Why I choose Suny Albany for my undergrad?

Going to UAlbany was personal choice for me. It was beneficial to both my parents and to myself. UAlbany was affordable for me because it was cheaper than private schools and I did not get enough grant money for the private colleges. 

I also wanted to go to UA because it was convenient for my parents because they were familiar with the school and knew where the school was. They were also familiar with the structure of the academics and social life there due to the fact that both my brother and my sister had attended the school.

Some people might consider me a legacy student in a sense. Also I choose this school because I visited the school several times to visit my brother and sister. UAlbany had a few programs that I was interested in, mainly the Nanoscale Engineering Program. Though I’m not in it now, I hope to be in it later during graduate school. 

I chose UAlbany for a couple of reasons.  It was right where I wanted to be.  It's about 2 hours away from my hometown; that's just far enough away that my parents wouldn't want me to come home every week or two but close enough that I could still justify going home when I really wanted to.  Plus there's the city of Albany itself.  I had never really lived in a big city and wanted that experience.  Plus with all of the schools in the area, I knew that I would be able to do student teaching and find other opportunities working in a school (just like STEP).  

Of course what finally sealed me on it was the visit.  I came here in tenth grade and I fell in love with the campus.  I thought that the podium with all of its pillars and concrete was just the coolest thing.  And the towers were awesome.

Finally, but certainly not least important was that we have a pretty solid math department.  I knew long before I began college that I wanted to be a Math major, and the department here is stellar.  Plus the education minor (and eventually grad school, which I intend to attend here as well) are very good programs.

So basically it had great programs for me, great opportunities for my future, a great location, and a beautiful campus.  I think I did alright.

When I graduated from high school, I was so confused. At that time I had no concrete plan regarding what I wanted to do in my life. I was so focused on actually graduating from high school that I never really took much interest on what would happen after.

I decided to attend Dutchess Community College because I did not know how I was going to financially support myself. Throughout my two years there, I began to figure out what I wanted to do in my life. As the graduation date from community college approached, I yet again did not know where I was going to go next. 

 My counselor advised me to apply to different colleges. I had applied to SUNY Oswego, Purchase, Plattsburgh and UAlbany. I was accepted into all except UA. They told me they wanted to see my final grades from community college in order to decide if I would be accepted, but at that moment I was denied.

 At first I was upset because my counselor had spoken highly of UA. Since I had been denied, I had accepted the offer from Purchase. Luckily a few days before school started, I received a phone call from admissions, indicating that I had been accepted to UAlbany. So, I cancelled my acceptance to Purchase and headed to UA. I love the choice I made; I have learned so much from UA and have met the most amazing people. UA has given me an amazing experience that I’ll never forget.

There are a lot of factors that go into deciding which college to attend. The factors that immediately come to mind are:  the ratio of colleges applied to those that have accepted you, tuition/room and board costs, amount of financial aid offered, location, size, and specific programs/specializations of that college, and parental influences. In varying degrees, these all influenced my ultimate choice.

One of the bigger factors that affected my decision was the fact that I wasn’t sure what I would pursue in college. I was interested in a lot of things and to pick one out of the many seemed like a difficult choice at the time, so I put myself in the ‘undecided’ major in most of my applications. Obviously, not knowing what exactly you want to study will affect your application process a little bit.

Most of the colleges I applied to accepted me but that’s because I didn’t apply to many overly prestigious schools. I didn’t think they would be a good fit if I did manage to get in and I also didn’t like the idea of paying a fortune to get an education if I was unsure of what I wanted to study.

After seeing the list of colleges that accepted me, it was time to really make the decision. SUNY Albany became one of my preferred choices in part because it was cost effective. They offered me a small scholarship and a spot in the Honors College, which definitely made me happy. Also, it was far from home but not so far, that returning home would be a nuisance. What eventually won me over was the reception I received when visiting the campus. I remember the tour guide was so enthusiastic and I left with a really good feeling – such a good feeling in fact that I was confident I didn’t need to visit other campuses.

I’m glad I made the choice and I consider myself lucky that I unknowingly applied to a school that’s turned out to be a great fit – a liberal arts experience (through the Honors College), with the benefits of grad school and research opportunities, all at a fair price.

There were three factors that aided my choice in choosing UAlbany as my undergraduate school. The most important factor was definitely the amount of financial aid that I was awarded. UAlbany was the only university that granted me entry into their Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), which provided me with extra grants and educational support. 

Besides the extra aid, this university was the right distance from my home. I knew that I wanted to go away to school and but I didn’t want to go too far away. Since Albany is only three hours from the City, I thought that it was perfect. The location was close enough to go home if I wanted, but far enough that my family wouldn’t dare come to visit too often. My last factor that sealed the deal in my choice was the environment and the culture of UAlbany.

After my first visit to UAlbany, I fell in love and UAlbany became my dream school. It is diverse and has a huge student body that I could easily fit into. In addition, UAlbany is well known for it's Business School and I learned that the accounting students are highly recruited for jobs upon graduation. As an accounting major, the idea of getting recruited upon graduation sounded great and getting a degree amongst a school of my peers sounded even better.  

Upon receiving my acceptance letter, I was reassured that I was destined to go to UAlbany and after three years of attending this university I can confidently say that I made the right decision. I look forward to graduating from UAlbany. I would recommend to anyone that is applying to college to apply to your dream school, but also be realistic and choose a school you can afford, as well as a place that you see yourself growing personally, educationally, and socially.

UAlbany was affordable for me, had the major I wanted, had the environment and culture I needed, and was perfect in relation to distance. I am a satisfied UAlbany student and believe that when choosing your university or college you must be satisfied as well. Do not worry about the name of the school, but instead think of how the school will be an asset to you and guide you to who you’re trying to become.

 

Q: What were the factors that made you choose The University at Albany (UAlbany) as your school to attend for undergrad?

When I was applying for college, my main priority was going away. At first I did not care how far it was, as long as it was far. I was having a rough time at home and I just wanted to get away from my mom and be on my own. She eventually got sick and I felt bad for wanting to go so far away for school. So I looked for something that was closer to home but was also still at a distance because I still wanted to get “the away experience” of college.

Besides distance, I had to think about money and going away was expensive. I could not really pay for college or my mom. So my high school counselor told me about how SUNY schools offer great education at a more affordable price. I looked into the SUNY schools and I chose UAlbany.

 I chose it out of all the SUNY schools because it was not that far and it has so many different academic studies that I could choose to major in. I came to visit during my senior year and I found the campus to be so cozy and small in a way but yet big. I just fell in love with the school and knew this was where I belonged.