Canisius College

Date: Mar 30 2009
Major: Undecided (This Major's Salary over time)
Canisius college is a small private jesuit school in Buffalo. If you are looking for that "college experience" do NOT come here. This school is BIG on the jesuit tradition. Don't come here if you plan to party, be lazy, and skip classes. The parties arent worth it and the education is far too expensive to put to waste. The night life is questionable. Parties are far and few, and not always fun, but most parties are literally across the street, which is convenient. Downtown is usually fun if you have a fake ID and endless amounts of money.

The school is really small, about 4,000 students, I think. while that has its advantages, it really becomes annoying. It's like highschool. You see the same people every day. Classes are pretty small, which can be helpful.

The campus is kept in good condition,

it is pretty in the summer time and spring, but none of the buildings match and churchill tower is unnecessarily ugly. The Church and Montante Cultural Center are both beautiful. The tunnels are helpful in the winter, but if you are going anywhere besides Old Main for class (and you will) they are useless. The Gym, health science building and parking lot are a good hike away from the dorms, which is annoying. There are shuttles but they take forever.

The food is SO bad. Most of it is processed or greasy and dont expect a healthy meal here. Vegetarians dont have a prayer. Upper deck is good the first month but gets old fast, its also horrible for you. Dining hall is hit or miss and is better to be avoided all together. Old main is the best place to go to eat, the pasta is usually good and so are the soups. Tim hortons is convenient but doesnt accept the meal plan. Street side is expensive and also doesn't always accept meals. The meal plans should be reconfigured, and the food places need better hours.

The education here is known for being pretty good. The teachers, like anywhere, vary from horrible to really good. They have a tendancy to hire boring teachers. I have found that most of the classes are almost unnecessary if you have the book, although attendance is usually required.

The dorms are really nice, especially in Dugan. Quiet hours are a big deal. Avoid drinking in dorms. The RA's are strict and come down hard on drinking and drugs. Public safety is ruthless. You will get written up eventually for one thing or another.

As far as location goes, I personally hate it. Canisius is located in Buffalo, in a less than favorable part of town. Before coming here I had heard so many good things about Buffalo, now that I'm here I don't understand. The town might have been glorious 100 years ago, but now it is dirty and vacant for the most part. I know many people who do LOVE buffalo, most of them are bills or sabers fans. Crime is well known and its not safe to walk (especially by yourself) after dark. The campus security, however, is awesome so you will at least be safe within the actual college. Buffalo is REALLY COLD… seriously, it's REALY COLD. The weather is so unpredictable, and so windy, and so snowy. it's rediculous. If it doesn't snow it's probably going to rain. It's almost always cold. Sun doesn't exist here.

Shopping is good, you'll find almost any store you are looking for at either the bouldevard or galleria malls, which are close enough. There are also targets, and walmarts near by. Restaurants are all over the place, almost every chain restaurant is within ten minutes by car. If you don't have a car you won't want to come here. The bus/metro system is reliable but slow, and cabs are super expensive.

Depending on what you are looking for Canisius College might be perfect for you. Really religious people seem to like it alot. Everyone I know either loves it or hates it, honestly most of them don't like it. As far as I'm concerned the school itself is incredibly overpriced and far too obesessed with tradition. For what we are offered its really not a good trade off. I am transfering.