<p>My son is interested in an Environmental major and is considering SUNY ESF. He has a good GPA with 8 AP courses and a 2100 SAT superscore. We do not live in NY. Was wondering if the school actively seeks out of state students and if they commonly offer merit aid or tuition reductions to in state levels. </p>
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<p>My son is also interested in an Environmental major and will be starting ESF this week. We are from Connecticut and he attended a very good public high school. He had a solid GPA and SATs. He took many honors & AP courses and did well, not amazing. He also had a ton of community service and extra curricular activities - he’s an Eagle Scout. He got into several schools but we picked ESF partly because it was the cheapest. They were very generous with a merit scholarship and when he visited, he fell in love with the campus and the programs. FYI, he also applied and got into UDel, U. Maryland, Stony Brook, U. Maine, UVM, & U. Mass-Amherst. UVM, UDel & UMaryland gave crap for money - waste of an app fee. Stony Brook & U Mass were okay. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>That is extremely helpful, thanks! We plan to tour ESF next month. I like the idea of a small school but with the big school options SU being next door offers. We live in Maryland so UMD is an inexpensive option but my son doesn’t want such a large school.</p>
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<p>Good luck! My son is all moved in and so far so good. They had a very busy 5 day orientation schedule which included 2-3 meetings with his advisor and registrar’s office. He participated in small group activities, floor meetings, community service, and larger events with Syracuse freshman. There is a lot of construction going on but the dorm and academic buildings are amazing and they are almost done with a Student building that is going to be impressive. The small school setting has been very helpful as a parent. During the parent orientation, I met with staff from both the bursar’s office and financial aid. They actually walked down the hall and talked to each to confirm information. My only reservation about ESF is how far away it is - 4 1/2 hours. Good for him, bad for me.</p>
<p>Looking forward to visiting campus in late September. </p>
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<p>Our visit to ESF is on for next week. Any updates after a few weeks in school?</p>
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<p>Any more comments about ESF?</p>
<p>So we’re a couple of months into it and things are going well. Being in a small school has its perks. The staff and professors are very accessible and accommodating. My big criticism is that all of the class registration & book buying happen during the first week of orientation without the parents. They worked with a professor/advisor but she didn’t know everything and there was an initial mistake that I caught from 4 1/2 hours away. Everything got straightened out easily but I was a little frustrated. I think one of the best things my son did was join the Syracuse U. ultimate frisbee club. It’s the easiest way to meet other people and get away from the “smallness” of ESF. They were 100% welcoming and it gives him the opportunity to hang out and eat at dining halls away from ESF campus. He agrees that as friendly as everyone is at ESF, it will get old if you don’t have something else.</p>