SUNY Buffalo

Colleges and Universities A-Z SUNY - General
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<p>We are from the state of Illinois
My dd received info from SUNY Buffalo. They even called us which impressed me.
I saw the tuition. It is reasonable for an out of state student. Our flagship school is the same amount
She is an LD student who has a 2.7 GPA. She is a junior and hasn't taken her ACT's yet
Would she have a shot of getting into SUNY Buffalo. She wants to major in biology. </p>

<p>How is their biology program? </p>

<p>How is the campus? </p>

<p>Would it be better for her to stay in Illinois? </p>

<p>I mean she has NY city a few hours away, Toronto is 2 hours a way..talk about being exposed to different things. That is what I would like for her....</p>

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<p>
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I mean she has NY city a few hours away,

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</p>

<p>I don't think anyone in NY would consider Buffalo close to NYC!!! I would not suggest going to Buffalo with the intention of having ready access to NYC. If you are lucky, its maybe a 6-7 hour drive (straight thru, no stops, no delays). Perhaps she'd make friends with people from NYC she could visit over breaks -- but being "close to NYC" simply isn't something anyone in NYS would consider an attribute of SUNY Buffalo.</p>

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<p>I think about 8 hours from NYC and that's if you're driving yourself; the bus might be longer.</p>

<p>A lot of kids from my daughter's hs in suburban NYC have gone to Buffalo and really enjoy it. The ones I know who got in probably were "B plus" students though.</p>

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<p>I live in the Buffalo area and am familiar with UB. The campus is very large and growing. There are actually 2 campuses, with a new medical campus being proposed in downtown. The North campus is where most undergrad is acutually in Amherst a suburb of Buff, with buses that run to the south campus. The south campus is the older original campus in Buff. The biology program and premed are strong. I know many students who speak highly of the program. But, keep in mind this a a very large university. Many 100 level bio classes with 100 kids in a lecture. Some of my D friends thrive, for my kids it is way too big! </p>

<p>I have heard from other parents that kids were not accepted if they didn't have the min. SAT(I think 1100??), even those who were accepted to the drama on audition, were not able to get in without the SAT. UB is trying to improve their nt'l ranking.</p>

<p>As far as the area, there is plenty to do. 4 or 5 of clubs with bands that cater to this age group. Many college kids go across to NF Ont. where the drinking age is 19. Close to shopping malls, museums, outdoor stuff like biking, hiking, skiing etc. Cost of living is very reasonable, lots of kids live off campus is cheap apt. They do have some nice new apt. style housing on campus. Buff airport has been upgraded, so travel is better and cheap flights are avail. Drive to NYC is indeeed 6 hours at best, cheap flights are 2 hrs.</p>

<p>Hope that helps!</p>

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<p>As previous posters have noted, Buffalo is a long, long way from New York City. To go to SUNY Buffalo to be near NYC is literally analogous to going to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to be near Chicago. </p>

<p>As for flights, there are rarely such things as cheap flights from Upstate NY airports. JetBlue flies out of Buffalo to NYC for about $200 bucks round trip. Maybe that is cheap for an adult, particularly when it's expenses accounted, but I don't know too many college kids who would be dashing off to Manhattan from Buffalo once or twice a month for $200 a pop.</p>

<p>UB's middle 50th percentile of admitted students is 1120-1290 (SAT), 25-29 (ACT) and 89-95 (GPA). A 2.7 GPA translates to about an 82. Your daughter's stats are on the low side for UB but if she is really interested in what UB has to offer it is probably worth filing the application, particularly if she scores a 24+ on the ACT.</p>

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<p>Excuse my ignorance of the extent of the distance between UB and NYC. </p>

<p>We hear it all the time about her stats. She is an LD student and we hear about this all the time. She has come a along way</p>

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<p>jenrik -- You'd be surprised -- then again maybe not -- how many New Yorkers have no understanding of the distances between NYC and other parts of the state. I know parents who have no problem with their kids applying to SUNY Fredonia or Clarkson University -- both are more than 5 hours away from our town -- yet express amazement that we are comfortable letting our daughter apply to schools in Maryland, Pennsylvania and even Connecticut that are actually closer to home. </p>

<p>Anyway, best of luck with your daughter's college search. I don't know what sort of support system SUNY Buffalo has for LD students. Were you able to discuss this with the admissions people at Buffalo?</p>

