You’re right about the Story Brook being a great option for me as it also accept AP scores for college credits; I think they accept 30 as a maximum and that’s achievable with total of 9 AP classes I’ll take. I most likely would pay very little for this college. As for other colleges you’ve mentioned, I’m definitely considering them, I still have time. Lehigh, Case Western, and maybe North Eastern seem most appealing to me. Another thing about lehigh is that the median salary after graduation seem to be higher than most high end schools. I am going to schedule a meeting with my counselor too and see if I can get a fee waiver which I could use to take the sat and multiple subject tests otherwise I’ll just take one. Another question I have is about college recomendations. I have great relationship with my mobile app design, intro to programming and soon AP comp science elective teacher who constantly compliments my work. Would it be a good idea to get letters of recommendation from elective teachers?
Definitely get a recommendation from the teacher you have the closest and most positive relationship with. Ideally, if you can also get one from a teacher in a core subject in a different academic area - like perhaps an English or History teacher who can speak to your writing (which I will say is terrific even for a native English speaker - even more impressive given that English is your third language), participation in discussions, etc., that would provide an ideal balance. But ultimately, choosing people who know you the best and can express what’s special about you is more important than subject area. It’s also great to get these requests in before the end of this year, if you can, so that you don’t become part of the last-minute-request crowd in the fall. Teachers appreciate being asked early!
Most schools do give AP credit, though some have a lower cap than the 30 credits at SUNY, and it varies whether schools will give you credit toward specific requirements or just elective credit. Definitely seek out the SAT/ACT fee waivers! (If you can get both, go for it, as some people naturally do better on one test than the other, and schools don’t care which you submit.)
Also (speaking of your writing) take a look at the Common App essay prompts. https://www.commonapp.org/whats-appening/application-updates/common-application-announces-2017-2018-essay-prompts It was already announced that these are not changing in the coming year. It’s early yet, but if you look at them now, you can start thinking about which prompt you would like to use for your Personal Statement and what you intend to focus on. If you start brainstorming ideas early, it will make it easier when you get down to the writing. (Some AP Lang teachers assign this in junior year spring, to get their students started, so maybe you’re already doing it, but just mentioning in case not.)
Definitely take your time browsing schools. You’re right on schedule as far as laying the groundwork; it’ll be a while before you have to finalize a list.
@aqupt
Somewhere on CC this year I was encouraging an excellent student to go to Stony Brook because of the very high quality of its CS program. As I understand it, it is the focus for CS in the in the SUNY system. The student was trying to decide between Stony Brook and Binghamton. This particular student was taken by the Biinghamton campus and felt Stony Brook was too far in the country. Both schools are excellent.
It is difficult for me to account for all the variables in a student/parent selection process. We can just hope they get their facts straight so they are not burnt too badly in the process. My current paranoia centers on the “populists” approach to education where unfounded back yard conversation takes the place of central truths such as job placement, costs, and GS placement. This is particularly true as the competition shifts. For example, students/parents need to know the difference between a BS in CS and a BS in Biology, The University name on the diploma will not makeup the difference.
Less marketing and easier access to some CURRENT facts will help the rather large number of quality Universities to ease the unhealthy fanaticism which now surrounds the HYP, MIT, Caltech groupings. I’ve read entries where participants confidently question if it is safe to step out of the top 20 USNEWS rankings to find a school to meet their needs or aspirations. This sort of over zealous focus is not helping students and parents optimize their own decision process and is unduly stressing parents and students.
When I was a student in a small engineering college we had alumni as the CEO’s of GM, Xerox, and United Technologies simultaneously. The graduating classes were only about 360 students. The student body was largely first generation college. These were not inherited positions. If you stepped out of the state, very few people who were not engineers had heard of the college. We did make the NY Times sports page when a rival engineering college broke the longest loosing streak in Division III football by defeating us. The country is full of stories like this.
Since you are looking at AP tests as a means of earning college credits, please make sure to remember that, while SUNY schools accept a 3, many private schools do not. You may earn all 4’s and 5’s, but there are no guarantees in life. My S17 chose a SUNY over a private, for many reasons, but one was that all of his AP scores would earn credit, not just a few. A couple of private schools, that are not considered to academic strongholds, would only give credits for 4 and 5.
You may also qualify for Excelsior, which would make SUNY an even better financial choice.
My son’s school is 8 hours from LI. The school has a bus, he can take Amtrak or even fly home, which he has done a couple of times because I have saved so much on the tuition that I can spring for it.
For some people, private schools are the best financial deal. I would venture to guess that that group is a lot smaller than people think.