For freshmen, it's mandatory to live on campus and with good reason—it's an excellent way to meet new people and grow close to those around you. Freshmen can live on either Indian Quad, which is freshmen only, or State Quad, which is freshmen and sophomores. After freshman year, students can opt to move off campus. For those who stay on campus, it's important to get your housing application done as quickly as possible. The school distributes lottery numbers based on credits and GPA; the lower your lotto number, the better your room is next semester. For seniors who want a "real world" feel and don't want to live in the "student ghetto" downtown, there are a few options on campus. These include Empire Commons and Freedom Apartments. These apartments have either double or single rooms with kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, and living rooms. Empire is closer to campus and has more luxurious rooms, while Freedom is a shuttle ride away; thus, most prefer Empire.
The options for sophomores and juniors include Alumni Quad, located downtown (mainly for transfer and international students), State Quad, Colonial Quad, and Dutch Quad. The dorms in all quads, including freshman quads, are about the same—slightly cramped, old, and poorly lit. However, you can decorate your dorm to make it look nice and stylish. Each quad is set up in a suite style; each hall has an external bathroom (cleaned every day), while some rooms have their own internal bathrooms. Additionally, each quad has its own gym, dining hall, laundry room, and basement for studying. State, Colonial, and Dutch are "wet" quads, meaning a certain amount of alcohol is permitted; thus, their common rooms are the perfect "pre-game" spots. There are more RAs in the freshman quads, so you're more likely to get caught and into trouble if you try it there.
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Campus Housing at SUNY University at Albany
mbailey729
Forensic Science and Technology '15
3.8
B+
It Could Be Much Better
the cost of housing is on the rise. the social atmosphere in the freshman quad is the worst. many clothing theft in the laundry room, and nasty jokes have been played upon some residents. marijuana is always in the ear on some floors in the tower and the random picking of room mates is horrible. this school need s to make more options as to how people are grouped for roommates like based on hobbies out likes and dislikes. there would be alot of more peace in college life if that was done.
Mar 16, 2012
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Campus Housing at SUNY University at Albany
B
Social Atmosphere
I live in the honors college dorms at SUNY Albany and the atmosphere is great. Everyone is really serious about their schoolwork, therefore, the dorms are usually really quiet so it is easy to study. Everyone is also eager to help their classmates with any questions they have.
Mar 05, 2012
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Campus Housing at SUNY University at Albany
B+
Living on Campus
Living on campus is a great start to a college experience. It was a great way to meet new people and just get involved with the campus. There were always people around and something to do. I really liked that I could just walk to classes and pretty much walk anywhere to meet friends. If you did not want to leave campus you really did not have to.
I think the worst thing for me was the size of my room freshman year. We were stuffed in a small room and there were two of us! It was a shock going from my big room to having a room half the size and having to share it with someone else. But it was nice at the same time because we had our own common room and a bathroom for our suite. The closets were very small my first year, but the second year things improved. I had a bigger room and closet!
I do not think the cost of living on campus is quite worth the experience for all four years. I think that it is good for the first and the second year, but after that it makes more sense to live downtown. It is much cheaper to buy your own food then go to the dining halls on campus. The other problem with the dining halls was that you had to go at specific hours and that can be difficult with a busy schedule!
Living downtown was a better experience for me. I still had the same amenities (depending on where you live). I have a parking spot, washer and dryer, MY OWN ROOM!!, and a decently sized apartment. I can also cook my own food! By the time you are a junior and senior your friends are established and most of them live downtown also so it works out well.
Feb 28, 2012
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User rating for SUNY University at Albany - Campus Housing is
3.5 out of 5
based on 30 user reviews.
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