SUNY at Albany Top Questions

What do you consider the worst thing about your school? Why?

Lynnette

As a transfer student it's a little harder to make friends.

Hui

Not all of the room provide in the school campus is comfortable, it can be very small, dark.

Auday

classes avaiblity

Andrew

like with every larger school just trying to find your identity, but once you get involved and work towards your goals you come to find who you truely are and you do what makes you happy and unique

Brittany

The worst thing about our school is not that people go out to drink and party but bad events because of such actions. Some students are responsible drinkers or know when they have had enough. It is only at certain times when actions taken by those too drunk to function bring down the reputation of SUNY at Albany. So, overall, the worst thing about SUNY at Albany would be the irresponsibility of certain students to know their limits. It is not necessary to fal under peer pressure.

Rachel

The food in the dining halls could be a little better and it would be nice if the dining halls stayed open past 8pm. I feel that the food in the dining halls need to be more complete meaning putting out food that goes good together (Example: Hamburgers and Fries, great combination) . A wonderful alternative to the dining hall is Campus Center!, but it would also be nice if the Campus Center was open past 9pm on weekends.

Anna

The worst thing about my school, are the depression and suicide rates. Although my school provides services to students such as Middle Earth, a counseling center. Yet even with these services, some students still feel alone and as though they do not have anyone to speak with. Suicide is the second leading cause among college students, and I would like for the statistics to decrease. I've had an experience in which a fellow friend of mine here at SUNY Albany committed suicide, therefore the topic hits close to home. Suicide prevention programs are extremely important.

Christen

The food sometimes.

Mitali

The party culture. Having parties on the weekends is fine, but oftentimes they would get violent, and now a few students have given our university a bad reputation.

dan

Its a big campus and you sometimes will not always meet or know everybody.

Shanisha

The worst thing about my school is probably the focus more on money to add to infastructure rather than implementing new programs that will interest and benefit the students and the tuition hikes.

Evan

Too much partying

Stephanie

The worst thing about my school would have to be how big it is. Class sizes for important classes such as Chemistry can reach sizes such as 300. I came from a small town which 300 students were my whole highschool. It's difficult to get the special attention needed and hard to pay attention when you are in the 20th row.

Jasmin

There are a few students at this university who take their admittance into SUNY Albany for granted and act foolishly without realizing that they are representing over 17,000 other students who work hard to maintain and even increase the reputation of SUNY Albany.

Shahidul

It is in a place which is far away from the main city, and so, scopes for earning are much limited. So students looking for financial grant or scholarship (which the school finds difficult to meet or endow) cannot but depend on thier parents or relatives, who very often find it difficult to meet the financial need of the students. So, I think the worst thing here is that it lacks funds enough to support the financial need of the students.

Melissa

The worst thing about my school would be all the construction that is being done at the moment. It's not really that bad but it gets annoying from time to time.

Jordan

When applying to colleges, you try your best to find one with the academics you need for your future. I enrolled in the University at Albany because they had some of the languages I was interested in for my dream career. However, soon after my first semester began, the university cut them. The worst thing about my school is that it is of no use to me; I now am searching for a scholarship that will assist me in transferring to a school where I can study the subjects I was originally hoping for.

Genevive

They don't clean the steps and pathways which makes it very dangerous to get to each class.

Amanda

Parking. Since I commute to school, you need to arrive atleast a half an hour before your class actually starts in order to give yourself time to park. Students who live on campus also bring their cars so the parking lots are extremely packed and there is probably only one parking lot that is considered a commuter parking lot.

Krystal

My school is very large with about 20,000 students. My school is also a research school with very educated professors who take time off to do resarch. These professors have teacher assistants(t.a.'s) to help them with the course.

Andrew

The worst thing about my school in my opinion is some of the class sizes, one of my classes was about 400 students and it makes learning very diffcult.

Patrycja

The weather can be very brutal. In the winter, the wind is terribly harsh. Going outside during those times can be a painful experience. Thankfully it only takes about 5 minutes to walk to class.

stanley

more stores

Sabeena

Greek life is dead and School Spirit. Our football team loses a lot.

Nicole

the weather.. during the winter it can be really cold.

Alice

The dorms are horrible because the rooms are small and dungeon-like.

Fatoumata

The population there are too many students on this campus, which makes it hard to do things like register for classes.

