Great University!…read more This is a beautiful campus with very modern arts and science buildings and departments. Great Danes sports have great rankings in football, track, lacrosse. The University at Albany is renowned as a center of learning. This is my 1776th Yelp review - in this year America declared its Independence from Great Britain! God Bless America! Go Danes.

"I'm not here to help students succeed."…read more That is the impression I have been left with after watching my student's experience at the University at Albany over several years. As a parent, I have been appalled by what my student has encountered: faculty who appear vindictive or biased, unhelpful academic advising, and an institutional culture that too often seems indifferent to students' concerns. The many layers of faculty and administration have not translated into a better educational experience. Instead, the message seems to be that students should expect to succeed in spite of the institution, not because of its support. I have heard repeated accounts of unprofessional conduct, including professors shouting at students, name-calling, grading practices that seem arbitrary or punitive, and a lack of meaningful resolution when concerns are raised. In one particularly disturbing instance, a professor reportedly called a student a "little bitch" after being questioned about grading practices. In another course, a film studies professor repeatedly made comments about which actresses he found sexy. These are not the kinds of classroom experiences students should have to navigate. What makes these experiences worse is the apparent lack of accountability. Students are expected to respect faculty authority, yet when they raise legitimate questions about grading or treatment, they can find themselves with nowhere to turn. It is difficult to have confidence in a complaint process when students do not believe their concerns will be taken seriously. The classroom experience itself has also been disappointing. My student has encountered classmates who arrive unprepared and seem disengaged, adding to the sense that the educational environment is falling short of what a university should offer. Health issues have required my student to move home and attend UAlbany intermittently over the past several years. That has made an already challenging educational path more difficult. I recognize that not every disappointing interaction represents institutional misconduct, and that faculty members have legitimate academic standards to uphold. But there is a difference between maintaining standards and treating students with contempt. I attended university and expected my student's college experience to include intellectual growth, professional mentorship, and an environment where students could ask questions, disagree respectfully, and receive fair evaluations. Instead, too much of this experience has been defined by frustration, discouragement, and the feeling that students are on their own. A university does not have to agree with every student or award every student a high grade. It does have a responsibility to provide professional instruction, transparent grading, appropriate advising, and a credible process for addressing complaints. Students should not have to fight the institution in order to get an education.

Rensselaer was my lifeline in the 1980's. Full disclosure, I received one of their national high…read moreschool medals and the funds to attend four years to attain my bachelor's degree. I attended their summer program in 1983 and enrolled in the following fall. It was an intense experience challenging me socially and academically. The administration, faculty, and support staff were accessible. Even the food service workers were there on difficult days to assist with a listening ear and some advice. The Chaplain's Center provided for transitional counseling and the Learning Center provided qualified peer tutors to assist students. It stressed independence but offered structure to mature safely. Troy, Albany, Saratoga, Lake George, and the ski spots were among some of my favorite distractions in the Capital District. Having a bowling alley in the Student Union provided a great stress relief nearby. Focused undergraduate research was highly valued, flexibility in fusing disciplines, and focused balancing long and short-term objectives prepared me for my unanticipated career and the lifelong pursuit of knowledge and thoroughness, responsibility toward facilitating for our community's interest, and reflecting the RPI initiative. "Why not change the world?"

RPI We went to visit this university and did a tour. It was…read moreearly April and it snowed lightly the day we were there. It's a pretty campus with red brick buildings. We were really impressed by the students and staff. The students we met seemed happy to be there. The faculty seems to care about the students along with their success and well-being. That's the impression I got. The campus is small and walkable. Lots of kids walking around or hanging out together.

I was waiting to do this review in the end. But it's about time. I had a really good experience…read more It's a little bit confusing in the beginning but your counselor will help you figure it out. I might have to come back to edit this review or add more details. I had the best counselor Ash***, Eliz**** and Jenn. Best people to work with. I have an international background, they really helped me 360*, I mean the admin people go above and beyond to make things possible for you, to succeed. I have had the best experience here. The teachers are the best as well. This is not even exaggeration because I had classes with them. They help you in most flexible way possible. Most of them are charges nurses and providers and doctors. This is an awesome school. Might be over charging a bit, but if you get the aid then what else matters. They will enable you to get your certification and earn more money anyways. I really had done the whole math on it. This is one of the best options around. Went to the Albany campus. Saw the ad on Facebook, filled out my info and got the email the next day to come in and take the TEAS for nursing. They are quick with everything. They are available Saturday n Sunday, no playing games. You do have to put in the work though. They have strict policies and they do follow it to the bone, especially with nursing. I respect the teachers and it shows. Some students don't respect the teachers and they were ready to yell at the teachers and admin. To each its own. As a student, you do have to put in the work and show up for the classes , there is no shortcut to school and if you think you can turn them around and not do the work, it might not end up good for you.

