SUNY

A network of 30 New York State-owned college campuses, plus an additional 29 community colleges. These schools offer extremely low (~$6,000/year as of this post) tuitions to NYS residents, and they even offer relatively low tuitions to out-of-state students as well.

The SUNY name has somewhat of a stigma to it as (with many state schools), usually among those whose perception of it is based on shitty schools such as Brockport or outdated perceptions of schools such as Plattsburgh. However, SUNY schools such as Stony Brook, Binghamton, Buffalo, and Geneseo are very well-respected institutions that are very selective and attract many students from out-of-state and even some internationally. Many of the specialized schools, particularly FIT and ESF, are also very well respected in their fields (some are even among the best). However, even the average SUNY school has gotten considerably better over the past few years because of an increased demand amidst the economic downturn, which has forced many schools to become much more selective with admission. Due to the higher selectivity, schools like Plattsburgh have seen improvement in the student body and their level of motivation (which can also attract better professors), which served to improve the academics of the school.

Speaker 1: How much did you pay for your degree?
Speaker 2: Oh, a couple hundred grand. What about you?
Speaker 1: Around $50,000 because I went to a SUNY school.
Speaker 2: Haha, well you get what you pay for. I'm sure the parties and STDs were good though.
Speaker 1: Nah, I went to Stony Brook, people took things pretty seriously there. The courses were pretty challenging, and I'm being considered for a six-figure job right now.

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