics courses that require calculus, and there are some statistics classes that do not require calculus. If you take any statistics classes in university make sure that you have signed up for the right ones.
By the way, the idea of being very good at some subjects and very bad at other subjects is something that applies to a lot of us. I eventually just focused on what I was good at, avoided what I was bad at, and it worked out. Languages by the way was NOT what I was good at. We each have our strengths and our weaknesses.