<p>My son has applied to and been accepted to many SUNY schools (Cortland, Fredonia, Oneonta, Oswego, Albany, New Paltz) and I am very confused.</p>
<p>I realize that I am from a different generation but when I went to college Albany was always a flagship SUNY school. Now I do not know. I read mixed reviews and I see that the ratings have fallen a lot! US news rates it as a tier 3 school (whatever that means) and on all ratings I have seen, Albany is at the bottom of the list.</p>
<p>Has Albany gone down?? My son has also been accepted to UCONN, Penn State and UMass just in case but I would rather pay in state tuition if possible. </p>
<p>My feeling is that those who will be making hiring decisions are of my generation and may not know that the other SUNY schools have dramatically improved.</p>
<p>What is going on with SUNY Albany?? Your thoughts and opinions would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Unfortunately Albany has gone down in rank and reputation over the last number of years. I, too, remember when it was more highly regarded. I think it was also named one of the top party schools which doesn’t help and along with that it consistently get negative feedback from students attending, especially on students review. </p>
<p>While Albany has slid down, New Paltz and Oneonta have risen up. Both have become more competitive in recent years and are much more selective. If you are set on going in-state, you might want to look into either of those schools depending on what your son wants to major in. There is also Binghamton and Geneseo…both highly regarded in-state schools. My personal preference is New Paltz, which has a great location, fun and funky college town and a down to earth student population.</p>
<p>I was under the impression that New Paltz was more of an art school. Is it serious in other areas? My son is debating between business and communications…maybe both? </p>
<p>Also, he was a little concerned about the male:female ratio. I am not sure why he is concerned as it seems to me to work quite well in his favor. He has expressed some concerns about making friends as he has always been one that likes to “hang out with the guys”.</p>
<p>Do you attend New Paltz? Can you comment on any of these concerns?</p>
<p>My son attends New Paltz. He transferred there a year ago. The art school does have a good reputation, but they are really strong in many other areas as well. In my son’s house, the other students are majoring in business, journalism and psychology. The communications dept is very strong. My son is a graphic design major, but he almost went with the communications and media major. The nice thing about NP is that you can take courses outside your major without a problem, so even if you major in one area, if there are other interesting courses you want to take it’s not a problem. Last semester my son took guitar and this semester he has an anthropology course he wanted to take. </p>
<p>I don’t think there is much to worry about with the male:female ratio any more. At one time it was very skewed but now as the popularity of the school has risen the admins are evening out the ratio. </p>
<p>If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.</p>
<p>How friendly are most of the New Paltz students?
Does the “New Paltz” network have a very good acceptance into employments after college and top graduate schools?</p>
<p>HopefulEagle - New Paltz students are very friendly. I think that is one of the best things about the school, the students are so down to earth, accepting and supportive of each other. </p>
<p>I am not very knowledgable about employment and graduate acceptances since we have not reached that crossroads yet. One of my son’s professors this semester who went to a top graduate school program has already told my son that he would put in a good word for him as he knows the dean of the program. It is my son’s top choice for grad school. From what I have heard the network is strong, but I don’t have any personal experience with it.</p>
<p>Definitely visit Albany. My daughter almost went there and I have another one who might end up there as well. Admissions were pretty competitive last year and this year; they accepted less than half who applied. There is a first year program called Project Renaissance where freshmen can take small seminar classes with other kids on their dorm floor. Albany is not the greatest city, but there’s a huge mall with movie theatres very close to campus and all he buses are free with student id. The freshman dorm rooms are some of the biggest I’ve seen and so far they haven’t had to triple a lot (some of the SUNYs had to cram three kids into a traditional double). The nanoscience program is getting a lot of attention and students interested in government and politics have a lot of internship possiblilities.</p>
<p>The UAlbany School of Business has terrific contacts in NYC – the many students from LI return downstate to work. UAlbany alumni hire Albany students because they know how hard they had to work to earn a business degree. Strong Big 4 presence.</p>