I
attended Suffolk for a year, overall it's an “ok” school. PROS:
- Boston is an amazing city to go
to school in. It's very walkable, there are a ton
of colleges nearby, the parks are beautiful, Suffolk is in
the nicest part of Boston, the city is great for
finding interships/jobs, Boston is huge on sports, it's easy to
get around using the T, and nothing beats exploring the
city on the weekends.
- Small classes, most of the
time (professors will know your name). Which really helps when
getting recommendations for grad school.
- The professors, for the
most part are great, or at least the ones I
had.
- The dorms are very nice, especially when you
compare them to the dorms at other schools.
- S.O.U.L.S.
The volunteering department at Suffolk.
- I've heard that the
psychology, English, government, history, and the business school are very
good and accessible to students.
- The law school and
Suffolk's graduate programs.
CONS:
- Cost. Suffolk's tuition is
relatively low compared to most private schools, but that's only
because Suffolk does not give much financial aid compared to
other schools. I couldn't afford to live at Suffolk after
my first semester, but Suffolk made me attend a hearing
with five financial aid officials who grilled me on my
finances (and could not understand why I didn't want to
just take out more LOANS) before finally releasing me from
my housing contract.
- My department (Biology) and the science
departments are very small. This does make many of the
professors very accessible (research), but at times I would prefer
a greater variety of classes being offered. The Biology degree
is also centered around pre-med requirements, so be wary if
you?re not up for two semesters of orgo and physics.
- Suffolk's acceptance rate is at 85%, that's just awful.
There are a lot of smart students here who came
for a particular program or because they were given substantial
aid, but this means your taking classes with kids who
never studied and perhaps hardly ever did their homework back
in high school.
- The retention rate: 30% of the
entering freshman class in my year transferred or dropped out
after their freshman year.
- I never cared about “school
spirit”, but if you do, Suffolk doesn't have it. Suffolk
has team sports at Div III which are easy to
to try out for but you never hear about them.
- We have the Boston common, but many students complain
that Suffolk really doesn't have a campus, which is true.
- The Math department. I had an awesome professor, but
i've heard horror stories from those who get professors who
can barely speak English.
- Suffolk refuses to allow you
to take courses over the summer at cheaper and closer
community colleges in an attempt to make you take the
course at Suffolk ($2,500 a course) over the summer or
stay an extra semester or year, I have not encountered
this with other schools.
Conclusion:
Only come to Suffolk
if they give you enough aid. Yes the city is
great, but it's extremely expensive and can be difficult to
enjoy if you?re the typical broke college kid. Research your
department to see if it has what your looking for.
You have to like the city but DO NOT COME HERE JUST FOR THE CITY. If Suffolk is the best
school you can get into, then go to a state
school or community college, the quality of the education will
be just as good. If you do come, find an
apartment, don't bother with the dorms, you won't miss anything.
Suffolk and Boston can be a lot of fun, but
it's what you make of it.
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