SUNY Buffalo Engineering Questions

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Buffalo - SUNY
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<p>I'm new on CC, and I realized I posted this is the wrong place... so I'm posting it again - sorry!
Son is considering Engineering at Buffalo - if anyone has some answers, he has some questions! Thanks.
- How large are typical Freshman classes?
- Are profs available for help/support?
- Do students tend to help eachother or is enviroment extremely competitive?
- What percentage of engineering students live in "engineering" dorms?</p>

<ul>
<li>How is social life at Buffalo?</li>
<li>Is social life mostly on-campus or off?</li>
<li>Is huge size of the campus a positive or negative?</li>
</ul>

<p>I guess we are also wondering why OOSers tend not to attend (we are from OOS)????</p>

2

<p>Hopefully a student will respond to your questions more thoroughly than I can.</p>

<p>Son is current Jr in UB’s engineeing program</p>

<p>I believe the SUNYs are not as well known out of state as so many other state schools due to big time sports (think UConn, Penn State, etc…)</p>

<p>We have been very, very happy with UB and the engineering program. UB is known for the engineering program and the sciences in general. Since my son is at UB, I have noticed a huge network of grads from there, all giving the engineering program rave reviews. This is something I really knew nothing about before son applied and was accepted.</p>

<p>Son is a great student. Plenty of tough course work. Need good time management skills. </p>

<p>Students can become involved in the engineering clubs, research on campus (at least for my son), internships, etc… If your son is focused and motivated he can do very well.</p>

<p>Classes for this major are big (lectures), but most have recitation and labs as well which are much smaller. </p>

<p>If I remember correctly, freshmen engineering students are broken into sections so that they are all in classes together and can meet one another, etc. </p>

<p>There are son many engineering students, it is impossible for the kids not to have some on their floors in dorms. I don’t think there is an engineering dorm. </p>

<p>Social life is like many other schools. On and off campus. </p>

<p>I don’t think the size of the school is a deterrent. Dorms are clustered together and the academic buildings are grouped together (and all linked so you don’t have to go outside once there).</p>

<p>Like I stated already, we are very happy with our sons choice. UB has been great for him. He loved the engineering dept upon site (as compared with other schools he visited).</p>

<p>Good luck!!!</p>

3

<p>Thanks so much crazed for all your information… Glad your son is so happy!
Son was told about first year Living Communities (called FYI Learning Communities), where students can live among others with common major, this is what I was referring to. I know that at Northeastern this is very popular among engineering students, so I was wondering about it at Buffalo.</p>

<p>Also, are all your son’s classes on North campus? Does he go to South at all?</p>

<p>Do students need a car to get around?
Do Freshmen and Sophs tend to live on campus in dorms?
Are most of your son’s friends/classmates from NY?
Thanks again.</p>

4

<p>Varitek-</p>

<p>I don’t remember Living Communities at UB. I think I read about them at SUNY Binghamton where he also applied/accepted. They did away with them there though.</p>

<p>Engineering (well for that matter all his) classes are on North Campus. North Campus is not in Buffalo, but in Amherst, just 10 minutes or so from South Campus. Very residential area. Lots of restaurants, shops, etc. not to far away. </p>

<p>Son decided on UB late in the game (had lots of acceptances and needed to go to accepted student days in the Spring and then decide on fit for program/himself…) Wanted North Campus housing but knew he’d be placed on South Campus so it wasn’t disappointing to him. He did not mind taking the campus bus to and from North Campus for classes. The dorm on South was fine and conveniently located to public transportation. Also, right across the street from the dorm/South Campus is a shopping center, movie theater, etc… very convenient for walking over and making purchases. Liked the kids in the dorm. It worked out very well. Frats on near South, in a not so nice section as well as cheap off campus houses. They were able to go to some parties. The kids all know very well to go out in groups and come back together. It was fine. For convenience to classes he and his friends all moved to North Campus dorms for sophomore year. </p>

<p>Ellicott is the large Freshmen dorm on North Campus. The opened up a new dorm this year, Greiner Hall, for Sophomores. Sophs used to dorm in Ellicott as well. Jr. year- son is in an on campus apt which is popular. Many off campus options as well.</p>

