SUNY and its different campuses

<p>Weenie..you are so right. My D has SUNY on her list for financial reasons but doesn't really want to go to any of them. She goes to a very diverse HS and commented that she didn't like the idea of everyone looking like her. Thats one of the main reasons she like American U in DC, very diverse. She made a comment after visiting a SUNY..."if I wanted to see everygirl wearing a northface jacket and carrying a coach bag, I'd stay home".</p>

<p>Blumini- Sorry no SUNY Liberal Arts in Manhattan but don't overlook CUNY-Hunter, CCNY, as well as Baruch (business) John Jay (criminal justice) or Brooklyn & Queens College. More LI kids are going to CUNY schools. The main draw back is that there are no dorms. From LI, the kids commute so it's not too terrible. If you are in the NYC area, CUNY schools could work, but it you are further away, it may not be a viable option. There are SUNY schools (with dorms) on LI, including Stony Brook, Farmingdale, and Old Westbury- so if you want to be near NYC but must have dorm facilities, you can look at those schools. Stony Brook is a great school but as it is on LI, many local kids want to go further from home (I don't know why) and those that go to SB often come home on week-ends. FIT is a SUNY school in NYC but it has a very specialized program. I believe they have dorms but you must live a certain distance from NYC to be eligible to live in their dorms. If you want easy access to Manhattan, you can also check out Montclair State (NJ). It's suppossedly a quick train ride to NYC. I got their brochure at a college fair on LI. It looks promising but we haven't checked it out yet. The OOS tuition seemed pretty reasonable. I believe it was under $10,000 and they are building alot of new dorms. Hope this info in helpful. Twinmom- I didn't know Jerry Seinfield went to Oswego. Chocolate I was going to PM you, but I don't think I can. Anyway good luck to your son. He's got some nice choices. Re: JMU, coincidentally we did see it a few years ago while we were on a family vacation to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Though it is a nice campus, I believe the area is too small town for d. If she should get good SAT scores, we may consider College of Charleston for her. We may also look into U. of Tampa. Once we get the SAT/ACT scores, we'll have a much better idea as to what schools we should focus us. If her scores aren't good, we will have to consider a community college too. A SUNY story: GC told us about a kid last year who had B+ average and 1090 on SAT's. Kid was rejected from Cortland. This definitely upset me. The SUNY's are getting very competitive too. There really is no such thing as a safety school (except community college). Good luck to all.</p>

<p>Chocolate,
I feel compelled to mention my son's friend who is a freshman at Towson. This boy is the youngest of three, quiet, good student, but not outstanding, naturally athletic but not a jock and one of the nicest boys of all my son's friends. His parents were concerned when he chose Towson because it was so far away and no one else from his HS would be going there. He refused to do any of the freshman mixer activites. His roommate went home every weekend and ended up dropping out after Christmas.</p>

<p>But Son's friend is thriving at Towson. He joined an intermural sports team, is trying to start an interesting club and has decided to double major in two challenging subjects. This is a guy who has never moved, never gone to a summer camp except boy scout camp, doesn't drink and still found his place at a large college. BTW, his parents are both SUNY graduates and the father loved Quinnapiac.</p>

<p>Just an aside here on Hunter College - they do appear to have housing, at least that's what I believe I read on their website.</p>

<p>Hmm, maybe someone should split off these great U of MD at Towson posts? They're certainly worth reading for anyone interested in that school. :)</p>

<p>My recollection from 30+ years ago being a Brooklyn HS student, the only housing Hunter had was for the Nursing Students. Sisters-friends daughter is a swimmer and is going to Hunter in the fall. Apparently they have housing for athletes too. I guess this makes sense as they probably do not want their students taking the subway from the Bronx or Brooklyn at 4:00AM. Double check with Hunter as my info may be wrong. But do not depend on Housing at Hunter unless they tell you otherwise.</p>

<p>"Also from our Nassau county HS, Albany and Buffalo seem to be popular, as a lot of our kids find Binghamton and Geneseo too rural. I guess there are not enough shopping malls in the area."</p>

<p>Binghamton U. is actually located in Vestal, New York, which has no shortage of shopping malls. Vestal has turned into something of a regional shopping hub in the last few years.</p>

