The college admission process is a lot of things: stressful, crazy, and full of unknowns. During the last year, I was not exempt from these feelings, but once I visited Syracuse University, everything seemed to fall into place.
So why did I choose this wonderful university? For one, it’s perfect in every way in my opinion, but I’ll give you 5 reasons that’ll make you fall in love with it too.
The campus is beautiful.
From old buildings that look like they came straight from the set of Harry Potter, to the Carrier dome, this campus is absolutely gorgeous. I mean, look at it!
The look of a campus is such a big contributor to the overall feel of a campus — one of the largest deciding factors for me — and Syracuse’s campus speaks for itself. From The Hall of Languages, to Newhouse, and the picturesque campus on a hill in the middle of the city of Syracuse, I was hooked as soon as I stepped onto campus.
The academics (especially Newhouse) are incredible
While the look and feel of a campus as well as the social atmosphere matter a lot, college all comes down to academics and how prepared you are for your future career.
I always knew that Syracuse has an incredible journalism program — which for me, as a future broadcast and digital journalism major, is important — but after visiting the school, seeing Newhouse, and hearing how everyone talked about the programs, I knew the academics here were just what I was looking for.
One of the things the university stresses when you visit, is their goal to have every student graduate in four years. No other school that I visited hit that point the way Syracuse did and since college is expensive, I really liked that.
Since Newhouse is the specific college within the university that I got accepted to, I’ll talk about that first. One thing that impressed me was the facilities. They are absolutely incredible; no other school that I visited or considered had the equipment or resources Newhouse has.The programs are also pretty selective and absolutely worth it. With the website saying that only 350 students get accepted each year, I felt incredibly lucky when I got in.
Current students and faculty also talk about the “Newhouse Network.” They tell you how Newhouse alumni are all over the country and happy to help fellow orangemen; they also describe how Newhouse graduates often get interviews before other graduates when looking for a job. Newhouse isn’t the only great program at Syracuse; the university is full of amazing academic opportunities.
Nowhere else has ever felt more like home
I grew up in a suburb of Syracuse before moving to Cincinnati, Ohio, so I’ll admit, I already had a special place in my heart for Syracuse; but after stepping onto campus, I knew this was the right place for me. If you’ve found that perfect school, you know the feeling I’m talking about. If not, I’ll try to describe it.
Walking around campus, I could picture myself being a student there; it just felt like home. After one tour, I was hooked. Syracuse University HAD to be my college home, and I wasn’t going to stop at anything until I made that a reality.
The school can feel both large and small
Syracuse is a mid-sized school with approximately 15,000 undergraduate students. This creates the unique atmosphere of a campus that can feel both large and small. Let me explain what I mean. Some of the characteristics I associate with large schools are big sports teams, a student-body full of new faces every time you’re walking around campus, and a name that people recognize. Some of these characteristics include small class sizes, seeing a friendly face around campus most of the time, and a sense of camaraderie among the student-body.
Syracuse has all of these things.
- SU basketball is the best and they just keep getting better (no matter how rocky this season began).
- While walking around campus, students will tell you that they see familiar and new faces every time.
- Syracuse University is definitely a recognizable name.
- While there are some large classes, the sizes are, for the most part, small with College Data saying that 76% of the classes have 2-9 students.
- The student-body definitely has a sense of camaraderie. No matter who you are, Syracuse students seem to band together in the student section, affectionately known as “Otto’s Army.”
The opportunities are unmatched
Obviously, the academic opportunities are great, but there’s so many more opportunities Syracuse offers. Studying abroad is a big one. According to the university’s website, 50% of students study abroad during their time at SU. If that many people participate, the program and options must be pretty great right?
The university has an office of career services that helps you get a job after graduation. This seems like something every university would do, but on my college search, I learned that not everybody helps their students out like this. There are also so many opportunities to get involved in campus life. According to the University website, there are over 300 student organizations. With that many, I think everyone can probably find something that interests them. I know for me, I look forward to getting involved with student media, like CitrusTV, and Greek life.
There are way more than five reasons why I love Syracuse University and can’t wait to start my four years there. Hopefully those five reasons will help some of you find your home at SU also.