New Student Orientation

• Log into your Admissions portal.
• Click on the “Sign up for Orientation” link.
• Click Submit.
• Please allow 24 to 48 hours for your orientation checklist item to clear.

All students must take the English Placement Questionnaire in order to enroll in first-year composition courses that satisfy your general education (GE) requirements, unless you have transfer credit equivalent to ENG 101. Certain other subject areas require a demonstrated level of proficiency before you can enroll in them — such as math, calculus and advanced level foreign language.

Our placement exams and proficiency web page provides detailed information about each one. It is essential that you take relevant placement tests that apply to you as soon as possible. Otherwise, your department will be unable to register you for courses you might need.

Visit the Placement Exams Page

In December, the academic advising office will start calling first-year students to build Spring 2021 schedules. First-year schedules typically include courses or prerequisites for your major plus general education requirements. They are carefully chosen for you so you can have a great start to your SUNY Plattsburgh career. Connect with the academic advising office ([email protected]) to discuss your placement results, your major and interests, and we will get you enrolled in a full schedule.  

Advisement for new, main campus, transfer students begins November 16. Contact your academic department chairperson for course advisement, to discuss your schedule and obtain the registration (PIN) code you will need to register for courses. Find “Chair and Department Contacts” on the transfer advisement and registration link below. Online registration for transfer students with a PIN code begins Monday, November 30 at 10 a.m.

Transfer Advisement & Registration

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

A live orientation information session will be held on Thursday, January 14, 2021. These sessions will be recorded and available below after that date.

Yes to both questions.

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

Visit the campus parking webpage for more information. 

Campus Parking

Dining in seating capacity will be reduced to 50% of room capacity.

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

View Cardinal Cash Account at College Auxiliary Services

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: 

On-Campus Meal Plans

For information on CAS services and more, visit: College Auxiliary Services

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

Housing placements will be finalized by January 15, 2021. 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 & Community Living for more information via email: [email protected] or 518-564-3824.

Students will only be allowed to host guests in their residence hall that already live on campus. 

• Masks will be required in public (exceptions will be suites and rooms). This will include hallways, lounges, bathrooms and lobbies.
• Education regarding social distancing and safety precautions will be a strong focus of the community living staff.
• Indoor areas will have occupancy limit sizes to prevent large activities from occurring.
• Most residence hall programing will be digital and those that are not will follow social distancing and face covering guidelines.
• Guests will be limited to only other on-campus students.
• There will be only one main entrance into each residence hall.
• Daily health screenings are required for students and staff.
• On-campus students will be required to participate in periodic COVID-19 testing.
• Quarantine and isolation rooms have been identified, in case someone gets sick or comes in-contact with an infected individual.

For questions about what to bring to campus, what types of items are permitted in the residence halls, storage and more, visit https://www.plattsburgh.edu/plattslife/housing/housing-faqs.html.

Check-In for new students will begin on Friday, February 5, 2021 and will continue through Sunday, February 7, 2021 for returning students.  Students will receive a time and date of when they are permitted to move in from the Office of Campus Housing & Community Living.

Only two people will be allowed to help move you in. Helpers will also have to take a health screening before arrival and wear a mask.

Yes, new international students are permitted to arrive earlier and will be subject to SUNY and/or N.Y. state quarantine guidelines. Further information will be provided by the Global Education Office.

No, move-in times will be selected at random and roommates will not be permitted to move in at the same time. Your roommate may move in on the same day, but it will not be at the same time. The exception to this rule of course will be if the two students were siblings. If this is the case students should reach out to campus housing to verify this, especially once they have received their check-in dates.

There will be a process for students to request a different time. However, times cannot be guaranteed as the housing office needs to be sure that the campus is maintaining a safe check-in process, where social distancing guidelines can be adhered to. More information about changing your time will be provided later.

Yes, meal service will be provided on Opening Weekend.  Specific location hours will be established and published soon.

Contact your academic department for more information.

We cannot limit your visitation. However, we do highly recommend that you remain on campus in our community as much as possible. If you do need to go home, we ask that you continue to practice social distancing, wearing a mask when out in public, and practice good handwashing. Students who travel outside of N.Y. state will be subject to all current campus and state restrictions in place at the time of such travel. Unless this is absolutely necessary we recommend that you postpone such travel if possible. 

You will be contacted by a contact tracer from the NYS Department of Health that will assist you with the best recommendation for your care. You may need to be in an isolation room until you can be picked up by a family member if this is in your best medical interest.

Students that arrive in NYS from those states and countries will be subject to all campus and state guidelines that are in place at the time of such arrival.  If quarantine is needed, the college has designated isolation and quarantine rooms on campus for that purpose.  More information related to this topic can be found on the college’s COVID Update Page.

Students will only be allowed to have guests that already live on campus. Students can certainly have guests from off-campus or a non-student, they just will not be permitted into the residence halls. Such guests will also be asked to fill out a health screening form prior to arrival to campus.

Daily screenings once you arrive on campus are mandatory. The campus participates in periodic pool testing and students will be required to be tested when invited to do so.

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: 

Managing Your 529 Account — NY Saves

We anticipate the status of the Excelsior application will be announced prior to billing. At that point, we will determine the appropriate accommodations to make under the circumstances.

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 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: 

Cost-Aid 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

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 us an email from your Plattsburgh account ([email protected]) requesting that we cancel or reduce your loan.