<p>I've heard several people say it's not the best place to be.
Wondering if any current students could tell us how it is to be there?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>anyone at all?</p>
<p>I am a parent of a freshman Albany student. My son had his choice of many SUNY schools and decided as did several of his classmates to go to Albany. He's been up there since August 24 and we have talked quite a bit about his experiance so far. My son is majoring in Chemistry and is in the Project Rennaissance program. </p>
<p>Overall he is very happy at Albany. Because of the Project Ren program he is located on the Indian Quad in a suite setting. The room he has is a bit small...the other suites are very large...guess its the luck of the draw. His suite mates all seem to get along well together and actually got together to participate in the intermural soccer league (my son never played soccer before)...so this is a good thing. </p>
<p>Being on the 10th floor he is tired of the walk up and down and will probably go for a corridor style room next year.</p>
<p>The food is ok..not great...and my son eats a lot! Because of his class schedule he has at times had to make do with some lousy food. But he has a bunch of munch money and is doing ok. But we knew the food situation prior to him going up.</p>
<p>Ok...now to the classes. He has only 1 lecture class with approx 100 students...the rest of his classes are less than 20. We were both a bit apprehensive about the class sizes from what you read about some of the larger schools...but it not the case here. His professors are quite approachable and have helped him when needed. He is taking a heavy class load and is very busy...with several hours of work each day...but he is getting into the groove...hey...its college. The curriculum for his major is very tough so he has his work cut out for him.</p>
<p>Socially he has met a ton of new friends and when not studying or in class is having a good time, going to the local mall, soccer, other student activities. He doesn't b.s. me...we have good open communication. They are very strict on any alcohol, drugs, etc...the police presence on campus is very strong. I guess if you want to make it a party school...you can find parties. He did tell me that the clubs he wanted to join are pretty weak...but now with his work load he is too busy anyway to do too much more than what he is involved with now.</p>
<p>I am trying to make this as un-biased as possible...I am not there. From what he tell me he genuinely enjoys Albany and really wants to get into the honors college.
Hope this helps</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your response. </p>
<p>Is he an instate student?
What is the Project Renaissance program?
Because he has a suite, is he still making a lot of friends? I heard that many students with suites aren't able to interact with as many kids. </p>
<p>Is he doing pre-med?</p>
<p>Again, thanks so much for posting that!</p>
<p>He is in-state.</p>
<p>You can go to the Albany site and get more info on Project Rennaissance to see if it is something you are interested in.</p>
<p>Not sure who gave you info that the suites are not interactive. He says it is like grand central station at times. Yes, you have to go through a main door to get to each individual rooms, but he says they are always having people over or they go to another suite area. He is not wanting for people coming over or him going to someone else's room. Actually his freshman friend that lives at State Quad complains that it is a bit too quiet there...State is a corridor area, not suites. The only reason my son wants to go corridor next year is that he can't stand waiting for the elevator at times so he ends up walking a bunch of levels to get to his floor. </p>
<p>No, he is not in pre-med. He is a chemistry major...probably research will be his thing. </p>
<p>I read a lot of bad things about Albany...the partying, lack of student involvement, classes not up to par...none of these things my son has seen yet...actually the opposite. Like I said previously...if you want to find a party you will find it. But also...if you don't want to study and try hard you will probably hate the school. It is all up to what you want to make of it. </p>
<p>Again...hope this helps.</p>
<p>I was looking at Albany housing and it looked like State is suite style..</p>
<p>and also</p>
<p>"Indian Quad, a majority of State Quad. These residence halls are alcohol free and smoke free areas. Residence halls on Indian Quad are traditional corridor style with common area bath facilities, while those on State Quad are suite style with internal bathrooms and showers."</p>
<p>there are both corridor and suite at both quad areas.
I spent many hours helping my son move into his suite and it is most definetly not corridor style :)</p>
<p>Haha okay! Thanks for the clarification.</p>
<p>RichNY, my son will be applying to Albany, thanks for your comments on the school. I have an odd question for you. Is toilet paper provided for those living in the suites? My oldest son goes to a large public university (not a SUNY school). He just informed us that he must supply his own toilet paper because he is living in a suite.</p>
<p>I will delve into your toilet paper question a bit more. Yes, from what I understand they provide the basic essentials...but that's it. Since it is a suite and young people (not all) don't do the best job in cleaning up after themselves...the bathroom can get quite messy according to my son. Actually the first week he was there he told me it got so dirty he ended up cleaning it up himself at 2:00am. They do have people that come in now once per week to clean up the bathroom...but it far from the way it is at home. </p>
<p>My suggestions:
Bring those disposable flushable toilet wipes...helps keep the seat a bit cleaner
Make sure the student has flip-flops to wear from his room to the shower stall...I think athletes foot is common
Bring a wire mesh or plastic mesh holder for the essentials such as soap, deodarant, shampoo, razor, etc.
Bring up some windex or other cleaners(and paper towels)...just in case it gets a bit over the top</p>
<p>For the students room invest in one of those floor swifters...they do not vacuum the rooms...it is up to the students to keep their rooms clean...or not...depending on the students. </p>
<p>Hope this helps</p>
<p>Thanks for the info. Glad to hear Albany supplies toilet paper.</p>