SUNY Geneseo
Written: Oct 04 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: academics, activities, cost for NYS residents, campus, professors
Cons: Pricey meal plan
The Bottom Line: I think this is a great school!
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| smartone86's Full Review: SUNY at Geneseo |
I currently attend SUNY Geneseo. It is the only college I have ever gone to, so I have nothing to compare it to. I have devided it into parts since there is so much to write about. I cannot figure out how to use bold, but if someone tells me, I will make them bold. Read on to learn about every aspect of life here I can think of!
The Campus
Geneseo's campus is spectacular. The campus consists of many building, randing from academic halls named after people, resident halls named after counties in New York, and dining halls. Geneseo is set in a rural part of New York state. The sunsets are gorgeous, and there is plenty of green plants and grass around, except during the snowy winters. Everything is well kept. Side walks are all around campus. The campus has a mixture of old and new architecture, but mostly old, prestigious looking buildings. The facilities are also incredible. Milne is the 3 story library with study rooms, rows and rows of book, a coffee shop, and computers galore! You can even sign out a laptop there for a 3 hour loan. A new science center is currently being built. Current science facilities are also great though. Biology has a scanning electron microscope, and physics a high powered particle accelerator (whatever that is!). Brodie is the art and music building. There are practice rooms and art rooms. Wadsworth is the auditorium. All buildings are in great shape, even those of them that are about a hundred years old. When you visit you will not only notice how beautiful the campus is, but also the friendly atmosphere.
Admissions
Geneseo is tough to get into. It is the most selective of the State University of New York. Average SAT scores are around 1300, and a strong high school history is expected. Of course academics aren't the only thing considered. Recommendations, volunteer activities, and extra-curricular activities are also considered.
Academics
As expected, academics are tough. Starting out as a freshman, classes will be large, but my professors have made a genuine attempt at making it feel small. All my professors know my name. You can usually expect your grades to start out a lot lower than they were in high school, but there are resources from tutors, to review classes, to your professors' office hours to help you excel. I do not always find the tutors extremely helpful, but going to my teachers' office hours is always very helpful.
Geneseo is a liberal arts school with many majors, the most popular ones being biology, education, and math.
Housing
A variety of housing is available on and near campus. All undergraduate students are guaranteed on campus housing. Several styles of housing are available: your typical dorm shared with one other person, town houses, and suites. Residence halls are co-ed, but you will share a room with someone of your own gender. A housing preference survey is given, asking you if questions like when you use your computer and go to bed. I think it would be more helpful if it was more in depth, but it is typically only used freshman year. After that you usually can pick your own roommate/s. I am in your typically dorm. It is better than expected. It was furnished with two desks, two beds, two closets, a phone and a lamp. It has one huge window. There is cable included in the dorm, and we each have our own internet access. While we share a phone, we are each billed separately for the long distance we use. We also both have our own voice mail. The room seems plenty spacey. We could use more electric outlets, but that problem is easily solved with a power strip.
Health and Safety
I have had an unhealthy year so far, getting about 3 different types of infections. I was amazed at how well the health center is run. Most things there are covered under mandatory fees. I was able to make an appointment, go in, be seen almost immediately, and be given my needed medicine for free, all with in 15 minutes. Everyone is very friendly. It is rum smoother than many public doctors offices I have seen in my day. Of course not everything is covered. I take some expensive medicines. These I get at a nearby pharmacy through my main insurance. Also, specialty visits, and testing is not included.
Geneseo First Response is a team of EMT basics and other people of various medical training, with everyone at least having CPR that handles on campus medical emergencies. Every crew is led by an EMT. They operate 24 hours a day and can do everything a basic level ambulance can do except transport to a hospital. They have an incredibly fast response time.
University police is the police squad. They are real police and can be found roaming campus and be reached by both an emergency and non-emergency number. They do not carry guns, but now have access to them in their cars.
The campus is well lit. There are emergency stations around campus with blue lights and buttons to press in case of an emergency. Also, everyone on campus is well educated on how to avoid things like sexual assault, and hate crimes.
The Meal Plan
There are several dining halls on campus. This includes two types, ala carte, where you pay for everything you eat individually, and all you can eat places, where you can pay a set fee and eat whatever you want. All fees are paid on the meal plan, which is on your student id card. The meals and food items are charged as dollars, but you actually buy points for your card. A little confusing, but say, just for example, I buy a hundred dollar meal plan. They then put 200 points on my card. These 200 points then go into $200 to be used at dining halls and such. So points and dollars aren't the same, because you usually end up being able to spend more than you actually paid. The dining areas include Fast Eddies (ala carte) with subs and smoothies, Southside, which is the same as Fast Eddies, only on the other side of campus. There is then Letchworth and Red Jacket, which are the same thing on two different sides of campus again. These places are all you can eat and have a wide variety of food, including pasta, salad bars, a grill, vegan options, hot food, sandwiches, and deserts. There is also a coffee shop, Books and Bytes, and some food options in the Union. Meal plans can be used at vending machines as well. The food is good, but not always great.
Extra-curricular Activities
I don't even know where to start with this one, but there is a ton of stuff to do. You could be busy every second of everyday. There are club sports, like crew and fencing, and varsity sports. There are also levels in between. There is no football team, but there is rugby, basketball, soccer, and hockey. There is even an equestrian center. The workout center is good, but you need to pay extra to be allowed to use it. There is a pool and an indoor ice rink. These every student can use.
For those not into sports, there is a whirl wind of other activities, including student government, a club for every major, religious organizations, political clubs, debate club, on campus jobs, The Lamron (newspaper), music assembles, and a billion other things.
Technology
If you come here, you will be strongly encourage to bring a computer. It is not necessary, but I don't know anyone who didn't. There is an opportunity to buy a notebook through the school from Dell or Apple at a discounted price. Every room has enough ports for everyone to get online with Geneseo's “port per pillow” policy. Public computers are everywhere, and most of them work flawlessly. As could be expected, these computers are either Dells or Apples. I already mentioned that laptops can be loaned out of the library.
CIT is an on campus service of technologically smart people who help the rest of us with our problems. Sometimes you can get the help you need over the phone, other times you have to bring your computer to them. Unfortunate if you have a desktop. CIT stands for Computing and Information Technology.
The school is very into internet security. All students are required to have Symantec installed on their computer, which is done for free off the website.
The school is becoming more and more wireless. I am wired in more dorm, but when I take my computer to class, a lounge, or a dining hall I can get online no problem wirelessly.
Technology in the classrooms is also good, with advanced projectors and computers. Many teachers post quizzes, grades, homeworks, and notes online. All teachers use e-mail. You can also register for classes online.
Costs
For 2004, per semester:
Undergraduate Tuition and Fees: Full Time (12+ credit hours)
Tuition:
NYS:$2,175.00
Non-NYS:$5,150.00
College Fee:
NYS:$12.50
Non-NYS:$12.50
Undergraduate Comprehensive Fee:
NYS:$530.00
Non-NYS:$530.00
Other Stuff
About 5,000 students come to school here. There is a graduate school for education, but that is it. There are several internship and study abroad programs to insure a diverse experience. Students are allowed to bring a car, but a free bus system operates for those of us who are poor. The bus system isn't the most convenient thing in the world, but it works, and goes where people need to go for the most part.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
smartone86
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Reviews written: 71
Trusted by: 3 members
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