SUNY at Albany

My experience at SUNY Albany was fairly positive. My course work was rigorous and challenging and my professors were qualified and engaging. The University is very large -it has a large student population, and it is also a sprawling campus with departments and housing spread across the city of Albany. A student could easily feel lost and overwhelmed by its size, and it could be a challenge to find and create community in this environment. The school would be a good choice for someone who is looking... Read More for a strong academic program and an active social scene. I would not recommend Albany to students who thrive in smaller one-on-one learning environments.

I attended SUNY Albany as an adult student while I had a full-time job. Luckily my job was willing to schedule me around my class schedule, and it was easy to look at the upcoming class schedule and see which classes I'd want to register for.

My experience with the professors was somewhat mixed. This could be in part due to the fact that I started looking to sign up specifically for classes that were taking place in the lecture centers (since, as an adult student with a tough schedule to manage,... Read More I preferred larger classes where you generally work alone rather than with a group).

The campus was really nice and as a commuter I always felt like there was ample parking. Registration was easy and the staff was always helpful.

During my time at UAlbany, 3 years total with 1.5 being online, I was very happy with all facets of the school. While I commuted to campus, the environment there was able to be felt once you made it into the parking lot. Separated from the rest of the city really, you felt that this was your own place to call home. Education wise, I actually obtained 2 bachelors degrees, one in business admin and another in comms. More general classes were in large lecture centers and made classes feel impersonal,... Read More but as you moved up the ladder in your respective degree, class-size shrunk and relationships with professors grew. Online classes were OK, nothing like the in-person courses, but proved to be more than enough for me to actually learn the material. I'd recommend UAlbany for anyone in the area.

SUNY Albany was a different environment than I had ever experienced. I was exposed to many new cultures, people, and ways of thinking. I learned how to live in a city and use public transportation. SUNY Albany provided students with a free bus pass while attending which was helpful for exploring the city and getting around to stores and local destinations. The educational choices were huge and diverse due to the amount of students and expertise of the large faculty of professors and graduate students.... Read More I enjoyed participating in research on campus at the life sciences building as welll as perusing an internship for several semesters at the local medical college.

I attended SUNY Albany from 2019 to 2023, majoring in Computer Science. Overall, I had a great experience with both the academic and social aspects of the school. The CS program was well-structured, with knowledgeable professors and access to resources like tutoring centers, career fairs, and research opportunities. Some professors were hit-or-miss in terms of teaching style, but the curriculum was rigorous and helped prepare me well for the workforce.

Campus life was active, with tons of clubs and... Read More events that made it easy to meet people and stay engaged outside the classroom. I appreciated the diversity of the student body and the sense of community on campus. Housing was decent, and dining options were average—some places were better than others.

One thing I wish the school had more of was internship placement support. While career services were helpful, more direct connections to companies would’ve made job searching easier. Despite that, I landed a software engineering role within 3 months of graduating, thanks in large part to the skills I developed here.

If you're looking for a solid education with good value, SUNY Albany is a great choice. It prepared me well and left me with lasting friendships and great memories.

The only thing that this school has going for it, is that its cheap. Otherwise, the campus is old and dingy, the downtown area is trashy and dangerous, and the student body is for the most part sub-par. If you had half a brain in HS this was your safety school. The reputation it carries is that of a party school. No one will respect seeing it on your resume. It doesn't open any doors, and in fact mostly closes them. People will view you as less than. The second someone from a better school interviews... Read More against you, you're immediately losing. The amount of ground you have to make up because you graduated from here far outweighs the amount of money you'll save by going here. If you have any other options take them. The only reason you're going here is because you cant afford to go anywhere else.

I am writing this for my entire cohort who has been ignored and left behind in the MSSE - Master of Science in Secondary Education - program. We are supposed to be prepared to teach adolescents in our major content area but our professors don't have teaching licenses in our content areas. The faculty have been vocal about not wanting to be involved in our program and so we have no idea what we're doing. And we have no one to ask questions because when we do, we're yelled at and talked down to. We... Read More never completed our student teaching in the spring. Some of us were only at our placements for two weeks and then we did nothing else the rest of the semester but we were pushed through to the fall. Some of us still don't have student teaching placements for the fall. We still haven't learned how to write lesson plans. TBH, we shouldn't be teachers because we have no idea what we're doing. But we're apparently going to graduate in a couple months. I don't know how the program is getting away with this. The state department of education is going to catch on soon to what they're doing and the whole thing should be shut down. No department chair, no coordinator, and faculty that don't know what they're doing. So yeah, I guess neither do we.

