<p>I plan to go to this area in the next few months. What schools are in this area? I think that Ithaca College, Wells, Suny Cortland, and Elmira are in this area. Any others? No, Cornell is not the type of school for our son.</p>
<p>Does anyone know anything about Elmira or Wells? If so, please comment.</p>
<p>A former student of mine is in her third year at St. Bonaventure College (journalism major). She likes it very much.</p>
<p>It is south of Buffalo, probably closer to 2.5 hours from Ithaca.</p>
<p>Colgate is in the general vicinity.</p>
<p>We (goaliegirl and I) did a driveby tour of schools (that have womens hockey) in that region after she finished 10th grade last year. </p>
<p>Elmira was on that list. It is a small school (both student count and campus) set into a primarily residential area of town. A mixture of fairly old (the campus is historic) and 1970ish buildings. They have a new building under construction (can't remember what it is for offhand and when we saw it, they had just begun). School is about spirit, as all of the doors are painted purple (along with anything else they can paint). Flowers planted about the place are all purple and yellow (school colors).</p>
<p>They do seem to have plenty of offers of merit money without too unreasonable GPA reqirements. They are a FAFSA only school too IIRC.</p>
<p>If you want to know more, I believe there is a member ecalum, who is (by screenname) an Elmira College alum.</p>
<p>From the list of schools you left, I take it that you are looking for a B+ student? Other schools within the region you might look at would be Utica (more of a practical school) - probably a safety as well, Niagara (very much a catholic school if you are into that), Oswego (right on the lake including a new frosh dorm on the water + great merit money for OOS - and my dad was an alum) if you are considering Cortland, Brockport (we didn't go there, but I thought I'd plug my mom's alma mater), and Cazenovia (my DW went there, but we didn't visit).</p>
<p>What are your son's interests and priorities? Is $$$ a factor?</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses! </p>
<p>Yes, my son is a B+ student who is not a great standardized test taker. He does far better in the classroom than the way he tests. He does work for his grades, but is a B+ student who does take on a challenge. I do not want him over his head, so schools like Colgate or Hamilton are not worth looking at. </p>
<p>$$ is a big factor and we are middle to upper middle class I guess.</p>
<p>We are not interested in Catholic schools, or any religious schools.</p>
<p>He is big on volunteering, all around good kid, has a somewhat unusual hobby which I won't discuss on CC. He does very well on interviews where his personality shines. He is the kind of person who knows just what to say in every situation to make you feel good about yourself (something that can't be taught, IMO. Either "you have it, or you don't." This kid has that gift.).</p>
<p>Syracuse University?</p>
<p>Denise, thanks. Syracuse is a bigger than my son would like, and end up being too expensive IMO. We did tour this school with our older son. It is a very nice school.</p>
<p>I did a Naviance search of schools within 120 miles of Ithaca. It's a long list. But maybe something will pop out at you.</p>
<pre><code>Search Criteria
</code></pre>
<p>4 year
Distance: within 120 miles of zip code: 14853 </p>
<p>SUNY Alfred Alfred, NY </p>
<p>Alfred Univ Alfred, NY </p>
<p>Baptist Bible Coll of PA Clarks Summit, PA </p>
<p>SUNY Binghamton Binghamton, NY </p>
<p>Bloomsburg Univ of PA Bloomsburg, PA </p>
<p>Bryant and Stratton College Syracuse, NY </p>
<p>Bucknell Univ Lewisburg, PA </p>
<p>Cambria County Area Community College Johnstown, PA </p>
<p>Cazenovia Coll Cazenovia, NY </p>
<p>Colgate Univ Hamilton, NY </p>
<p>Cornell Univ Ithaca, NY </p>
<p>Elmira Coll Elmira, NY </p>
<p>Hamilton Coll - NY Clinton, NY </p>
<p>Hartwick Coll Oneonta, NY </p>
<p>Hobart & Wm Smith Coll Geneva, NY </p>
<p>Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary Jordanville, NY </p>
<p>Houghton Coll Houghton, NY </p>
<p>Ithaca Coll Ithaca, NY </p>
<p>Keuka Coll Keuka Park, NY </p>
<p>Keystone Coll La Plume, PA </p>
<p>King's College Wilkes-Barre, PA </p>
