Recently went on a trip to Utica. We were on a tour with a couple of the baseball coaches/players and were impressed with the campus. Just looking for some general feedback about the school and their education department. He wants to major in secondary education/social studies.
Thanks!
I don’t know much about Utica College, but I lived in Utica for four years in the late 80s and I absolutely loved it. I grew up in Chicago and moved to Utica right after college, so early twenties. I loved the outdoors - skiing, hiking - and Utica is in a fantastic region for that. Friendly, welcoming people, relatively slow pace, good food (especially Italian and Polish), and not far from NYC and Boston (which was nice for me, having grown up in the Midwest). I absolutely loved Utica.
I know that Utica College only recently received accreditation from Middle States Association, the major accrediting body. It is about 60 years old. My sense is that there are more established schools.
Thank you for replying!
It is a bit of a trip to NYC? Is miney going to be a factor? From my experience they are not really generous with merit money and do not meet 100% demonstrated need. If your son is certain he is going into secondary education and you are a NYS resident, there are stronger and less expensive options in the SUNY system
It was a part of Syracuse University until the mid nineties. Maybe that has something to do with its recent accreditation.
For secondary education you should look into SUNY Cortland.
Depending on where your son wants to teach (if you are from out of NY State) after graduation and the money situation you are in a SUNY is probably a better bet. I realize UC has lowered their tuition in recent years but the connections made by being an alumni of a SUNY are invaluable when it comes to teaching in NY State. There are plenty of people who go to UC for education but the cost vs benefit is not really that spectacular. Utica is also not really known for attracting top students in most fields. Admission rates are pretty high. I work with quite a few UC grads from recent years and I am always shocked they made it through college at all. I am from the area and most of the UC education graduates I know are locals who commuted and are maybe a few years older than the standard freshman (at least). Most transfer in from the local community college. It’s not the campus experience that could be had a UB or even (as someone else above pointed out) Cortland or Brockport. UC is mostly known for Physical and Occupational Therapy majors as well as for their Cyber Security program (highly pushed on students with little job market in the area).
Really, I guess it is situational for you but don’t be blinded by the sports program (Iots of the SUNYs have great sports programs). I cannot imagine that in the end a UC degree in secondary ed is going to be worth enough to make up the cost difference.