Wow, the main point I wanted to make was that SUNY Albany’s administration was surprisingly helpful and efficient for a large, state-run University. I graduated in 2002; when were you there?
I’m not exactly the most organized person in the world, so I generally had little idea what papers I should be filing to whom, and by what date. If the school’s various secretaries and administrators hadn’t been so able to fix my problems and explain my solutions on the spot, I’d still be about 30 credits short. In four and a half years of juggling drop/adds, tuition, housing, financial aid, and degree requirements, I never got fucked in the least by the bureaucracy – rather, they pulled my ass out of the fire on more than one occasion.
In contrast, I once took a single summer course at Columbia University. I spent two years haggling with the registrar over my transcipt before giving up.
For the most part, I liked the school very much (and the price was right). I found Albany to be a depressing place, however, so I generally stuck to the campus.
Fun Fact: Albany’s municipal bus service is excellent (and free for SUNY students) – they cover virtually the entire region, the buses accept dollar bills, and the schedules are surprisingly accurate.
I don’t have experience with SUNY, but I am in a distance learning course (offered by a legitimate college, not the U of Phoenix or anything like that), so if you have any questions about those feel free to ask.
Just want to chime in as a Suny SB alum. Also a friend of Moe’s.
Not much too add other than a big ol “yep” to what’s already been said.
Also, there’s a pub outside SUNY Albany named the “Washington Tavern” (Also Called Tee’s) and they make a fine Martini. Not terribly relevant, but I have many a fine memory there…[wistfull look] Aaaahhh…[/wistfull look]
OH! For anyone that hasn’t been back to Stony Brook since 2002 - the bridge from the Union to Staller and the Library is gone! They took it down that summer, and I stopped dead in my tracks the first time I came back to visit. I don’t know why they got rid of it, I liked being sheltered from the rain, but oh well.
AndyPolley, have we met, or are you that one housemate I never met? (I don’t think **Moe ** is still in that house anyway, haven’t talked to him in forever, he’s maybe in Brooklyn now?)
I will say this about SUNY SB. In my original college search I wanted to go somewhere small. I ended up at SB by default, and I was intimidated by the size of the school. Even though there’s many thousands of people, it feels smaller. As is the case with most schools, the more specialized you get into your major (the upper division courses), the more you find you run into the same classmates over and over. You sort of end up on the same track as other people so they’ll be in the same electives and requirements. I had people I was with over and over again in 3 departments. Also, I’d find that people I knew in different areas of the school knew each other somehow. Very six degrees.
Also, yes there are some large lecture halls, i.e. the Javits building. At my current school, where a class is *rarely * larger than 20, people are aghast at the idea of a 700 person hall. However there other rooms in that building that hold around 200 people. At the same time, I had classes there that were only 10-15 people. So large university does not equal all large classes.
Hah. When I was living there WT’s (as it was known at the time, not that I ever drank there) got busted for secretly filling all its taps with some cheap domestic pisswater like Milwaukee’s Be(a)st.
The best bar in Albany was a place closer to Lark Street/Downtown, I can’t remember the name of it (possibly Ricky’s or Rico’s), run by a five-foot-tall, 100 year old WW1 veteran. I’m sure he’s gone by now, bless his soul.
As long as we’re reminiscing, I once got thrown out of the Post for talking back to a bouncer. Ahh, I was so young . . . of course, it being the Post, so was everyone else there.
I’m starting some distance-learning classes through Empire State College in January. I get to do the Orientation right now, though. Well, not right now, since I just got up after a triptofan-induced coma and I’m gonna watch TV for a bit. But I’ll post all the juicy details later.
Nah, why have it mailed to you? You know people will just take your word for it. :rolleyes: Idiots. Anyway, I’m sorry you had such a bad experience with the admin. If it helps at all, every school I’ve ever been to or applied at has been a mishmash [at best] or a complete clusterfuck [at work] in the admin department. Thanks for giving me a heads up.
dasgupta, thanks for your info. I was wondering how exams and things would work.
Sweet! I can just watch and learn from friedo. Don’t be surprised if I start trailing around behind you at the Dope. In all seriousness, I’d love to hear about orientation! Sleep off all the turkey and pie first, though.
For you guys [continuity eror, et al] doing distance learning currently [at SUNY or any school], how are you liking the online learning? Are the teachers available when you’re confused or having questions? By e-mail? IM? And what about tests? Are they mostly papers or do you have some online testing, as well? Do you have to take any “live” classes [be in a chat room/on a message board/cam] at the same time as everyone else? Or is it all do-it-as-you-please, with the lectures and assignments posted on a message board or something? Did you have to buy actual textbooks? I know the U of Phoenix [:rolleyes:] doesn’t use textbooks; instead using e-format for all of the materials.
Er, sorry for asking so many questions.
As for you guys who are talking about the campuses [campusii?] of the various branches… you’re starting to make me kind of wistful for the whole “college experience”, something I thought I’d never be!
Are the teachers available when you’re confused or having questions? By e-mail? IM? I email my writing mentor about every week or so. We’ve never IMed, but that’s because I prefer not to–some of the professors in the program will IM their students. I’ve always received prompt replies from the professors in the program, they’re always available either through the messageboard or e-mail.
And what about tests? Are they mostly papers or do you have some online testing, as well? Can’t speak for this part of it, since I’m in a writing program and we don’t have tests per se but project requirements. My boyfriend did take an online class last semester (he goes in-person to school most times) and he took a test online–he had to be logged into the server at a certain time, and they logged him out automatically after an hour. I’d imagine that most online tests would be conducted similarly.
Do you have to take any “live” classes [be in a chat room/on a message board/cam] at the same time as everyone else? I physically go to the school twice a year (one week each time) for residency learning. We also (the entire student body–though that’s only about 75 people) have monthly chats on the school server, and post on a closed-membership message board.
Or is it all do-it-as-you-please, with the lectures and assignments posted on a message board or something? I can work at my own pace, but I have specific page requirements every semester, which I contract for at the beginning of the semester. This year, I will have not page requirements but a revision requirement (a finished 400-page manuscript); I can work at my own pace but I have a finished goal in mind all the time.
Did you have to buy actual textbooks? Yes, but I am able to make up my own reading plan and choose my own textbooks. We do all have to read the same fiction book every year for in-depth study, but everything else is self-selected. There is a minimum amount of fiction and nonfiction books that have to be read and reported on every semester.
(I don’t think **Moe ** is still in that house anyway, haven’t talked to him in forever, he’s maybe in Brooklyn now?)
In all seriousness, I’d love to hear about orientation! Sleep off all the turkey and pie first, though.