<p>Here is a little background knowledge before I delve into this topic:</p>
<p>I was born and raised in Albany and therefore know the city extremely well. I have been on UAlbany's campus more times than I can count, even before I graduated high school. I am aware of it's previous status as a "party school," and experienced the parties firsthand. UAlbany was my SAFETY school, but now I have decided to attend based on financial reasons only. I am beginning to regret my decision. I am hoping UAlbany students can help change my mind.</p>
<p>My concerns:
1. I will be commuting. I am worried that people will shrug me off as "the commuter student" and will treat me differently. I fear this because my friend has experienced this with UAlbany.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I am sorry, but UAlbany's reputation is not good overall. Yes it has great programs, but even the locals here will tell you to go elsewhere. Not to mention it's COMPLETELY unsafe. Students are killed every year and there are so many horrible people around; two people have been shot in the past week... What? Back to its reputation, it has been destroyed by this notion of it being a party school, which it's totally not anymore. It's completely dead on the weekends, which leads into my next concern.</p></li>
<li><p>Will I have fun here? I am 100% committed to my academics, but I do still like being social. UAlbany seems so dead now though! Nobody goes out anymore (at least from what I can see) and if you do, nobody knows about it! WHERE IS EVERYONE!?! I lived in what we call the "college ghetto" and saw absolutely ZERO nightlife. </p></li>
<li><p>Did I give up something great for something less? I got into other schools and gave them up to save money. Was this right?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I feel like I made a terrible decision to attend UAlbany. I am sorry to those who attend, but I have known this school for so long; I even went there part-time and hated it. Can things be different? I plan on being involved with the campus, but people I have talked to seem to despise it. "I chose UA cause it's the only school I got into" - I have heard this soooo many times.</p>
<p>1) I have never shrugged off commuters and had plenty of commuter friends (though they’ve now graduated) so I don’t think you’ll be completely “shrugged off”, but if you live too far away and thus can’t participate in clubs then it could isolate you some. I suggest trying to join a few clubs that meet earlier in the day. Clubs are a great way to make friends and most people won’t care if you’re a commuter or not.</p>
<p>2) I’ve never witnessed violence at UA, but I guess it depends where and at what time you hang out, along with if you regularly travel alone. You say you lived in Albany, this is just how unsafe Albany is as a general. As a bit of local myself (not Albany city, but county), I would think it would be a level of danger in our everyday lives we’re all used to taking precautions against. I’ve wandered from a friend’s room back to mine at 12/2am and been perfectly safe and I’ve never felt in danger at UA. (I’m a senior.) I’ve also not heard of half these occurences you speak of and UA alerts all students when something like that happens so I’m wondering where you’re getting these things from. Most violence that occurs, happens off campus and downtown, though the school can’t be locked off from the rest of the city, so some problems and dangerous people can get on to the campus but it’s rather unusual. Yes we have our fair share of rape cases, but that’s usually do to excessive amounts of alcohol and then people thinking it’s ok to go at it. As for it being a party school, though, you can still find a party if you look for it. And especially if you join a club I wouldn’t consider it “dead” on the weekends which are a good time to do homework or have a part time job anyways.</p>
<p>3)As for parties due to worries of getting in trouble some people prefer to talk about partying/clubbing via text/email or in person say at a school club. But you have to remember there’s also more ways to have fun and be social than partying…</p>
<p>4) It’s definitely a money saver since you don’t have to dorm and you pay in-state tuition, so if that was your goal then it’s completely the right choice. But if your goals were more something else you’ve mentioned that you don’t think UA hold for you then it might not have been worth it. Whether it’s worth it or not in the end only you can decide because it’s your experience and believe it or not your effort to make it what you want shapes it.</p>
<p>To be honest, UA was my first choice school. They have programs I wanted that hardly any where else offered and it was close, has great study abroad programs, the campus looks nice, and most I’ve met there are friendly. It’s a big campus so you can easily hang with who you like and have a wide circle of friends while avoiding those you don’t get along with for whatever reason. The freedom of choice in your classes and how your major is shaped is great to me and I’ve loved my time at UA so far. As I said before, I honestly believe that the university experience is what you make it and you’ll be happy if you make choices that make the school seem how you want it. Mind over matter and hard work are key to having a good time at any university, in my opinion. I hope you come to like UA like I do and have a good first year,</p>
<p>As far as academics, I am confident that the education I’ll be receiving will be great. For my major (accounting), I am aware that UA has an awesome business school and it is highly regarded. I do not feel that I have made any sacrifices as far as the quality of the education I’ll be receiving.</p>
<p>My concerns involve the social aspect of what I’d be gaining from UA. As a commuter student, I was worried about meeting new people. I have every intention on joining clubs/organizations in order to spend more time on campus.</p>
<p>I am interested in greek life; how is it at UA? As well as the social aspect, I want to partake in community service and gaining that sense of “brotherhood” that is talked about amongst fraternities. </p>
<p>I’ve come to realize that commuting won’t hold me back as I have the same options that I would dorming somewhere else. I guess I was just really wondering what to expect when the school year starts.</p>
<p>PS: The incidents I mentioned about violence occurred over this summer; for some reason, there have been a couple situations but it did not have any connection to UA. The only reason I bring it up is because I am worried about the surrounding area. Being an Albany native, I know how bad it gets around here. However, I don’t think these issues leak on to campus so I guess it’s irrelevant.</p>