<p>Greybeard, what's your take on Binghamton? Besides getting a solid education for your dollar, what else does it have going for it? Against it? Keep hearing two diverging opinions: either love being there -- or what to transfer out within the first 24 hours of being on campus.</p>

<p>Collegeparent,</p>

<p>I didn't attend Binghamton, but I grew up right up the street, and visit the area annually.</p>

<p>I strongly considered going there, and may well have done so if it hadn't meant living at home at a time when I was anxious to spread my wings.</p>

<p>The Binghamton area (like much of upstate New York) has been one of declining prosperity and population for the last few decades. It's not blighted, and the crime rate is low, but the factory jobs that used to drive the economy have moved elsewhere. Vestal (population 27,000 or so, the last time I checked) is probably the most prosperous town in the area, due mostly to its success as a retail hub. The campus itself is pleasant; the architecture is a bit utilitarian in appearance, but the setting is pretty. There are wooded hills in the area (leading to great fall colors); and the Susquehanna river runs near the campus and is quite pretty. </p>

<p>The weather in the summer tends to be hot and humid, with frequently overcast skies; the winter weather tends to be cold and wet, with frequently overcast skies. Spring weather is all over the map, but with a lot of overcast skies. Fall colors in the area are spectacular enough to make you forget about the overcast skies.</p>

<p>Binghamton is one of the four university centers of the SUNY system (among 20 or so colleges), but a little smaller than the other three; Harpur College (the liberal arts school at its center) was once a private liberal arts college. I knew several professors as a result of attending school with their children, and was very impressed by them.</p>

<p>Rents are low in the Binghamton area (less so in Vestal); a lot of students live off campus for that reason, but there's a fair amount to do on campus. (I went to several concerts there when I was in high school, and was a regular listener to the college radio station when I lived there.) </p>

<p>Camille Paglia went there in the 60's, and speaks very high of the experience. It has a good theater department that puts on very good productions; Paul Reiser went there in the seventies.</p>

<p>You can definitelhy get a first-rate education there at a reasonable price.</p>

<p>Kathiep,
Thank you for your thoughtful post about your son's friend who is thriving at Towson. I know there are plenty of kids who are similar to my son in personality--but that those parents are SUNY grads and the Dad loves Quinnipiac is quite a coincidence! My impressions of Towson were very similar to yours--although I did not realize he could end up rooming with upperclassmen. We don't know anyone there now nor anyone going in the fall which adds to the anxiety. We went down to the Inner Harbor for lunch on a beautiful fall day and it made a lasting impression. I was impressed with the dining hall also. We were there on a Saturday and there were kids all over the place, which made me a little more at ease as I heard it was a bit of a commuter school. My cousin who lives in MD has checked around for me with her friends who have kids there and they all said the same thing: small class sizes. One of the main reasons we wanted private was for smaller classes where he would not be lost. If he can get that at Towson which I think has a superb location as far as opportunities for internships and fun things to do, why pay more. Two major league teams within 15 minutes is very appealing to him as he is a huge sports fan. He will be visiting again on the 23rd and he will have to decide as time is running out. </p>

<p>The poster who mentioned that some SUNY's have a ''high school feel"--that is a criticism I have heard before. There are many kids going to Cortland, Albany and Binghamton from my son's hs, so depending on the kid, they might not branch out and might stick with what is comfortable. My son would definitely fall into that trap. </p>

<p>Years ago when H and I were at Oswego, we basically stuck with the Long Islanders. We had a few friends that were upstaters, but there were a lot of cliques on campus. I don't know if Marny1, an Oswego alum had the same experience. I would hope things have changed by now.</p>

<p>Chocolate, tried to send you a pm, but you don't allow them. If you'd like you can pm me.</p>

<p>Kathiep, I fixed my settings (I think). I'd love to hear from you.</p>

<p>Chocolate,
I sent you a pm. To retreive it, go to the very top of this page and click on the Private message link.</p>

<p>Chocolate-You may want to take your daughters to look at Lynchburg College in VA-nice campus and fairly good with merit financial aid based on SAT scores. Beautiful campus-kids seemed happy-D got in but decided to attend school closer to home.</p>

