Well, we’re deep into the throes of admissions application reading season, which means lots of long hours staring at my screen, trying to piece together transcripts and test scores and recommendation letters and all that jazz as we try to craft our incoming class for Fall 2010.
There’s a lot of things that go into a successful application to Stony Brook; as we’re reading, here are some of the things we’re seeing. (And I know this won’t help the seniors much, but it might help the Class of 2011.)
* Please keep taking math in 12th grade. Especially if you’re going to be involved in an academic program that requires it (math, science, engineering, or business, for example), but even if you’re not. Political Science requires statistics, as do a lot of the social sciences. Even English majors are still required to take one math and two science classes during their time here at Stony Brook, and math is not easy to pick back up if you’ve spent time away from it.
* If there’s a deadline — even a recommended one, like we have — then please do your best to get things in well in advance of it. We’ve gotten a lot of phone calls in the last two weeks about applications/transcripts/recommendations that were sent at the end of December for the December 31 deadline for our honors programs. “Not for nothing,” as I tend to say, but if you’re applying for an honors program, wouldn’t you want to show us how much you’re on your game by getting everything in early? (Maybe that’s just me.)
A quick note on transfers: We are CLOSED for spring, and we have been for several weeks now. (And no, there’s really nothing you can do at this point.) However… if you are planning to apply for Fall 2010 as a transfer student to Stony Brook, be aware that the deadline is March 1 for applications.
That means that by March 1 — at the time of application — we’ll be looking for 24 completed college credits (that’s typically at least two completed semesters, not one complete and one in progress) with at least a 3.0 GPA. There is some wiggle room for students who are earning an associate’s degree from a local community college, but transfer space is very tight these days, so please be sure to get your documentation in to us as early as possible. We’ll admit transfers for fall on a space-available basis… and once that space is full, it’s full, unfortunately.
That said — best wishes to the high school seniors! (Don’t get senioritis!) I’ll hopefully have some more information soon about where I’ll be this spring so you all can come see me on the road.
Hello
i stumbled onto your blog site since at the moment I'm completely driving myself insane and I don't even plan to attend Stony Brook till 2012. But I need some advice before I spend anymore time (and $$) trying to figure out if SB will accept me or not into their accelerated BSN program. I know that you probably work mainly with HS students in different majors but I was hoping you can give me at least some peace of mind.
I have a BA and MBA both in Business. My undergraduate GPA is less than steller (2.5) since I was pretty much young, dumb and stupid and couldn't figure out what i was really interested in. And pursued an MBA b/c I figured I had a BA in business why not go for an MBA?…My cum GPA was definitely better than my undergrad (3.03) but still not competitive. And to make my long story short, I did a lot of soul searching and figured that where i wanted to be was in nursing. Currently I'm taking my pre-req's to get in and so far I have a solid 4.0 this past semester. Totalling all my GPA's together and hypothetically predicting I will get A's in my next 3 classes i will not even come close to the required min. GPA that they want…(2.8). SB is my first choice and at this point my only choice (very dangerous but I'm being optimistic). i'm trying to see if I can volunteer at a hospital to see if maybe my chances of getting into the program increase. But, bottom line my question is….how rigid are they in looking at the minimum GPA to apply? I've heard SB looks at the whole package and place alot of emphasis on the essay portion (which I fully plan to go all out on) but also, what if i take any standardized tests? Will that hurt me or will that make me stand out a little more? i had registered to take the GRE since another school required it until i saw the tuition and decided i couldn't afford it. If i submit those scores and they're at least satisfactory will that help? Also, there is also a nursing entrance exam that some schools require you to take…SB doesn't require it but was thinking that if I score well on the test maybe it could show my aptitude for nursing and would be more inclined to accept me into the program…..Any suggestions or advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.
thanks!
I'll say this… never make our nursing program your "only" choice; it's very difficult to get into, and as such, their minimum GPA is usually pretty solid.
I'd suggest you contact them directly; unfortunately, we don't work with nursing applicants in our office, as all their applications are handled internally. Check their site, or call 631-444-3200 and talk with them. Good luck!