I don't even know where to start. Mildred Elley is an absolute joke of an institution. I was lucky…read moreenough to be given a scholarship from Caring Gene for ME's LPN program - I felt so lucky! (foreshadowing here) My first 3 semesters went swimmingly, until my Summer 1 semester that started in July. Students were not made aware the ME lost all of their LPN educators (we had to find out by word of mouth) ... us students were left with no teachers! ME came up with the brilliant idea to scramble up whatever "teachers" they could find to teach these classes from MA, Long Island, etc. This is nursing school, y'all... we were left to self-teach ourselves, online, from home, how to be nurses. When the students expressed our concerns to administration and our "teachers", administration never responded and our "teachers" would tell us to "calm down", "take it down a notch", "start thinking like adults". After 2 weeks of going from a straight A student on the President's List, I found myself failing my classes... not because I'm a bad student, but because I never agreed to self-teach myself how to become a nurse! I don't know what I'm doing, that's why I signed up for college!! When I finally had enough, I reached out to Caring Gene, my scholarship rep, I informed them about what is going on at ME and I asked if my scholarship is able to transfer to another institution. Unfortunately, ME is the only school that Caring Gene works with. BUT! Caring Gene was already made aware of the disarray at ME. My rep let me know that ME intentionally took on too many LPN students to obtain the extra funding. When the LPN staff quit, it left ME up the creek without a paddle - letting the students suffer. MILDRED ELLEY IS AN ABSOLUTE JOKE AND THE DEPT OF HEALTH, DEPT OF EDUCATION SHOULD ABSOLUTELY INVESTIGATE THIS CRAP MOBILE OF A "COLLEGE". DOOOO NOTTTTT GOOOO HEREEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm less than impressed with the post-bacc premed program- mostly because the advisor is less than…read moreimpressive. The school may be good, but instead I find it overpriced, less than forthcoming with information to learn, and the advisor did little to make me feel like I should be in attendance at her prestigious school. Needless to say I took my money back to a cheaper school where I felt I was getting an education and better advisement.

I am currently attending the Sage College of Albany's graphic design program, and I am pretty…read morepleased so far. Class sizes are small, teacher's actually get to know their students. While I have had issues with certain adjuncts, all in all I am very happy with the program. The only things Sage's graphic design program is missing is David Grey. His departure to a different school out west was crushing to say the least.

Where do I begin? At first this school was apart of SUNY Albany and now it is trying to be its own…read moreSUNY Polytechnic Institute. It's very confusing and it's filled with administrative BS-ing. So much paperwork. Sometimes the account login, wifi, a lot of technicality is in flux because of this transition phase. Who do you go to report a problem? "Go to this person" "No go to that person b/c of the transition" "Oh that person doesn't work here anymore" etc. Just transition already! Also it's filled with so many different companies and people which I am not complaining about. But there are certain buildings and places that you can't go without the SUNY ID, which again is muddled with the transition so it is hard to access a room which was once your classroom to a room that is now controlled and operated by another tech company. So stupid. Also the degree is way too specialized and hard that it is almost impossible to get out of the engineering. Maybe you can intern at one of the partner companies, but it is very hard to move onto another grad program like MBA or medicine because the bachelors in nanotechnology was way too specialized and hard to complement another profession. So it forces students to do another bachelors!

Yes, this is a part of U Albany, but its also a business, where many different people work and many…read moredifferent companies are housed. Including IBM, Sematech, AMAT, TEL, and others still. A good industry to be working in, Semiconductors is a great and growing field. If you are looking for work, you can apply here with CNSE or any of the companies I listed previously.

Hudson Valley Community College gets a bad reputation for the lack of education most people receive…read morefrom the school. Let's be realistic here, YOU are responsible for your education. It's your job to research out the Teacher's for the classes you'll be taking and challenge yourself. There are a ton of great Professors on Campus and their Office Hours are always more than accommodating especially since you can just e-mail them as well. Each semester I check RateMyProfessor.com to see which teachers for my classes will help me expand my knowledge and gain better understanding of the subject. If people stopped picking easy classes, they might find that HVCC is a pretty good school. For incoming students, GO to the Orientation, it's so helpful and it's free. You get a chance to check out everything at the school and you get free stuff from the college for your Freshman Semester from USB Drives to free t-shirts! For the price of tuition, the amenities, activities, discounted tickets, trips, clubs, fairs and all other student activities offered, this is a pretty great school. I'm planning on transferring to SUNY Albany after I've finished my A.S.S. here and I think attending this school has been a great decision and a HUGE money saver.

Completely non-responsive. I called every morning for weeks about a payment refund with no one…read morepicking up or responding to emails until two weeks later. Then no apology. Disability office forgot our appointment and then messed up a rescheduled appointment. Emailed over ten days ago, no response. I applied on July 21-today is August 3 and no response. School starts on Aug. 31. Called after a phishing scam email. They were not concerned, then made me show ID on a video call to fix the mess. No announcement on the main webpage or anything. Absolutely appalling.

