About SUNY Cortland

Founded in 1868, SUNY Cortland. is a Public college. Located in New York, which is a city setting in New York, the campus itself is Town. The campus is home to 6,304 full time undergraduate students, and 596 full time graduate students.

The SUNY Cortland Academic calendar runs on a Semester basis. In the school year the student to faculty ratio was 16:1. There are 302 full time instructional teachers. Degrees awarded at SUNY Cortland include: Bachelor's Degree, Masters Degree, Post-master's certificate, Doctor's degree.

Quick Facts

Acceptance Rate52%
Application Deadline15-Nov
Application Fee50
SAT Range990-1140
ACT Range22-25

Admissions at are considered Selective, with ,35% of all applicants being admitted.

In the school year, of the students who applied to the school, only 11 of those who were admitted eventually ended up enrolling.

100% of incoming freshmen are in the top half of their high school class. 61% were in the top quarter, and 22% were in the top tenth. You can apply online.

STUDENT LIFE

We asked, and students answered these important questions about student life at SUNY Cortland.

13%
“We”re apathetic”
44%
“We know about current events and vote”
44%
“We participate and encourage others to get involved”
0%
“There”s nothing we won”t protest”
6%
“We save it for the classroom”
31%
“Sometimes, but not often”
44%
“There”s usually intelligent conversation to be found”
19%
“All the time, including weekends”
0%
“I”m always terrified”
19%
“I only go out in groups”
25%
“I usually let someone know where I”m going”
56%
“I feel extremely safe”
0%
“We don”t play sports”
0%
“We play recreationally”
13%
“We bought the gear”
88%
“We live for the big game”
44%
“It”s not really our thing”
19%
“Occasinally we gallery crawl”
31%
“There are a variety of opportunities”
6%
“We”re a very artistic group”
6%
“Haven”t met them”
6%
“Available in class”
31%
“They keep regular office hours”
56%
“They”re always available”
0%
“No greek life, but other groups to join”
13%
“There is some involvement, but not a lot”
88%
“Plenty of people join a sorority or fraternity”
0%
“It”s everything. If you”re not greek, you”re a geek”
0%
“We”re not into drinking at all”
7%
“Maybe a little, but it”s not a big thing”
33%
“We only party on weekends”
60%
“There”s some drinking happening every night”
13%
“Never, we”re here to learn”
50%
“There might be people who do”
31%
“People are known to partake on weekends”
6%
“There”s a huge drug scene”
13%
“We”re apathetic”
44%
“We know about current events and vote”
44%
“We participate and encourage others to get involved”
0%
“There”s nothing we won”t protest”
6%
“We save it for the classroom”
31%
“Sometimes, but not often”
44%
“There”s usually intelligent conversation to be found”
19%
“All the time, including weekends”
0%
“I”m always terrified”
19%
“I only go out in groups”
25%
“I usually let someone know where I”m going”
56%
“I feel extremely safe”
0%
“We don”t play sports”
0%
“We play recreationally”
13%
“We bought the gear”
88%
“We live for the big game”
44%
“It”s not really our thing”
19%
“Occasinally we gallery crawl”
31%
“There are a variety of opportunities”
6%
“We”re a very artistic group”
6%
“Haven”t met them”
6%
“Available in class”
31%
“They keep regular office hours”
56%
“They”re always available”
0%
“No greek life, but other groups to join”
13%
“There is some involvement, but not a lot”
88%
“Plenty of people join a sorority or fraternity”
0%
“It”s everything. If you”re not greek, you”re a geek”
0%
“We”re not into drinking at all”
7%
“Maybe a little, but it”s not a big thing”
33%
“We only party on weekends”
60%
“There”s some drinking happening every night”
13%
“Never, we”re here to learn”
50%
“There might be people who do”
31%
“People are known to partake on weekends”
6%
“There”s a huge drug scene”

SUNY Cortland REVIEWS

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  • How would you rate on-campus housing?

    69 Students rated on-campus housing 3.7 stars. 19 % gave the school a 5.0.

  • How would you rate off-campus housing?