<p>The campus bus goes form North to South, etc all day and night long. Campus buses to shopping center, etc… From South campus, public transportation right outside campus as well.</p>

<p>Kids seem to have cars sophomore year. I am sure not all kids have cars.</p>

<p>As UB is a state school, most kids are form NY. Remember, NY is a large, diverse state. Downstate is more populated and primarily urban and suburban while most of upstate is rural, with a few small “cities” in the mix. An OOS kid will do just fine there. (I think when I went to school in Michigan (From Long Island) I was a novelty for the girls on my floor! While they have a decent OOS population, it was fun for them to have a NYer as a friend. Added to the mix.</p>

<p>Where else is your son considering?</p>

5

<p>[UB</a> Car Free - Parking and Transportation, UB](<a href=“http://www.ub-parking.buffalo.edu/carfree.php]UB”>http://www.ub-parking.buffalo.edu/carfree.php)
Above is the “UB Car Free” site…you really dont need a car on campus, although she might want it if she travels off to other places.</p>

<p>[Frequently</a> Asked Questions - Parking and Transportation Services - University at Buffalo](<a href=“http://www.ub-parking.buffalo.edu/faq.php]Frequently”>http://www.ub-parking.buffalo.edu/faq.php)
Above is other info on parking your car and how to get the shuttle etc…</p>

<p>As for the engineering program, it is a very reputable and top program! Im sure he would be very happy there.
I know that the SUNYs are considered “hidden gems” in the college arena, especially UB and Binghamton.</p>

<p>And for your peace of mind as a Mom… the Town of Amherst is where the UB North Campus is and it has been rated since 1996 in the Top 5 of the “Safest Cities in the America” and on quite a number of occassions was number 1 or 2.</p>

<p>The UB North Campus is in a hub area of lots of restaurants, malls etc…</p>

<p>If your son is interested at all in UB, you should quickly get in your deposit for housing so that he gets a dorm on the North campus. The deposit is refundable and the requests are first come/first serve. North campus everyone jumps on!</p>

<p>Govenors dorms are located right in the spine of the academic buildings so definitely closer then the Ellicott complex. </p>

<p>Hope that helps! We should start a “parent” thread on CC !!!
Good luck to your kids!</p>

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<p>Also, UB has a very international mix of students …there is a big draw for them to go there. So he would have the opportunity to intermingle with alot of different cultures which is a plus for my son. And like crazed said, NY is a very diverse state!</p>

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<p>Hi Crazed and Happy,
Thank you so much for all your valuable information. I’m definitely sold on the town - thanks! Actually I love the idea of attending school where campus life is fun and busy - yet the surrounding town is also an option for fun.</p>

<p>Other schools S is considering: Boston University and Northeastern (we’re from MA), UVM, Bing, Pitt. He got accepted to tech schools, however for social reasons never really considered attending.</p>

<p>Can you tell me what were major influences for your son’s choice of Buffalo over Bing? </p>

<p>I guess we’re feeling like nobody in our area goes to Buffalo, so it makes more “typical” choices seem easier to make, and more information readily available, (most of my two kids’ friends attend: Syracuse, Maryland, Tulane, and schools in MA). So these are the schools that all S’s friends are talking about, (and all my friends too). Many of our friends’ kids also attend LACs, however my S wants engineering, so it seems like this won’t work for him.</p>

<p>Thanks for your help.</p>

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<p>If you go to Facebook, subscribe yourself to the UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO STUDENT EXPERIENCE. You will get a continuous feed of many of the different activities that go on around campus (bands, bingo, tye-dye night, trivia, scavenger-type hunts, guest speakers etc.)</p>

<p>My son is a freshman in Civil Engineering and I won’t lie . . . .he’s having a tough time. He’s always been a good-but-not-great student and UB Engineering was a “reach” for him. </p>

<p>He has found the courseload (17 credits/semester and no basket-weaving-type classes in engineering!) combined with the independence of being 500 miles away from home and responsible for EVERYTHING a little daunting and his 1st semester grades show it (One F and an assortment of Cs and Ds :frowning: ). </p>

<p>To paraphrase his comments: “It was a LOT harder and more than I thought it would be. Way different than high school and it just got away from me. Now that I know what I am up against, I really think I can do it.”</p>

