Across America, states have different public college systems that vary in size, cost, and overall quality. California has the UC System, Cal State System, and the California Community Colleges system; Texas has the University of Texas System and the Texas A&M University System. Smaller states may not even have systems and simply have individual public colleges. However, New York State has the best college system, the SUNY system, also called the State University of New York.
1. With 64 institutions in the SUNY system, there are many different types of colleges geared toward different types of education.
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The system is comprised of 30 community colleges, seven technology colleges, 13 university colleges, and 11 university centers and doctoral degree granting institutions.
2. Across these schools, there are about 7,200 programs are available to choose from.
With 4,500 undergraduate, 1,800 graduate, and 900 combined undergraduate-graduate programs, it might take some time to choose exactly which school is right for you. Programs as varied as ceramics engineering, philosophy, fashion design, optometry, maritime studies, law, medical education, and everything in between.
3. SUNY campuses are spread out evenly throughout the state.
Though much of New York's population lives in and around NYC, SUNY is embedded in virtually every community in New York State. 93 percent of New Yorkers live within 15 miles of a SUNY campus, and almost 100 percent live within 30 miles.
4. Between all of the campuses, almost 460,000 students are currently attending SUNY school.
Over 90 percent of those students are undergraduate, and about half attend a community college. The makeup of SUNY's student body is diverse; 54 percent of students enrolled are women, and 27 percent are minorities.
5. SUNY has the Educational Opportunity Program.
The EOP provides academic support and financial aid to students who demonstrate academic potential, talent and desire to earn a college degree. It assists students who are both academically and financially disadvantaged and provides additional services needed to ensure success.
6. Students registered at SUNY campuses can select seven different gender identities and eight different sexual orientation when signing up for classes.
This policy was enacted by the SUNY Board of Trustees in September 2015, and also requires each campus have a Chief Diversity Officer.
7. Students on SUNY campuses are also geographically diverse.
Though the tuition cost is so low for in-state students, many out-of-state and international students are also taking advantage of what many SUNY schools have to offer. Across the state, over 18,000 out of state and 22,000 international students currently attend SUNY.
8. If you go to a SUNY school, you can use almost any study abroad program in the SUNY system.
You attend SUNY Oneonta and you like a program that's administered through SUNY Albany? As long as it's not a program reserved solely for Albany students, you can do that program.
9. One of the most obvious reasons SUNY is the best, is the cost.
Since SUNY schools are partly funded by NYS, in-state tuition costs are set by the state, not by the individual schools. The current cost for in-state tuition is $6470, but has been rising for the past few years and it looks like it will continue that trend due to high demand.
There are many reasons that the SUNY system is the best, and I may have a bias towards SUNY schools, but that's just because I love mine so much!
