Syracuse University
Reviews

Magazine Journalism

I'm in Newhouse and i've been satisfied with my education thus far. The school prepares you to be technologically advanced in the media world and have you do many group projects that way you are used to working with people. My instructors are very personable, knowledgable, and helpful and are really good people to keep in touch with.

Weather

It is known to be really cold here and snow tons, but surprisingly it barely snowed at all this year. However, the weather is REALLY bipolar. It changes in no time. It also gets to be very dull and gloomy and the sky is usually gray with little sun.

Greek Dominates

Greek life is very huge at this school. If you're not in a house then you might feel yourself a little loss in the community. When you get into a house, your whole life changes (for the better)!

Best Athletics

Syracuse students have a variety of top notch athletic teams and it is often difficult to choose which games to go to. The surrounding community shows a high commitment to supporting basketball, football or whatever sport it may be.

Housing

The Housing process in syracuse is very nice there are may options to choose from, from quads to doubles, there are enough rooms to accomodate everyone. The South Campus apartment style housing is very nice, lots of room and is connected to the main campus by a bus system that runs every 10 minutes. No hassle in buying food or going to class. Prices are not much more than regular dining and you can cook your own meals, so a meal plan is optional

Syracuse University History Program

I was in the history program at SU which anyone in the College of Arts and Sciences can be a part of. All students in the history program are required to write a 25-30 page senior thesis on a selected topic. Syracuse has several different colleges under the umbrella of the university and you must be accepted to each college in order to take part in their programs. For example the renowned journalism program is in the S.I Newhouse school but only students who have applied, met their inter-university GPA requirement and been accepted may attend classes there.

Syracuse All the Way

I loved my time at Syracuse and I wouldn't trade it for anything even though I will probably be paying it off for the rest of my life. It is a traditional, beautiful campus and my professors were fantastic. I have made some amazing friends here and had some fantastic times with them. You can have a social life and an academic one here. If you like excellent athletics, this is the place to be. I do have to say there is lots of room from improvement at this university and a lot of the students and alumni are unhappy with the direction that Chancellor Cantor is taking the school.

SU Financial Aide

Syracuse offers a great deal of scholarships for students who are from lower income families or those who have excellent grades. For those who fall in the middle, whose parents make an average amount of money and who are bright enough to have been accepted but don't have top grades, it is a challenge. A generous donation was recently made on behalf of middle class student scholarships but the money has somehow instead been earmarked for the endowment instead. I received a grant that was a huge help to me but I still had to take out a lot of loans to be able to attend SU and my parents and I had to make a great deal of sacrifices.

It's Upstate NY, What Do You Expect?

The weather in Syracuse is generally terrible. You will not typically see much of the sun between October and April. There is usually a good amount of snow all winter. This is expected in upstate NY, I constantly hear complaints from Californian students about the weather for which I have to say. "It's winter. It's New York. It snows. Get over it." As for snow days, don't count on class getting cancelled unless it gets very bad or if it is so wet it breaks the snowplows. Personally, it makes you appreciate nice weather all the more.

Syracuse Nightlife

There are many options for those who are underage especially if you have a friend with a fake. There are plenty of parties but a lot of times you do need to know someone to get in. The bars are mediocre, they are usually crowded and expensive but it is still a fun outing. Buses run until 3am on Fri and Saturdays. Most undergraduate students do not chose to go downtown to the nicer bars because it is more of a trek but the graduate students frequent them regularly.

ITS Program at Syracuse University Could Use Some Improvements

The computers at Syracuse University are functional but they could be improved a great deal. They are often crowded and there are a limited number of Mac's available for Arts and Sciences students, the computers that are available are incredibly slow. SU has done some fantastic and expensive things such as providing a network drive available to all students wherever they are so long as they are connected to the SU wireless but has not made any efforts to actually inform students such a thing exists. I am only aware of it because one of the IT people at the campus in London informed one of my friends.

Mild

Here at SU we are known to get a lot of snow. This year in particular it has been really mild with no big snow storms. Walkways are almost always clear and it is pretty easy to get to class. When it is nice out there are always people on the Quad hanging out an frat boys throwing a football on their lawn.

