SUNY schools — why aren’t they as popular as other OOS schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New Paltz is in a beautiful area, convenient to Amtrak and under 2 hours into NYC.

DP. My kid is a Junior in New Paltz. Yes, cute Main street, great hiking nearby (no need to drive) and you can walk to the bus to NYC. The nearest train station (Poughkeepsie?) is about 30 mins away.

[Anonymous]

I think there are so many of them, and no one clear flagship...that it is hard for OOS families to get excited.

The quality and value are there though, I believe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone been to Fredonia recently? It's on the list.

No but my kids piano teacher went there for piano performance and he is amazing.

And he has to give private lessons to make ends meet? Is that a desirable outcome?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some kids from this area go to SUNY-Binghamton. And doesn't New Paltz have a good reputation for performing arts?

But overall the SUNY schools don't have very attractive campuses and are in cold locations in towns that aren't exactly thriving. Who'd want to live there if many of the kids at those schools are going home on the weekends? You could have a similar experience at UMBC or George Mason and the weather would be better.

This^^^
Most are unattractive campuses and located in the middle of nowhere with bad weather. There are many "better options" that are also affordable.

This. And another negative is that as a consequence of those things, the student body is overwhelmingly NY state residents. That's true of most public schools of course, but there is a big difference between a place like Pitt, that is about 35% out of state, vs a place like SUNY Binghamton, where 95% of students are from NY. And that percentage is even lower at other SUNY schools. No geographic diversity at all.

Though to be honest, NY state offers a tremendous amount of diversity: kids from upstate (rural/depressed), vs. New York City ('nuf said) vs. the suburbs (Westchester, Long Island). On one level, the state itself has a huge range of types of people/communities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would agree with the prior poster. The campuses are old and not very pretty. So I think if you are looking from OOS they may not attract alot of attention. The education at Stony Brook is the best of all the schools.

I wouldn’t agree - Binghamton and Geneseo probably tie.

I think it’s because there is no flagship to bring in OOS kids.

Stony Brook University and the University at Buffalo are the flagships:

https://www.sbstatesman.com/2022/01/07/stony-brook-and-buffalo-formally-named-new-york-public-flagship-universities/



Maybe, in time. But I grew up in NY, and there were not any flagship campuses. Certainly not perceived as such nationally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SUNY schools, in general, are incredible undergraduate values for NYS residents. Especially Bing, Stony Brook (STEM) and Geneseo.

They definitely appeal to those looking for more steak than sizzle.

OK, and every other public university also offers an incredible undergraduate value for in-state students.

SUNY charge ZERO tuition to any Family in state who makes under $125,000 a year. That is way more of a deal than nearly all the in state

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SUNY schools, in general, are incredible undergraduate values for NYS residents. Especially Bing, Stony Brook (STEM) and Geneseo.

They definitely appeal to those looking for more steak than sizzle.

OK, and every other public university also offers an incredible undergraduate value for in-state students.

By your logic, all public colleges are equal? Is that your claim?

[Anonymous]

What about SUNY Albany? I grew up in NY and remember that as the sort of flagship. Is it still? See no mention of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some kids from this area go to SUNY-Binghamton. And doesn't New Paltz have a good reputation for performing arts?

But overall the SUNY schools don't have very attractive campuses and are in cold locations in towns that aren't exactly thriving. Who'd want to live there if many of the kids at those schools are going home on the weekends? You could have a similar experience at UMBC or George Mason and the weather would be better.

This^^^
Most are unattractive campuses and located in the middle of nowhere with bad weather. There are many "better options" that are also affordable.

This. And another negative is that as a consequence of those things, the student body is overwhelmingly NY state residents. That's true of most public schools of course, but there is a big difference between a place like Pitt, that is about 35% out of state, vs a place like SUNY Binghamton, where 95% of students are from NY. And that percentage is even lower at other SUNY schools. No geographic diversity at all.

Though to be honest, NY state offers a tremendous amount of diversity: kids from upstate (rural/depressed), vs. New York City ('nuf said) vs. the suburbs (Westchester, Long Island). On one level, the state itself has a huge range of types of people/communities.

You can tell them apart by the different gang signs on their crack pipes. 😀

[Anonymous]

There are a lot of niche programs. In addition to the ones already mentioned -
You have NYS College of Ceramics at Alfred
SUNY Downstate Medical

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of the SUNY schools, Stonybrook, Binghamton, Geneseo, Buffalo, Oswego, all seem like opportunities to get great educations plus they give merit money to OOS. Why aren’t they more popular?

Because they're in Stonybrook, Binghamton, Geneseo, Buffalo, and Oswego. Have you spent Sept-May in these places? They have three seasons: June, July, August, and winter.

+1. Because they are not considered schools worth spending tge $$ to send you kid to, in light of the 4000 institutions of higher learning we have in the US

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems incredibly short-sighted of NY state not to have a more appealing university system. Insane.

Who's to say it's not appealing to NY state residents? Doesn't need to be judged based on whether kids in Bethesda want to go there.

Former NY resident here and I felt the same way as all of these posters when I was looking at colleges in the early 90s. They looked good on paper but were depressing when we visited. I went to a small private that ended up being a similar cost as in state tuition after merit aid. The SUNY schools were depressing and many campuses were isolated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SUNY schools, in general, are incredible undergraduate values for NYS residents. Especially Bing, Stony Brook (STEM) and Geneseo.

They definitely appeal to those looking for more steak than sizzle.

OK, and every other public university also offers an incredible undergraduate value for in-state students.

By your logic, all public colleges are equal? Is that your claim?

No. But the differences among many are negligible-NP

[Anonymous]

It's a bunch of Cal States with no UCs.

[Anonymous]

My kid looked at all of them, he loves winter, and he was just non-plussed with the facilities, the locations and the "vibe". I didn't get the same feeling and they fit all of his check list but he decided not to apply. I'm guessing others feel the same way.