@ Reina Oya, that was EXACTLY what Purchase was li...

@ Reina Oya, that was EXACTLY what Purchase was like back when I visited in the early 90's and decided to apply to school there. I'm from NYC, so it was AWESOME to find a SUNY school that was artistic and full of creative freaks like me. Although I ended up going elsewhere (I really wanted a smaller liberal arts college experience), I REALLY did like Purchase, and could easily have gone to school there.

Thank you for reminding me what it was that I loved about Purchase. It was literally the only SUNY school I considered and applied to. Stony Brook & Binghampton were the only other SUNY campuses I looked at, and I didn't end up applying to either of them (too LARGE and impersonal).

SUNY Purchase was different, and I LOVED that about it. DEFINITELY the SUNY for creative and liberal students. It has exceptional programs, and is in a pretty location. The campus itself is completely hideous architecturally though. The other large state university I applied to was UVM in Burlington, Vermont which also had a much lovelier campus than Purchase did, but it couldn't TOUCH Purchase when it came to the arts programs. I also re-applied to Purchase again as a graduate student for my MFA, but ended up back in NYC instead. Purchase was the only SUNY I applied to both as an undergrad and a graduate student.