<p>My daughter got into both Oneonta and New Paltz and is having trouble deciding which one to attend. She would like to major in biology and economics but cannot figure out how to find out which school has the better programs. When you go on a college tour they aren't going to tell you that they have bad programs. Does anyone have any input about these programs?</p>
<p>Sorry, no specific info on those majors, just a comment. I have one kid at NP and 2nd kid starting there in the fall, also visited Oneonta with each of them. I think the quality of the departments is unlikely to be markedly different and your daughter will be fine if she picks whichever appeals to her more. My younger d may wind up taking a lot of bio etc, b/c she’s thinking of going into physical or occup. therapy (Oneonta has specific pre-professional programs for these but she preferred NP). First tour guide at Oneonta was “business economics” major and very happy.</p>
<p>My son is a senior at New Paltz. He actually would not consider any of the other SUNY’s, he felt NP was the right fit for him. He is very happy there…he loves the location compared to the other SUNY’s since he likes going into NYC here and there and he doesn’t like to feel isolated. He also likes the eclectic mix of people from all the different majors he has met.</p>
<p>My son is jr business major at NP and likes the campus and school very much. He was originally going to go to Oneonta but after seeing NP which is closer he went there. Campus wise they are very similar. My friend’s dtr grad from Oneonta a couple of years ago and majored in bio and really liked it there. Check out the schools website for the sci depts and check the faculty profiles to get a feel for who they are and where they went to school/ what if any research they do ect for getting a feel/ comparison of the 2 schools.</p>
<p>Also, take a look at the course listing for depth of program. How many students are enrolled in that major? How many full time faculty on staff?
D1 is graduating NP in a month and has had a top notch education and great college experience. Highly recommmend it. D2 is a Brockport and has found the small town/lack of things to do is starting to become an issue, she is envious of the NP atmosphere her sister has had.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your feedback. I think she is going to go with New Paltz. Both course listings are the same for each school. New Paltz is going to have more city-savvy kids than Oneonta has. She doesn’t care much about the towns around either school but she will realize that you need a good town.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>A very large amount of Oneonta students are from the NYC metropolitan area. Many others are from the capital region. Some are from smaller up-state communities. But others are from the Rochester, Syracuse or Buffalo areas. </p>
<p>In other words, it is diverse. Or, at least as far as NY state can be. Although the music industry major attracts a fair amount of out-of-state students.</p>
<p>If you are from the NYC area and want “city-savvy” students, then you just want to continue your high school experience. If that is what you want, go for it. I was born and raised in NYC and going away to college and meeting people from other areas and living in a rural area changed my life.</p>
<p>You can get a great education at both Oneonta and NP. Students are comparable. Alumni? Check it out. Oneonta is especially proud of some of its alumni.</p>
<p>But maybe you want to try living in someplace just a little different.</p>
<p>We’re also considering some of the SUNY schools, including NP and Oneonta. How cold and snowy is it at Oneonta? We’re from close to NYC, if anyone knows enough about both areas to compare the winters. My son isn’t interested in locations that are much colder and snowier than what we have (so not considering Syracuse and Ithaca, for example–is Oneonta comparable to either Syracuse or Ithaca?)</p>
<p>I’m also interested in any comments about whether non-majors can take music and/or art courses at both schools. Some schools have classes that are so tight that there really isn’t room for non-majors. But I think he’d like to take some music technology/production courses and/or computer art courses if they are available (and they offer them at both NP and Oneonta) even though he wouldn’t likely major in either of those fields.
thanks!</p>
<p>Most of upstate NY is colder and snowier in the winter than downstate, so do not go to a SUNY if you absolutely don’t want colder or snowier than NYC.</p>
<p>He’s willing to have it be somewhat more cold and snowy…based on personal experience, NP would be fine, so would Boston type weather. Just not sure how Oneonta fits in there, since we don’t have experience with the weather in any town near Oneonta. We realize Oneonta would be colder/snowier than NYC, just not sure how much so.</p>
<p>Oneonta winters really aren’t that bad…there’s snow on the ground pretty much all winter, because it’s not warm enough for it to all melt, but when it snows they’re really quick about getting it cleaned up, salting as soon as it starts and whatnot…it really doesn’t affect the students much and as someone who absolutely HATES snow (I’m from Long Island) I really don’t mind it too much…and we get one or two snow days a year from it which is always nice =)</p>