<p>These SUNY schools don't have individual boards and many of the posts about them are "chance me" thread. But I want to know about the residential experience at each school:</p>
<ul>
<li>Are the schools in the middle of nowhere?<br></li>
<li>Are there other colleges/unis nearby?</li>
<li>Do students need cars?</li>
<li>How would you describe the surrounding town?<br></li>
<li>Can students walk from campus into town?</li>
<li>Do students complain of nothing to do on campus?</li>
<li>what's the best thing and the worst thing about each school?</li>
</ul>
<p>Well, I can’t speak for the other three, but I can describe Cortland to a certain extent. I’m not a student there, but my boyfriend is, so I’ve spent a considerable amount of time on campus.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Are the schools in the middle of nowhere?
I wouldn’t consider Cortland to be the middle of nowhere. It’s got Syracuse about 45 minutes to the north, Binghamton 45 minutes to the south, and Ithaca 45 minutes to the west. I haven’t seen the residential parts of Cortland, but I know that it has a notable area of larger chain businesses.</p></li>
<li><p>Are there other colleges/unis nearby?
Depending on your definition of nearby, yes. Ithaca College and Cornell to the west, Syracuse University to the north, SUNY Binghamton to the south, and probably more that I’m not familiar with. </p></li>
<li><p>Do students need cars?
Need is a relative term. Students with cars do have a lot more social options. My friends at Cortland with cars would make pretty frequent excursions to Ithaca to go to various options there, for instance to go to a hibachi restaurant or to the Ithaca mall. </p></li>
<li><p>How would you describe the surrounding town?
I can’t really say in detail. I’ve only been within an hour or so walking radius of campus, so I know there’s A&W, Salvation Army, Wal-Mart, bars and stops for locals and students, etc. </p></li>
<li><p>Can students walk from campus into town?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Well, the aforementioned places are within a half hour, 45 minutes walking from the campus. </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Do students complain of nothing to do on campus?
Not my friends there, but then again, they are the type to make their own fun by tabletopping, playing Wii, going on fun excursions and taking meals together. I always have a blast when I go there for weekends, and other students definitely come back in the wee hours looking like they’ve maybe had a bit TOO much fun. </p></li>
<li><p>what’s the best thing and the worst thing about each school?
I really enjoy spending time at Cortland. There are a lot of really awesome, down to earth people, though there definitely is a very, very large jock culture. The dining options were really good compared to those at Ithaca College (at least to my taste - Cortland’s food appealed more to the average palate while Ithaca tended to have a lot of salads), and I haven’t heard any complaints about the educational experience.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>I have only been to Fredonia, and have many friends there. So that’s the only one I can speak about. But here goes nothing.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Are the schools in the middle of nowhere?
It is sort of in the middle of no where, but about an hour away from Buffalo. It is such a beautiful campus! There is this wood thing in the middle of campus that is soo beautiful to explore!</p></li>
<li><p>Are there other colleges/unis nearby?
I do not believe that there are any other schools in the town. Jamestown Community College is fairly close, but there are also tons of schools in Buffalo. There are about 20 colleges within 50 miles of Fredonia. The largest being University at Buffalo (UB).</p></li>
<li><p>Do students need cars?
Everyone has told me that it is EXTREMELY helpful to have a car at Freddy. If you do not have a car at Freddy then you really should have a bike. The store where you will want to shop really is not within walking distance.</p></li>
<li><p>How would you describe the surrounding town?
The surrounding town is nice and has some good bars, so I’ve heard. It is a small little town with the beach close by.</p></li>
<li><p>Can students walk from campus into town?
Students can, but it’s quite a walk.</p></li>
<li><p>Do students complain of nothing to do on campus?
I don’t really know, no one that I know really complains about there being nothing to do.</p></li>
<li><p>what’s the best thing and the worst thing about each school?
Worst-small town?
