Review of SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
from Romulus, NY
Describe your college in three sentences.
I'm just starting my second semester here, and I'll note one thing - the people here are extremely friendly and enthusiastic, but definitely are NOT your typical college crowd. We're not all hippies like you'd expect, but you'll begin to notice that us stumpies (including the professors!) have some odd little eccentricities that you'll either find totally charming, or just plain weird. The campus as a whole (small as it is) tends to reflect the people here, and all of it creates an amazing sense of community.
Do you have any tips for prospective students?
Winters here are absolutely brutal, and they start early. Make sure you either pack a nice, heavy coat, or you go right out and buy one once you get here. I only came from an hour away, and the difference still was enough to shock me.
If you're coming in as a freshman and staying in the dorm, take advantage of the mentor activities and the activities the RAs run. Yeah, they seem corny and dumb (and the mentors/orientation leaders tend to treat you like you're still kids if you let them), but they'll help you get out and meet people. There's an amazing sense of community here and everyone's more than willing to include you, but you have to put yourself out there first.
Don't walk across the quad. Just. Don't. Skip, cartwheel, roll across it, nobody will care... but if you just walk directly across it, you will have committed the highest of the stumpy sins. People have gotten tackled over this.
Do you find there’s enough academic rigor at your school?
I didn't know how to rate this star-wise - it depends on what you're looking for.
If you're looking for a really reputable school that holds its students to very high standards, ESF is definitely the place for you.
The workload is massive though. It's manageable, and none of it is unnecessary (believe me, professors don't like dealing with all that, and they don't create it just to give the TAs stuff to do). However, you'll be wishing you had more free time, and partying is going to end up being a very distant concept to you.
I'll be frank here - If you're looking for an easy school that you can just coast through, don't bother applying. You'll either skip out on a lot and end up with a horrible GPA, or keep your head in your book and become resentful.
Describe the dorm life at your college.
Centennial Hall is exactly like a hotel. The freshman rooms are better than some of the upperclassmen rooms I've seen at my friends' colleges. You get a mini-fridge/microwave combo with each freshman room and your own private bathroom for you and your roommate, as well as your own air conditioning/heater that you can set yourself. No problems with drafts or being roasted alive.
The RAs almost never do room checks, if that's a worry. And if you hear about the fire alarm problems from the first year Centennial was open, those are fixed (though they still do get set off fairly often, that's a fact for any college dorm).
The RAs are also really chill people. Yes, they'll nail you for doing stupid stuff. But they aren't power-crazy or overly peppy or anything annoying like that. As long as you're cool to them, they treat you as an equal.
Describe the food and dining at your college.
You have access to all of SU's dining halls, which is very nice. However, some are nicer than others. The one closest to ESF campus and Centennial Hall, Sadler Hall, isn't the best, so you'll have to walk a tiny bit farther than it may first seem if that's a major issue. And Sadler's food still isn't all that bad, in my opinion.
SU's dining is very vegetarian and vegan friendly, and though I'm not either, I find that sometimes the vegetarian and vegan food is better than the regular food!
You also get a certain amount of money on your ID based on your meal plan that can be used for food outside the dining halls. There's a campus delivery service that only uses this money as well as a few small grocery stores on SU campus that use it and/or normal cash.
What’s there to do for fun at your college?
There are a few student clubs and organizations you can join at ESF, and you have access to all of SU's clubs and organizations if you wish. You'll have to look around and find something that interests you.
People tend to start up impromptu games on the quad, like the normal frisbee games and such. People in the dorms start card games or other games in the lobbies, or gather up to watch show premieres.
Every Friday there is an Insomniacs event from 10PM-2AM in Marshall, each one has a different theme and is hosted by a different student club or organization, so they're cool to check out.
Do you feel you’re getting value for the money you’re spending on college?
ESF is fairly cheap by most standards - you get an education you could get from a bigger college for a state college price, as well as access to everything at SU, if you so please. However, if you have a broad range of interests and aren't just narrowly focused on the environment, that access to SU seems almost essential. You won't really find anything other than that on the ESF campus.
