<p>And oh, my Mom lived in watwetown for a while. She spent most of her girlhood in VT but said that Watertown was colder and snowier. I think attracting OOS students is the only way to enhance the national presence of SUNY schools, so I say, the warmer the better!</p>
<p>@Clendenenator: Whoever suggested Watertown doesn't know the temperature over there can drop to -30 degrees Fahrenheit during the winter.</p>
<p>Why not near Cooperstown/Lake George? Great location (closer to Albany and only a few hours from NYC) and it already has one attraction that appeals to OOS kids. Plus it's not as godd**n cold as Sodom, I mean Watertown.</p>
<p>I was not suggesting tearing down Stony Brook, just the opposite. I agree with poster that we would not want to price students out of attending, but we would also like students to feel proud of their school(s) and not view SUNY schools as only financial safeties and last resorts. BTW, I have read that some Cali parents are sending kids to SUNY schools because they are cheaper OOS than UC schools are in-state. Weird, no?</p>
<p>in response to collegehelp, Columbia was indeed a top choice along with a few others. However, Penn was right there with Columbia, so I am not too disappointed. As far as Cornell goes, I was accepted but declined to go. I have a few extended family members that attended so I know a lot about the school.</p>
<p>And the comment that I made above was actually conveyed to me by a real binghamton student who was talking about her sister. </p>
<p>A real conversation:</p>
<p>Her: My sister just scored a 2280 on her SATs
Me: Congratulations...Where does she want to go?
Her: Dartmouth
Me: She should definitely apply to Cornell if she likes rural places?
Her: I think she can "do better" than Cornell. It's the worst ivy.</p>
<p>There is a desparate need for this.
As others have mentioned, when I was applying the 4 flagship campuses were held in higher regard than they are now.</p>
<p>I guess one reasonable path would be to restore SUNY Albany to former glory, and beyond, through funding and admissions standards.</p>
<p>It would be intiguing to see them develop a whole new campus within shouting distance of Cornell.</p>
<p>But I can't see them coming up with the money for that.</p>
<p>Columbiahopeful-</p>
<p>Binghamton student: My sister scored 2280 on her SATs and decided not to go to Cornell.
Me: I can't understand why her absence from the Cornell freshman class went unnoticed...but maybe it was because Cornell's freshman class included more than 600 students with higher SATs than hers.</p>
<p>By the way, 600 students is more than half the size of Dartmouths entire freshman class.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The unemployment rate in NYC in June was 5.2%, in Binghamton it was 4.4%, in Rochester 4.3%.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Upstate NY is a retail economy though, the unemployment rate may be lower but it's people making peanuts at unfulfilling jobs. </p>
<p>
[quote]
$32K buys more in Binghamton that $100K in NYC.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>LOL! No it doesn't, not that there is much quality stuff to buy in Binghamton.</p>
<p>Dwincho-</p>
<p>That's the point I was trying to make to Collegehelp who doesn't believe the economy is failing in upstate NY. Just because there is a low unemployment rate doesn't mean their economy is prosperous.</p>
<p>In response to the OP, Stony Brook has the best upside of the universities: campus growth, a wealthy alumni base and a great location. Given time and more funding it can become a peer to schools such as Penn State, UIUC, Washington or even Wisconsin.</p>
<p>SUNY Geneseo may already be the premier public LAC in the nation. I don't think it lags any behind local privates Colgate, Bard, Hamilton, Union.</p>
<p>dwincho-
According to the cost-of-living calculator on salary.com, a $35K salary in Binghamton is equivalent to a $92K salary in NYC. </p>
<p>I don't think any economy is a retail economy except in tourist areas. In Rochester, the economy is primarily technology, medical, and education. The largest employer is the University of Rochester, including the medical center. Eastman Kodak has been gradually downsizing for 20 years and other businesses and industries have moved in. Kodak has transitioned to digital. It is still an awesome company. Rochester is a great place to live.</p>
<p>You should continue to offer your opinions about things. That's what a discussion is about.</p>
<p>So, at what distance from NYC do construction costs and cost of living begin to moderate?</p>
<p>from New York Building Congress Research and Analysis web page:</p>
<p>New York City has experienced larger increases in construction costs than any other U.S. city. From 1979 through 2005, construction costs increased by 300%, significantly more than cities like Boston (175%), Los Angeles (130%) and Dallas (95%), and rose by nearly 6% in 2004 and 9% in 2005. In 2006, the City’s construction costs are increasing at a rate of about 1% per month, adding to uncertainty about the timelines and funding of projects large and small.</p>
<p>marny1,
Re your inquiry about my Cornell thoughts, my comments have been in response to the idea of creating a great flagship for the state of New York. Please review my posts as I clearly stated in my first comment (#19) that converting Cornell to a fully public university "might be a crazy idea." However, I (and probably many others) don't have as clear an understanding as I should of what Cornell's land grant status means to the people of New York and any claims that they may have or should have on enrollment places at Cornell. So, if you feel like it, please educate me as I am not trying to insult anybody. Cornell is a wonderful university, but personally I don't see how converting it to a public form would make it any less wonderful and frankly I could construct strong and positive arguments for Cornell as the only public in the Ivy League. But I am not tied to the school and am not a taxpayer in New York, so my stake in this is close to zero. It was just an idea and, after I learn more and better understand, then I'll probably agree it was a hare-brained thought.</p>
<p>This has been talked about since SUNY was created and it will never happen. It is not politically feasible to focus on one campus at the expense of others. They should have made Albany the flagship, due to its central location, from the start and given it the law school and medical school etc. Can't be done, so SUNY is fated to mediocrity.</p>
<p>hawette: The way things work at Cornell is that three of the "schools" at Cornell, those supported in part by NYS offer deep discounts in tuition to NYS residents. The other four "schools" including Arts and Sciences, the largest in enrollment and the central liberal arts core of the university, do not have land grant status and are strictly private. These, of course, do not offer discounts to NYS residents. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>If it's going to be one of the existing schools I think it has to be Albany. The upstaters would not abide having the flagship downstate, at Stony Brook or even Purchase.</p>
<p>Why do you feel it can't be done?</p>
<p>Willow55: I understand your point, but I doubt those in Western NY think Albany a central location. Albany certainly is a "fairer" location than my proposal, so your right there.</p>
<p>I hope you're wrong that SUNY is fated to mediocrity. I still suspect that the preponderance of private schools in NYS has something to do with this. I have often wondered if the unappealing architecture had something to do with this.</p>
<p>Thinking about this thread made me wonder about expanding New Paltz which can also attract a downstate population. It's already in a nice town and could benefit from a consortium with Vassar, Bard, Marist a la UMASS Amherst.</p>
<p>The Rochester economy is doing pretty well - at least in comparison to Syracuse. Syracuse has lost a TON of jobs, my parents are living there now. It has about as dismal of a job market as you can possibly get, I'm doing all I can to get them to leave the area and I'm about 98% sure I will never return myself. Housing sure is cheap, though. </p>
<p>People sometimes knock Cornell, but it's kind of funny. Who would have thought that the educated could be so naive about something!</p>
<p>"the largest in enrollment and the central liberal arts core of the university, do not have land grant status and are strictly private"</p>
<p>the endowed colleges do indeed have land grant status. It has nothing to do with private vs. public. By your logic, MIT is a public school? All 8 Ivy League schools applied for the land grant status. </p>
<p>also, the contract colleges at Cornell are completely private as well - ALL of Cornell is privately run. Look it up!</p>