Hi guys, so I’m transferring fall of 2016 into the Criminal Justice major from long island from a private commuter school and i would like some advice about UA. Like whats the school like? is it safe or ghetto? Whats the forming like? I would prefer to not live in the downtown dorms but in a suite on campus. Whats life like in general? i heard its “grey” idk what that means… is it a fun place to be? do you guys love or hate it? pros and cons or anything you’d like to share please do!
Chances are you are going to end up downtown on Alumni Quad. That’s where basically all of the transfers end up. It’s really not bad at all, the rooms are doubles and you actually get more room than in the uptown suites. You have to either drive or bus to school. It’s also not bad once you get the hang of using the buses. Just throw some music on and you’ll be good to go. Alumni also houses the international kids and it is kinda cool to meet and talk to people who come from all over the world.
The school itself is safe and the area surrounding Alumni is also safe. It’s right by the Saint Rose college and it is also where tons of kids come to party/go to bars. Life is a bit different on Alumni in that it’s more of a community feel. There are less people on the quad and you eventually start to know a lot of people. I see what people are saying about “grey”. The campus itself is basically a huge block of concrete. It’s honestly a little dreary in the middle of winter, however in the warmer months when the fountain is on, kids love to hang out.
As someone who transferred last year from a commuter school and lived on Alumni I will say I overall enjoyed it. I liked the proximity to the weekend night life and the fact that I knew pretty much everyone who lived around me. I guess a con would be the bus on those days when you really just wanna get back to your room. But they run every 13 minutes and with some music to listen to it’s pretty easy to get used to.
It’s really going to be what you make of it, so I hope you enjoy your time there.
@ineedanid11 hello! I’m also a prospective transfer student wondering about alumni. You made it sound as if you are no longer in Alumni. So, is it that once you’ve done a year in Alumni, you may select housing anywhere for future years? or is it that someone on the uptown campus requested you as a roommate? Also, does alumni have communal bathrooms? if yes, are there cleaning staff? Thank you
Hello. Yes I have already graduated, I spent my first year there and my last year I stayed with some friends off-campus. To answer your question, yes, once you’ve done a year, you get a housing number in the Spring semester and will have a greater selection of housing options. They call housing numbers lottery numbers, but they’re really mostly based on the amount of credits you have. Most kids on Alumni transfer with credits. Adding in the credits you take at UA, Alumni kids usually end up with a good lotto number and get a choice of basically anything. For example, I was ending my junior year and could’ve lived on Empire(the best apartments), but a couple friends convinced me to rent a house with them. A lot of kids from alumni end up off-campus for their last year or choose one of the apartments uptown…and a decent portion actually end up choosing to stay on Alumni. If your number is bad, you can always try rooming with someone who has a better number. Regardless, you’ll at least be guaranteed to live somewhere uptown after your first year at UA.
The bathrooms and showers are communal, but there is a cleaning staff that cleans them 5 days a week, They stay pretty clean for the most part. On weekends when kids get rowdy they sometimes get messy, but they’re generally clean.
Also, if you really really hate Alumni and want to move, there are always going to be some spaces uptown that open up eventually. I know Colonial tower usually has a lot of space a month or two in the semester, and a select few(very very few) apartment spots will open up. If the situation really isn’t for you, then you can talk to the quad coordinator and ask to get moved, but you have to wait at least a couple weeks into the semester for that to happen. I knew a few kids who moved after the 1st semester.