Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 16:11     Subject: SUNY rankings
Grew up in NYC and attended a very selective high school. Binghamton was the only SUNY that any of my peers would consider at that time, but this was many years ago. Stony Brook and Buffalo have now also risen in the ranks.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 15:49     Subject: SUNY rankings
Anonymous wrote:I'd rank them:

Tier 1: Binghamton, Stony Brook
Tier 2: Buffalo
Tier 3: Geneseo, Albany
Tier 4: New Paltz, Oswego, Oneonta, Purchase (if not studying the arts)
Tier 5: Potsdam, Brockport, Plattsburgh
Tier 6: Everything else
Niche: Purchase (for arts); ESF (for environmental science)


As a NYer, good list!
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 15:47     Subject: Re:SUNY rankings
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

Same, until I went to SUNY Geneseo myself. Loved it there, it was beautiful, the professors outstanding, and the students down to earth and hardworking. I think some kids today do guaranteed transfer Geneseo => Cornell. Geneseo also has great placement into grad schools.

Even more appreciation as an adult for the SUNYs as they have kept tuition down and the quality of education remains high. No they don’t focus on sports, but that is refreshing. And plenty of students are able to play D3 sports (some D1) on the many different SUNY teams


Also went to Geneseo many years ago. My classmates in Econ went on to Berkeley PhD, Ohio State PhD, Princeton PhD, Michigan public policy, Cornell ILR, Buffalo Law and so on. (I was pulling the average down, but still ended up with a top 15 MBA later.) Great professors as in teaching and caring.

Ice hockey was a popular sports (D3) that often filled the ice rink. Used to make fun of Canadian hockey players at SUNY Plattsburgh at the games.


Oh the hockey at Geneseo is great! Frozen Four a few years back!


Oswego has great hockey environment also.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 14:58     Subject: Re:SUNY rankings
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

Same, until I went to SUNY Geneseo myself. Loved it there, it was beautiful, the professors outstanding, and the students down to earth and hardworking. I think some kids today do guaranteed transfer Geneseo => Cornell. Geneseo also has great placement into grad schools.

Even more appreciation as an adult for the SUNYs as they have kept tuition down and the quality of education remains high. No they don’t focus on sports, but that is refreshing. And plenty of students are able to play D3 sports (some D1) on the many different SUNY teams


Also went to Geneseo many years ago. My classmates in Econ went on to Berkeley PhD, Ohio State PhD, Princeton PhD, Michigan public policy, Cornell ILR, Buffalo Law and so on. (I was pulling the average down, but still ended up with a top 15 MBA later.) Great professors as in teaching and caring.

Ice hockey was a popular sports (D3) that often filled the ice rink. Used to make fun of Canadian hockey players at SUNY Plattsburgh at the games.


Oh the hockey at Geneseo is great! Frozen Four a few years back!
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 14:34     Subject: SUNY rankings
If you would like to consider these schools by difficulty of admission, this site places several SUNYs in one of the Very Selective and Moderately Selective categories:

https://www.collegetransitions.com/admissions-counseling/college-selectivity/
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 13:09     Subject: Re:SUNY rankings
Anonymous wrote:

Same, until I went to SUNY Geneseo myself. Loved it there, it was beautiful, the professors outstanding, and the students down to earth and hardworking. I think some kids today do guaranteed transfer Geneseo => Cornell. Geneseo also has great placement into grad schools.

Even more appreciation as an adult for the SUNYs as they have kept tuition down and the quality of education remains high. No they don’t focus on sports, but that is refreshing. And plenty of students are able to play D3 sports (some D1) on the many different SUNY teams


Also went to Geneseo many years ago. My classmates in Econ went on to Berkeley PhD, Ohio State PhD, Princeton PhD, Michigan public policy, Cornell ILR, Buffalo Law and so on. (I was pulling the average down, but still ended up with a top 15 MBA later.) Great professors as in teaching and caring.

Ice hockey was a popular sports (D3) that often filled the ice rink. Used to make fun of Canadian hockey players at SUNY Plattsburgh at the games.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 12:57     Subject: SUNY rankings
Grew up in Long Island. Didn't even apply to Stony Brook because I wanted to get away. SB was a decent school then as #4 of SUNY, but its reputation has surpassed all but Binghamton's in recent years.