Best-Lots of musical and theatrical opportunities and a Starbucks on campus. And the food is pretty decent, in all dining halls.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>I don’t know where Brockport is, but of the other three Cortland is the LEAST in the middle of nowhere (and you get the picture from the description above). Plattsburg is actually pretty close to U. Vermont, but it takes either a short ferry ride / short drive or a very long drive to get there. Plattsburg is also easy driving distance from Montreal, which is a plus.</p>
<p>As for Fredonia – there may be 20 colleges within 50 miles, but I would be surprised if there are many within 45 miles. And 50 miles seems short for the actual distance between Fredonia and SUNY Buffalo, which is considerably NE of Buffalo itself. Fredonia really is in the middle of nowhere (although the lake is nice, and it’s beautiful country).</p>
<p>There is no reason to be specific. The variations are only minor.</p>
<p>First, the really good part. SUNY schools are dirt, dirt cheap. In case there is any doubt, that means really low tuition, less than you would pay to send a kid to a private high school, less than half the cost of feeding and housing the kid for the school year.</p>
<p>In exchange there are some downsides. With the exceptions of a couple of the really big SUNYs most are indeed in the middle of nowhere. Most are in small Upstate towns with no economy except for the SUNY. Depending on the school size, there is always a nice collection of nearby fast food places and bars. Aside from those places there is usually not much else to see or do, especially in the winter – which lasts the entire school year. For most of the SUNYs, the snow will start by the end of September and barely stop by May or I should say the end of May. I had a car for most of my time at a SUNY. For a while I used it quite a bit to go to the bars. One major incident was enough to come to the conclusion that driving to a bar was ok, but then there was the drive back which was not a good idea. After that, the car sat under a big pile of snow for most of the school year. I dug it out to come home for Christmas break. By the end of the year, I did not need to dig it out. Most of the snow had already melted.</p>
<p>can’t top hyperJulie’s description of Cortland. My d is now a senior and is very happy at Cortland. Cortland does have a bit more of a jock environment than other SUNY’s as they are known for their phys. ed, sport management dept. and they are the Division lll Lacrosse Champions. They will also be hosting the NY Jets Training camp. So cortland may actually be a bustling place this summer.
They are also known for education but most SUNY colleges have comparable Ed. programs.
There is a campus bus which will take you to one of the shopping areas in Cortland which consists of Wal-Mart, K-Mart, a small JC Penny (not full Department store), Applebee’s and a few other stores. Also right by Greek Peak if you are into skiing. It’s probably a fairly typical upstate town. But you are (with a car) within 45 minutes of Ithaca, Binghamton and Syracuse. So there is a bit more around cortland than you might think. Cortland also has a pretty good mix of upstate vs downstate kids which I think is a good thing. </p>
<p>Also visited Brockport and it was fairly close to Rochester, so with a car you might not feel too stranded. I think the town of Brockport was a quick walk from the campus.</p>
<p>Fredonia is lovely in the summer, and for a bit in the fall and spring, but the winters are LONG and extremely snowy. It’s in the prime western NY lake effect snow area. Although it’s only 50 miles from Buffalo, that section of the Thruway is terrible to drive during the winter months so if you are depending on the Buffalo airport to get back and forth, it’s always risky. A car would be a definite asset there.</p>
<p>Yes, the winters are very snowy but so what? We were young and healthy and fit. There is skiing nearby and rides down the hill on trays borrowed from the cafeteria. A warm jacket, hat, gloves and boots and you’re good to go.</p>
<p>^You ‘re correct. When I was a student at Fredonia, we celebrated that connection with a Marx Brothers’ film marathon in the student center.</p>
<p>Fredonia is pretty much in the middle of nowhere…you have the college and the town within walking distance. But we always found ways to entertain ourselves.</p>
<p>The winters are bad, but since I grew up in the snowbelt east of Lake Ontario I didn’t know any better. Brockport might get on average less snow than the other three schools mentioned, but there will be snow and there’s still the potential for for big lake effect events. </p>
<p>(For those of you who haven’t heard of lake effect snow, here’s how it works. In the late fall / early winter, cold air blows across the relatively warm water of the lakes and picks up moisture. Upon hitting land, the moist air rises and cools, dumping snow in the process. If you are downwind, you get snow. The snow line can be very distinct. Sometimes my parents will be getting snow 2"/hour at home, but get in the car and drive a mile to the south and it’s not snowing at all. Usually by February the lake water cools and there is not as much lake effect snow falling…but there’s still a lot on the ground that will stay until April.)</p>
<p>I went to Oswego, so I too know a thing or two about lake effect snow. I don’t think cortland or oneonta are in that weather environment. Brockport isn’t too far from Lake Ontario but is closer to Rochester- so I’m not too sure how the weather pattern in.</p>
<p>my kid who always swore she would not go to an upstate SUNY because she HATES the cold, has adjusted quite well. Just have the right shoes, gloves, scarfs etc. and you’ll do fine.