<p>Lackawanna Coll Scranton, PA </p>
<p>Le Moyne Coll Syracuse, NY </p>
<p>Lock Haven Univ of PA Lock Haven, PA </p>
<p>Lycoming Coll Williamsport, PA </p>
<p>Mansfield Univ of PA Mansfield, PA </p>
<p>Marywood Univ Scranton, PA </p>
<p>Misericordia Univ Dallas, PA </p>
<p>Nazareth Coll of Rochester Rochester, NY </p>
<p>Penn Coll of Technology Williamsport, PA </p>
<p>PSU Hazleton Hazleton, PA </p>
<p>PSU Wilkes-Barre Lehman, PA </p>
<p>PSU, Worthington Scranton Dunmore, PA </p>
<p>Roberts Wesleyan Coll Rochester, NY </p>
<p>Rochester Inst of Tech Rochester, NY </p>
<p>U of Rochester Rochester, NY </p>
<p>U of Scranton Scranton, PA </p>
<p>St Bonaventure Univ St. Bonaventure, NY </p>
<p>St John Fisher Coll Rochester, NY </p>
<p>State Univ of New York Upstate Medical Univ Syracuse, NY </p>
<p>SUNY Brockport Brockport, NY </p>
<p>SUNY Cobleskill Cobleskill, NY </p>
<p>SUNY Cortland Cortland, NY </p>
<p>SUNY ESF Syracuse, NY </p>
<p>SUNY Geneseo Geneseo, NY </p>
<p>SUNY Morrisville Morrisville, NY </p>
<p>SUNY Oneonta Oneonta, NY </p>
<p>SUNY Upstate Med Univ Syracuse, NY </p>
<p>SUNY Inst of Tech Utica, NY </p>
<p>SUNY Oswego Oswego, NY </p>
<p>Susquehanna Univ Selinsgrove, PA </p>
<p>Syracuse Univ Syracuse, NY </p>
<p>Talmudical Inst of Upstate NY Rochester, NY </p>
<p>Utica Coll Utica, NY </p>
<p>Wells Coll Aurora, NY </p>
<p>Wilkes Univ Wilkes-Barre, PA </p>
<p>Yeshiva Beth Moshe Scranton, PA </p>
<p>Yeshivath Zichron Moshe South Fallsburg, NY</p>
<p>Thank you Denise. I don't have access to Naviance although I think our HS got it recently for seniors to use. I did not even know that you could use Naviance to do a search like that! That's great!</p>
<p>Any CC posters who are familiar with the schools above? I am familiar with Oswego bc we have a relative who is an alum. Also, we are familiar with Susquehanna, and Hartwick.</p>
<p>Also, which SUNY would be best to look at for a history or English major (leaning toward English)? We are not intested in Suny Bing. I am sure that Geneseo would be a real reach.</p>
<p>Here are the Scholarship links for Elmira</p>
<p>Elmira</a> College : Admissions : Financial Aid : Scholarships & Awards</p>
<p>and Oswego</p>
<p>SUNY</a> Oswego - Financial Aid Office: Merit Scholarships</p>
<p>Do note that the Residential Scholarship (free room to OOS students) comes on top of the other money. With a total Tuition/R&B/Fees of about $23K, that approx $7K - $10K of merit money makes Oswego a steal.</p>
<p>Not sure where your son is test score wise, so I cannot give you a more precise estimate. </p>
<p>If it makes you feel any better goaliegirl also does not come out as well on standardized tests. Hoping this will improve.</p>
<p>goaliedad, Thank you very much! I can't look at every Suny, so I am trying to decide between looking at Cortland, Oneonta, and Oswego. I know how frigid Oswego is, but are they all equally freezing and buried under snow? I also wonder how hard it is to keep a 3.0 at both Elmira and Oswego (we are OOS, but the deal looks good for OOS at Oswego). It looks like my son would qualify for 3 different scholarships on Elmira's scholarship page (an academic, leadership, and then the small visiting one if we go). I wonder if they stack them. It seems like they would, but 25% of students leave after freshman year, which hints that perhaps a nice chunk of students lose their scholarships (or leave for other reasons).</p>
<p>While I cannot speak for your son, I'd tend to say that for kids who "underperform" on standardized tests, keeping a 3.0 should be easier than for most. Add in the fact that he is not trying to major in one of those STEM majors with weeder classes, and I say that his chances are probably pretty good.</p>
<p>I'm not sure where you found the 25% rate, but it wouldn't surprise me at this level of state U. Let's face it, these schools are not populated with the self-driven, 4.0 types who are so driven to succeed that failure is not an option. If you are worried about your son losing focus on the academic achievement to the extent that he is getting C grades, then I'd say look elsewhere.</p>