I graduated from Geneseo. Its origin is a teachers college, but I think a SUNY Liberal Arts college is a better term for it. Rural and pretty, and focused on teaching. Unfortunately its reputation has gone the other way apparently vs. SB in recent years.

Still a good choice for those who want liberal arts college education and small school feel at the SUNY tuition level.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 12:37     Subject: SUNY rankings
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:SUNY Geneseo is mainly a teachers college. Don't forget the specialty colleges where you pay SUNY tuition but it is part of a private school (Labor Relations at Cornell; Forestry at Syracuse; Ceramic Engineering at Alfred U. (not Alfred State); may be a few others.

The lower tuition at Cornell only applies if you are NY residents. OP is OOS will pay full price.
OOS COA: 96K
NY residents: 72K.


yeah, this whole "SUNY at Cornell" thing is overblown. it's 70k and up! in state!
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 12:36     Subject: SUNY rankings
Anonymous wrote:SUNY Geneseo is mainly a teachers college. Don't forget the specialty colleges where you pay SUNY tuition but it is part of a private school (Labor Relations at Cornell; Forestry at Syracuse; Ceramic Engineering at Alfred U. (not Alfred State); may be a few others.


look up tuition for labor relations at Cornell and get back to us.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 12:30     Subject: SUNY rankings
I'd rank them:

Tier 1: Binghamton, Stony Brook
Tier 2: Buffalo
Tier 3: Geneseo, Albany
Tier 4: New Paltz, Oswego, Oneonta, Purchase (if not studying the arts)
Tier 5: Potsdam, Brockport, Plattsburgh
Tier 6: Everything else
Niche: Purchase (for arts); ESF (for environmental science)
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 12:29     Subject: Re:SUNY rankings
Stony Brook has the best concerts. Saw U2 there when I was an undergrad.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 12:27     Subject: Re:SUNY rankings
Anonymous wrote:Grew up in NY and hated the SUNY system, wanted a beautiful campus like the movies aand they certainly aren’t that. I have great appreciation for them now as an adult though. Breath of fresh air to not have the entire state fighting over top two schools.


Same, until I went to SUNY Geneseo myself. Loved it there, it was beautiful, the professors outstanding, and the students down to earth and hardworking. I think some kids today do guaranteed transfer Geneseo => Cornell. Geneseo also has great placement into grad schools.

Even more appreciation as an adult for the SUNYs as they have kept tuition down and the quality of education remains high. No they don’t focus on sports, but that is refreshing. And plenty of students are able to play D3 sports (some D1) on the many different SUNY teams
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 12:23     Subject: SUNY rankings
Anonymous wrote:My subjective 2 cents as a NYer:

Bing and Stony Brook are the two highest regarded at this point. UBuffalo and Albany are the next two. Buffalo has been designated a "flagship" so I expect its reputation to rise. Decades ago (30-40 years ago) Albany was the "best" SUNY so it still has a bit of cachet among Boomers/Gen X. Stony Brook is the latest "up and comer" and is very well regarded academically but still has a "suitcase" reputation.

Then there are a bunch of niche SUNYs that are well regarded for those majors- FIT for fashion, Purchase for performing arts, ESF for environmental science.

Geneseo, Oswego, New Paltz are probably the next tier down


Stony Brook and Buffalo are both flagships.

https://news.stonybrook.edu/university/a-joint-statement-from-the-university-at-buffalo-and-stony-brook-university-on-being-designated-as-new-york-states-flagship-public-universities/
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 12:23     Subject: SUNY rankings
I went to Binghamton for undergrad and Stony Brook for masters. Stony Brook is known as a commuter school FYI.

I loved Binghamton – I didn't care about teams or a pretty campus. When I graduated HS in 95 everyone knew it as the "ivy" of the SUNY system, so I was just proud to get in.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 12:11     Subject: SUNY rankings
Anonymous wrote:SUNY Geneseo is mainly a teachers college. Don't forget the specialty colleges where you pay SUNY tuition but it is part of a private school (Labor Relations at Cornell; Forestry at Syracuse; Ceramic Engineering at Alfred U. (not Alfred State); may be a few others.

The lower tuition at Cornell only applies if you are NY residents. OP is OOS will pay full price.
OOS COA: 96K
NY residents: 72K.