I always told my kids that the upstate cold is different than in NYC. If there was little wind, you could open up your winter jacket when it was 20 degrees out. The cold just doesn’t go through you.
After a winter or two upstate, my kids understood what I was saying. And my d’s rarely complained about the weather once they got used to it. They do a much better job upstate of clearing the roads and the campus pathways than in metro NY.
Personally- i really liked the campus at both oneonta and cortland. They just struck me as pleasant and nice environments to be in. Saw brockport too- but it was in the summer when the campus was empty.<br>
my d has a bunch of HS friends at binghamton and at syracuse- so it has been easy for her to occasionally get together with them now that she has a car on campus. As cortland is not as isolated as some of the other campuses, I view that as a major plus.
cortland does have somewhat of a jock atmosphere- but it is not overwhelming. And I know it has a great reputation in the field of education.</p>
<p>Cortland is absolutely in the lake-effect snow belt coming off Lake Ontario. Sometimes it gets as far down as Scranton PA, but it definitely extends into that central portion of NY. I often drive to Buffalo at Thanksgiving, and more often than not we have snow white-outs between Binghamton and Syracuse, and again between Syracuse and Rochester.</p>
<p>definitely thought areas south of syracuse not affected by lake effect conditions as cortland is at least 40 miles south of lake ontario and scranton is at least 80 miles south of lake ontario. The syracuse/rochester drive follows the path of lake ontario so it may be more prone to true lake effect weather patterns.
Hey, when you’re driving in a snow storm you don’t really care if the conditions are caused by lake effect conditions or just a real nasty snow storm.</p>
<p>Some of the worst whiteout conditions I have ever faced were on Route 81 between LaFayette and just south of Cortland. Wouldn’t say it was worse than NYS Route 57 between Phoenix and Oswego, but close. But that’s part of what made the skiing at Greek Peak, Song Mountain, Toggenburg and Labrador Mountain so good. Lots and lots of fluffy lake effect snow between early November and the end of April. I wouldn’t want to live up there today, but it didn’t bother me when I was in my 20s.</p>
<p>I don’t know much about the aesthetics of Plattsburgh, but it is said to be quite pretty in the non-winter months. Academically, they’ve got a good Environmental Science/Earth Science program.</p>
<p>The biggest negative about Plattsburgh is the cold—and I mean COLD. The campus is flat so you don’t have to deal with hiking up and down hilly terrain in the snow.</p>
<p>Lots of kids bring cars but they aren’t necessary. You can easily walk downtown, take a short and cheap cab ride to the mall (about a 7-10 minute drive), use the free campus shuttle, or catch a ride with someone who has a car. The people are very friendly and the professors are very accessible. There are plenty of rentals close to campus if you choose to move off campus. The school offers a very good variety of majors and minors. Montreal and Burlington are within an hour’s drive (need to take a ferry to Burlington).</p>
<p>Speaking of choosing to live off-campus, approximately 61% of ALL undergrads live off-campus at Cortland, 59% live off-campus at Brockport and 48 % live off-campus at Fredonia. I don’t have any information about SUNY Plattsburgh, although it seems reasonable to believe that if all those students can find off-campus accomodations in towns like Cortland and Fredonia it shouldn’t be a big problem in Plattsburgh.</p>