State University of New York - Oswego (Oswego State)

An "excellent business program," a strong education program, a "successful honors program," and "good study-abroad options" highlight the academic offerings of SUNY-Oswego. Professors seem focused on creating a "personal and comfortable learning environment" for undergraduates. Oswego profs are "knowledgeable about their subject and excited to be in Oswego." They seem to "really care about what you do and want to help you in every way to make sure you do well." Students also appreciate that they "have a lot of opportunities to work with professors on research and other projects outside of the classroom to help build real-world experience." That makes sense to many students, as they view an Oswego education mainly as "preparation for the working world." That said, "some of the GE (general education) professors are not so great." But all-in-all, it's the "amazing professors" who make an Oswego bachelor's degree "a great education for the amount of money you pay." The administration gets only fair reviews. While it "has good intentions at heart," it is "pretty disorganized in many ways."

SUNY-Oswego's student body "consists mostly of middle-class to lower-middle-class students from upstate New York." That said, there are also many "from downstate like NYC and Long Island." How do you tell the difference between upstaters and downstaters? Word on campus is that upstaters aren't afraid to occasionally wear their flip flops outside in the winter, while downstaters keep their Uggs on. In addition to permanent residence somewhere in the Empire State, "the majority of students are white." Temperamentally, "the typical student is usually someone who is studious from Sunday to Wednesday, and parties on weekends. "There are some students who don't go to class, and those who don't party," explains an undergrad. "They are all accepted by the community and will have friends in different social cliques." "They normally fit in by finding a club that they enjoy," agrees another.

Winter sport enthusiasts be advised, "Oswego offers some awesome winter activities due to the amount of snow we get." These include "one of the best" ice skating rinks, "so ice skating is always a fun activity." In addition, "snowball fights are a must." And of course, "one of everyone's favorite things is going to the home hockey games (we won the national championship in [2007])." "When the weather is nice we have bonfires down by the lake," and "in the summer and spring people will spread out beach towels and get some sun on the lakeside of campus." In addition, "there are also concerts and performers that come throughout the year to the school." "Some students go out on the weekends to parties and bars and others see a movie or go bowling," says one student. Some here think "the city of Oswego has seen better days," finding that because it is "a small city," it lacks the "excitement of big-city life."