Suffolk University

Date: Jul 29 2012
Major: Biology (This Major's Salary over time)
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.