SUNY at Albany Top Questions

The size of the school is nice. One of the stereotypes of UAlbany is that it is known as a party school. This is definitely true, and Albany is definitely a college town, with enough bars and houseparties every weekend...

The best thing about UAlbany for me is its closeness to the state's capitol. This provides for a ton of opportunities for government, law and business majors- though few students realize this and benefit from it. The school is huge, but that is not necessarily bad. Once you find what you want to study and what clubs to join, the school shrinks. And there are always new people to meet in classes and in bars. People usually are surprised when I say I go to UAlbany, assuming that someone as put together and bright as myself should have gone someplace better. Albany is a SUNY and is therefore a great value. For most albany students, cost is the bottom line. There is little school pride, most people have no idea what is going on on-campus outside of their social circle. The student body is incredibly apathetic. These are facts the school administration has done little to eradicate. I would go as far as to say the school's administration embraces the apathy on campus because it means the students are also not reacting to them.

GOOD

I WOULD PRIVATIZE THE WHOLE THING...

UAlbany has the lowest 'retention' rate of any SUNY school. This means people came but don't stay. We have some great athletics here but few are into them (track is best? in the east, men bball was in top 16 last year, men lax was second in east?, w vball is up there, football isn't bad either recently). Intermurals are big though. School is somewhat large (~12k undergrad) which means that most people can find there place.

-Best Thing about UA? Large enough to try out a million different things, but small enough so you dont get lost in the crowd -One Thing I'd Change? Update fire alarm system -Where do I spend most of my time on Campus? My room, the Quad Office and/or Campus Center

My favorite thing about Albany are the people. As a transfer student I was nervous on how I would fit in, and if I would be swallowed by the university. People are actually pretty friendly. It is a decent sized school and yet it has a small college feel to it. While on campus it is more then likely you will run into a friend or two somewhere completely random. That's part of the fun of Albany, since it is a very centralized campus, you're more then likely going to run into a friend at some point. Which is great, since being at a big school can feel a little lonely sometimes. UAlbany has this weird sentiment when I tell people I go here. My friends who go to other colleges are quick to let me know they're not impressed with our party school reputation, while other people are more then excited to hear about it. Albany as a city is like no other place, in that it has three colleges in its vicinity, more on the outskirts, and is also New York state's capital. So while you may be riding the bus to class with a couple of drunk freshmen, you may be getting off at a stop with some big wig capital representatives. I think that might be my favorite part about the city of Albany. It is very easy to get trapped in the 'college bubble', but since UA spills out into downtown Albany, you are constantly around the residents and business people of Albany. Albany as a city has strange divisions. Hudson street is almost devoted entirely to UA students living off campus, and parts of Washington, Western and Madison have been sectioned off to our partying needs. But the same time places like Lark St. embody not only students but artists and residents who take advantage of this very friendly artsy atmosphere. Probably the reason that so much of Albany has been taken over by UA students is because of the amazing bus transportation provided by the city. Living in Albany is unique in that students become accustomed to using the bus early on and it just becomes second nature. The bus is free, since there is a downtown campus and some housing located down the street from the uptown campus.This works out perfectly since it can help motivate you to get off campus when you start getting sick of seeing nothing but concrete. It also doesn't hurt that the bars are basically located just ten minutes off of campus and right outside the bus stops. On any given weekend you will see the surrounding streets just filled with students running around.