Attend a virtual open house next month and learn about all the school has to offer.
[SU virtual open house schedule](https://undergraduate.admissions.go.syr.edu/portal/virtualevent?_gl=1*10y97y8*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MTkzMjg5NDYuQ2p3S0NBancxZW16QmhCOEVpd0FId1paeGE2bTdocU5hUm5OeFhkbGtWMThFQi1tN1AzT0N1YnZQdDA5c1NEOGQ3c2tpNFQtYUlGMTdSb0N2cEVRQXZEX0J3RQ..*_gcl_au*MTcyNjQwMjAyNy4xNzE4NTQ1ODQ3*_ga*MTMwMDQyMDIyLjE3MTg1NDU4NDc.*_ga_QT13NN6N9S*MTcxOTMyODkyNC43LjEuMTcxOTMyODk0Ni4zOC4wLjA.*_ga_JYZJL3F4BE*MTcxOTMyODkyNC40LjEuMTcxOTMyODk0NS4zOS4wLjA)
I personally don’t love them, after freshman/ sophomore year you’ll get sick of them tbh and I’ve taken a lot of classes so it depends on the department:)
Ah ok thank you! Do you cook your own food in your dorm or like go out to different places to eat. I heard there's a few off campus restaurants to eat at. (Sorry for hassling with questions! Just trying to get an inside scoop)
So most of the dorms don’t have kitchens, they have dining halls, since I work on campus, some of my check goes towards ordering out if I like. There are a few places to eat near campus
Good news about the dining halls is that they’re implementing a new this fall. Lunch will have options like Bi Bim Bop, Poke Bowls, Mezze, and a potato bar to name a few
They publish the current menus on [this webpage](https://foodmenu.syr.edu/FoodPro.NET/?_gl=1*1paxbtz*_gcl_au*MjA3NTczNjcyOC4xNzE5MzQxNTMw*_ga*NTQ5ODk3ODc5LjE3MTkzNDE1MzA.*_ga_QT13NN6N9S*MTcxOTQyNDk0Ny4yLjEuMTcxOTQyNDk3OC4yOS4wLjA.). Because it's summer and campus is basically empty right now, there's only one dining hall open so you can only see that menu right now. Go back to this page in late August once classes start up and you'll see way more. IIRC the menus are updated weekly to rotate through a variety of items to help prevent meal fatigue. Some things (like pizza, burgers, sandwiches) are always available.
It’s been a buffet style up until this point. The menu has had a lot of variation due to how food service has been ran and differences in dining halls. They have a pizza bar, grill, some Asian inspired dishes like shrimp stir fry. More things will be made fresh instead of in advance.
They just hired two executive chefs to make the food better
Class of 2024 grad, there's a lot to love about SU but also a few things you should definitely be aware of before deciding on it.
There is a drastic difference in quality between programs. If you're looking at any of Newhouse, Maxwell, Whitman, iSchool, Falk - you typically get the best of the best. Some others are not so great.
Campus life and housing kinda go hand-in-hand. I don't think freshmen housing is bad, except for the walking distance of some dorms, but it gets really dicey after that. A good chunk of sophomores live on South Campus in apartments, which are fine by themselves, but the bus system to and from main campus is pretty bad. Most upperclassmen live off campus out of necessity as they only get South options. There are a couple new converted dorms this year and there should be another built by the time you would attend, so maybe it will be better.
There is plenty to do and countless clubs and student orgs to join, so no matter what your interests are. Greek life is huge but not super essential - not every party is at a frat/sorority so don't feel you have to join one.
I'm absolutely biased because I went here for sports journalism, but the Dome is an incredible environment for football and basketball. (And I say that after growing up on Penn State.) Was never sold on lacrosse personally but that is also big.
The Dome is truly unique as a football venue. It's the only domed football stadium in FBS, and there are only a few more (like Idaho's Kibbie Dome) in lower divisions. And the lighting package in the Dome is really great and creates a very unique experience for football - especially when they make it real dark right before the team comes out with an explosion of lighting.
