Alfred University
Reviews

Used to be a well balanced, fun school. Now its lame.

Yes, if you look, I went to Alfred way back in the late 80's and early 90's. Some things have not changed:

- The weather still SUCKS 90% of the year

- The hilly terrain will keep you in shape, if it doesn't kill you first

- Its still in the middle of NOwhere, with nothing much nearby except Hornell (woo hoo) a half hour drive away.

- Townies still regularly get cranky at the students

- Alex's bar is still there :-) (Wait, thats a good thing)

But many other things that used to make the above tolerable (and even make them worth joking about) have changed:

- AU has become a two-major school, with little diversity outside Engineering (always has been big) and Art.

- With the decline and elimination of the Greek system at AU there is literally NO real social life anymore. The greeks added diversity and dare I say FUN to an otherwise dreary school. (and to be clear, I was not a greek myself, but knew many students who were. It was far more fun and INclusive back then... believe it or not.)

- AU has lost it's way in terms of allowing students to grow, learn, and expand their social and personal horizons. Too much handholding from the student life office now a days. It's OK to make some bad choices while in college, not everything has to be preplanned and prepared for. Geez, let kids be kids for 4 years. They generally will learn to grow up.

In summary, if you like being isolated, are a big artie/hippie or engineer, and really like being out in the middle of nowhere, go for it. My kids (all three) won't be attending my alma matter. It's too bad really, I had a GOOD time, but I can see for myself (and have heard from recent students) why its just not the same anymore.

I like the small-town feeling; it...

I like the small-town feeling; it helps you to concentrate on what you have to do. It was meant to be that I ended up there.

Weather in Alffred

The weather at Alfred is atrocious. It rains nonstop. There always seems to be a cloud over the town...when you leave, it's seemingly always sunny in neighboring towns, but not here. The valley makes for atrocious, cold winters and rainy autumn and springtimes.

I found that it was hard to find...

I found that it was hard to find smart guys. We have really creative guys in the art department, but not very smart. We have really smart guys in the CEMs department, but we didn’t really associate with them. I think it was a pretty segregated campus for being so small.

I’ve been pretty blatant with...

I’ve been pretty blatant with both, and I have never been caught, but I know people who have been busted. If you’re careful and aren’t stupid, you probably won’t be caught.

Art-student girls are definitely...

Art-student girls are definitely the best looking. I’d say the girls are a lot more available. I think they’re a lot more open as well (moving within the disciplines).

Alfred has given me everything it...

Alfred has given me everything it could since I was a sophomore. By the end of my second year, I was seriously thinking about transferring, but never did. Entering my senior year, I deeply regret my decision. Despite what people tell you, school name recognition is important, and no one in Rochester even knows about Alfred. Going to school in a bigger city will allow easier networking and internship opportunities.

Nowhere

Alfred is in the middle of nowhere. If you want to go to Walmart everyday bring your own car. Or ride the bus which only goes to Hornell and seems to be inconveniently placed during all of my classes. Its a good thing I don't want to go any place.

People

All of the people at Alfred are friendly so you won't have a hard time chatting anybody up. There are a ton of different styles because of all the majors afford. Classy looking business majors, tired looking engineers, and grungy art students.

THE DORMS

I really hate the dorm at Alfred university. They have RA'S that want to treat you like children, and dirty people who can't clean u after themselves on the weekends the restrooms are horrible. On the weekends there is nothing to do but the the same things over and over again. Since so many people are local they go home dont he weekends making the school feel lonely.

From Los Angeles to Alfred

Coming from Los Angeles I'm accustomed to dining at amazing restaurants. I love food international cuisines are my favorite. Alfred extremely lacks places to eat. You really have to hunt down if you want anything fancy and even then you have to drive miles away.

Eh.

There are a few good looking girls and a few good looking guys but overall, I'd give the campus a 6/10. The dress is interesting and it varies as there are many art students and many engineers. Boys are sex crazy as usual but so are the girls. You'll find mostly country types, city types, and a few crazies.

