“What the heck is a SUNY?” said by every non-New Yorker ever. To all my native New Yorkers out there reading this, you tell me. How do you perceive a SUNY school in comparison to a Big 10 school? Before I let you answer this, which I evidently know what your response will sound like, let us take a moment to go over precisely what a SUNY is, and why it does not get the recognition it deserves.
First, the State University of New York, otherwise known as SUNY, is the nation’s largest comprehensive public university system. I know, right? Who new. Anyways, according to suny.edu, “the system includes 64 schools -- including research universities, liberal arts colleges, specialized and technical colleges, health science centers, land-grant colleges -- and 30 community colleges.” Wow, I bet this comes as a shock to many of you. I speak for myself when I say I can list no more than 10 SUNY colleges, which is zilch compared to the many that exist across the state.
Although SUNY students are primarily New York State residents, the system provides a high quality education at an affordable price to students around the world. Notice my emphasis on the word, affordable. I don’t mean to sound bias, but as a student who attends SUNY Oneonta, when you apply the words college and inexpensive simultaneously into one sentence, I am undeniably intrigued.
Don’t get me wrong, I have no opposition towards a school of such reputation, for example, University of Pennsylvania, University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin-Madison, etc. However, when you are uncertain of a job you want to withhold in the future, along with the abundance of student debt you rightfully must pay back, suddenly a SUNY school sounds most reliable.
Everyone seems to know of those largely public and private state schools through television, movies, and images on social media. The tailgates before the big game, their nightlife, their superb academics are among the many reasons why these schools attract students across the world.
As a young Jewish girl from Long Island, I grew up in a competitive school system where parents would encourage their kids to take multiple AP, or honor level courses, join student government, be active in every club there is, score an unattainable SAT/ACT score from the thousands of dollars spent on a tutor, and still find time to have a social life. Subsequently so their children can attend a university and graduate college with a job lined up afterwards. Furthermore, the schools that are most popular with Long Islanders, some a plane ride away, happen to be out of the price range for many, including myself, even with the help of financial aid.
Back in high school, when you heard the term “SUNY,” it was looked down upon as a school like Penn State or University of Florida. Why? What’s the difference? Guess what, there barely is one. We still get the same level of education and have a social life. Yes, we party. Just because we are a SUNY does not mean we do not go out four days a week. We still have greek life, which I am certainly apart of. We have frat parties and tailgates, just like a big ten school does. There are sorority formals and mixers. Moreover, we have a town with real places to eat and shop. There is tons to do and many overlook everything a SUNY school has to offer.Just because one attends a SUNY, does not mean they are not having the time of their lives. College is what you make of it, and as long as you are happy, than the name of your school should make no difference.
