<p>Buffalo is a little far away from where I live, and my parents don't want me to go there. I live in NJ and they would prefer that I go to Rutgers (even though it will cost more after scholarships). So I need to know some facts that would help me trick my parents that Buffalo is better than Rutgers, and that it is not that far away. </p>
<p>I plan to major in Business and any help and suggestions would be appreciated. </p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>My older kid went there last year and really liked it, although he said that you should do activities to meet people with common interests. Some of the pluses that he mentioned were (1) the cost was so low that he was able to have a single, which helped his studies. The room was nice and since there were so many singles across the halls from the doubles, triples and quads, you still met a ton of people in the dorms. He liked the big freshman science classes since they were graded on curves, and he could well enough to get a very good gpa. The underground walkways between the dorms were very convenient, and the bus stop at the freshman dorms is in a protected tunnel -- SUNY does weather management very well. He said the food was good, and there was always something going on for students. He really liked the lecture program. When he was there, he got to hear Colin Powell, and this year the Dalaii Lama spoke. When he changed majors, his counselor worked really hard with him to identify how he could make his own major at SUNY in his field of interest. He said everyone in administration really cared about the kids. The cost was low enough that he wasn't going to be in huge debt for grad school. The internet student-services are very good, and SUNY has good bandwidth (he now has internet restrictions, something he didn't even think to ask about when he was doing college visits -- no World of Warcraft at his new school LOL). Free laundry.</p>
<p>Negatives -- they didn't have his major, so he changed to a school that had an established program (on the positive side, all of his freshman credits transferred with him). There aren't a lot of stores or restaurants around the North Campus (the bookstore and a few little shops are on the North campus, but they don't carry everything you want), and getting to the South campus on the SUNY buses to go to a drug store is a pain. There's a very large international population, which can be a plus or minus depending on how you view it. For me, picking him up for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Spring breaks were long trips. He met a girl from Michigan who didn't go home for Thanksgiving because of the distance. She could have gone home with friends, but there are also several hotels like a Hampton Inn next to the North Campus. I thought it was too quiet and boring when we were picking him up and dropping him off, but he said that during the week the dorms-student union always had something going on.</p>
<p>Bottom line -- it's still on my middle kid's list of finalists due to (a) brother's recommendation (b) great financial package-good value, and (c) very good science majors. We'll be doing another college visit so middle kid can get another look at it.</p>
<p>I went to Buffalo from 95-01 BS Aeronautical Engineering, MS Mechanical Engineering. So some other good things:</p>
<p>1) Very good professors, particularly after your freshman year. They have lots of office hours, the upper level classes are smaller, etc. I still talk with my Thesis advisor pretty regularly.</p>
<p>2) The weather is not as bad as they make it out, I guess that is not a very strong plus, but so many people think it snows in April. The combo of the cold and the wind is pretty brutal in the winter, but it is actually really pretty in the fall and the Spring</p>
<p>3) There is a lot going on, sometimes you have to search for it more, because the school is so big, two campuses, and the commuter population, but there are so many clubs that you can find exciting things to do.</p>
<p>4) The cost is great, I came out of Undergrad Debt Free (I got a lot of grants, and scholarships) and I even made money (granted very little) during my Masters Degree.</p>
<p>I know about BUffalo bc we live here, so this is about the community:
Amherst, NY where the north campus is located is ranked as THE SAFEST TOWN in AMERICA; acutally it's an upscale suburb; NYState's 2nd biggest city is buffalo; Amherst is prosperous with a huge tax base and concerned citizenry; a lot of money goes to ensure great police protection so you can leave your houses unlocked, walk around freely without fear. Espec around that north campus it's veryvery safe (I mean don't be a fool, it's still America, but compared to most places, no crime).</p>
<p>Cost of housing much much lower than NYC or jersey, so if you decide to move off campus, the rentals would be less expensive than you're used to in NY area or NJ</p>
<p>Airfare deals from Newark or JFK or Laguardia, I usually can fly with advance notice for about $120 roundtrip if I'm a bit flexible with timing; easy airport</p>
<p>trains and busses also connect here; or drive here in 6 hours on highway</p>
<p>person for person, the friendliest, most down-to-earth, helpful, honest, not snobby, unpretentious people in the world = buffalonians (the residents)</p>
<p>Students are admired and appreciated here
sidetrips to niagara falls or toronto
buffalo has fantastic resources: Albright Knox Museum (fine modern art like MOMA, same artists, top quality collection; world class)
BUffalo Symphony Orchestra just played Carnegie Hall and is competitive with Cleveland Symphony Orchestra
Professional sports teams: Buffalo Bills (no more O.J. there either) and Sabres for hockey
theater on campus and off-campus; many groups: Shea's Performing arts center, Irish Repertory theater, Jewish repertory theater, Theater of Youth,
Studio Theater, summer Shakespeare in Delaware Park
Delaware Park designed by Frederick Law Olmstead who did Central Park in NYC and Smith College in Massachusetts</p>