Cortland vs Empire State College

SUNY Cortland and SUNY Empire State College, both esteemed institutions within the State University of New York system, offer distinct educational experiences tailored to diverse student aspirations. Cortland, rooted in a traditional campus setting, boasts a vibrant residential community and a wide range of undergraduate programs, particularly in education, health, and physical education. Empire State College, on the other hand, embraces a flexible, non-traditional approach, catering to working adults and those seeking a customized educational journey. With open admissions and a focus on individualized study, Empire State College empowers students to pursue their academic goals at their own pace and on their own terms. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to delve into the specifics of each institution, including acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates, and discover which SUNY institution best aligns with your unique educational aspirations.

	SUNY Cortland	SUNY Empire State College
Overview
Location	Cortland, New York	Saratoga Springs, New York
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Trimester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	80.0%	62.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	60.5%	Open Admission
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $65
SAT range	1090 - 1240	N/A
ACT range	22 - 27	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	12.0%
Students submitting ACT score	1.0%
Total number of applicants	11,420
Total number of admissions given out	6,909
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,221
Yield rate	17.7%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	Not required
High school GPA	Not required	N/A
Recommendation letters	Required	N/A
High school transcript	Not required	N/A
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	N/A

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $26,210 Out of state: $36,120	In state: $22,984 Out of state: $32,894
Average net price	$17,703	$11,557
Tuition	In state: $7,070 Out of state: $16,980	In state: $7,070 Out of state: $16,980
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,320 Meal plan: $5,240
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	67.0% Average amount $8,299	77.0% Average amount $7,031
Students receiving federal student loan	67.0% Average amount $5,041	52.0% Average amount $6,667
Students taking out private loans	13.0% Average amount $12,692	0.0% Average amount $0

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	5,984 Men 43.9% Women 56.1%	7,926 Men 36.0% Women 64.0%
Graduate students	674 Men 28.3% Women 71.7%	1,536 Men 28.2% Women 71.8%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	3.4%	5.2%
International students	0.4%	0.6%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Small
Dormitory capacity	3,077	N/A
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	N/A
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New York New Jersey Maryland Pennsylvania Georgia	New York Connecticut Florida Mississippi New Jersey

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Health Professions Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Social Sciences Visual & Performing Arts	Public Administration and Social Service Business Multidisciplinary Studies Health Professions Physical Science
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	64.9%	23.7%
Dropout rate	5.1%	55.1%
Transferred out	29.3%	17.3%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Educational Administration and Supervision (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: $77,923 Year 2: $77,401 Year 3: $83,130 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,928 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $58,583 Business/Managerial Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,555 Year 2: $40,768 Year 3: $53,893 Special Education and Teaching (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,864 Year 2: $46,087 Year 3: $53,247 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,796 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: $52,839 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,533 Year 2: $48,789 Year 3: $52,808 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $50,249 Year 2: $48,703 Year 3: $51,520 Criminology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,567 Year 2: $32,806 Year 3: $50,314 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $38,594 Year 2: $44,021 Year 3: $49,016 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,326 Year 2: $38,108 Year 3: $48,323	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $78,762 Year 2: $89,879 Year 3: $93,382 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $71,395 Year 2: $69,897 Year 3: $70,379 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: $65,898 Year 2: $62,012 Year 3: $62,244 Public Administration and Social Service Professions, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $49,562 Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: $60,601 Biological and Physical Sciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,259 Year 2: $45,852 Year 3: $53,584 Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,983 Year 2: $48,041 Year 3: $51,197 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $42,742 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $42,796 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $40,935 English Language and Literature/Letters, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,680 Year 2: $41,937 Year 3: $40,271 Community Organization and Advocacy (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,496 Year 2: $36,387 Year 3: $38,150

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.

Cortland

CUNY Queens College