SUNY Cortland Top Questions

This is a desicion the will effect the rest of your life. Try not to get caught up in money or exspenses. The right place will be worth the extra bit of money and time no matter what. Also, make sure the social activities available are things you are interested in. You do not want the only activity you are doing to be work. Also, be friendly with everyone, it is much easier to make friends this way!

find a college that helps the student to become what they want to be. picking the wrong school can be a costly mistake. take time and figure out what the student may want to do with their life and pick a college from there

Go on unoffical tours to meet and intereact with current students not just tour guides and school staff

Dont pick your first choice all the time

To find the right college you need to really evaluate what you want out of it. You have to think about the size, the closeness to home, if you know people that are going there, what kind of activities you want to be involved in, how much it costs, and what degrees they offer. You also need to visit many campuses and go with your gut. To make the most out of your college experience you need to get involved and not be shy or avoid taking chances. People are so much more open and accepting, and being shy will just mean you seclude yourself. Also, prioritize and get your work done so you can have fun whenever you want.

The advice I would give to parents and or/students about finding the right college would be to visit all campuses you apply to, pay attention during tours, ask many questions of current students and try to envision yourself there. If you simply can't see yourself there, It's not for you. The advice I would give to make the most of the experience is to get involved in anything that interests, get out of your shell, makes lots of friends and always focus on your academics! That is why you are there in the first place!

To parents, do not try to make your child's decison for them. It is their life and future and they should be making thier own decision about where they want to be instead of where you think they should be. You can give them an idea of what you think about thier choices but remember it is ultimately your child's decision. To students, your first semester at college is daunting and scary, I won't lie. I am an extroverted person who could not wait to go to college and leave home but I was the most homesick freshman I knew. I wanted to transfer and everything but now, I am so glad I didn't act on those feelings because I love my college and the experiences and friends I've made don't compare to anything else. It'll be tough, but stick through it.

I find a lot of students and parents choose a school based athletics. It isn't about that. What matters is the academics behind the athlete because when your four years are over, it won't be about how many touchdowns or points you scored. What you need is a career and if you spent most of your college years focusing on athletic events instead of your academics, you will not get the career or your choice and in the end, you won't have anything to show for it. I think parents and potential students should look at the athletic program of a school as a bonus after you have decided the academic part of the school is for you.

Visit as many colleges as possible and don't be close minded about state schools. It's all the same piece of paper when you get out.

Each college has things about it that leave it with a good reputation and a bad reputation. Students should visit the campus and meet some current students attending the school. It is hard to judge a school based strictly on statistics, "hear say," or pictures. I would also suggest doing research on the support that the school gives to the students while finding a job, or the job rate after graduation. I would recomend students to be involved in as many club organizations or teams as they can. Huge amounts of college networking take place during extra school related activities. A student will meet many people they would normally not assocate with when being involved in clubs and organizations. Make friends, connect with faculty, and get involved.