<p>Having said that. . . .he’s still happy with his choice. He’s working hard and determined to have success there and I’m here with my fingers crossed for him. </p>

<p>Good luck to you whatever you decide. </p>

<p>BTW. . .he has no car there and doesn’t need one. He lives in Ellicot (North Campus - all engineering classes are on North) He goes to occasional frat parties on south campus. Found his 2 roommates (also engineering majors) thru an offshoot of the UB Class of 2015 page on Facebook. He is not in FYE housing or the undergrad academies.</p>

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<p>V-</p>

<p>Son applied to and was accepted at 15 schools. (including, if I remember some, VaTech, RIT, Delaware, Syracuse, Binghamton). Though he wouldn’t need a loan (we are paying) he chose Buffalo for the great program, good campus fit, and low cost. Though he loved Binghamton on site, he was not as impressed with the engineering program. I did some investigation in speaking to local kids at Binghamton. They told me the engineering program is not very good. (Told engineering and math are not great programs there.) I think Bing has a better reputation for Business. </p>

<p>As we are from Long Island, I really hadn’t considered Buffalo, and I think there are fewer LIers there than at some other SUNY’s due to the proximity from us. For us, it became the hidden gem. Since going there, I have encountered so many others and found out friends, husbands, etc are grads of the engineering program as well as the law school, dental school.</p>

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<p>I’m going to answer your original questions as a student.

  • How large are typical Freshman classes?
    Most will be large lectures 100-400 students but most if not all also incorporate a recitation that will be with a TA at around 20 students or less.</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Are profs available for help/support?
All classes have office hours with a TA or Professor at varying times of the day on top of lecture and recitations.</p></li>
<li><p>Do students tend to help each other or is environment extremely competitive?
It’s not too competitive. Most kids will help out if you’re friends.</p></li>
<li><p>What percentage of engineering students live in “engineering” dorms?
I have no clue, but not living in them isn’t a negative.</p></li>
<li><p>How is social life at Buffalo?
The social life is what you make of it. Once you have your group of friends you do what they do.</p></li>
<li><p>Is social life mostly on-campus or off?
Depends if you’re into partying at frats or hanging out in the dorms with your friends.</p></li>
<li><p>Is huge size of the campus a positive or negative?
There are lots of kids but you’re going to have the 50 kids you know and then the 20,000 who are around you. It doesn’t actually feel that big when you’re there.</p></li>
</ul>

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<p>

</li>
</ul>

<p>Classes are pretty large. As mentioned, 100-400 is a good range. Probably around 200 for most - math classes tend to be smaller, science classes tend to be larger.</p>

<p>Most students, at least that I know, help each other. Meeting up to work on assignments is very common. I have plenty of friends that are willing to lend a hand - and I am willing to do the same in return.</p>

<p>Not sure how many live in “engineering” dorms, but I don’t know many who have. Although it seems most engineers end up living together at one point anyway…I lived in honors housing my first year and ended up with 6 engineers out of the 8 in my hallway. Now I’m living in an apartment with 3 engineers. It’s definitely beneficial to live with those taking similar classes (can help each other out, while maintaining friendly “competition”).</p>

<p>Social life is probably typical - there’s plenty to do if you look for it. Both on campus and off, depending on what you’re into.</p>

<p>Definitely think the large campus is a positive. Many more opportunities.</p>

<p>You don’t need a car…I wouldn’t buy one if you don’t have one…but if you have one, bring it. North Campus is very near many places (shopping, restaurants, etc), but due to the large size of the campus, it’s not very walkable. It’s easy to park near the dorms, so if you have a car, bring it. I’ve had a car since I’ve been here and I couldn’t do without it…but then again, I’m used to it. Most students without a car end up having friends with cars, and catch rides from them. Although each year, more of my friends have gotten cars…probably only a quarter of us had them freshman year, now practically everyone has one.</p>

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<p>@Happy4Him4 - thanks for the tip on North Campus housing deposit. My son has been accepted to UB Engineering / Honors college, and right now it’s his second choice out of four acceptances. It will become first choice if he can’t get a medical waiver for ROTC, so we will get that deposit in.</p>

