You may have heard that private schools are able to offer more money than public schools. You might have also met people who feel they are better than you since they attend or graduated from a top tier college or university. When you encounter such individuals, you can simply tell them about the perks of attending a SUNY school. With that being established, here are some perks of being enrolled at a SUNY school.

1. There are 64 different campuses to choose from, which makes SUNY the largest public higher education system in the nation.

2. Binghamton University, Stony Brook University, State University of New York at the College of Oneonta, and State University of New York at Plattsburgh are all in the top 100 best value public colleges as ranked by Kiplinger.com.

3. Albany, Binghamton, SUNY ESF, Geneseo, New Paltz, Oneonta, Potsdam, and Stony Brook were named some of the most environmentally responsible colleges in 2013 by The Center For Green Schools.

4. Not only are there four year schools within the SUNY system. The SUNY system also has thirty community colleges and includes Monroe Community College, North County Community College and Corning Community College, which were listed in the top community colleges list compiled by CollegeAtlas.org.

5. SUNY Oswego, SUNY Cortland, SUNY Fredonia, SUNY Geneseo, SUNY Plattsburgh, SUNY ESF, SUNY Binghamton, Buffalo State, University of Albany, Morrisville State College, SUNY Cobleskill, Monroe Community College, Onondaga Community College and SUNY Oneonta were on the 2014’s President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for General Community Service.

While these accolades indicate what the SUNY system has accomplished, there are more reasons to be a proud SUNY student than simply the recognition that the SUNY system received thus far. That is because according to a 2014 estimate from SUNY, there are nearly 3 million alumni who graduated from SUNY colleges and universities. With that many alumni, there are many people who can provide assistance with building networks after graduation or even while you are still a student. Additionally, during the 2014-2015 fiscal year, $899.3 million was spent on research, so those who are interested in learning more about certain occurrences or finding solutions through research will have enough money available to conduct research that is of interest to them. Last but not least, the helpful and competent faculty that are available to assist students is yet another perk of being a SUNY student.