Yeshivath Zichron Moshe

Date: Feb 08 2012
Major: Business - Management and Administration (This Major's Salary over time)
I cannot say enough good things about Syracuse (SU). I also went to PSU, so, unlike most posters, I have a basis of comparison and with the exception of football tailgating and ice cream, Syracuse is better than PSU in absolutely every way. Syracuse academics are substantially better than they are rated … TRUST me. I am currently in graduate school and I am competing against students will a variety of backgrounds who represent many different schools, and I will put my Syracuse education against ANY of theirs, including the students who went to IVY schools, like Cornell, and near IVY schools, like NYU.

However, beyond that, Syracuse has a mentality that doesn't settle for second place. Any Syracuse team competing in anything (athletic or academic) has a realistic chance to win and an expectation to win, regardless of who they are competing against. Unfortunately, SU is underrated because SU students hold SU to a MUCH higher standard than students at other schools hold their school.

That said, SU is far from cut-throat in that the students are very, very friendly and the faculty and staff are simply amazing. In all honesty, I have never seen an organization as big as Syracuse is that is as well-run as Syracuse. I cannot tell you how many times I missed a dead line only to have an administrative official work with me and solve my problem anyway.

One of Syracuse's few weaknesses is that it can be a little unsafe. For the most part, the university is safe-enough. The problem is that the areas around the university have a reputation of being shady. However, to be fair, the bar is usually worse than the bite in that they are actually safer than people say they are. I think older students just get a kick out of scaring freshmen, and the university would rather be safe and war too much than be sorry and not warn enough.

Also, Syracuse really, really pushes diversity. Although diversity is certainly a good thing, I think the university pushes it a little too much, which is annoying. However, once again, to be fair, on the upside, if you go to Syracuse, you will have friends from all over the world by the time you graduate which is pretty cool. Actually, some of my best friends are people I met while at Syracuse and they are from China which is pretty neat.

In summary, my review honestly does not do Syracuse justice. It really is something special. Trust me, I have seen other "comparable schools," like Penn State, State College, and they do not measure up. Syracuse has a good reputation, FANTASTIC academics, a fun environment, and GREAT athletics (Cuse basketball is currently ranked #2, Cuse lax is in the hunt for its 11th national championship, and Cuse football is ranked #14 in all-time wins). I had the opportunity to transfer to Vanderbilt, Boston College, and some other well-known schools, but I chose Syracuse and I am glad that I did.