<p>Third forum I've tried this in. Has anyone attended or visited Alfred in NY recently? It's a school on my Ds radar as she is pretty sure she wants to be an engineer, or at least something to do with math and/or science. In addition to having a pretty decent engineering selection, Alfred offers a lot of majors that you'd find at the typical LAC, and it's more sized like a LAC, which would give her options if she changed majors.</p>
<p>Specifically, she's wondering about the dorms/student life. The intensity of the academics would be of interest as well. While she doesn't expect it would be at the level of MIT or CalTech, she is certainly looking to be challenged.</p>
<p>The dorms and what there is to do on the weekends are important to her. She plans on joining the track team which doesn't appear to be that strong, but the chance to compete is what she's looking for there. That and engineering would take up a lot of her time, but what little that can be seen from the website does not make the dorms look too attractive. When it's 10 degrees all weekend in Feb and you're stuck inside, no one wants to be in a dive.</p>
<p>My daughter considered Alfred. Unfortunately we visited during the summer when only the Ceramics Arts program was active. The University is isolated, as I'm sure you know. And it's right across the street from Alfred State University (SUNY), which was totally shut down for summer. The Alfred Univesity Web Site offers a virtual tour and "Ask a Student" forum.</p>
<p>My husband (and I) continue to mourn my son's decision not to attend Alfred. We visited 4 years ago. The relative isolation was a factor for my son (as was his decision to do theater instead of art). That being said, the faculty and students were the nicest and most involved we met anywhere. Their school is largely populated by engineers and artists. I know less about the engineering, but their art is top notch. They indicate that they import a lot of entertainment. I imagine that students comfortable with creating their own entertainment (radio shows, theater, sports) would be most successful there. I know graduates from there (in fields other than engineering and art). They've indicated an excellent education from involved faculty, but noted that it's not easy to get in and out quickly (e.g. for job interviews). Alumni placement was phenomenal (by the school's report) 4 years ago, especially in firms employing ceramics in any form.</p>
<p>Only know info from the website only- but if you are a NY State resident there is a connection between The School of Ceramics (which is somehow tied into engineering courses) and SUNY. I think it is one of those land-grant schools that have lower tuition costs if you are a NYS resident.<br>
Another little known "bargain" for NYS residents
Environmental and Forestry school ( Senior Moment:I'm forgetting what it is called ) at Syracuse U. Good program for those interested in science/pre-med etc. Live on Syracuse campus and pay tuition in line with SUNY prices.
I think tuition at the Syracuse program is pretty reasonable even if you are OOS. I'll check the SUNY website and get the name of the Syracuse program.</p>
<p>ok- you can link to both programs through the SUNY website- complete campus list Welcome</a> to SUNY - The State University of New York
check out Alfred U NYS school of ceramics (not Alfred State which is a technical college). And yes, there is a connection between the school of ceramics and engineering. And the Syracuse Program is called :Environmental Science and Forestry. I think there website is SUNY-ESF</a>, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.</p>
<p>My son is a Freshman at Alfred majoring in Bio Medical Materials Engineering.
Tuition for this major is very reasonable and he is getting a very good educaiton so far. He is planning to stay an extra year and get an MBA. The dorms are fine but it is true that this school is in the middle of nowhere. We are from NYC so it quite a change of pace. That said, he has friends to hang out with and he can focus on school without the distractions of city life. Also, he likes snowboarding and there are a couple of ski areas close by.</p>
<p>Friends of ours have a daughter who's graduating this year from Alfred as an art major. She's had a great four years there. Two years ago she invited her brother and our son to Alfred for Siblings Weekend and my husband and I went along. It's a lovely little campus in the middle of nowhere NY state. Big excitement for our friends' daughter was a trip to Wal Mart in nearby Hornell! That being said, however, she never seemed to lack for things to do and was a true campus leader as the yearbook editor and involved in many other campus activities. It also has the rather interesting mix of art students and engineers, which is a nice balance. In my opinion, definitely worth a look.</p>
<p>As stated above, Alfred is a long way from anywhere, and the question about weekends is valid. In years past, there was a lot of alcohol abuse (as might be expected in a situation where there are no competing community attractions), and in 1990, Alfred's Greek system was the subject of a book called "Broken Pledges" which detailed the death of a pledge from alcohol poisoning. In 2002, after another student death, the university officially ended its fraternity system: University</a> Announces Ban on Fraternities and Sororities - New York Times
which often only serves to drive the existing problems and behaviors underground. After official campus recognition of organizations is withdrawn, the same students and traditions remain.</p>
<p>Alfred is the host site for New York's College of Ceramic Engineering, which means that ceramics majors attend a public school and the other majors attend a private school. It's an interesting mix.</p>
<p>We visited with my daughter just a few weeks ago. H and I thought it was quirky but very interesting. D gave the tour a shot but she won't be applying - despite getting a pass on the app fee. It was really in the middle of nowhere, I'm mean really nowhere!! Programs looked great esp. art and ceramic engineering. Campus was very nice with random art installations here and there around the campus. I really liked it. The town was just 1-2 blocks long. if you can, visit. We think it was worth it to see what it was like.
