College...hopefully. Maybe? (New York, Boston, York: 2009, apartment, lawyers)

[xwonderx]

I always ramble on too much on forums so I'm going to try to be concise here: I'm a senior in high school and I really want to go to college in New York City. I know it sounds childish and yes, if I really wanted to do this I should have saved up $50k on my own instead of relying on my parents. I know, and that's why I'm trying to gather information.

My weighted GPA is a 2.9. Unweighted is 2.4. I know my GPA sucks, but I'm really not a horrible student. I went to what is literally the hardest school in my area and it's not unusual for students who would have had straight As at another school to scrape by with Cs at this one.

My total SAT score was 1830 (680 Reading, 530 Math, 620 Writing).
I've been active in Drama Club, International Thespian Society, and a tiny bit of volunteering at a nursing home. I took three years of foreign language.

I know that I don't have the grades (or the money) for NYU or Columbia. Sad but true. So now I'm looking at CUNY schools, especially Hunter. I want to major in English and maybe minor in theatre. I need a school that isn't too expensive but I also need to be able to get into it. But so many reviews for Hunter make it sound absolutely terrible. Is it as bad as people say? I have a safety school that I'm almost guaranteed to get in to, so should I apply to NYU just in case? I've heard that NYU is really stingy with scholarships/aid money though, and I just can't afford it without major debt (single parent family with another kid already in college). Do I have any chance of getting in there or should I just focus on another college?

And finally, what are the colleges like? Of course Hunter, NYU, and Marymount Manhattan would all be very different but there must be some generalizations that can be made. What is the dorm situation like in NYC? I've heard mixed reports on whether or not Hunter even has dorms. I don't see how I could possibly live in an apartment in NYC at barely 18 and as a freshman in college, but if that's the common thing I guess I could adapt. And how lonely is it at a commuter college? Do students from the different CUNY schools usually meet and get to know each other or is it kind of isolated?

I'm really stressed out about this (since senior year is basically like being told to decide the entire course of your life in a few short months). So I'd love any advice on NYC colleges.

[NYCAnalyst]

Your GPA sucks, but so does everyone else's. So then, what is your rank / percentile in your class? Are you top 25%? 10%? 5%? I had a 98/100 weighted GPA in high school but I was only in the top 8% of my class. If you are top 25%, you have a small shot at NYU, I'd say top 5% for Columbia because of your low SAT's.

All CUNY's are commuter schools. Like all commuter schools, people hang out with their friends from high school that went to that college, or other CUNY's. It's harder to meet new people at CUNY's for this reason, but it can be done. Around NYC, most of the students you would meet go to NYU / Columbia, or FIT.

NYU and Columbia have dorms. If you are interested in NYC schools, why don't you contact these schools to see if you can do an interview with an alum in your area? That would help you learn more about that school, and living in NYC in general.

(P.S. It's not senior year that decides what college you go to, it's the decisions you make from Freshman - Junior year)

[xwonderx]

Well at this point I'm really looking for information about Hunter (especially the English program) and a little info on CUNY schools in general. I'm right smack in the middle as far as class rank goes.

And of course I know that what college I get into is determined by all that I've done in high school. That wasn't what I meant. I just mean that in senior year, you're suddenly asked to make a really major decision (what college to go to) which can determine a lot about the rest of your life. That's what I find stressful. I know that I haven't earned NYU or Columbia. Really I only mentioned them to make a few generalized comments about my situation in relation to top tier schools in the area. I'm just trying to see if Hunter is a good fit for me.

[NYCAnalyst]

How will you know if it's a good fit for you? You need to either visit the school, and/or talk to Hunter alums in your area.

[xwonderx]

I did visit the school and I liked it well enough, but I keep finding student reviews of it online where people literally say that the administration lies about the school to entice people into going there. A lot of what I've found online is basically saying that everyone who goes there is miserable and that having a degree from Hunter will hold me back from getting a job after graduation.

I admit, I haven't talked to anyone who went to Hunter in my area. I suppose that's the next step.

[NYCAnalyst]

A job? What job do you want? Why do you want to major in English? No offense, but you can't get many jobs with (1) an English degree (2) from Hunter. Maybe you could work at Starbucks if you are lucky.

In NYC, you'll be competing with kids who graduated from Harvard / Princeton / etc. I graduated in 2008 from a top school with a hard science degree and it took me 2 months to find work after graduation - many of my classmates already had jobs lined up in their Senior year of college. This past graduating class (2009), less than 25% had jobs lined up after graduation.

If you are going back home after graduation, you may have a better chance.

The students from my HS who went to Hunter weren't living the glamorous life that you probably see in Sex and the City / Friends - to be honest it is hard to do so unless you have rich parents. They all went home (Queens) every day after classes and hung out with their own friends.

[Cyclops99]

I agree with NYC analyst...while I don't want to insult English majors...I think you need to find something more practical. What do you plan to do with it? I think Hunter has a good teaching program. Maybe you can minor in English instead or double major.

[newtoli]

Please don't major in English unless you want to be an English teacher. I have 3 friends that wish someone told them that way back then, they're in their early 30's and working retail for a living.

[NooYowkur81]

I know of people who went to Law school after being English majors. I also know of people who major in English and something else at the same time, something more practical, something that can get you a job coming out of school. An English degree isn't completely useless. In it of itself it is pretty useless but if your going to get further education it isn't. Unfortunately in general these days the sad truth is that the perceived value of a Bachelors degree has gone way down.

OP, where are you from? Your best route would be to go to a 2 year or a community and work your butt off those 2 years and then transfer to a better school.

[Cyclops99]

I know of people who went to Law school after being English majors.

Don't go to Law School unless you are sure thats what you want to do and know that it cost around $40,000 a year...and lawyers don't ALL make six figures. It is NOT a recession proof career though many think that it is. Too much LA Law and Boston Legal!
If you are interested in studying English and Theater...thats fine. Take electives in that or even minor/double major. But think about the future career.