I recently got all of my college decisions back and I’ve been accepted to all eleven schools I applied to, including SUNY New Paltz and UoR. I’m leaning towards NP right now because of the great aid I was offered and the small town vibes, but I also fell in love with UoR when I visited. Even though I got practically 3x the aid of a SUNY school for UoR, the total cost still is more than NP in the end. I’m planning on double majoring in Fine Arts and Creative Writing with maybe a minor in communications, and I know both schools have their strong points and weak points in these areas. I’m worried I might be making the wrong choice, but I can’t figure out what to do! Also, I read on the forums for NP how drugs and alcohol are really present throughout the campus and I really don’t like those types of things, so I’m worried about how campus life in NP may be if those things are true. I’m running out of time to make a decision and have no clue what to do! Help!
Are both schools affordable for your family? If one school requires more debt I’d take that into consideration.
New Paltz is a decent sized school. There will be plenty of kids who don’t party.
Which program do you like better?
New Paltz costs way less than Rochester to begin with, so even though I got a bigger scholarship from UoR it still brings them down to below 10K each. NP will still cost around 5K less than Rochester, and if I get a problem with a missing scholarship worked out I may somehow get the entire bill for New Paltz covered, but I’m not completely sure about it. I’ve heard that the art program at NP is great and one of the best in the SUNY system, but that the Writing program at UoR is also really good! I’m conflicted!
SUNY New Paltz has an elite level art program, ranking higher than that of many pure art schools. Their facilities for art are thus also pretty wow. And the vibe on campus is pretty arty.
I wouldn’t worry about a culture of drugs and alcohol- every school has some element of that, but you’re just as likely to find your group of friends that isn’t into partying. New Paltz is also aware of its reputation as a stoner school and is attempting to crack down on that.