We visited campus a couple of weeks ago and weren’t very impressed. It didn’t help that it was raining and that school wasn’t in session. But we also didn’t have a good tour guide (the student talked about buildings not what it’s like to go to school there – didn’t even seem excited himself to be there), we witnessed a drug deal go down in the alleyway by the Varsity restaurant at 8:30 am on our walk to the campus for our tour, and my husband was glad he was able to pick up a pizza that night 10 min from campus without getting shot! (We live near Chicago and he’s a firefighter so he’s no wimp nor is he overly dramatic, so it must have been bad!)
Our biggest concern is safety. I had read there were issues in Syracuse and we talked with a representative at a local college fair who admitted it is very sketchy in the area right around campus. I really want to think it isn’t that bad or else it would be in the news more, but our visit did not make me feel better.
I was ready to cross it right off the list. HOWEVER, it is one of only two colleges in the country where my son can get the degree he wants. We met with the faculty member who would be his adviser and we LOVED the program. But I just don’t know if I will feel comfortable sending him there. Campus wasn’t that big (I went to Penn State) and if he can not go off campus without feeling secure, what will his 4 years actually be like?
We’ve toured many other schools that are in or near safer towns where the tour guides have school spirit and are proud of their school. Did we just have one really unfortunate visit at Syracuse? Or should we steer clear?
Any and all input welcome – especially from current/recent students or parents. Thanks!
So I can try! I am not a parent or alum but we looked at Syracuse for my eldest and I know of several happy students there.
We had the opposite experience when visiting. I was completely prepared for the city - my D was looking at their technical theatre program and I had heard the area around Syracuse Stage was rough. Tech theatre involves a lot of late nights so I was concerned about a young woman walking back to campus from there but we found it quite safe during the day and when speaking to students they told me all about how they all knew to leave in groups at night and various other safety options were available. The campus was beautiful and it seemed like a lot of the social events kept kids on campus. I would not have had any qualms sending my daughter there from a safety perspective but she was already used to negotiating cities with better and worse neigh borhoods (for crime stats). Speaking of crime stats - checking the crime map for Syracuse I don’t see much crime on campus.
That said - Syracuse is in a city and it’s kind of a depressed city. The city has crime. It really depends on your own kid how much that’s likely to be a problem. If he wants to stay in campus and live the college student life - no issues. Syracuse will keep him busy with on-campus activities! If he’s likely to want to get out in the city on a regular basis for entertainment then you need to consider how prepared he is to go out and about in the local environment.
By the way - the stats for crimes reported at Syracuse is 58 incidents per thousand in population vs 50 for Penn State… I hope that makes you feel a little better! I wouldn’t rule Syracuse out because of a bad visit.
What’s the other school? Is he likely to get into it? Is he likely to change majors once he gets to the school, or is the major he’s interested in the one thing he is truly passionate about?
I would trust your gut on this one. If your son is a street-smart kid who already knows how to negotiate his way through crime-ridden inner city areas, and Syracuse is his dream school, I’d consider it. If he’s a sheltered suburban kid who has no experience of the constant vigilance one must have in a dangerous environment, I’d consider other options.
It’s not as if there is an invisible line between inner city campuses and their surrounding environs. Sure, you’ll have campus police, but most campuses permit anyone to walk around on campus, just not enter the buildings, so no matter how heavy the police presence, you’re going to run into crime on campus, if the area surrounding the campus is high crime.
As for the enthusiasm, or lack thereof, of the student giving the tour, I’d ignore that. It’s just one person.
@parentologist Thank you so much for the information! I really wish we would have had a better tour guide that explained campus life more. I think that would have made a big difference. I truly appreciate your input.
Syracuse was initially on one of my twins list to visit. We’ve never been, didn’t have family attend and knew it would be too expensive. I told them, we were so lucky to have great tour guides/experiences at the dozen or so colleges we visited 2-3 years ago. The only small school we visited, the tour guide was serious and politically interested where they are more sport focused. But I’m not sure they would have elimated a school based on a tour. Safety, another issue entirely, I could see one was fine and brother did comment at a city campus.
@parentologist He could likely get into both schools, but the other is very small and doesn’t have DI sports and he is a huge sports fan. Syracuse isn’t his dream school but the major is his dream major and it will set him up for the perfect career for him. I know the tour guide was only one person’s experience, but it is hard not to compare with our other experiences. That’s kind of the point of going on multiple tours, right? My son is definitely street smart enough to avoid bad areas or be alone near them, but I just wonder if sticking inside the campus perimeter is enough for 4 years. Thank you for taking the time to respond and provide input!!
We lived in Syracuse for a few years and I worked on campus and took some graduate courses. My job took me all over the university and I never felt unsafe. There was a section of town near the stadium that was a bit sketchy but no more so than many urban campuses, and we were always traveling in groups.
@aschultz your post is VERY timely as my son and I are flying out from Chicago tomorrow to visit Syracuse on Friday. My son is also very interested in a school/major offered by Syracuse (probably his top choice, at least on paper) so I am very curious to see the school and the surrounding area. I’ll be following this post to see what others have to say about the school but I know several people whose kids go to Syracuse and they all love it…fingers crossed that we get a better tour guide than you did.