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<p>Thank you for your responses</p>

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<p>You may want to look into a smaller school because of her LD. It may be difficult for her to thrive in a lecture with 100 kids and little contact with the professor.</p>

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<p>Since you posted 2 threads, I'll repost my response here as well:</p>

<p>I attend UB (University at Buffalo) and have been here for 3 years. I'll try to answer some of your questions...</p>

<p>How is their biology program?</p>

<p>I'm not a Bio major, but I have taken Bio 101 and 102. These introduction classes are in huge lecture rooms and will begin with roughly 400+ students and slowly dwindle down as the semester wears on and people realize how annoyingly difficult and boring these courses can be... for an introduction course. However, if you're very interested in Biology and understand it, UB's Biology program is top-notch. I hated it, but then again, I don't like the sciences.</p>

<p>How is the campus?</p>

<p>It's huge. UB is split into 2 campuses. North (newer, in Amherst suburb, majority of majors here) and South (older, closer to the city, medical/dental students). As a freshman, you'll most likely be taking classes on North campus most of the time. If you continue with Biology, you'll most likely stay on North campus, since the Biology department and building is there.</p>

<p>North campus' dorms are extremely big. I worked as a student security/public safety aide for a year and had to patrol the dorms at night. It is about a 10-15 minute walk to campus. If you drive, parking can be a problem, but the parking lots are huge. Just make sure you get there early if you're going to drive.</p>

<p>After Sophomore year, you can apply to live in on-campus apartments. I lived in one for all 3 years, since I was a transfer student. They are very nice to live in, for the most part. About a 5-minute walk to class.</p>

<p>The campus itself is connected. Meaning, if you know your way around North campus, you can walk to roughly 75% of the classes without going outside. Helps during cold, snowy days or even hot days.</p>

<p>The air is great. The winters can be brutal, but compared to many Northern/North Eastern states, it's not too horrible. Buffalo gets a bad reputation for their lake effect snow, but to me, I don't think it's nearly as rough as people make it out to be. The springs and summers here are great. I often bike (bicycle) to get some exercise when the weather's nice. There are gyms everywhere, but you do have to look for them.</p>

<p>Would it be better for her to stay in Illinois?</p>

<p>I have no idea.</p>

<p>About LD (learning disability, right?)...
Most courses I've taken, the professors mention that if you have a learning disability, you have to register with a certain department and let the professors know. They try to accommodate everyone with LD as much as possible. They usually let you take tests at different times/places or allow for more time than normal. Even though the introductory Biology classes are huge, if you get there early and sit in the front, it can be more personal and easier to concentrate in. And like I said above, the class size keeps dwindling down as the semester wears on.</p>

<p>Overall, UB is a very good school. The student body is extremely diverse. There are a lot of international students. Just from living on-campus, I've roomed with all types of people (Polish, Canadian, Arab/Spanish, African American, Caucasians, Irish, etc.) I myself am Asian (Oriental).</p>

<p>About proximity to Toronto and New York City...
Toronto takes a while to drive to. Not too bad and it could easily be a weekend trip, or even a full day trip (but you'll be tired). I've been there about 3 times. Great city. Very clean and populated. However, people in Canada cannot drive. Not being racist or nationalistic, but it's just from my experience. Be careful when you drive to and back from Toronto.</p>

<p>New York City takes forever to drive to. My family lives 1+ hour outside of NYC, so I make the trip often. If you drive fast, it might take you 7 hours to get to NYC from Buffalo. I highly recommend what another poster here said. Fly to NYC if you want to visit. He/she is right. Jetblue might be the best option (just make sure your luggage is under 50 lbs.). It takes about 50 minutes to actually fly to NYC. Waiting at the airports is another story. That might take about 1-2 hours alone.</p>

<p>The city of Buffalo itself isn't amazing (compared to Toronto or NYC). I only went there for the clubs and bars and one time to a concert. However, it can be fun and is about a 25 minute drive from North campus and a 10-15 minute drive from South campus. There is one particular "strip" of road in the city of Buffalo where all the action is at. South campus also has 1 street that has lots of bars at. Most of the time, parties are held in apartments or houses in the suburbs or at South campus. That's pretty much the night life at UB....</p>

<p>Good luck and I hope you make a good choice, where ever it may be. Hope this helped.</p>