Juniata and SUNY-ESF are they good colleges?

The objective facts are these. Juniata ranks 97 in the Top 100 of America’s Best Colleges 2008”. It’s a small school (less than 2,000 enrollment) with a good student-faculty ratio in a rural setting. It has a religious affiliation with the Church of the Brethren.

SUNY-ESF ranks 85th, even better, in that same list. It specializes in your field and is fifth in specialized research colleges for productivity of its faculty. It is in an urban setting (Syracuse) and has a size similar to Juniata (1,544 enrollment). It has no religious affiliation.

One other fact. Tuition for out-of-state students is about half at SUNY ESF than at Juniata.

The decision of which is the right school for you is very personal. If it was me, I would be swayed by the chance to do cutting edge research in my field that SUNY offers. On the other hand, if you hate cities, it might not be right for you. Maybe learning in a religious environment is important to you.

You will be lucky to get to go to either place.

Why would hating cities have anything to do with going to SUNY ESF? It’s not in a city. It’s in upstate NY, near Syracuse.

Seems like a no brainer to me, but like Marina said, the decision is very personal. You should definitely visit both schools and take tours and talk to students and professors. You should also see what they may offer in addition to academics.

For example, I never anticipated joining the school newspaper before I went to college, but low and behold, I ended up doing it and loving it and it was one of the best experiences I had in school. It was invaluable to my experience, and had little to do with the academic reputation of the school, so the extra-curriculars matter (for me, anyway)

SUNY – ESF: unique program. You should be sure that you are sure about your interests.

Juniata – pros and cons

I know two people who went to ESF and they both loved it. I visited a couple of times while one of them was there and I liked the people I met and the campus as well.

Thank you for all of your input. I have been swaying towards SUNY-ESF and i am thinking that will be the one. I will be applying to both of course, along with one other fall back college. Wish me luck everyone! =]