@aschultz You can see from my icon that I am biased, so I’ll try to keep it brief. I am a Syracuse alum, as is my husband. My oldest daughter just finished her sophomore year at Syracuse (it was her dream school) and my younger daughter will start there in the fall (dream program, not really dream school in other ways). We went in with a very, very clear picture of safety and security issues, and if we ever felt unsure, we wouldn’t have sent our younger D there.
Incidents from the last two years that I know of (I read the campus paper regularly and am on several SU Facebook pages where parents share info): non-student pulled the fire alarm in a dorm and stole laptops from rooms that were not locked. Off-campus, late night there were two incidents where students were mugged and had their phones stolen. One incident where three non-students approached an off campus party and hit a student and used racial slurs.
As others have said, it is a city, and students need to use common sense, especially late at night after they’ve been drinking. I think the weakest part right now is dorm security during the day, when IDs are not checked (dorm doors are locked, but it’s fairly easy to enter behind a resident. The University has heard parent concerns about this and have promised to address it. We’ll see.
I’m sorry you had a bad tour guide. The campus feel is very different, I’m sure, when school is in session. School spirit is nearly unparalleled. In nice weather the campus is gorgeous. Staff and faculty are top notch.
My son will be starting Syracuse engineering in the Fall and as others have mentioned on this thread, we have no concerns of him attending the university at all. Being from the Greater New York area, he had applied to NYU and I was praying that he’d get rejected so he didn’t have to attend school in the city - far worse than Syracuse. As for your experience on the tour, too bad that first impression made a mark. We had an awesome student from the SI Newhouse School (named Sam) who was witty, charismatic, and got folks on the tour into it. He didn’t need to convince me that Syracuse was the right fit for my son, but certainly convinced others. You may want to drop that feedback with the Admissions Department for future candidates they select to be tour guides.
@Jahm1820 I really hope your visit goes better than ours. Please update when you return. I want to keep finding ways to put all that didn’t go well behind us.
My family lives in Syracuse and I will be the first one to say that the city is definitely shady.
We know so many kids that go to SU and absolutely love it !! SU has so much school spirit and the whole town gets behind the sports teams.
My sister always says you can be in any part of the country and you will see someone wearing SU gear.
Dino Barbers is the most recent football coach and he has brought in great talent and a winning team. But, everyone here knows basketball rules!! Your son will love it there.
The weather is awful and the city has sketchy parts, but the University is great .
Good luck! You should visit in fall, upstate NY is beautiful at that time.
@aschultz So…we’re baaaack!! We actually had a great tour guide who knew tons of stuff and was very enthusiastic about the school and what it had to offer. She was actually a senior who had just graduated but was sticking around to do tours because she “loved the school”. We saw lots of stuff and heard a lot of great things about Syracuse but afterwards it occurred to me that we didn’t see some important things (a dining hall, the student center, or the new rec center (or even where it was going to be)). Some of this was because it was summer and things were closed and some of this was because this is a bigger school (compared to others that we’ve toured) and you can’t see everything in an hour and a half. We also did a tour of the school/college that my son is interested in attending and that ended up being a one-on-one tour which was fantastic. The tour and follow-up discussion with the folks in the school’s admin office confirmed for my son that Syracuse had a lot of the stuff he was looking for in a college. Having said all of this, the info session was nothing special and I found it interesting that they didn’t even mention costs—tuition, room and board, etc., or any merit scholarships, etc. Probably didn’t want us all having heart attacks in the audience. As far as feeling unsafe----I did not feel that way at all. We even walked around the (pretty deserted) campus on Thursday night and it was fine. Now…my older son is at a very urban school and there are many times I’ve seen some concerning things walking around his school so my perspective might be a little different. Overall, the school was beautiful and had a lot to offer for my kid. HOWEVER, we will probably need to go back when school is in session just to get a complete perspective. Syracuse has been a late addition to the college list so while I’m glad we went to visit when we had some time, before he applies I want my son to be sure that he feels its a fit.
I’m surprised they didn’t tell you … the student center closed in May for a renovation that will be complete Spring 2020. The new rec center is supposed to open before new student arrivals in August, but it’s not quite done yet. It is on the main quad, kind of in front of and to the side of the dome. I’m surprised you didn’t see the construction.
There was a TON of construction going on both on and nearby the campus which I actually took as a very good sign but it wasn’t clear all that was being constructed/worked on. They showed a mock-up of the new rec center during the info session presentation and said it’s supposed to be open in fall 2019 which is great. No info on the student center.
As far as feeling unsafe----I did not feel that way at all. We even walked around the (pretty deserted) campus on Thursday night and it was fine. Now…my older son is at a very urban school and there are many times I’ve seen some concerning things walking around his school so my perspective might be a little different. Overall, the school was beautiful and had a lot to offer for my kid. HOWEVER, we will probably need to go back when school is in session just to get a complete perspective. Syracuse has been a late addition to the college list so while I’m glad we went to visit when we had some time, before he applies I want my son to be sure that he feels its a fit.