I cannot recommend the Master's in Mental Health Counseling program. Some of the professors, and many of the doctoral TAs, are still working out their own personal problems, including ego issues, childhood issues, or racial/ethnic issues. This created a stressful environment for the students. I did not feel supported by anyone, not even my own advisor. Instead, you will be under a microscope, as the professorial staff evaluates you by some unknown criteria for you fitness for counseling. Sadly, the... Read More two weakest courses in the program were also the most important: preparation for individual counseling, and group counseling.

The Chemistry program at SUNY Albany is in-depth and provides students with an important basic knowledge of the sciences. Students are required to take many general education courses, such as Humanities and a Critical Writing course. There is a wide selection of electives to choose from and many courses will double-count for two different requirements. Since I was part of the Honor's program, I had additional requirements in order to stay in the program. The professors at SUNY Albany are mostly well-versed... Read More and knowledgable. There are also many different clubs and organizations that students can join. I was part of the Equestrian Club, which is something I would have never been able to afford if it wasn't for the college.

SUNY at Albany quickly became my home after a few days of freshman year. The comrade of going to SUNY at Albany, our purple pride, is strong throughout the current class and its alumni. The professors at SUNY Albany are well equipped to teach you major curricular areas, as well as prompt you to critically think. My skills in critically thinking and how to expand thoughts in conversation have grown greatly in my four years at SUNY Albany. Friends that last a lifetime is a small bonus compared to my... Read More education and personal growth I have experienced here. Going to school in Upstate New York is another perk of going to SUNY Albany. Minutes from the capital district also makes it a great choice for internships that our alumni help you secure, and makes commuting there easy. One of the more outstanding areas that I have found at SUNY Albany is their support system. Advisers that are willing and happy to meet with you to discuss class changes, career options, and life advice is part of what made my experience so great here. Switching my major from Business Administration to Psychology was a task that my team of advisers made simple for me. Making sure I stayed on track for graduation and answering any questions that I had about the switch reassured me as a student that SUNY Albany cared about its students and their success, regardless of what it takes to get there. Overall, I and a great four years at SUNY Albany and am thankful for the experiences and degree I have gained.

I attended the University at Albany from Fall 2017-May 2019 and now again for my graduate degree. When you're a freshmen or transfer, you get a lot of assistance with learning about the campus and being able to find out about new opportunities that are offered. I gained a very useful support pool and was able to learn a lot of skills throughout my time. I was very involved on campus and involved in the student government. There's plenty of things to do on campus and in the area. Lecture classes can... Read More get pretty large, but the upper level classes in your major are more likely to have a small cohort of people.

I attended the University at Albany from Fall 2017-May 2019 and now again for my graduate degree. When you're a freshmen or transfer, you get a lot of assistance with learning about the campus and being able to find out about new opportunities that are offered. I gained a very useful support pool and was able to learn a lot of skills throughout my time. I was very involved on campus and involved in the student government. There's plenty of things to do on campus and in the area. Lecture classes can... Read More get pretty large, but the upper level classes in your major are more likely to have a small cohort of people.

I enjoyed my experience at SUNY at Albany. There was a large variety of clubs and organizations offered to students. The orientation also helped tremendously with the transition from high school to college. I declared my major the spring of my freshman year. I knew that I wanted to go to medical school so I was on the pre-med track. Looking back, I wish that there was a more career-driven approach to the degree program. Upon graduation, I found it very difficult to obtain a good job because I had... Read More a Biology degree with little to no experience. After college, I learned about so many certificates and other programs that are geared towards gaining a very good job upon completion.

Overall, I really enjoyed four years at SUNY Albany. I attended the Business school and although it gave me many tools I use today, I do think there was room for improvement. Many of the professors in the business school have accents and are extremely hard to understand. Also many of them teach straight from the textbook or pre-made slideshows in class which makes the content very dry and hard to relate to. I think the business school only sets certain concentrations up for a clear path to success,... Read More this mainly being accounting majors. There are constant recruiting events and ways to begin your path in the accounting world. However, you definitely have to go get what you want if you are not an accounting major. If I had not joined ABLE, the business club, and joined the Executive Board, I am not sure I would have gotten the skills and connections I needed for the real world. Even then, I still did not have a job set up after graduation. It took me months after graduation to get a job offer, and the offer was very far off from my marketing concentration. I did not feel I had what marketing agencies were looking for on my resume.