    49 Students rated off-campus housing 3.6 stars. 0 % gave the school a 5.0.

  • How would you rate campus food?

    69 Students rated campus food 3.6 stars. 22 % gave the school a 5.0.

  • How would you rate campus facilities?

    71 Students rated campus facilities 4 stars. 27 % gave the school a 5.0.

  • How would you rate class size?

    71 Students rated class size 4.2 stars. 31 % gave the school a 5.0.

  • How would you rate school activities?

    71 Students rated school activities 4.3 stars. 49 % gave the school a 5.0.

  • How would you rate local services?

    71 Students rated local services 3.9 stars. 31 % gave the school a 5.0.

  • How would you rate academics?

    71 Students rated academics 4.3 stars. 49 % gave the school a 5.0.

What's your overall opinion of SUNY Cortland?

18 Students rated SUNY Cortland

heather - 05/17/2021

I love SUNY Cortland. However, it is not the easiest to get scholarships and financial aid if you ask directly for more and apply. It is definitely affordable, but I wish you were not required to purchase the meal plans. Something that no one really talks about is that certain parts of Cortland town are not the safest so it is better to go out in groups. Keep in mind, the CAMPUS is definitely safe, I dont even have to lock my dorm room at night. The professors are also incredible as long as you do your research on them. One thing I would definately improve is the amount of conselors available to talk as there is a lack of staffing in that department. Overall I would rate SUNY Cortland a 3.7/5

Daniel

I love that the students are very supportive of the school, you see students wearing Cortland gear everywhere. The sports are a huge thing and that is something I enjoy very much. There looks to be something to do when there is free time. The campus is gorgeous and there are many opportunities for me to choose a major in a sports environment, making it my dream school.

Kristen

I love Cortland and I have a great time every day.

Megan

SUNY Cortland was a true home away from home. In the warmer months SUNY Cortland students are out on the lawns throwing a football and eating their lunches outside to soak up the Vitamin D. Although, most of the months are colder, there is always something fun to do with the new student life center. If you are not much of an athlete, the student life center has a game room, ping pong tables, and pool tables. The famous CORTACA game keeps all of the students looking forward to the same thing year after year. SUNY Cortland makes you feel confident and comfortable on their safe campus. SUNY Cortland is where you will make life long friends in your major, or from living in the spacious dorm rooms. As for the academics, which is why we go to college in the first place, is outstanding. If you want to pursue a teaching degree, this is the college for you. Many individuals continue on with education after graduating from SUNY Cortland, which shows that the school prepares students for higher education and successful careers. SUNY Cortland is an amazing college to created spectacular memories.

SUNY Cortland FAQS

  1. What is the Acceptance Rate at SUNY Cortland?

    The fall 2020 acceptance rate for SUNY Cortland is 52%. That means, out of _____ applications received in 2020 , _____ students were offered admission. The number of males who applied was _____ vs the number of females which was _____.

  2. What should every freshman at your school know before they start?

    If I could go back in time and give myself advice in highschool knowing what I know now, I would tell myself to cheer up because college is so much better and more fun than high school. I would tell myself to find something that I'm passionate about (basketball) and stick with it. I would also tell myself to stick it out and play basketball in college because playing a sport in college is so much more impotant than anything else (besides school) that's going on in my high school life. I would tell myself that high school is not even the start of my life, but once college starts, I have 4 years to get it right and work as hard as possible to graduate on time from 1 college. There are many things that I would do different, but the biggest thing that I wish I could change everyday is rewinding to my last high school basketball game where I decided to "throw in the towel" and suck it up and play in college. I had an opportunity to do so, and I turned it down. If I could di it again, I'd play basketball.

    Read all  84 answers
  3. Describe how your school looks to someone who's never seen it.

    SUNY Cortland is a great mid sized college that offers a friendly campus atmosphere with various athletic and extra curricular activities.

    Read all  21 answers
  4. What do you consider the worst thing about your school? Why?

    The winters here are very cold and snowy so it makes for getting to class a little bit of a challenge.

