Suffolk University

Date: Aug 17 2012
Major: Psychology (This Major's Salary over time)
I spent three long years at Suffolk University and am overjoyed to say that I am no longer affiliated with that organization/institution. I would like to start by stating that a college's accreditation in no way gives proof of high quality education. Indeed, Suffolk University acts as proof that a corporation can take many forms and sell many things: some sell products and some sell services. Suffolk sells diplomas. It does so primarily to those with financial means or those without ambition who wish to earn a degree just so they can say they have one. Aside from its business and law schools-which are both of questionable quality themselves-it acts as nothing more than a money sink and revolving door for students to walk into, only to come back out with a piece of paper, an empty wallet, and a halfhearted "good luck to you" from the Dean. Its college of arts and sciences however is essentially worthless. The various departments within this college are nothing more than the basic classes necessary to earn a degree in that field. For instance, the psychology department had only the skeleton of what defines a psych program and maybe one or two elective possibilities. Moreover, since these departments only offer the bare minimum of classes its is ridiculous to assume that such a degree will provide an individual with the ability to find a career any better than someone who's school offered expansive class listings that Suffolk students may never have dreamed of. Many of the students complain about the school on a nearly daily basis and openly criticize it as a money making organization which uses the face of a school to generate massive amounts of revenue. Indeed, it puts the "business" in "business school". Everything down to the location and buildings themselves act as mere selling points for prospective customers. For instance, a few of the buildings on this campus are quite lavish and nice looking (such as the law school building) as they have had most of the schools funding funneled into them. The other buildings however are in shambles. I remember living in one of the dorms my freshman year, a building which must be breaking a plethora of health code violations. There were rats in the ceilings, the showers never worked (we had to break them to get new ones), and even though the residents that year caused "$5000 in damages" it really didn't look much different than when we had gotten there. It was a disgusting pit with an upside of guaranteed air conditioning and a downside of maintenance problems such as chronically broken elevators which trapped some students inside nearly every weekend. The location these buildings are quite amazing though, right in the middle of downtown. However, this also means it is incredibly dangerous (Chinatown is literally down the street and many people may try to harass or threaten you at night).

The education quality is laughable, my public high school was noticeably harder than this private institution. In fact, I believe I have become significantly less intelligent after attending this university for so long as its coursework required so little of me. I typically would wait until the last second for everything and possibly even finish major assignments right before class and still end up with a B. This is not meant to be boastful, but rather to show how pointless it is to attend this place. Although the faculty may have a few gems, these professors seem to be there only to make the school's education quality seem higher than what is being taught by the majority of the faculty. I had one professor bribe me with all A's on several assignments and even my final exam because I wrote a letter to the dean and department head about her incompetence and incapability as an educator. Sadly the last part this is not an uncommon story at this school. Many of the professors I made me furious. Not because I was being unreasonable or even because they were simply rude. Mainly what I was frustrated with was their absolute inability to teach! How could I be spend this nauseating amount of money on people who seem only to be paid to baby sit us and give out poor grades for tremendous amounts of busywork that they never explain. You could easily read the book yourself with a tutor who tests you every few weeks on the reading material and receive the same if not better education at a fraction of the cost. Some may ask why someone would ever both to graduate from a place like this. There are a few answers to that question. 1. Suffolk is quite apt at providing financial incentives and larger scholarships to students than other schools. 2. Many of the students at Suffolk did not get into any other school and thus ended up going there and never leaving or quite frankly don't really care much about school and really only want to get a degree somewhere. 3. Most importantly, Suffolk is deceivingly comfortable in every aspect. It provides a barely admissible amount of work while offering just enough classes to help people earn a degree. It has just enough clubs and organizations to claim it has extensive and 'highly involved' extra-curricular activities. It is in a prime location (in the financial center of Boston which is indeed a red flag of its corporate nature). It has just enough decent professors to trick people into thinking its worthwhile and even ones from other, more valuable institutions such as BU or NEU (many of the professors used these affiliations as some of their primary credentials). It has a couple pretty buildings so to seem aesthetically pleasing (It actually bought N.E.S.A.D. just for their building). Finally, Suffolk has a fairly extensive abroad program which in actuality only seems to ensure students stay their until graduation. In fact, I have heard from many people on various occasions that the reason why they didn't transfer to a better school was because they went abroad and had fun for a semester instead (great, and then what?) Suffolk University is a school with all the essential trimmings but none of the meat.