FWIW, 30% of all ceramic engineers in the US have graduated from Alfred. NASA comes a-knockin'.</p>
<p>Bumping this up. I wanted to know if you have a child who is not interested in engineering or in art, do skip this school? I keep reading that this is an engineering and art school, yet there seem to be a bunch of other majors.</p>
<p>My son (high school class of '08) visited Alfred as a prospective mechanical engineering major. We his parents went along.</p>
<p>The staff could not have been nicer or more welcoming. They went to considerable trouble to plan out a day for him -- campus tour, sitting in on a class, meeting with the head of mechanical engineering, etc. They set him up to room with another engineering major who shared his interest in being on the track team. There is a very nice small hotel on campus where we stayed -- we had a fireplace in our suite and a lovely breakfast. </p>
<p>We were there in winter and actually found the campus charming in the snow. H and I walked to a cozy and good local restaurant for dinner, and saw a group of students eating there with their prof. </p>
<p>Reactions:
Lovely small, although certainly isolated, campus. Lots of personal attention. They do plan things to do on weekends and bring performances to campus.
My son's reaction to the engineering program was that materials engineering (esp. ceramics) is clearly the specialty. He felt the mechanical engineering was not so strong, at least based on the class he attended. He was particularly disappointed that when he asked about the pass rate for graduates on the first engineering licensing exam, he was told, "We don't maintain that data." My reaction is that was either a lie (they have it but don't want to share it) or that they are not doing their job well as it is something that should be tracked. The school he ended up attending prints their students' pass rate in their engineering brochure.</p>
<p>For the right kid and the right program I think Alfred could be a hidden gem, as long as the location is not an issue. My son was offered a modest merit scholarship there, but we ended up allowing him to attend his first choice school (Lafayette).</p>
<p>This is all interesting info. It's on my junior S2's list. He's an interesting kid whose two favorite areas are physics and studio art but isn't ready to commit to an art school. He also "needs" to be near skiing in the winter. I thought he might be intrigued by this school but there isn't much information about it outside of the website. The costs look reasonable, too and we're not from New York state. I think we'll visit when the snow melts.</p>
<p>(gosh my son is interested in studio arts and physics too). We visited Alfred last April. Very nice, very welcoming. My son hadn't decided at that time that he wanted to pursue engineering, probably mechanical, and that is not Alfred's strong point (ceramic /materials). Our other impression is that you can't just hang out and use their incredible ceramic art facilities if you are not an art major...so the fact that he really wanted to pursue more mechanical (more physics oriented rather than chemical) engineering, combined with the lack of ability to take lots of classes across departments led to him not applying. However it seemed like a very well-organized, caring place and if they have departments to suit your plans, it would be fine!</p>
<p>actually passing the EIT portion for the PE liscense is quite easy, any decent engineering program will have 95% of thier students pass this. I also supsect the majority of engineering students don't even take it in college, except for the civil engineers (the attiude is why waste a saturday morning). I took my EIT 3 years after gradauting, and just took a one night a week review course and passed it,> Also, the majority of engineers don't get a PE liscense. I did get my PE (the second exam I took 17 years later , is much tougher), but this was more so I could put it on my busienss card (I work for a technical company).</p>