<p>I post on this topic because in the past on occasion I've felt that prospective applicants should have more information available to them than they were otherwise getting from other posters. Some of the responses I've read in the past have had a particular spin to them that I didn't believe captured the nuances of the situation. </p>
<p>The link I referenced gives other views of the relationship, from the viewpoint of SUNY and of the courts (by extrapolation). It also gives links to some portions of the Cornell charter describing the relationship. I think these are relevant.</p>
<p>Students at the contract colleges have nothing to be defensive about. They are top students, attending top colleges in their respective fields. That does not mean that their relationship with SUNY must go unexamined, should be glossed over, or "spun".</p>