Canisius
college is a small private jesuit school in Buffalo.
If you are looking for that “college experience” do NOT
come here. This school is BIG on the jesuit tradition.
Don't come here if you plan to party, be lazy,
and skip classes. The parties arent worth it and
the education is far too expensive to put to waste.
The night life is questionable. Parties are far and
few, and not always fun, but most parties are literally
across the street, which is convenient. Downtown is usually fun
if you have a fake ID and endless amounts of
money. The school is really small, about 4,000 students,
I think. while that has its advantages, it really
becomes annoying. It's like highschool. You see the same people
every day. Classes are pretty small, which can be
helpful.
The campus is kept in good condition,
it is pretty in the summer time and spring, but
none of the buildings match and churchill tower is unnecessarily
ugly. The Church and Montante Cultural Center are
both beautiful. The tunnels are helpful in the winter,
but if you are going anywhere besides Old Main for
class (and you will) they are useless. The Gym,
health science building and parking lot are a good hike
away from the dorms, which is annoying. There are
shuttles but they take forever.
The food is SO
bad. Most of it is processed or greasy and
dont expect a healthy meal here. Vegetarians dont have
a prayer. Upper deck is good the first month
but gets old fast, its also horrible for you. Dining
hall is hit or miss and is better to be
avoided all together. Old main is the best place
to go to eat, the pasta is usually good and
so are the soups. Tim hortons is convenient but doesnt
accept the meal plan. Street side is expensive and
also doesn't always accept meals. The meal plans should be
reconfigured, and the food places need better hours.
The education here is known for being pretty good.
The teachers, like anywhere, vary from horrible to really good.
They have a tendancy to hire boring teachers. I
have found that most of the classes are almost unnecessary
if you have the book, although attendance is usually required.
The dorms are really nice, especially in Dugan. Quiet
hours are a big deal. Avoid drinking in dorms.
The RA's are strict and come down hard on drinking
and drugs. Public safety is ruthless. You will get
written up eventually for one thing or another.
As far
as location goes, I personally hate it. Canisius is
located in Buffalo, in a less than favorable part of
town. Before coming here I had heard so many
good things about Buffalo, now that I'm here I don't
understand. The town might have been glorious 100 years
ago, but now it is dirty and vacant for the
most part. I know many people who do LOVE
buffalo, most of them are bills or sabers fans.
Crime is well known and its not safe to walk
(especially by yourself) after dark. The campus security, however,
is awesome so you will at least be safe within
the actual college. Buffalo is REALLY COLD... seriously, it's
REALY COLD. The weather is so unpredictable, and so
windy, and so snowy. it's rediculous. If it doesn't
snow it's probably going to rain. It's almost always
cold. Sun doesn't exist here.
Shopping is good, you'll
find almost any store you are looking for at either
the bouldevard or galleria malls, which are close enough. There
are also targets, and walmarts near by. Restaurants are
all over the place, almost every chain restaurant is within
ten minutes by car. If you don't have a
car you won't want to come here. The bus/metro
system is reliable but slow, and cabs are super expensive.
Depending on what you are looking for Canisius College might
be perfect for you. Really religious people seem to like
it alot. Everyone I know either loves it or
hates it, honestly most of them don't like it. As
far as I'm concerned the school itself is incredibly overpriced
and far too obesessed with tradition. For what we are
offered its really not a good trade off. I
am transfering.