I want to apply to 2 more SUNYs. I know I can afford them so I figure I might as well apply to more. I’m current applying to Binghamton and Buffalo. I want to study biochemistry & pre-med, maybe minor in Italian. I don’t like Albany or Stony Brook. One of my front runners is definitely Geneseo. On the ropes about which other one I should do. It’s between Cortland, Oswego, and Plattsburgh. New Paltz is too close and Purchase seems to just be an arts school. SUNY Poly is too small, Buff State & Potsdam don’t appeal to me, neither do Oneonta or Brockport.
If you have the grades and the SAT scores for Buffalo or Binghamton, you might want to apply to Plattsburgh. I’ve seen Plattsburgh offer merit aid to students who get into Buffalo/Binghamton and the like, to try to encourage them to attend Plattsburgh instead. They do that more than I’ve seen the other SUNYs do, so if money may be an issue (for things like housing and etc.), then give Plattsburgh a serious look. Also, stunning location.
I vote for Oswego. Like Plattsburgh, the location is beautiful but what sets it apart IMO is the housing situation. It looks to be unique for the SUNY system and seems pretty nice, of course the best thing to do is visit if you can to get a feel for it but I know, that’s not always possible.
Plattsburgh is supposed to have a very good bio department. By way of confession, two of my children attended school there. One of them has a friend who majored in bio or biochem and was employed by a major pharmaceutical company. It also has an excellent nursing program but I don’t know if that overlaps with bio or biochem. I will agree with those who say that the setting is gorgeous. Both of my kids really loved it up there. They also both thought that the food was very good, probably because of the hospitality and nutrition/dietician programs. The dorms were decent and they were renovating a number of them while my kids were there.
Apply to all the SUNY schools you are interested in. If you are interested in pre-med I really think you need to focus on Bing, Buffalo or Geneseo. They are the most respected in the SUNY system.
Also, I’m assuming you have high stats given that you are considering pre-med. Do you realize a lot of private schools give enough merit $$ that the price becomes affordable? Take a look around the don’t count them out.