New Student Orientation

Orientation Sign Up Instructions

• Log into your Admissions portal page
• Click on the “Sign up for Orientation” link
• Select the orientation session date you wish to attend and submit
• Please allow 24 – 48 hours for your orientation checklist item to clear on your admissions portal page.

Please visit the competency and placement webpage for full details.

Competency & Placement Exam Information

First-Year Students

From late May through June, academic departments and special programs offices were hard at work building Fall 2021 schedules. We encouraged you to receive one-on-one course advising from your academic department in June and discuss your fall schedule. If you have not done so, please reach out to your department chair ASAP. It’s not too late to talk one-on-one and is the preferred way to schedule.

First-year schedules typically include courses or prerequisites for your major plus general education requirements such as English, math and your Cardinal Foundation Seminar (CFS1889). It is advisable to remain in your course schedule and discuss any concerns with your department or special program.

If you need to make adjustments to your schedule — like adding a course — you can attend a group virtual registration session. To pre-register for one of these sessions, pick a date and click the link:

• July 9, Friday 10 a.m. — Pre-register now for July 9
• July 14, Wednesday 10 a.m. — Pre-register now for July 14
• July 20, Tuesday 10 a.m. — Pre-register now for July 20

An email will be sent with a Zoom link for you to attend the virtual registration session on the day you selected. Save that email. Please join the Zoom using your desktop or laptop computer. If your schedule is set, you do not need to attend virtual registration.

Transfer Students

Advisement
Advisement for new, main-campus transfer students starts Friday, May 21, 2021. Contact your academic department chairperson to receive course advisement, discuss your pre-registered schedule, and to obtain the registration (PIN) code you will need to adjust or register for additional courses.

Registration
Online registration for new transfer students with a PIN code begins on Friday, June 18, 2021 at 10 a.m.

For a list of department contacts and Banner registration instructions, refer to the Advisement and Registration web page that admissions provided you in your transfer credit evaluation correspondence (Degree Works audit report).

Communicate with Your Orientation Leader

You will be assigned to a SUNY Plattsburgh student who will serve as your orientation leader throughout the summer. This student will contact you to share the dates for live group meetings via Zoom where you can learn more about SUNY Plattsburgh and what to expect, as well as ask any questions you may have. Look for an email from your orientation leader at the beginning of June.

See the Campus

Join us in a tour of the campus facilities and services at your convenience.

Take a Tour

Attend an Information Session

Although we regret not being able to have an in-person summer orientation program, we have developed a virtual, live orientation information session that you can attend on one of the following dates. 

**If you are unable to attend one of our live, virtual orientation sessions you may access recordings of each event. Links below.

Tuesday, August 10 from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Thanks to those of you who participated in recent virtual orientation sessions. If you haven’t already, we ask that you please complete an evaluation to let us know what you learned and how we did.

EVALUATION Form

We appreciate your participation and, as always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact your orientation leader.

Yes to both questions. 

The Student Association shuttle runs from the Angell College Center to the mall, a grocery store, and a pharmacy.

Visit campus parking for more information.

Campus Parking — Vehicle Registration

Two weeks prior to the semester, you’ll be able to register and activate your Cardinal Cash account. At your account summary when you login, it will display your Cardinal Cash, Dining Dollars, Express Dollars balance and more.

Register & Activate Cardinal Cash

All students living on campus must have a meal plan.

Your meal plan options will be on your college billing statement. You’ll be pre-selected for the Anytime +$125 meal plan for all first-year students (mandatory for first- and second-semester first years).

If you are a student transferring in at a sophomore credit status, you’ll have the option to choose: Anytime +$125, Flex 150 and the Flex 120. For those students who qualify for all of the 3 options, you have 10 days to switch your meal plan once the semester starts (second Wednesday at 4 p.m.); after this deadline you’ll be locked on the current meal plan until the end of the semester. For more information please visit: 

Campus Meal Plans

For general information about College Auxiliary Services (CAS), visit: plattsburghcas.com.

For information directly related to meal plan options, visit: Campus Meal Plans

Housing placement will take place at the end of July. Students will be able to find out their placements by clicking on the housing link in the MyPlattsburgh portal. 

Contact the Office of Campus Housing and Community Living for more information at 518-564-3824.

We have not been notified yet by SUNY what the campus policies and procedures will be for the fall. In a non-pandemic time, students may have guests and visit friends in other residence halls. However, during the past year students were only allowed to have guests that already live on campus.  We hope to have more information some time in August.

For questions about what to bring to campus, what types of items are permitted in the residence halls, storage and more, visit:

Housing FAQs

New students will move in on August 26 or 27. Students will receive a time and date on when they are permitted to move in from the Office of Campus Housing and Community Living later this summer. You will also get information on how many people may help you move in at that time.

Yes, student athletes and new international students are permitted to arrive earlier. However, they should get in contact with their coach or the Global Education Office for more information.

For more information about FAFSA, visit:

Apply for Aid & the Award Process

For information about scholarships at SUNY Plattsburgh, visit:

Scholarships, Grants & Loans

Withdrawals can be requested online by logging onto your account, by phone, or by submitting a Withdrawal Request Form. Qualified higher education withdrawals for attendance at eligible educational institutions can be sent to: the account owner, the beneficiary, the eligible educational institution.

For more information:

NY Saves: Managing Your Account

Check your FAFSA and ensure that you reported two in college.

As long as a student has satisfied all of the requirements for the loan (accepted the loan, completed the loan agreement, and completed entrance), the loan will be deducted from the charges on the bill.

You can access it on MyPlattsburgh under Student Services tab > Financial Aid > My Award to see the aid package.

Loans are the same, but the subsidized loan is better in a sense because interest doesn’t accumulate during school, while unsubsidized loan interest kicks in and accumulates while students are in college. For more information:

Loan Programs

As long as we have a valid FAFSA on file, you should be emailed an award summary within two weeks of your acceptance by admissions.

It is $35. You can enroll in a payment plan online after you get the online bill, but the following paper form provides a description:

Payment Plan Application & Description

Head to Handshake in the MyPlattsburgh portal where jobs are posted. Look for the position and apply for it. None are yet posted but should be posted soon. 

The Excelsior Scholarship covers any portion of tuition that is not already covered by TAP, Pell or any other scholarship or grant that can be applied toward tuition.

Yes, contact the financial aid office via phone at 518-564-2072 or email at [email protected] to set up a conversation.

It will be about three weeks after your bill is generated. Your bill will specify the due date.

Check your award summary on MyPlattsburgh and then contact the financial aid office via phone at 518-564-2072 or email at [email protected].   

Yes, you can submit a loan adjustment on MyPlattsburgh or send an email from your Plattsburgh account to [email protected] requesting that we cancel or reduce your loan.