Alfred University (Buffalo, Rochester, Olean: rent, houses, schools)

[Maineah]

Can anyone tell me about Alfred University?
My son was accepted there and I know absolutely nothing about it. Thanks

[bmd69]

Friend of the family graduated from there with a ceramic engineering degree. Small school in a very rural community.

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by bmd69

Friend of the family graduated from there with a ceramic engineering degree. Small school in a very rural community.

Thank you!

[Dragonchaser]

The college is in a VERY small town with the same name. There is actually a two year college right across the road from it. Alfred is know for their technology classes. The area is extremely remote, but very beautiful in my opinion. I was actually thinking of moving to the area last year. An interesting note...Alfred banned Greek organizations, because of a death at a frat party. I would check out the school website, and also check out the local area, like the city or Hornell. Good luck, and let me know if you have anymore questions.

[skyystarz]

Alfred State is gorgeous, a pretty campus in the lovely countryside, but seriously in the middle of nowhere!!

You get off Interstate 86, drive by a lone pizza shop and a gas station (that's the town, seriously, that's IT) and there is the campus, and across the road is another school, I've heard they have fun with their rivalry, being that they are the only folks around.

The nearest real town is about an hour away, Olean. The nearest city is 2 hours away, Buffalo.

[askmeaboutwesternny]

I took my son to look at it this year and he didn't like it.

[archtopguitar]

I lived there for a number of years. its a very nice community, rural with a number of artist types living in the area. About an hour and 20 min south of Rochester, NY. Across the street is a SUNY college. Both of these Schools (actually 3, there is the world famous ceramic eng. school) are highly rated. High quality campus and staff. It seems like its in the middle of nowhere (so is Cornell). But there is more activity there than you think at first glance! best of luck to you.

[homeward bound]

You've gotten some good feedback above, I think.

My stepsister went to Alfred and loved it.

We were there last summer. Very small, quaint, mostly very, very pretty, with just a few student off-campus houses obviously battered and run down. Mostly, though, very lovely. A very easy-going, civilized feeling.

Of course, few students were there when we were, and in a small town, come the Fall semester, the college students can ruin things with howling drinking, etc. If your son is a devoted student, he may get a bit annoyed at the partying. Supposedly it's an "average" level of partying in Alfred, but these days "average" can be quite rowdy. (Can you tell I've lived in college towns myself way too long?) He may have to make a bit of an effort to keep the partying at arm's length.

If your son likes outdoors activities--from fishing to hiking to skiing--he'll love it there. Very beautiful countryside.

Good coffee shop and a couple of good restaurants.

Very pretty campus. Perched on a hillside, giving a nice view of the little valley that the town is in. Small, but cozy and stately in its way. Very good quality of teaching, I've heard.

Allegany County is like going back in time--mostly in very good ways, I think. Quite undeveloped/unspoiled, with lots of beautiful farmland and waterways. It's a very lush area, being in Lake Erie's snowbelt. It's often beautifully green when the rest of the region may be having a drought. (The flipside is that if your son likes snow, that would be a plus!) Culturally, the county is quite traditional and somewhat Appalachian in attitude and feeling. Some of the best people I've ever met, and lots of the better old-time traditions of town fund-raisers for the fire station, 4th of July parades and picnics, etc. But you'll also see some run-down farms inside a swirl of trash in the county, too.

Vivid Falls with all the maples in all the forests, often wet Springs, gorgeous Summers, snowy Winters.

Hornell, like a lot of NY State's Southern Tier, is a bit worn, and its economy isn't great. Plus, some years ago, they unwisely over-widened its main road so that, in effect, a four-lane highway runs through, and guts, the city.

Olean is similarly somewhat haggard. The Southern Tier has needed good jobs for several decades now, and it does show.

By contrast, when you visit, I suggest you stop by the nearby village of Angelica. It's stunningly pretty and serene. Allegany County at its best.

Also, the town of Cuba is very pretty.

If your son has a car, then I suggest he visit Toronto even before he visits Buffalo (my old home town). Toronto is a GREAT big city, and quite safe. (He will need a passport, though, to get back into the U.S.)

Hope you'll post about your impressions and your son's experiences. Best of luck to him!

[Kim Gallagher]

Originally Posted by Maineah

Can anyone tell me about Alfred University?
My son was accepted there and I know absolutely nothing about it. Thanks

My brother graduated from there in 1968 with a ceramic enginerring degree, and went to work for IBM as soon as he got out of college. He is still at IBM after 40 years in research and development as a third level manager. Alfred is a very good school.

[Danou58]

Very informative info. Thanks to all. Now, can anyone advise on a town nearby Alfred or Hornell that I can rent for my son. He does not drink, and a very quiet person.