Student Profile
becky
- Class: Senior
- Major: English
- Gender: F
- High School: our lady of lourdes
- Transfer Student: Y
Big Picture
My favorite thing about Albany are the people. As a transfer student I was nervous on how I would fit in, and if I would be swallowed by the university. People are actually pretty friendly. It is a decent sized school and yet it has a small college feel to it. While on campus it is more then likely you will run into a friend or two somewhere completely random. That's part of the fun of Albany, since it is a very centralized campus, you're more then likely going to run into a friend at some point. Which is great, since being at a big school can feel a little lonely sometimes. UAlbany has this weird sentiment when I tell people I go here. My friends who go to other colleges are quick to let me know they're not impressed with our party school reputation, while other people are more then excited to hear about it. Albany as a city is like no other place, in that it has three colleges in its vicinity, more on the outskirts, and is also New York state's capital. So while you may be riding the bus to class with a couple of drunk freshmen, you may be getting off at a stop with some big wig capital representatives. I think that might be my favorite part about the city of Albany. It is very easy to get trapped in the 'college bubble', but since UA spills out into downtown Albany, you are constantly around the residents and business people of Albany. Albany as a city has strange divisions. Hudson street is almost devoted entirely to UA students living off campus, and parts of Washington, Western and Madison have been sectioned off to our partying needs. But the same time places like Lark St. embody not only students but artists and residents who take advantage of this very friendly artsy atmosphere. Probably the reason that so much of Albany has been taken over by UA students is because of the amazing bus transportation provided by the city. Living in Albany is unique in that students become accustomed to using the bus early on and it just becomes second nature. The bus is free, since there is a downtown campus and some housing located down the street from the uptown campus.This works out perfectly since it can help motivate you to get off campus when you start getting sick of seeing nothing but concrete. It also doesn't hurt that the bars are basically located just ten minutes off of campus and right outside the bus stops. On any given weekend you will see the surrounding streets just filled with students running around.
Academic Life
Classes at Albany vary. I've had classes where the teacher couldn't pick me out of a lineup, and classes where my teacher knows my name and even comes up to me on campus semesters later to ask how I'm doing. Like any school, office hours are stressed. The trick to going from a B to an A, is the ability to go talk to your professor and show your face at their office. Professors here are generally very interested in your overall academic and social well being. Since the school is large, professors come from all different places, countries, and stages in life. While graduate students do teach lower level classes, this usually ends after your freshmen year when you no longer have to take General Education classes that are often 100 to 300 or more kids. UA students do have intellectual conversations after class. They just might be a little hard to hear in the bar. Students aren't competitive, they're actually usually very helpful. Classes are often run by a curve, so if you meet a friendly classmate, they will most likely help you out. I've made a lot of friends in class just by asking if they wanted to share notes or study. There is no sense of 'me first', more or less '***, did you do that homework?'. At Albany internships are really stressed. Job fairs and Internship fairs occur throughout the year and the school really pushes them. Advisors will be quick to let you know right off the bat how important internships are, and professors are usually eager to help you land one. You get the feeling very easy that the school wants to do your best.
Student Body
UA is extremely diverse. Students come from all parts of the state, mostly pooling from Long Island, New York City, Western New York, Upstate, and little towns you've never heard of. There are cliques on campus with the frats and sororities but even then it's pretty hard to find only one group that sticks to itself. Since the school is big, it encompasses all types of students. And since it's not that big of a school, everyone gets to mingle with each other. Which is nice when you look around a room at a party and realize that some kids from Buffalo are partying with your roommates from Brooklyn and Oswego, three completely different lifestyles. We have rich kids, middle class, lower income families. You'll have kids in your class who have never been to New York city, and you'll have friends who've never left the city except to come to Albany. There are stereotypes like the typical long island blow out dude bros, and the uber tan sorority girls, but for the most part you'll always find some one you can relate to. DO NOT wear uggs + sweat pants + messy bun + big***sunglasses + northface fleeces. I'm sick of them. Stop it. Students are politically aware, and some are active, and while it is college and most people are liberal, there's no pressure to feel any which way.
The Best Things
i'm always meeting new people.
The Worst Things
it is not prepared for fifteen thousand undergrad.
