I'm guessing that your friend's Dad thought there were a lot of gay students on campus? I have the feeling that NP students in general are very supportive of individual rights so an openly gay person would feel comfortable attending NP. But most straight people would be comfortable in the NP kind of environment too.
7 years is a long time ago. NP has risen quite a bit in that time in terms of reputation and probably (i'm guessing here) the academic quality of students it's attracted. But it definitely does still have a reputation for being more "artsy" and alternative lifestyle friendly.
Only a visit is going to resolve your questions with NP. Don't just do the packaged tour and info session. Try to meet with people who may be able to talk to you about things you will be interested in -- eg. pre-med advisor, dept you think you might major in, students from clubs that sound like ones you'd be interested in. Hang out in the dining hall. Ask if they'll let you sit in on classes -- even if admissions doesn't offer this option, ask the dept you are interested in if you might be able to sit in on an intro class. Ask if they can arrange an overnight stay with a student. In short, try to get as much out of your visit to let you really get a feel for what the student body is like since that seems to be a key issue for you.
That seems like a good idea. Thanks iamhere. I am actually in the process of contacting an old acquaintance of mine who goes to NP to set up an overnight. I will look more into sitting in on classes as well. Thanks everyone.
As far as living on campus, lots of upper classmen do. D will be on campus, she likes her suite and being close to classes. As far as kids going home on weekends, my feeling is that if there are long weekends many from the NYC do tend to go home, but for the most part D friends are around 90% of the time. There is stuff to do all the time, lots of art shows, plays, coffee houses in town with music, parties at the frat house and what she calls "the mansion", cheap movie theater. NP has just started a free public bus pick up on campus for students to get into town and also into Poughkeepsie to the mall and train station. Seems like she has so much school work to do much of the time, going home is not an option, but she chooses to carry 20 credits.
I saw the new Metro North bus/train schedule; it looks like it would be really easy to get into NYC on public transportation for the day if you time it right
northeastmomRegistered UserPosts: 12,379Senior Member
creative, that is an excellent question. It is also one that we are currently weighing ourselves. We live in NJ too, so Rutgers is instate for us (as well as the other NJ publics). Rutgers has a national reputation, and it is a research focused university. It is wonderful for some. There are budget cuts in both NJ and NY. Rutgers has always had some very large classes, which might not be for everyone. Other students crave the large population, and wide array of course selection. You should not have a problem finding an internship/job, because plenty of businesses recruit from Rutgers. Some students do not want such a large school, don't want to sit in a lecture with 300+ students, have a hard time navigating the resources that require to succeed, and do not want to wait on line for a bus to get to class (esp. in the winter months). The downside to SUNY NP, as I see it, and I have not even visited yet, is that a fair number of students move off campus after freshman year. Housing is not all that inexpensive, and then you might need a car to get to class (more expenses, and inconvenience). Honestly, I cannot even speak about housing at Rutgers bc my son had not considered it. That might change in light of SUNY's tuition hikes for OOS. I can tell you that my friend's D spent one year at Binghampton but then transferred to Rutgers bc it cost less for her to go instate to Rutgers. This resulted in some lost credits. I do think that for her it was a good transition to spend a year at Bing. Her hs was so tiny. She liked Binghampton, and she likes Rutgers. She did well at both schools. I thought both schools would be close to equal in cost (she transferred 3 years ago), but apparently there was a large enough difference in cost to make it pay for her to transfer out. Now that SUNYs announced an OOS price increase, it makes instate schools look more appealing to me. It is a tough decision.
Actually I don't think that many New Paltz do students move off campus after freshman year. It seems to me that they stick around as returning students get first choice at on campus housing. My son is living off campus as a transfer student because they have not given on campus housing to transfers over the last couple of years just because on campus housing is so popular and guaranteed to freshman as well. He is actually enjoying living off campus since the town is so close to the campus and his house is maybe a 10 minute walk to campus and a 5 minute walk to town. The school, town and most housing are all close to one another. It is a real close knit college community and college town. He started this semester and is only there since last week, but so far he is having a really good experience.
northeastmomRegistered UserPosts: 12,379Senior Member
lilymoon, thank you for responding. I have been getting the impression on cc that a lot of kids move off campus. That is a big concern of mine. It is great to learn that this is not the case. Is it your son who broke his foot? If so, how is he managing?....Poor kid!
thanks for the input! northeastmom - great information, i think you have swayed my opinion in favor of RU once again. I can't seem to focus my desicion on either schools' qualities - RUs variety of courses, diversity of students and surrounding area, and abundance of resources and academics - compared to that of NPs beautiful environment, student body, and strong liberal tendencies
I've been to both and love both, but seem to be caught in between which qualities i favor in a school and which school i would more likely thrive in.
