area around SUNY Cortland (Syracuse, Ithaca: movie theater, school, college)

[Jenn-NY]

My son is considering SUNY Cortland to go to college. Any info - good or bad - about the town and surrounding area? Is it a safe place/ campus?

[jgreg]

I grew up in Cortland, although I didn’t go to college there. Cortland is a small town and pretty safe, as is the college. Socializing tends to revolve around alcohol and the school does have a bit of a party school reputation.

There’s not a lot to do in Cortland for entertainment. (There might still be a movie theater there) but Syracuse and Ithaca are both viable options for things to do. There are three ski places near-by if he’s into skiing.

I would have found Cortland a bit dull if I had been an out-of-town student, but then looking back, I probably could have done well with a few less distractions while in college. LOL

The town has had some tough times. A lot of industry has left and there hasn't been a lot of job growth, but I hear Main Street is starting to come back around. Winters are long and grey.

Hope that helps.

[Jenn-NY]

I get a lot of mixed answers about the "party school" rep. Some have said it used to be a party school and some have said it still is. I guess it's everywhere. It seemed nice when we visited. A lot to do on campus. Thanks for your reply.

[dnclark]

jgreg is correct on all counts as far as I can see. I can't speak to the reputation as a party school, as I don't know much about that end. But every college is a party school really. I drive through Cortland quite a bit and it's a nice quiet town. Probably not much to do, but Ithaca and Syracuse are each about a half hour away. I've never heard of any safety problems at all so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

[danner0408]

As a current SUNY Cortland student, I can attest that this is a very nice community and college. Some of the basest bad impressions include: Party School, Jock School, downstate vs. upstate tensions. Despite these, however, I feel that it is a very good place to go. I worked at the library at nights and had no problem walking back by myself at 1am or 3am (and I'm a girl). I never felt unsafe even at these times. Hope that helps!

[Jenn-NY]

Thanks for all your replies. It's really appreciated.