Lots of Personality

At Alfred University we have people from all different walks of life. Here it is clear to see the variety of economic background, from the well of to the below average seem to all be here and share common interest. The political views are not so simple to spot but one will find that there are people here that stray from the norm and are not republican or democrat. There are some African Americans, Asians and Latinos but their number is very small in comparison to Caucasians.It is overall diverse in personality but not in race.

Knowing how much you can actually...

Knowing how much you can actually get from the close-knit community at Alfred, I would never change the choice I made. My experience is something that I would not have gotten anywhere else.

It depends who the company is. The...

It depends who the company is. The problem with going to a small-town school is that there’s not much to do, so the parties can get out of hand. Most of the time, the better parties were house parties with the artistic kids. They had a more creative sense of a good time.

I don’t know actually. I...

I don’t know actually. I never went to a game. From what I heard, some of them can get pretty big, but there’s more alternative sports stuff rather than the football/baseball type stuff, like ultimate Frisbee

Alfreds Nightlife

Nightlife at Alfred is pretty repetitive. Its usually the same people having parties with the same people. Parties usually end around 12 or 1 and most people go to Gentlemen Jim's, which is a nightclub located in Alfred.

A for Effort

Alfred is in the middle of nowhere. The nearest grocery store (besides the Dollar Tree) is thirty minutes away. So if you have a car you would think you would be stranded and lost in the vast nothingness that consumes the itty bitty town of Alfred. However, the town does a great job providing an easy to comprehend schedule for buses to take you to and from Hornell for all of your shopping and grocery needs.

Historic

A number of the buildings on campus have been around since it opened. The student service center is in an old, renovated castle, which is pretty awesome. The dorms could use some updating, and there have been a number of issues with technological services---like shoddy wireless service and temperamental public computers. Overall the campus is absolutely beautiful, but there isn't much to do otherwise because, in Alfred, the colleges ARE THE TOWN. Literally.

Pretty Perfect

The University does a great job keeping us all safe. I have never felt endangered walking the campus at night. Public Safety patrols everywhere and has officers join student staff at club-funded events like concerts and specialty shows. The only downfall is the "beef" between Alfred State and Alfred University. Sharing the dissected plateau's common areas in town seems to be a little difficult for some and has caused some problems in the past. And sometimes I feel as though gaining entry to the dorms is way too easy, but overall I feel super safe here.

Whiteys Mostly

AU is a small school and the majority of kids are white. However, there are other ethnicities present and our activities director created an award winning diversity club/class (drawn to diversity)

Food Near Alfred

Alfred is a very small town, there is one restaurant, a coffee house, a pizza place and a japanese cafe on main street. But if you're looking for something more, you'll have to drive at least twenty minutes out of Alfred.

Alfred's Safety

I never feel unsafe while on campus or in town. My boyfriend lives on the other side of campus so I walk frequently on a back bike path all the way across campus, still I have no concerns while walking by myself.

Expensive, but Parking Is Everywhere

The permit cost was a bit expensive, but you can park almost anywhere around campus. Parking is a little sparse around the dorms, but otherwise it's good. Technically you don't need a car, with your ID you can ride the bus to the nearest chain grocery stores, and there's a mom and pop grocery shop just off campus, called Kinfolk. A car is really only needed if you live close enough to visit family. Everything on campus is within walking distance. If you just want to get around campus, a bike is better, and there are bike hubs everywhere on campus!

Not a Whole Lot, but It's All Delicious

It's a very small school, in a very small town. So the choices are very limited, but I suppose that just means that each place has to try harder to get students to come in, instead of driving to the next town over. I have never had an iced chai latte quite like the one at Terracotta, and nothing can beat the soba noodles in Nana's Japanese cafe, who has a board with advertisements in the restaurant. The best one was her offering to teach Japanese. The Jet is the go to place when you have your parents over. I'm not flush with cash, being in college, but I can eat at any one of these, and what makes it better is that everything is within a five minute walk.