<p>bxian--Lynchburg was on my radar screen for my son as he plays baseball and they are DIII. I think it was featured in one of Pope's books, so I had wanted him to look at it. He said it was too far. It will definitely be on the list for the girls.</p>

<p>Were you the one who posted a long trip report of good colleges for B students? This would have been last year. I remember an x in the name. If it was you, I printed that report out and we looked at many of the same schools.</p>

<p>Have a friend whose Dd is finishing her freshman year at Geneseo (sp?).
D is enjoying it but is bored to tears at times.Nowhere to go, middle of a cowfield type complaints.Transportation is bad, they run buses back to Long Island for the holiday break periods.Family picked it b/c its now known as the SUNY 'Honors College" but the mom thinks Dd won't last the four years and will want to transfer.
When my D was looking for music schools four years ago she got recruited by SUNY Potsdam.Refused to look at it..too cold..to remote. When enrolled students called her on the phone one of her questions was.."what do you do for fun?" their answer was.."we go to Canada..its only an hour away".But people who have gone there enjoyed their time..it educates over 50% of NY States school music teachers.</p>

<p>Hey, I am sorry for the Oswego alum that seemed to not like the school, but I assure you that there are MANY of us Oswego alum who just cherish and adore our time there and love the school. Some of us would have just transferred rather than spend the rest of out lives regretting the decision to go there. Trust me, Oswego has more than enough academic depth to offer it's students and is molded in the traditional New England Liberal Arts College mold. An internship that is 35 minutes away from Oswego seems OK to me because in a larger city, an internship 5 miles away can easily be 35 min's. Visit the schools, your heart will tell you where to go! Just don't be bitter if you don't listen to it ;-) Good luck!</p>

<p>It seems my fellow Oswegonian tomslawsky has resurrected this post. So a year later and after many college tours, where does my d decide to go?? Suny Cortland. To be honest, I never thought my kid would end up at a SUNY. Her reaction towards SUNY's was IT's TOO Cold, too remote, too boring.
During her Jr. year, we were in Va, Md, & Pa and visited at least 8 to 10 schools including Towson- George Mason- VCU and a bunch others. She wasn't impressed.
We first did our SUNY visits in Sept. of this year. I expected her to go kicking and screaming and say NO Way. But surprisingly- she felt comfortable and liked the campuses. We checked out Oneonta- Cortland and even Delhi (as a safety). I gotta admit- the campuses looked better than I thought. Oneonta and Cortland are "mid size campuses" with enrollments of 5,000-8,000. Maybe it was the thought of being too far from home, or my d's realization that she has a bunch of friends going to school in Binghamton and Syracuse-- and Cortland is close to both places.
A year ago- I never would have thought my d would by going to a Suny school. But we just sent in our deposit to Cortland last week -- Life is filled with surprises.</p>

<p>Regarding SUNY Geneseo..... I grew up about 4 miles from campus and must say I think it's a lovely school (although I never attended there).As far as nothing to do? Once students seem to get over the fact that the nearest mall is 30 minutes away they adjust very well. I mean what do college kids do for enjoyment? Movies...they have it. Computer...enough said....Excercise....nice facilities....Outdoor activity....they have one of the most impressive parks (Letchworth) 10 minutes away)...partying....their bar scene is well renowned, frats & sororities. They always have had a large number of "downstate" students and have a 90% retention rate. I think it's the best SUNY out there...but admittidly I'm a little biased!!!!</p>

<p>Glad to see this thread has been revived and appreciate hearing the impressions and insights from everyone.</p>

<p>Hoping to visit Geneseo sometime in June - even though the students won't be there... Our closest SUNY is Purchase... It's been suggested we stop by Albany and New Paltz, as well. </p>

<p>We live in an area that is incredibly status seeking, but fortunately there are some smart kids and parents who don't look askance at the SUNY acronym... We just can't afford the tuition at the liberal arts colleges in New England and unless there's a financial/merit aid miracle, they'll be way out of the question - so I'm very interested in learning more about the NY state schools.</p>

<p>Suny Purchase merits a closer look. This SUNY has a stellar liberal arts faculty and the advantage of being close to New York City. Good luck on your college search!</p>