Centennial is insanely nice, but the price is huge (somewhere around the 6th highest room and board in the nation, I think). If I wasn't getting most of the money from financial aid, I wouldn't be able to afford living here. And getting an off-campus apartment with a few friends is definitely cheaper once your second year comes up (as well as having all of the other associated advantages).
Share any unusual traditions or locations on campus
Lug your Mug - You're given a travel mug at the beginning of the year. Almost every on-campus event expects you to bring it and will not provide cups (or plates, or anything else disposable). This is to reduce waste.
Don't walk across the quad. Skip, cartwheel, roll across it, nobody will care... but if you just walk directly across it, you will have committed the highest of the stumpy sins. At some point, before this tradition started, an aerial photograph of the quad showed a giant X across it from people cutting across and killing the grass, so now everyone's really serious about not cutting across the quad to save time - hence why you can't walk, but it's acceptable to do silly stuff to cross.
This isn't on campus, but Oakwood Cemetery is directly behind Centennial and has a lot of cool spots in it if you just walk around for a while. I have a favorite reading spot and everything there. Just be warned - it may seem like a good place to smoke or whatever, but it's fairly heavily patrolled these days, and you will get in trouble.
Which types of students will excel at your college?
Great for very studious students - the workload won't be horrible to you. Also, given the nature of the programs here, this is a fairly liberal-friendly college. We're not all just giant hippies out here, but we're fairly far out, man.
Are you involved in any clubs or activities?
Not a lot at ESF itself - you'll probably end up doing more at SU if clubs and activities are really your thing. Each major seems to have its own club, though, so at least join those to get introduced to other people in your major.
The Insomniacs events are usually really fun, so I definitely suggest checking them out if you go here.
Are you involved in any clubs or activities?
Not much for greek life - I know we have one sorority that at least puts up tables here once in a while, but from what I hear, its nothing like a typical sorority. Not sure about fraternities.
How would you describe campus safety? Do you feel safe on campus?
Fairly well-lit at night, with those alarm boxes in fairly accessible areas. No major hazards that I've seen. Every year, a group of volunteers goes through campus with the campus police and points out spots it thinks need to be addressed, so the campus is fairly up to date with things.
I'm just starting my second semester here, and I'll note one thing - the people here are extremely friendly and enthusiastic, but definitely are NOT your typical college crowd. We're not all hippies like you'd expect, but you'll begin to notice that us stumpies (including the professors!) have some odd little eccentricities that you'll either find totally charming, or just plain weird. The campus as a whole (small as it is) tends to reflect the people here, and all of it creates an amazing sense of community.
Winters here are absolutely brutal, and they start early. Make sure you either pack a nice, heavy coat, or you go right out and buy one once you get here. I only came from an hour away, and the difference still was enough to shock me. If you're coming in as a freshman and staying in the dorm, take advantage of the mentor activities and the activities the RAs run. Yeah, they seem corny and dumb (and the mentors/orientation leaders tend to treat you like you're still kids if you let them), but they'll help you get out and meet people. There's an amazing sense of community here and everyone's more than willing to include you, but you have to put yourself out there first. Don't walk across the quad. Just. Don't. Skip, cartwheel, roll across it, nobody will care... but if you just walk directly across it, you will have committed the highest of the stumpy sins. People have gotten tackled over this.
I didn't know how to rate this star-wise - it depends on what you're looking for. If you're looking for a really reputable school that holds its students to very high standards, ESF is definitely the place for you. The workload is massive though. It's manageable, and none of it is unnecessary (believe me, professors don't like dealing with all that, and they don't create it just to give the TAs stuff to do). However, you'll be wishing you had more free time, and partying is going to end up being a very distant concept to you. I'll be frank here - If you're looking for an easy school that you can just coast through, don't bother applying. You'll either skip out on a lot and end up with a horrible GPA, or keep your head in your book and become resentful.
