The State University of New York - New Paltz

Date: Nov 17 2013
Major: Music - Performance (This Major's Salary over time)
I am a graduate of SUNY New Paltz, class of 2011. I simply cannot get over how my experience at New Paltz degraded over my three years there, capping it off with possibly the most awful graduation ceremony I had ever seen let alone had the dubious honor of being a part of. Other than being poorly organized and lasting well over 4 hours, our keynote speaker was a slap in the face to a bunch of liberal arts students who clearly weren't going to get any jobs. The speaker is the son of the philanthropist for whom the art museum was named after. We don't get a known figure, a scholar, a senator, even a freaking pop star, we get a rich boy who never had to work a day in his life, telling all a bunch of young people who are in debt and won't get jobs that

if they just work hard, they can achieve their dreams.

Sickening garbage.

I transferred to New Paltz for my sophomore year of college after coming to dislike my initial choice for freshman year, SUNY Binghamton, widely cited as one of the top SUNY school academicly. First because I wanted to study music and second because of my love of the hippie-ish life style. I went to New Paltz sophomore year, enrolled in the music program and never looked back.

First, I felt extremely left out due to the fact that most freshmen had already carved out their groups of friends. Also, transfer students are not allowed to live in the dorms, so meeting new people becomes virtually impossible unless it is in class. Luckily, I found an ad looking for a roommate in a nice little house on Church St, they were a group of seniors (who yes, were friends since freshman year), but took me into their group which I was very grateful for.

The academics are a joke. New Paltz likes to pretend it is a lot more high brow than it actually is. Despite the fact that I had taken my general education requirements in english, New Paltz initially refused to acknowledge the transferred credits from Binghamton, why? Who knows. Only after a serious argument with the administration and admission of all of my writing samples from my Binghamton classes did they decide to allow me the credits, you know, because New Paltz is the ivy-league of the Hudson Valley. Many of the stock subject courses are basic information you'd learn in high school and there is an overindulgence in social sciences and psychological babble.

The music program (jazz) more specifically wasn't particularly fulfilling. I was lucky enough to have the great Vinnie Martucci as my instructor for private lessons, perhaps the best teacher I've ever had, anywhere. But the rest of the faculty is a joke who is out half the semester for one reason or another. Most of the music classes were a joke. I remember taking "History of Rock"… we spent two weeks watching the Beatles anthology dvd which is awesome, except for the fact that I own it and have seen it hundreds of times. I barely ever showed up and aced the course. Most of the students who are there for performance are simply NOT good enough to be performing in any kind of professional let alone semi professional capacity. And everyone is into the same alternate funky jazz jam stuff.

Linking to my final point about the nightlife. There are essentially four bars. There is Oasis, the bar for Grateful Dead covers and other jam bands or electronic noodle funk, hippies, hipsters, artists, and the like. There is Cabs, the freshman bar with annoying 18 year old kids blasting dubstep trying to pretend like they are at a big ten school. There is McGillicuddies, the frat/"Jersey Shore" bar. And Snugs, the townie bar. Take your pick, see ya in four years!

Nothing ever changes there. And no one seems to ever leave. Most of the people I went to school there with are still there, some even still in school.