    Read all  19 answers
  5. Describe the students at your school.

    My classmates are just as dedicated and motivated as I am.

    Read all  16 answers
  6. What's the most frustrating thing about your school?

    My experience at Cortland to date has been really positive. I was a vey motivated student in High school so I thought the academics at college would be easy, I learned quickly that I needed to think differently. I needed to learn how to manage my time in a very different way then I was used to. Initially, I was frustrated that I had to take a 1 credit core class, which is mandated because it addresses the first year questions and problems that I faced, it ultimately made my adjustment to college life a succcessful one.

    Read all  16 answers
  7. Here's your chance: Say anything about your college!

    One of the unique aspects of the school was it's location 5 miles from a ski resort and centrally located between Syracuse and Ithaca.

    Read all  13 answers
  8. What's unique about your campus?

    I consider the option for distance learning the best thing about my school. I am a single parent who works full time, if only a traditional classroom setting was offered I would not have been able to complete my masters. I love the flexibility that distance learning gives you. You can attend class virtually at anytime of the day or night.

    Read all  12 answers
  9. What's the one thing you wish someone had told you about freshman year?

    I was pleased with the amount I learned while attending

    Read all  11 answers
  10. What kind of person should attend this school?

    A motivated, respectful, fun, caring person.

    Read all  10 answers
  11. What kind of person should not attend this school?

    Any one who is uptight about life and not willing to put themselves out there. If you are only going to sit in your room and play your computer, do not bother attending.

    Read all  10 answers
  12. What do you brag about most when you tell your friends about your school?

    N/A

    Read all  10 answers
  13. Describe your favorite campus traditions.

    Good Education with low tution fees

    Read all  9 answers
  14. What are the most popular student activities/groups?

    At my school, greek life is pretty popular. There are five sororities, three fraternities, as well as a coed fraternity which is community service based, and many racial sororities and fraternities. Sport teams are also very popular at my school. Not just varsity sports, but club sports and intramural. There is kickline, dance company, and danceworks, as well as many educational clubs that fit your interest. I personally am involved in a sorority. My Spring semester freshman year I joined the Sigma Delta Tau sorority and I have absolutely loved every second of it, I am so sad this is my last semester being a part of it! Our philanthropy is Prevent Child Abuse America, where we fundraise to raise money for this cause (this year we ran a car wash to raise money). We also do many other community service activities, such as decorating our house and letting the neighborhood children come trick-or-treat, this activity is called Safe Halloween, and we participate in many other activities. It is nice to always have a friend to help you when you are in need and to just hang out with! Joining this sorority is definitely how I met my closest friends, and it opens up the doors to meet many people on sports teams, in other sororities, and in fraternities. In the dorm rooms, the only time you will find a closes door is when people are not home. The students here are so friendly and interested in meeting new people all the time! Athletic event are very popular, and as I explained before, the Cortaca Jug football game is one time when almost the whole campus participates and shows school spirit at the games. You will always find a large group of students and family members at the sporting events. Almost every week night, SUNY Cortland has a guest speaker or an educational movie to be shown, and there is always something to get involved with. I recently went to an activity called "Freedom Riders." This was when an African American speaker came in to speak to us about her time throughout segregation and then she played the movie "Freedom Riders" for us. It was a very moving event. If I'm awake at 2 am on a Tuesday, I am either watching movies with my friends or doing some last minute homework that I have unfortunately procrastinated on. Usually on week nights I am sleeping pretty early to get some rest for the next day. There are a few traditions at my school. One as previously mentioned is the Cortaca Jug football game. We also have Scholar's Day, which is when we get off on a Monday to recognize the students. We have a Spring Fling where many music artists have come to perform. While I have been at SUNY Cortland OAR, The Fray, and Kid Cudi have performed. Also, many guest speaker events happen each year, such as hazing awareness and alcohol awareness. Fraternities and sororities are pretty important, but like I said before there are so many other clubs and activities that people are involved with instead. Off campus there are a few things that you can do. We have an outdoor and glow in the dark indoor mini golf course, a movie theater, a bowling alley, the driving range, and a few shops. Also, Syracuse and Ithaca have nice, big malls which are between 20-40 minutes away if you have a car. Those are many of the activities you can participate in that doesn't involve drinking. There are also many dorm events and on campus activities you can participate. A lot of people hang out with each other and that doesn't involved drinking either. Overall, SUNY Cortland is loaded with many organizations, acitivities, and fun events!