Centennial Hall is exactly like a hotel. The freshman rooms are better than some of the upperclassmen rooms I've seen at my friends' colleges. You get a mini-fridge/microwave combo with each freshman room and your own private bathroom for you and your roommate, as well as your own air conditioning/heater that you can set yourself. No problems with drafts or being roasted alive. The RAs almost never do room checks, if that's a worry. And if you hear about the fire alarm problems from the first year Centennial was open, those are fixed (though they still do get set off fairly often, that's a fact for any college dorm). The RAs are also really chill people. Yes, they'll nail you for doing stupid stuff. But they aren't power-crazy or overly peppy or anything annoying like that. As long as you're cool to them, they treat you as an equal.
You have access to all of SU's dining halls, which is very nice. However, some are nicer than others. The one closest to ESF campus and Centennial Hall, Sadler Hall, isn't the best, so you'll have to walk a tiny bit farther than it may first seem if that's a major issue. And Sadler's food still isn't all that bad, in my opinion. SU's dining is very vegetarian and vegan friendly, and though I'm not either, I find that sometimes the vegetarian and vegan food is better than the regular food! You also get a certain amount of money on your ID based on your meal plan that can be used for food outside the dining halls. There's a campus delivery service that only uses this money as well as a few small grocery stores on SU campus that use it and/or normal cash.
There are a few student clubs and organizations you can join at ESF, and you have access to all of SU's clubs and organizations if you wish. You'll have to look around and find something that interests you. People tend to start up impromptu games on the quad, like the normal frisbee games and such. People in the dorms start card games or other games in the lobbies, or gather up to watch show premieres. Every Friday there is an Insomniacs event from 10PM-2AM in Marshall, each one has a different theme and is hosted by a different student club or organization, so they're cool to check out.
ESF is fairly cheap by most standards - you get an education you could get from a bigger college for a state college price, as well as access to everything at SU, if you so please. However, if you have a broad range of interests and aren't just narrowly focused on the environment, that access to SU seems almost essential. You won't really find anything other than that on the ESF campus. Centennial is insanely nice, but the price is huge (somewhere around the 6th highest room and board in the nation, I think). If I wasn't getting most of the money from financial aid, I wouldn't be able to afford living here. And getting an off-campus apartment with a few friends is definitely cheaper once your second year comes up (as well as having all of the other associated advantages).
Lug your Mug - You're given a travel mug at the beginning of the year. Almost every on-campus event expects you to bring it and will not provide cups (or plates, or anything else disposable). This is to reduce waste. Don't walk across the quad. Skip, cartwheel, roll across it, nobody will care... but if you just walk directly across it, you will have committed the highest of the stumpy sins. At some point, before this tradition started, an aerial photograph of the quad showed a giant X across it from people cutting across and killing the grass, so now everyone's really serious about not cutting across the quad to save time - hence why you can't walk, but it's acceptable to do silly stuff to cross. This isn't on campus, but Oakwood Cemetery is directly behind Centennial and has a lot of cool spots in it if you just walk around for a while. I have a favorite reading spot and everything there. Just be warned - it may seem like a good place to smoke or whatever, but it's fairly heavily patrolled these days, and you will get in trouble.
Great for very studious students - the workload won't be horrible to you. Also, given the nature of the programs here, this is a fairly liberal-friendly college. We're not all just giant hippies out here, but we're fairly far out, man.
Not a lot at ESF itself - you'll probably end up doing more at SU if clubs and activities are really your thing. Each major seems to have its own club, though, so at least join those to get introduced to other people in your major. The Insomniacs events are usually really fun, so I definitely suggest checking them out if you go here.
Not much for greek life - I know we have one sorority that at least puts up tables here once in a while, but from what I hear, its nothing like a typical sorority. Not sure about fraternities.
Fairly well-lit at night, with those alarm boxes in fairly accessible areas. No major hazards that I've seen. Every year, a group of volunteers goes through campus with the campus police and points out spots it thinks need to be addressed, so the campus is fairly up to date with things.