Looking At Colleges (Juneau) (Anchorage, Fairbanks: housing, rental, jobs)

[zatchery]

This is my first post on these forums.

Well, I've been looking around for colleges, and the University of Southeastern Alaska (in Juneau) has caught my eye. I've been fascinated by Alaska for a while. I was just wondering if anyone had anyone general information about Juneau or the university itself. I'm from New York, so I think/hope I'm accustomed to the cold. I also heard Juneau is pretty mild during winter. How are the mosquitoes? Also, what is there for a college student to do in the area? I'm into sports, and I could become interested in hiking and camping. I love the views and the prospect of learning in Alaska.

[cobolt]

UAK SE is a nice little campus near Auke Lake in the valley area---about 15 miles from downtown. I personally love Juneau. The university has a great rental deal for students--you can rent kayaks, skiis (both cross country and downhill, snow shoes) the list goes on, and enjoy the outdoors. Juneau is small enough where you still feel you are out of the rat race (especially coming from NY) but you can find alot of what you need. The city bus runs from the university to downtown and most points in between. There are two malls---Mendenhall Mall and Nugget Mall near the airport. They are NOT your big town malls, but they have some of what you need. The rest you can mail order or do without. If you get in with the locals, they will show you the off the beaten path areas. It does get wet and gloomy in the winters (more rain than Seattle) and last winter we got dumped on bigtime with the snow, but that isn't the norm. A lot of gloomy days, but man, when there is a clear summer day, you will think there is no place on earth as beautiful as where you are. They make all that rain worth while!! The mosquitos---I personally have not had a problem with them except when I went hiking along the Mt Jumbo/Bradley trail recently, but there was alot of melting snow and standing water there----other than that, no worries.

I think you would really like Juneau. The people in Alaska are friendly and you really get to know your neighbor---a small town feel. Right down the street from the university on Veteran's highway is a nice waffle house that serves cheap breakfast (it's open for all meals) and the only Thai restaraunt around (and it gets crowded---but it's worth the wait). There is also a little dive in the Auke Bay area called The Bite, and they have very good halibut fish and chips. Of course, there is no shortage of fishing and all that on your own! You can always catch the ferry to some of the other SE islands to do some exploring. Tourists crowd Juneau in the summer with the cruise ships and all the flightseeing, but in the winters it is nice and quiet and the locals weathe the winter.
Hope this helps
cobolt

[zatchery]

How is the school academically?

[cobolt]

That I don't know. I would do alot of online research to find that out as far as rankings etc. I would guess that they are behind Fairbanks and Anchorage in prestige but sometimes the smaller colleges are actually better. I can tell you anything you want to know about the Juneau area, which is what your original post asked, but I don't know much about the university other than that it is a small campus.

[nhatfield]

Academically UAS is a fine school... depending on what you want to study.

They have a solid Business program, that's 99% distance. The Social Science programs don't suck. The Biology (especially Marine Biology) are quite good. The Information Systems program is going downhill in a hurry (sadly). There's an Outdoors program, but I don't know much about it.

All in all, there's something like 500-600 full time students, with something around 300 students living in student housing.

The staff and faculty are (as a whole) quite friendly and willing to help with any issues.

However, as a whole, UAS definitely still holds on to some of it's Community College roots.

Oh, and if you're looking for employment while a student, UAS is really good about getting jobs on campus for students. The pay is low, and you can only work 20 hours a week, but it's better then nothing, and they're super flexible with your schedule.

I can probably answer any more specific questions you may have, as well...

[zatchery]

Originally Posted by nhatfield

Academically UAS is a fine school... depending on what you want to study.

They have a solid Business program, that's 99% distance. The Social Science programs don't suck. The Biology (especially Marine Biology) are quite good. The Information Systems program is going downhill in a hurry (sadly). There's an Outdoors program, but I don't know much about it.

All in all, there's something like 500-600 full time students, with something around 300 students living in student housing.

The staff and faculty are (as a whole) quite friendly and willing to help with any issues.

However, as a whole, UAS definitely still holds on to some of it's Community College roots.

Oh, and if you're looking for employment while a student, UAS is really good about getting jobs on campus for students. The pay is low, and you can only work 20 hours a week, but it's better then nothing, and they're super flexible with your schedule.

I can probably answer any more specific questions you may have, as well...

Thanks for your response. I was wondering if you had any information on the Education program (teaching elementary, secondary, etc.)? Also, do you think it would be easy to find a teaching job in Juneau?

And when you were talking about the Business program, you said it was 99% distance. What exactly is distance?

Thanks in advance.

[nhatfield]

I'm not certain what is offered for Education at a Bachelor's level, but at the Masters level, there is an excellent program for the various tracks (Elementary, Secondary, Special Ed, etc). Here is the UAS School of Ed webpage, for more info:

School of Education | University of Alaska Southeast (broken link)

As for finding a teaching job, I'm not certain about that. I believe there's another thread in this forum regarding just that question, though.

As far as the Business program being distance, that means that most of the classes are not taught in an actual classroom. They are taught either via audio or video conference at set times, or even strictly web-based. For web-based classes, you never (seldom) have a set time to meet with anyone, you simply keep in touch with the teacher via email, forums, etc. Assignments are handed out via UASOnline, the online class portal site.

[DannyL]

The Juneau extension is an excellent university. Where I work at we have summer interns in business and NR, and these kids are wicked sharp.

It's small, but I think that is a plus, and one of it's secrets.

[Xa'at]

Oh, oh! My turn!
Okay, UAS is an incredible school. It is kind of sandwiched between Auke lake and Auke Bay, so basically you've got water on both sides. From most of the buildings you can see Mendenhall Glacier, which is always nice. There are lots of pathways down the beach with little niches, picnic tables, etc.
The buildings themselves, with the exception of the Egan Extension and the new Rec center, are a little run down but they are actually in the middle of renovation... we'll see how it turns out. For now they're holding as many classes as they can in the Egan building.
Speaking of, the Egan building is incredible. It's got a library with tons of windows, a little coffee stand, a lecture hall, on and on.
The new rec center is great too. It was funded by the military, so there's a little recruiting center and the occasional tank outside (weird, but true) but other than that it's pure UAS. Taking more than a certain (I think it's five) credits a semester gives you unlimited access. It has a little café thingy, a basketball court, a suspended running track, a gym room, a student room where they host dinner and a movie, etc etc.
Housing is pretty good. I suppose there are nicer apartments in Juneau, but honestly even for a studio you really can't expect to pay any less than $600 monthly, likely more. In Banfield Hall, where the freshmen live, you share a room with one other person. The non-freshman housing is nicer- you get your own bedroom and share a kitchen, dining room, and living room with three others. All rooms have wireless internet. According to the housing website, rooms in banfield hall start at $1795 per semester and non-freshman housing starts at $2095.
The housing, rec center, and main campus are all connected by a beautiful trail that winds through rainforest, muskeg, and lakeside. It takes about 45 mins to walk the entire thing, obviously shorter if you're a power walker or on your bike.
If you have questions about admissions or the campus, you should contact Julie Staveland. She is a great lady who can answer all your questions. She also does campus tours when you manage to make it up here... (You ARE going to have a campus tour, right? )

[karlsch]

For what it's worth, U.S News & News Report rates this as a fourth tier school. The lowest ranking.