<p>@varitek33 - we are from PA and evaluated UB to be a cost-effective alternative to Penn State. Arguably, Penn State is ranked higher mainly because of sports. Pitt also has engineering, but is too close to home for my son. We visited UB a few months ago and were impressed. Maybe if someone wanted more name recognition they would go elsewhere, but UB is a good deal. My son did get merit money from UB, and of course that helps. But even without that, UB costs less than Penn State.</p>

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<p>Whydoicare - thanks for the comparison. S thought Penn State was too big. Any info. you can share about Pitt would be greatly appreciated such as does it have a campus feel or too much of a city school (my S felt that BU doesn’t have a campus feel and too close to home!)? What are you S’s other choices?</p>

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<p>Hi another happy UB parent here, DD is soph chem eng major there and loves it. She made a great group of friends in honors dorm Freshman yr who dormed together in Govenors again this yr and will be in on campus apts together next yr. The study and socialize together on and off campus. They all have eng/sci majors and are a mix upstate/downstate and international students. She applied without ever seeing the school and when she received a scholarship went to accepted students day, sat in on classes and visited the eng dept and loved it and that was that. She works hard but does well,has been a student assistant in Freshman eng labs, was accepted to research exp at Univ Iowa last summer and another one this coming summer in Mass. She has found the profs available and helpful.</p>

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<p>@varitek33 - Pitt is in an urban area, but not downtown. In fact, it’s adjacent to Carnegie Mellon. Several UPMC hospitals are right there, along with some big museums. Walking around, most of the time I get the college student / young people vibe. By comparison, UB North Campus is clearly suburban and I didn’t think that even the South Campus felt like Pitt. However, I’m not sure what your son really means by “campus feel”. Sports are important at Pitt. Probably the best thing is to drive down and visit. My son has it down to UB and Texas A&M.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

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<p>@varitek33 - I do have an older son at Pitt, and he loves it. He majors in geology.</p>

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<p>Hi! My daughter is a senior at UB in electrical engineering. She drove her car to Buffalo with her Dad from sunny San Diego California! She’s kind of quiet but she made really good study friends in her dorm. She’s in Red Jacket. </p>

<p>This past summer, she interned at a defense engineering firm here in San Diego along with other interns from UCLA, UCSD, and a couple of other schools that I can’t recall. At the end of the summer, she was evaluated and told by her immediate supervisor that the company was most impressed with her, which surprised them because they were unfamiliar with UB on this side of the country. </p>

<p>She was told that her broad-based knowledge and ability to pick up details gave her the advantage over the other students. Also, she said they were impressed that she took the initiative and organized the student interns for lunch meetings; she also was the only student who volunteered for weekly tasks and the other students didn’t. </p>

<p>They apparently had problems with some of the UC students who wouldn’t talk or articulate when a problem was occurring-that came up in the group evaluation. One kid, was the son of an employee, and he was eventually dismissed because of punctuality and “laissez-faire” issues about timelines (this is the story my D overhead from her supervisor). </p>

<p>They immediately hired her and she’s been receiving their stock options for the past year. She’s not graduating this year because they recommended she become more marketable by adding some computer science/engineering coursework. Her UB education definitely helped her get to this point and she was surprised by the skills the UC students lacked.</p>

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@“aunt bea” Hi, very nice to hear of your daughter’s success. Would you have any idea about the Chemical and Biological engg. dept of UB by any chance? S has got admit mail but we’ve not decided yet…worried about the cold weather too (international student)
Thanks!

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I have very little information about their biology department other than the fact that they used to have a relationship with a med school in NY. Don’t know if that has changed. Chemical Engineering is a good department, but finding internships could be limited because the jobs just aren’t there. (My brother in law is a chemical engineer and bounced all over the US trying to find a permanent position. He worked for a number of companies, including Monsanto. So, as long as your son can find a job in your country, you should be okay.)

The winters are cold and snowy. But, the university is really good about clearing the roads and getting the kids to class via their “underground” tunnels and buses. Your child needs good winter coats and can purchase those in the Buffalo area (after October) or order online through The North Face or LLBean.

Our daughter wanted to experience the changes in seasons. We don’t have that in Southern California.

(Rain, Floods, Drought, Earthquakes are our seasons.)
Good luck to you and your son!

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Thank you @aunt bea!