I have also been discouraged reading that RU has/is cutting courses and teachers in order to fund their new stadium. Football over Academics? I am dissapointed to see what schools are laying their money in, and obviously where academics fall on their list of values.
northeatmom - yes, it's my son who broke his foot. It has been challeging for him but the school has been great! The Disabilities Resource Center has been helping him out a lot. Someone from the center even took him out and showed him the best routes for getting to his classes and changed his schedule for him to make things easier. I tell you, he did not get this kind of support at his other private school. I am impressed with New Paltz so far and so is my son. He has met some really nice kids who are happy to help him get to campus and drive him around town.
I could try and answer any questions you might have about the school.
northeastmomRegistered UserPosts: 12,379Senior Member
lilymoon, thank you for your kind offer. When I think of questions, I will ask you. Please continue to read these boards! I am so glad to hear that your son got off to a wonderul start, despite his foot! It is great to know that NP helped him!
creative, I don't want to be responsible for swaying......LOL! I do think that one really needs to be able to negotiate a large school, and not get intimidated easily to get what they want out of a school like Rutgers. If you can do that, it might be a good choice. If you think that you have a better shot at thriving in a smaller place, you should think about that very seriously. I worked for someone who flunked out of Rutgers. He ended up getting his degree from a very low ranked school. It was probably life altering for him. I know someone else who is going to graduate from Rutgers this year. He got a fantastic internship (and so did all of his friends) through Rutgers. He is the kind of person who would bloom wherever he was planted. Bottom line, you need to know yourself and what would be best for you. There isn't any one right answer. Best of luck to you, wherever you decide to matriculate!
creative3 - If you want to get a feeling for what students think of both Rutgers and NP, check out students review dot com. There are interesting points about both schools both positive and negative.
For pre med students, academically, I would choose Binghamton, but like others have said, after you visit, you'll know which one is for you. It's a very personal decision, but if you do decide to come to binghamton, or you'd like to know more about the pre med situation, feel free to PM me =).
Replies to: New Paltz vs Binghamton
Only a visit is going to resolve your questions with NP. Don't just do the packaged tour and info session. Try to meet with people who may be able to talk to you about things you will be interested in -- eg. pre-med advisor, dept you think you might major in, students from clubs that sound like ones you'd be interested in. Hang out in the dining hall. Ask if they'll let you sit in on classes -- even if admissions doesn't offer this option, ask the dept you are interested in if you might be able to sit in on an intro class. Ask if they can arrange an overnight stay with a student. In short, try to get as much out of your visit to let you really get a feel for what the student body is like since that seems to be a key issue for you.
I live in northern NJ and am really caught between these schools.
Any suggestions?
I've been to both and love both, but seem to be caught in between which qualities i favor in a school and which school i would more likely thrive in.
I have also been discouraged reading that RU has/is cutting courses and teachers in order to fund their new stadium. Football over Academics? I am dissapointed to see what schools are laying their money in, and obviously where academics fall on their list of values.
I could try and answer any questions you might have about the school.
creative, I don't want to be responsible for swaying......LOL! I do think that one really needs to be able to negotiate a large school, and not get intimidated easily to get what they want out of a school like Rutgers. If you can do that, it might be a good choice. If you think that you have a better shot at thriving in a smaller place, you should think about that very seriously. I worked for someone who flunked out of Rutgers. He ended up getting his degree from a very low ranked school. It was probably life altering for him. I know someone else who is going to graduate from Rutgers this year. He got a fantastic internship (and so did all of his friends) through Rutgers. He is the kind of person who would bloom wherever he was planted. Bottom line, you need to know yourself and what would be best for you. There isn't any one right answer. Best of luck to you, wherever you decide to matriculate!