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It is hard to put into words the immense impact my school had not only on my education, but my life overall. I had the pleasure of learning from some of the greatest minds in my field. Biomedicine is not only challenging, but it can be exhausting emotionally and mentally. My professors fostered a gentle approach to my learning unlike most universities. They cared about my overall well being due to them wanting me to thrive in my industry. I would highly recommend this institution for any learning... Read More path you choose.

Perhaps it's more helpful to look at college like a pile of Lego pieces; you will only get as much benefit as effort you put in. My recollection of Syracuse is that it's a school full of great teachers and learning opportunities, with lots of fun activities around campus. You will have to reach out to find those opportunities, and they will not fall in your lap. Classes are rigorous, but generally fair. I definitely feel like I accomplished a lot whilst I was there. Clubs are fun, and there are many... Read More of them. Quite a bit of activities revolve around alcohol, and it's wise to be careful to avoid over-consumption, as a large number of people wind up with alcohol poisoning as a result. Many people will also talk about Greek life at SU - and, with full honesty, I cannot recommend it with a clean conscience. The frats around campus seem to find themselves in scandal after scandal - Theta Tau comes to mind, given my graduation year. Additionally, minority students may not feel welcome here; during my time there, I witnessed my gay and trans friends being called slurs at parties, and attempts at "edgy" behavior (see: hate symbols drawn in snow around campus). The school could have done more, but at the end of the day, it was a culture issue. Overall, I liked my experience in spite of these issues. Get to know the school, and you will likely have a good time there. If you see something you don't like happening, say something. Don't stay quiet because you feel like you have to; the school will help, but only if you let them know.

Overall, I think Syracuse University is a well-rounded school that has a wide variety of different majors and specialties that the students can pick from. The campus is nice and medium sized with varying architecture. The university is not really involved in the surrounding Syracuse city, but it is a good change in environment from the University. As for the academics, I had personal troubles and difficulties with specific professors and advisors during my freshman and sophomore years specifically... Read More when it came down to inquiring and attempting to change majors in a different school. One advisor had suggested that I could choose between dropping out due to my bad grades or switching to a "less popular" major and I did not find that helpful. Luckily, once I was able to change majors, my next advisors were very helpful. When it came down to my junior and senior year, the professors who were teaching my classes were highly knowledgeable of their subjects and willing to engage fully with the students and I was able to finish my undergraduate studies strongly.

Attending Syracuse University has been a very positive experience for me so far. One of the biggest strengths of the university is the coursework and academic environment. My classes have been engaging and challenging in a way that helps me grow both professionally and personally.

I’ve also really appreciated the diversity on campus. Being surrounded by people from different backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives has made the experience more meaningful and helped me build connections with a wide... Read More variety of people. The students and overall community are welcoming, supportive, and easy to connect with.

If there’s one thing I wish were different, it would be having more city life and activity surrounding the campus. While there are still things to do, I think a more active urban environment would make the overall student experience even better.

Syracuse was a great program. They force you to actually figure out how your idea survives the transition from a concept to something that functions. You learn pretty quickly that a design isn’t finished just because it looks good on a screen; it’s about the grit of pushing through the revisions. It builds a professional backbone that stays with you long after graduation.
​What I appreciated most, though, was how the program pushes you to think beyond just form and structure. It’s easy to get obsessed... Read More with the "sculpture" of a building, but Syracuse hammers home the idea that architecture is a social tool. We spent as much time talking about how people actually move through a space and the sociology of a site as we did about it's form and structure. The only downside, however, is its since become increasingly more expensive, making it out of reach for most loe income students without financial aid.

I chose Syracuse because of the promise of being able to create your own major and create a different type of path that wouldn't be available at other colleges, specifically colleges in California (where I'm from). Recently, it was reported that Syracuse was removing over 50 different majors from Arts and Sciences which is extremely disappointing. For the amount of money this university charges students to attend, those majors offer pathways that wouldn't be available at other colleges. At this point... Read More in my life, I don't know if I would attend Syracuse again, solely for the price and how the it has become less about student academics and more about making board members happy.

I thought my time at Syracuse University was a great influence, not only on my career, but on my life as well. I was one of 13 external transfers to be accepted into Newhouse in my class, and that was an opportunity that I couldn't pass up. I personally didn't feel like I fit in with the yuppie vibe in Newhouse (while some people always wore business casual to class, I was fine with my boots and sweatpants). But that didn't hinder me at all. I received a tremendous education that really helped prepare... Read More me for the journalism world. This became even more evident when I started my career and saw the quality of my work compared to coworkers who didn't attend as prestigious an institution. In terms of the university overall, I had a great two years. I met great friends and had great times. There is so much to do, including attending all of the games, and exploring the city. It definitely made it easy to unwind and forget about your studies for a few moments. Finally, and arguably most importantly, the constant snowfall coupled with the lack of class cancellations really boosts your work ethic for moments outside of that situation. It shows that the world doesn't stop, no matter how annoying the situation may be. You just have to keep trucking.

If anything, the weather

The online IDDE Masters program at Syracuse U is one of the worst attempts at higher-level education instruction I have had the misfortune of committing to. The overall instructional goal is to teach how to develop instruction, yet none of the classes come close to displaying a standard I would hope to emulate. Every class's blackboard layout is different, and most are missing crucial information. I am constantly spending more time looking for turn-in dates and rubrics than I am doing the work. The... Read More only uniting factor in the entire system is a set of video lectures that have all-natural pauses removed and are narrated so quickly they are almost unwatchable. The chosen text are ok, but we were literally reading articles on "emerging technology" written in the 1990s. On the plus side, I was taught about the new thing called "social media" and even given myspace as an example. Sadly, several of the teachers seem to really care but they are stuck regurgitating a curriculum that has not been updated for decades and is so disjointed that is loses any appeal or instructional value. The only thing I have learned so far is how much is wrong with the Instructional design of this degree path.

I had one professor look me dead in the eyes at the start of the semester and said "I don't think you can make it, pick another major." I ended up acing his classes. I had another professor tell me she didn't know how to teach me because I was learning too slow. She got furious when I told her that teachers need to challenge themselves to teach every type of student and those who can't should find a new career path. I got a B in her class but she refused to ever make eye contact with me. I had the... Read More dean of my school ask me to come in and told me I would not graduate because they didn't accept any of my transfer credits from Onondaga Community College. I told him that I graduated from there and those credits weren't transferred. He exclaimed "oh yeah! it says it right there!" That dean laughed it off that he mistakenly almost made me not graduate by not looking at the fine print and just making assumptions. Those 3 experiences alone dwarf all the good experiences I had there.