    Read all  3 answers
  15. What are the academics like at your school?

    As previously stated, my school is big but not too bad. Some of the classes (mostly general education classes) are in large lecture halls and the teachers don't really get a chance to know your name unless you really make an effort. Once you get into your major classes and some of the other classes range from 20-30 students and the teachers truly know each of their students. It's definitely nice having a relationship with my teachers and that I can feel comfortable enough with them that I am able to talk to them when necessary. Since I am a childhood education major, I would have to say one of my favorite classes is EDU 479. This is a class that is required for my major, and I have learned many helpful things. We write lessons, and learn different techniques. Also as a requirement in this class, we must complete 50 hours in an elementary school classroom that SUNY Cortland places us in and we must teach three lessons. I have gained a lot of teaching experience and it has been very beneficial to me. My least favorite class was probably intro to psychology. Psychology and sciences are my weakest areas and therefore I did not do very well in it. Also, the teacher was a little tough and it was in a large lecture hall, which I did not like. Just like at any other school, students must study in order to do well in their classes. Class participation is very common. In lecture halls, usually only the brave, outgoing students will participate, but in the smaller classrooms mostly everyone does. My school is top ten in the nation for childhood education and the professors really help prepare you for job. for childhood education you must complete 100 hours total in two different elementary classroom placements. This gives you a lot of experience in the classroom to help prepare you for student teaching and your actual teaching job. There also is seminars on how to write resumes and cover letters which is helpful since those can be pretty tricky. Towards the end of college you are very well prepared to create and write your own lesson plans for multiple subjects. Professors are very willing to help you outside of class. each professor has office hours where you can meet with them, and they are more than willing to schedule appointments if you can't make it to their office hours. They are very accomodating and try to help you fully succeed. The education at this school both helps you learn a lot of important information and it helps prepare you for a real job.

    Read all  1 answers
  16. What is your overall opinion of this school?

    Overall, I am in love with my school. The summer after senior year of high school I was very hesitant about actually going away to school, but now that I am in my senior year of college I cannot imagine what life will be like leaving this school. The best thing about my school is that it is big, but not too big. By senior year you cannot go somewhere without seeing a familiar face and that's very comforting.The professors at my school, for the most part, are very approachable and will do anything to help you succeed in their classes. There's not one thing I would change about my school, except the weather here! It gets very cold in the winter. On campus, a lot of my time is spent in my classes, at the gym, at the library, or getting food somewhere (there are so many places to eat and all of the food is so yummy). I definitely think that there is a lot of school spirit, and we all truly love going here. One major example of our school pride is the cortaca football game. This is when our football team plays against Ithaca college and our school spirit truly shows. Everyone goes to the game wearing red (since our colors are red andn black), faces painted, we support our football team, and it's a lot of fun. Experiences that I'll always remember are the cortaca football games, and joining a sorority. My sorority gave me a group of really great friends who I can always go to when I need someone to talk to or just to hang out with. It really is an awesome experience. The biggest complaint at my school is probably just about going to class and doing homework, but you can find that at almost every campus. It's never an excessive amount of work, but you just have to make sure you don't fall behind because then you'll be in trouble. In Cortland, there are a few places to go to have fun. There is an glow in the dark mini golf which is a lot of fun, a movie theater, good places to eat, and there are always on campus events and sporting events to enjoy.

    Read all  1 answers
  17. Tell us about the sports scene on campus.

