Hi, I need help asap because I need to make this decision by this Friday because it is long overdue. I am considering SUNY Albany, SUNY Buffalo, or St. John’s University for my undergraduate.
I am from NYC and St. John’s would only be a commute for me and it is the comfortable choice that won’t make me too anxious over the summer because its home and my friend will also be attending but then I will always have it in the back of my mind about how I always wanted to dorm and how I might have passed up an opportunity to start a new chapter away from home. I struggle with anxiety a lot so I just know how anxious and nervous I will be for the next couple of months until college starts if I choose to leave home.
SUNY Buffalo is a great school, I know but the cons are the 7-hour distance and the weather and also I don’t know anyone whos going there. Those are the only cons. Good party school and huge school are the pros.
SUNY Albany is also great but not as great as Buffalo academics wise. Albany is also a little closer to home by a couple of hours, great party schools, and beautiful campus from what I’ve seen. I don’t know what to choose, I am going for a major in economics or finance I believe. But I don’t know what to choose. Should I take the chance and come back home to St. Johns if I really hate dorming after a year or so, or should I choose St. Johns
“What if I fall?”
“But oh, what if you fly?”
It sounds to me like you’re ready to take the leap, despite your anxiety, to a school that presents the experience you’re looking for. I wouldn’t worry about not knowing anyone - part of the dorm experience is that you’ll meet loads of people - likely many more than a school where you already know one or two people but will be commuting to. (And as you say worst case if you hate it, you can transfer to St John’s.) I don’t have enough insight to say which SUNY would be better for you, but I definitely think you should go to one of them! Good luck!
Please don’t pick a school because it’s a great “party school”; that’s just not conducive to your educational experience. It’s also immature.
We are from California and my daughter traveled by plane to SUNY Buffalo. She didn’t know anyone. We didn’t have any friends or family in that area.
It is a very good school and I think it is definitely underrated. If she could go to school 3000 miles away and make friends, I think you can make friends too.
Her major was engineering and she loved it. I don’t know anything about the economics department so you would have to ask people in your area.
A couple of points:
- Albany is not a little closer than Buffalo. It’s a lot closer, like 300 miles closer. That’s not just a couple of hours, it’s more like 5-6 hours. More if you run into bad weather along the way.
- Party schools are great . . . until they turn deadly. A UB student died in a hazing incident there a couple of years ago. A kid from the Island died in a hazing incident at Albany several years before that. Frats were suspended as a result and the fraternity system was under study at both campuses last year. These are not isolated disasters; they’re just the ones that make the headlines. In each of those incidents, there were friends who dropped out of school and struggled to put their lives back together. There are many other incidents that are ruinous even though they don’t end in deaths. Is this the scene for you or can you go to college and avoid them?
- Last I looked, St. John’s had some dorms. Even if you live close enough to commit, you can still choose to live in a dorm if that’s important to you and you can get into one.
I love that quote thank you for your advice. I have decided to rule out st johns and staying home because I know deep down I want the college and dorm life experience and its true, worst-case scenario, I can always come back home to St johns if I truly have a bad experience. 
Pick a school and go with the expectation that you will have a great expereince. … there may be a few bumps along the road but use them as learning/growth experiences and you will be just fine.