Begum

the classes are too crowded and sometimes it is hard to hear the professor in the 200-300 people lecture centers. besides from that sometimes you feel like you are all alone when it comes to decision making, advisors are not as helpful.

Amanda

The worst thing about my school is the lax environment about partying. At orientation, RA floor meetings, even in classes adults and employees of the University joke around about it. I think there is a serious problem at this school. On their behalf, I would like to include that there is a program, "Danes after Dark" that was created to give students an alternative to going out on the weekends. However, the program is weak.

Bethanne

The atmosphere, its the ongoing construction, ugly cement buildings. The campus is just very ugly and it it hard to have a postive outlook on your college when it looks like Suny Albany.

Yanna

I dont like the food. I thought college food would be better than high school lunch since we paid for the meals.

Zhiming

The food. Dinning hall has the worest ever in the whole country.

Shakira

The worst thing about my school is the large classes. For some, large classes ins't a good learning environment, whereas they need to have a smaller class and have more attention from their professor.

Kaleigh

The class sizes were quite large. Especially in the first few years. It made it hard to get questions answered and spend extra time on things you might not understand. However, as you get farther along in your degree the class sizes decrease dramatically.

Grace

As someone who comes from a small town, initially I was a little frightened of the city of Albany's slightly higher crime rate - but I feel safe on campus. Between the University Police Department, the blue light emergency phone system, and the "Never Walk Alone" program (where you can call a number and someone will come to escort you to your dorm), you can be sure that your safety is the highest priority.

Rebecca

There is so much going on that it can be intimidating, one can easily become lost and get behind. Student/professor relationships are not close, which makes for much less attention per student, not being known on a name to name basis can really inflict upon education.

April

I love everything about my school but I would have to say that the nutrition could be much better. Even though there are places you can get a salad or a wrap, a good majority of food served is high in fat, sodium and calories and many people aren’t aware of it. To change this, I think that my school needs to post the nutritional facts about most or even all the food served there. I feel it will make a great difference and benefit everyone so they can know exactly what is going into their bodies.

Sam

I didn't like how the various diverse culture treated each other (alot of issues).

Kevin

The worst thing about SUNY Albany are some of the class sizes. Freshman year especially, the classes are overly packed. If the university would stop enrolling more freshmen than are supposed to be enrolled this problem could be somewhat fixed. Also, large classes make it difficult to concentrate and some of the classes are taught by Teaching Assistants who are really just grad students who have no idea how to teach. The size of the student body negatively effects the classroom experience for students who are really trying to learn.

kilsi

the whether, it gets too cold

Lisa

The food.

Wen

the dorm room bathroom is my worst nightmare because i think it is dirty

Jasmine

For me, the worst thing about this school is not getting the most for your dollar.

Chelsea

The worst thing about this school is that some of the lecture classes are in lecture centers with 500 people and it makes it difficult to learn when there are so many people. Other than the few very large lecture centers there really isn't anything bad about this school.

Rebecca

It is so large and they do not always accomodate for this. The class are often over 200 students, with up to 500. This really takes away from the college experience. Professors are often too busy to be bothered by studnets because of their own personal research, so they pass you off to their TAs. Safety is another big concern, there are many robberies and stabbings on and near campus.

Arianna

I chose the University at Albany because it was the best choice for me, however if I had to pick a flaw it would be the size of the university. Although there are many good things about being a large university it is sometimes difficult in large lectures to actually understand what you're learning. Professors try and make it easier with office hours but if I was in a smaller class and able to ask questions in detail I would feel more comfortable about it.

Kate

Much of the student population is wealthy, vapid, and/or concerned mostly with partying. There is always some sort of alcohol- or drug-induced loudness, which makes studying quite difficult. Very few people take their academics seriously, and the professors seem to have resigned themselves to this, which is quite sad.

Lauren

The worst thing about my school is probably the stigma is receives from being a state school. My impression coming here was that everyone was an idiot and they were only attending SUNY Albany because they couldn't get in anywhere else. Actually, it is quite the opposite. Like any school, we have our fair share of subpar students, but because of the economy, most of us couldn't afford our dream schools and this was the best option. I wish people would look past the SUNY title and research what we are all about.

MaryAnn

The worst part about SUNY Albany is there while there is a diverse student body, you usually see the same people over and over again. The food is horrible and makes you feel sick.

Tolu

The party school mentality.