Fair Amount of Things to Do

SU campus is not a far walk or bus ride to popular off-campus shops and little restaurants that are tasteful. However, the downtown area is also nice but a lot of students aren't willing to take the bus to get there.

SU Community

The community hereat Syracuse University is very strong and exerts a strong college culture. The school has a lot to offer to its students including cultural events, and very very good sports teams! As far as the people are concerned its a mixture but there are a lot of intense people here and while welcoming there is a strong east coast environment.

They're Good

Freshman and sophomores are required to live on campus. The dorms are not bad and are accommodating.

Alcohol and Drugs Are Everywhere

There is a huge abundance of alcohol and drug use on campus, you can get anything that you want at almost any time. It doesn't matter whether you are underage or not, you can get drinks/drugs at every party. To get into a party, you can simply walk down any Euclid street on a Friday or Saturday and find a place. Off campus parties have their own Facebook page. People on my all-freshman floor constantly smoke and drink at any and all hours and are never reprimanded. It all depends on your RA, though. That being said, Friday and Saturday nights are filled with ambulance trills bringing students to the health center to get their stomachs pumped. You need to watch yourself. It can be really dangerous.

People Are on Your Side

The campus as a whole treats students like college students. Certain organisations are more strict, suck as the dining halls, and the residence halls. However DPS (Department of Public Safety) is very nice and helpful and usually is looking out to keep people safe and not to just arrest people. They are even known to play a game of beer pong or two on big weekends. But they still will make arrests if needed.

The main thing is that the people of the university give you the impression that they are working to help you and not to inhibit you.

Some RA's can be bitchy though.

Greek Life

Greek Life is very prominent at Syracuse. There are more frats and sororities than many other college campuses. Most of them have good reputations and take their associations seriously.

Campus Strictness

Campus is not that strict. I know at some schools if you go to the hospital for intoxication you get expelled. Syracuse has a couple offenses before it gets to that point.

Work-Hard, Play Hard...Most of Us Anyway

It's easy to find motivated, good-looking people at SU. Most of the people I've met are very interested and immersed in their majors (in a charming way) and yet are still willing to go out and have a good time on a Friday night. Greek life is very much fun and alive, though not mandatory for an active social life.

Extremely Diverse

You can do and be whatever you want. Many choices and people to pick from and hang with.

Greeks Dominate

Greek life is a very big part of the social life on campus. Unfortunately, they can sometimes create "status". Fraternities are pretty fun to go to and for the most part throw parties every weekend. THis is convenient because, being located in a small city, there are not many club/bar options especially for freshman and sophomores who are new to the school. It is a good way for freshman to get involved in the community, to branch out and meet new people. It definitely creates a sense of camaraderie across campus. Not only are there social fraternities and sororities, but there are also cultural and academic ones as well.

Depends

The mount and BBB: nice if you're a freshmen, because they're mostly all freshmen. You make a lot of friends you're first year and usually these are your friends throughout the rest of college. Yeah the walk sucks esp in winter, but your friends make it much better and you get the best dining.

Sadler and Lawrinson: pretty much sucks, except lawrinson is renovated. food sucks

Shaw: VERY CONVenIENT for partying. this is one of the better ones. floors/wings are single gender so it can get catty for girls.

Marion: Small, but one of the best kept secrets. this is the BEST LOCATION EVER! you're basically right between comstock and walnut so partying's super easy. you're like right across from the library, and a block from marshall. BEWARE: i lived on the side facing walnut, behind ZBT. the garbage truck comes at liek 6 every morning and it sounds like demolition, but you get used to it.

ernie, watson and the sheraton are like amazing

Marshall Street

In Marshall Street on campus you may find good food and restaurants

Always Something

I agree with many others when they say that Syracuse was once a thriving city, however like many other northern industrial areas, it has seen better days. There is currently a revival going on in many areas. There is always something to cater to your interests in Syracuse. Several good bars, house or frat parties, many good concerts at the Westcott Theater, The Lost Horizon, or even The OnCenter. Armory Square is a very cool artsy part of downtown with many cool shops and is comparable to U Street in DC. It is accessible by the Connective Corridor bus. There's the $2 bus to Carousel Mall to see movies, the War Memorial for hockey games or shows, and Marshall Street is always a great place. If someone says there is nothing to do in Syracuse, they're lying or are easily bored.