<p>That being said, my niece here in town at the big state university who would be of similar stats to those necessary to get the top merit money at Oswego will probably come up a bit short of the 3.0 this term which if continued another term may cost her her merit money. Like your son, she is big into ECs, volunteering, et al. However, she is taking required classes this term in her proposed major (business) that are not in her strong suit (statistics). Not the best strategy to employ. It would have been better to start with classes where she could have knocked down some easy A's to build up a surplus in the GPA account. When I talked to her recently, she indicated that she would start taking those classes next term. Hopefully, she will right the ship.</p>
<p>Point is that there are lots of reasons why students struggle and end up leaving a school. Just know what yours is likely to do before committing to a program.</p>
<p>BTW, we also visited Cortland while on tour. It was pleasant enough of a school, in some ways prettier than Oswego. I had a chance to talk to a hockey player parent whose daughter turned down Cortland because by the time they got their paperwork in, they merit money had all been spoken for. I guess it is a first come, first serve there. So I guess it would behoove you to get your application in early if you are considering Cortland.</p>
<p>goaliedad, thanks. My son is a junior, but I will be nagging to get apps. in early!</p>
<p>The 25% rate was for Elmira, I did not look up the Suny schools yet.</p>
<p>I applied to and was accepted at Cazenovia with a lot of merit money (as a B+ student with 1920 SATs). It's pretty small, nice looking campus, seemed to have a a good amount of academic offerings for a small school. I ultimately decided not to go because of the small size (and because they discouraged freshmen from bringing their own horses...) but I thought it was nice school.</p>
<p>I believe all of those schools (the three SUNY's mentioned) are pretty equally buried by snow. Oswego is a LOVELY place though. I spent two years in the city (not the college) and it is almost like being in heaven...even with the snow. I just recently went there for a visit and one of my "must sees" before I left was the lakeside on the campus. It is absolutely beautiful, especially in the winter; Lake Ontario borders the campus to the north. The city is also pretty nice, they treat all the college kids like family members.</p>
<p>One word of caution....SUNY Oswego IS a party college. My husband drove taxi in Oswego and most every Friday and Saturday night he picked up tons of drunk students from the bars.</p>
<p>hj0519, thanks.</p>
<p>NikkiLL, thank you for the Oswego info. Your description sounds similar to the one I got from our relative who is an alum.</p>
<p>I guess I misunderstood your post about the 25% being for Elmira. Not sure what to make of that. You might ask about the grading statistics there, if you think kids are losing them and that is what is driving the retention rate. I did notice that their GPA to retain scholarships is higher on the more lucrative scholarships. A 3.4 is much harder to maintain than a 3.0.</p>
<p>Hi Northeast mom, it's been awhile.
Though Cortland has been the absolute right choice for my sport management kid, my gut feeling is that it may not be the best choice for the English/History student.
I think I'd check out Oneonta and New Paltz (hate to add another school to the mix) before Cortland or Oswego.<br>
And as an Oswego alum- I can tell you the winters in Oswego are way different and much more severe than other central NY towns.</p>
<p>I know some solid working professionals in Buffalo and its suburbs, who went to Alfred U. I can imagine they were like your son when they were his age. All of them today are sociable, civic-minded, volunteerers. Might be worth a look-see. I've never been on the campus; I just like their graduates. :)</p>
<p>Also, I've read nice things about Bucknell U. and U of Rochester, here on CC.</p>
<p>I got curious about my alma mater- so I just went to the Oswego site. They do have a creative writing program and also have a cinema studies program. So maybe you shouldn't rule Oswego out. You probably could hit Ithaca college- Wells-Oswego as they're not too far from each other. If you take NYS thruway back towards NY area, you could stop by New Paltz too.</p>