Need some help figuring out where to transfer to.

College Search & Selection
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<p>Im currently at the end of my 3rd semester at community college, and the stresses of figuring out where I am going to transfer to for next year have come fairly fast. </p>

<p>I have done fairly well throughout the past year or so in CC. My accumulative GPA is a 3.8 (though that will drop soon after a rough semester), I also signed up to Phi Theta Kappa (Really for the prestige and scholarships). I have unquestionably found my passion in college education to be Philosophy, and want to pursue it more at a 4 year College. Im still a bit weary on Majoring in the subject because of the practicality behind it, although it is the most stimulating subject to me. Im most likely to Minor or Double Major in it. I have yet to take a course in Journalism (my school cancelled the class), but I feel this is a Major that will suit me. I like to critically think and express my ideas (which I articulate best in written form), Im not the strongest writer I can be yet, but know I have a talent in writing. So as of now, for practical reasoning, Im going with Journalism as my Major and Philosophy as my Minor.</p>

<p>Im in school on grants, Im fairly poor so the fed gov. is really paying for my education. Expenses are really a big part in determining where I transfer to. I Live in C.T, and have been looking at public colleges within the north east. Most interestedly C.T, or N.Y. I would love to be out of state, just not sure where best suits my needs. I guess thats one of biggest questions. Also I just went to visit a SUNY school, SUNY New Paltz, and I loved the town but the tour really turned me off. I really just felt out of place as it was directed for pitching High Schoolers to go there. It was just cheesy and I didn't give a $#@! about there amenities, and golden bathtub sweets. I digress though. </p>

<p>My main questions then for those that want to skip all the background stuff are then:</p>

<p>What are good schools for my interests (Philosophy, Journalism) in the north east ?(relatively close to C.T) </p>

<p>Which is the best as far as cost, living, etc? (Im looking to live off campus, so I will be looking for work to support rent, etc.)</p>

<p>Im fairly into the SUNY schools as they seem real damn affordable and the cost of living in N.Y is far more reasonable than in C.T. (Where I still live at home due to high expenses)</p>

<p>If I stay in state Im most interested in SCSU, I have friends who have gone to all sorts of in state schools and that seems to be the best option; however it is really my fallback option as I would love to go to school outside the state and get a chance to explore somewhere else in this world for a bit.</p>

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<p>Really any input is helpful, Im a bit stuck in these decisions and could use any input to help me either narrow down or focus on some choices here.</p>

<p>I have also been looking at SUNY Buffalo, which seems like an incredibly cheap town to live in (Comparatively to where I am) and through the CC Search it has a strength in my academic needs. Any info on this school from anyone who has attended would be useful, I live about 6-7 hours away, but may make a trip to go visit soon. I need to narrow down my choices and start applying. Again Philosophy/ and Journalism (writing in general) are my thing. Thanks.</p>

3

<p>Try to overlook the unwanted tour info - unless you happen to luck into one specifically geared toward transfers or one that has mostly transfer students, they’re going to be scripted for prospective freshmen no matter where you go. The SUNY tours are not known for their depth anyway…they don’t do a lot to sell themselves or provide more than general info until you get to accepted student days or orientation. It might be a better idea if you visit on a weekday, schedule a meeting with a department advisor, and arrange in advance to sit in on a class or two. </p>

<p>SUNY tuition is over $15K for OOS students, not sure how portable your state grants are…is this going to be affordable to you? Some of the SUNYs might offer transfer scholarships, and those do tend to be higher for OOS kids, but it varies widely by campus. Have you searched the PTK website to see which, if any, of the SUNYs offer scholarships to members? Also, you can do a search for majors on the suny.edu site. Not sure which SUNY in Buffalo you’re considering as there are two - Buffalo State College is a fairly small school and I think they may have a large regional/commuter population. University at Buffalo is much larger (around 28,000) and is the one I think you’re referring to. Afaik, UB doesn’t offer a journalism major but it would be possible to do a BA in Communications or something similar and either a second BA in Philosophy or a minor there. If you’re interested in seeing how your classes would transfer (all of the SUNYs share common gen-ed requirements), you can use their online transfer articulation by entering TAURUS into their search box.</p>

<p>My D is a student at UB and has taken some philosophy classes. They’re interesting, writing-intensive, and they have grad-level TAs (not teaching the class but to work with students in the lower level courses). The profs choose their own focus for the courses so you would want to check rate my prof or do a bit of research if there’s a particular area you’d like to explore. </p>

<p>Buffalo does offer affordable housing but if you live off-campus you’ll want to be careful when looking at neighborhoods. UB’s main campus (North) is actually in Amherst, which is very safe but a bit more expensive…most of your classes would likely be on North. Amherst does not have much in the way of public transportation and is not very walkable for shopping. South campus (in Buffalo) has easy access to bus and subway service and small shopping areas. Many students live near South since, once you’re on any UB campus, there are shuttles that run continuously to get you between and around them. But the neighborhoods around South need much closer scrutiny and there are definitely some that you’d want to avoid. In Amherst, there are on-campus apartments and a few off-campus complexes that cater to students (and provide shuttle buses to UB and other schools). The rent includes everything, but they’re not cheap…I’d plan for around $600/month per person for a 4-person apartment and they’ll take care of filling the other bedrooms. There’s an off-campus apartment/roommates-wanted listing maintained on the UB website which displays walking times and maps.</p>

<p>Hope that helps a little…good luck in your search!</p>

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<p>You may want to look at liberal arts colleges in the NE that meet full need. There are a ton of them up there and you can’t beat the quality of education, or the price.</p>

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<p>Colleges that Claim to Meet the Full Demonstrated Needs of Students
[Colleges</a> That Claim to Meet the Full Financial Needs of Students - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/paying-for-college/2010/02/18/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-the-full-financial-needs-of-students.html]Colleges”>http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/paying-for-college/2010/02/18/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-the-full-financial-needs-of-students.html)</p>

<p>To get an idea of schools that are at the top of food chain in Philosophy, try</p>

<p>2010 Ranking of Philosophy Graduate
[2010</a> Ranking of Philosophy Graduate Schools — PhDs.org Graduate School Guide](<a href=“http://graduate-school.phds.org/rankings/philosophy/rank/__M___________v_______________________________vv______vv_vvvP___N]2010”>http://graduate-school.phds.org/rankings/philosophy/rank/__M___________v_______________________________vv______vv_vvvP___N)</p>

<p>Of more affordable schools, SUNY Stony Brook is quite prominent. </p>

<p>Hope that helps.</p>