I highly recommend Excelsior College to any student who is seeking to complete a college degree…read morethrough a fully accredited online program! I began taking courses at Excelsior during the fall 2018 semester, term 2. I recently graduated with honors from Excelsior in July 2021. I obtained my Bachelor's of Science Degree in Health Sciences with an Emphasis in Public Health. I chose to attend Excelsior College for the following reasons: it's a non-profit college, is regionally accredited by the Middle States Commission On Higher Education (note that regionally accredited colleges are more prestigious, respected, established, & are more accepted than schools that are nationally accredited). It also offers most courses in 8-week terms & focuses on student success by integrating instructor-led & self-paced courses, in which professors & students communicate in the discussion section of the Canvas' course shell. Each week represents a new module with a topic, learning objectives for that topic, & a list of learning materials that students are responsible for reviewing on their own. Student performance is mainly graded through each student's response to the questions listed in that week's discussion thread section(s). Students are expected to apply the questions to the content in that week's learning materials, which forces students to think analytically about their answers & make connections between real world experiences & the course materials. Comprehension of course materials is also assessed through bi-weekly essays & sometimes exams that require students to apply knowledge, not simply memorizing information. Excelsior's degree requirements are relevant & allow for students to choose elective courses in their major that are of interest to them, as well as teach them something about a particular discipline within their major. One of the many things that sets Excelsior College apart from other colleges, is Excelsior's focus on teaching students about the various career options that are available to them upon entering the workforce, as well as what to do/not do before, during, & after a job interview. Excelsior teaches students how to be successful in whatever job/career we choose, how to get the job, the skills desired by employers in the current workforce, how to work well with others, & how to use our knowledge to effectively promote change/improvements within the industry that we choose to work in. I have had the opportunity to experience the education provided at various colleges & I can honestly say that the best college education I experienced was with Excelsior College. Excelsior is unique in their dedication to adult learners, the high quality of online education that Excelsior provides, career readiness preparation, & how they teach students to take personal responsibility for obtaining their own degree when given the right tools/opportunity to do so. My only issue with Excelsior is the Processing Parameters for Graduation Monthly Conferrals. Excelsior College students who complete their degree requirements, are automatically assigned a conferral date (the date that your degree is officially awarded) based on the date that the last course needed for one's degree actually ends. The problem is that the process takes about 3 months. I completed my final course (my health sciences capstone) on Sunday April 25th, 2021. However, the final transaction date (date in which the last degree requirement must be added to the student's academic record) was on Friday April 23rd, 2021 for a June 18th, 2021 conferral date (which was the last conferral date to qualified to be participate in the July 9th, 2021 commencement. Since it takes about one month, after completing the last course, for the last degree requirement to reflect on an Excelsior student's academic record, my final transaction date wasn't until May 21st, 2021. This meant that I had to wait until Friday July 16th, 2021 for my conferral date/for my degree to be awarded (since Excelsior confers degrees on the 3rd Friday of every month). My conferral date was exactly one week after the Friday July 9th, 2021 Commencement Ceremony date, yet I wasn't invited by Excelsior to participate in the July 2021 Commencement as part of the Class of 2021. It isn't fair to make us wait 15 months, following completion of our degree requirements, to walk in the following year's commencement ceremony. With this info about conferral dates in mind, I recommend calculating how many classes you would have to take at a time to qualify for a more timely traditional commencement. You really can't take more than 3 courses at once within an 8-week term if you want to successfully complete those courses on your 1st attempt. Also note, that if you take your 15-week long final Capstone course in Jan, you likely won't qualify to participate in the commencement in that same year. I still highly recommend Excelsior College, but I just want to raise awareness of this commencement issue.

This is the third university I have attended and it is by far the most disorganized. The financial…read moreaid office was a hot mess, misquoting timelines and dates constantly. My federal aid came 6 weeks later than promised so I had to figure out a way to buy my books out of pocket or take a failing grade for missing assignments in 3 weeks of my 8 week accelerated term. The advisor I have worked with is catty and unprofessional, despite my professionalism with expressing concerns and documenting everything thoroughly. 1/3 of my teachers weee unresponsive through the entirety of the semester which made me have to escalate to my advisor just to get an answer after 2 weeks of waiting. For half of my term my grade stated it was a D- despite every assignment I had showing A. I had to escalate this to the office as well to get it reevaluated. Looking back - if there's anything that surprises me the most about this experience it's the fact that for a university that prioritizes adults going back to school, they require a shocking amount of of babysitting and cross verification (keep receipts for EVERYTHING) just for basic coordinating between financial aid, advisors, and teachers.