    The sports scene it my school is not as popular as it is at some other schools, but it still is a pretty big thing. At almost every sporting event, students wear red and black to support our teams with the school colors, and some students even paint their faces. It's free to get in, and at most of the games there are concession stands or somewhere to buy food in case you get hungry. Once at the games, students get really involved and cheer on for the Cortland sports teams. Although the stands are not always packed, there is always a really good turnout. Like i said before, Cortaca is the one major sporting event that pretty much the entire school gets involved with. Cortaca day is one of the best days at Cortland by far. If interested in joining a sport, there are so many sports to choose from, and you can either join the competitive team, and intramural, or a club sport. A lot of variety!

    Read all  1 answers
  18. Why did you decide to go to this school?

    I remember kind of being out of the loop during high school. Even though I had a brother and sister who had gone through the application process and who were already in college, I never really thought about where I wanted to go. SUNY schools were obviously at the top of my list, for financial reasons. They were the cheapest schools, besides the community schools by my house. I knew that I had definitely wanted to go away to school just to get the experience and to meet a ton of new people, but I didn't want to go too far. I still wanted to be able to get on a bus and be home in about 5 hours (although the bus ride takes a lot longer because of all of the stops). One day senior year (I think), my friend told me she was visiting SUNY Cortland. This was one of my top choices for schools, because they had a really good education program, which was what I am going for (childhood education major - elementary school). I asked her if I could go with her, and she said yes. We went in the fall and as soon as we pulled up, I knew this was the place I wanted to spend the next four years of my life. The campus was absolutely beautiful and the trees were so pretty with their orange and red leaves. Also, to be honest the first building we saw reminded me a lot of my high school and that was comforting to me too. Another deciding factor, besides location, cost, and major, was that I knew a few people from high school who were going. My best friend (even though she later transferred home) also decided to go there and it was nice to have that comfort there in case I needed it. I am asbolutely thrilled about the decision I made, because Cortland has so far been the best three years of my life!

    Read all  1 answers
  19. What is the stereotype of students at your school? Is this stereotype accurate?

    One major stereotype at my school is that it is a huge party school. People think that SUNY Cortland is full of alcoholics who only know how to party, drink, and do drugs. Another stereotype is fraternity and sorority kids. I obviously did not know this before coming to school here, because that would have been a major turn off for me but I heard things of that nature from people once I started going here. After being at school here for three years, I have noticed that my school is full of students who are hard workers and eager to learn. Yes, greek life is a large aspect but it is also full of athletes and many other educational clubs to become a part of.

    Read all  1 answers

Student Body

Students

56%

female

44%

male

6,304

Total Undergrad Enrollment

596

Total Grad Students

6%

Out-Of-State

94%

In-State

N/A

International

Organizations

62

Student Organizations

3

Fraternities

5

Sororities

Housing

Yes

On-Campus Housing

43%

of students living on campus

Student Diversity

% American Indian/Alaskan Native
N/A
% Asian/Pacific Islander
1%
% Black or African-American
6%
% Hispanic/Latino
12%
% White or Caucasian
73%

TUITION & AID

All students must apply yearly for financial aid. This process starts with the FAFSA. Though financial aid deadlines vary by school, it is a good idea to apply as soon as possible. For the upcoming school year, you can apply as early as October 1 for the FAFSA. Additional school aid will be dependent on the FAFSA results.

93% of students attending SUNY Cortland receive some sort of financial aid. 38% were awarded federal grants. While 73% received federal loans. Many students do also need to apply for additional private student loans.

Cost Out of State

$17,956

Tuition and fees(Out of state)

$1,000

Books and Supplies

$12,600

Room and Board

31,556

Total On Campus

Actual Cost By Income Level(W/Financial Aid)

Family Income
Cost
$0 - $30K
$11,665
$30 - $48K
$14,948
$48 - $75K
$19,572
$75 - $110K
$21,965
$110K & UP
$22,672

We use student reviews and the most current publicly available data on our school pages. As such, we don't typically remove or edit college information. Sources for school statistics and data include the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. Portions of college data include copyrighted material, which is reproduced on this website by permission of Wintergreen Orchard House, a division of Carnegie Communications. © 2009-2016 by Wintergreen Orchard House. All rights reserved.

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