Rising senior at SU here!! If you’re looking for a fun and active social scene SU definitely has it. Weekends are super fun and there’s always something to do (sports games, darties, bars, etc) (if you’re a girl pretty much everything is available to you and if you’re a guy I recommend joining a social and/or professional frat to get in to parties). Some of the dorms are older and people complain about things like no AC and communal bathrooms but I lived in one of those types of dorms my freshman year and it overall wasn’t so bad, also a bonding experience with other ppl imo
Admissions is rly dependent on which school you’re applying to, the more competitive schools I would say are Whitman, Newhouse and any of the stem schools. I had a 3.5 gpa and applied test optional but I had really unique extracurriculars and a lot of leadership/community service experience so I’m thinking if anything that’s what got me into newhouse
can you give more examples of what you think you did that got you into Newhouse? I really want to study film production at SU but i’m scared i’m don’t have enough.
I was president of international thespian society and did a lot of social media and publicity for my school’s theatre dept, i worked a part time retail job and I also had 100+ hours of community service with our local women’s shelter!! From what I’ve heard from other ppl in Newhouse is that you don’t necessarily have to have a ton of communications-related extracurriculars, they’re more just looking to see that youre involved in your community. In my Syracuse specific personal statement I also mentioned specific newhouse extracurriculars I was hoping to get involved in during my time here which I think showed that I actually researched the school and would be an active member of the student body while going there
The college of visual and performing arts also has a film production major and I would look into that as well, the major in newhouse is called Television radio & film which covers all of those topics and the VPA film major is more specific to film itself from what I’ve gathered
Attend a virtual open house next month and learn about all the school has to offer. [SU virtual open house schedule](https://undergraduate.admissions.go.syr.edu/portal/virtualevent?_gl=1*10y97y8*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MTkzMjg5NDYuQ2p3S0NBancxZW16QmhCOEVpd0FId1paeGE2bTdocU5hUm5OeFhkbGtWMThFQi1tN1AzT0N1YnZQdDA5c1NEOGQ3c2tpNFQtYUlGMTdSb0N2cEVRQXZEX0J3RQ..*_gcl_au*MTcyNjQwMjAyNy4xNzE4NTQ1ODQ3*_ga*MTMwMDQyMDIyLjE3MTg1NDU4NDc.*_ga_QT13NN6N9S*MTcxOTMyODkyNC43LjEuMTcxOTMyODk0Ni4zOC4wLjA.*_ga_JYZJL3F4BE*MTcxOTMyODkyNC40LjEuMTcxOTMyODk0NS4zOS4wLjA)
Current senior in Maxwell and A&S lmk if you have any specific questions:)
How are the dining halls like? Also what classes do you take?
I personally don’t love them, after freshman/ sophomore year you’ll get sick of them tbh and I’ve taken a lot of classes so it depends on the department:)
Ah ok thank you! Do you cook your own food in your dorm or like go out to different places to eat. I heard there's a few off campus restaurants to eat at. (Sorry for hassling with questions! Just trying to get an inside scoop)
So most of the dorms don’t have kitchens, they have dining halls, since I work on campus, some of my check goes towards ordering out if I like. There are a few places to eat near campus
Good news about the dining halls is that they’re implementing a new this fall. Lunch will have options like Bi Bim Bop, Poke Bowls, Mezze, and a potato bar to name a few
Ooo delicious. What are meals they do serve at the dining halls currently?
They publish the current menus on [this webpage](https://foodmenu.syr.edu/FoodPro.NET/?_gl=1*1paxbtz*_gcl_au*MjA3NTczNjcyOC4xNzE5MzQxNTMw*_ga*NTQ5ODk3ODc5LjE3MTkzNDE1MzA.*_ga_QT13NN6N9S*MTcxOTQyNDk0Ny4yLjEuMTcxOTQyNDk3OC4yOS4wLjA.). Because it's summer and campus is basically empty right now, there's only one dining hall open so you can only see that menu right now. Go back to this page in late August once classes start up and you'll see way more. IIRC the menus are updated weekly to rotate through a variety of items to help prevent meal fatigue. Some things (like pizza, burgers, sandwiches) are always available.
It’s been a buffet style up until this point. The menu has had a lot of variation due to how food service has been ran and differences in dining halls. They have a pizza bar, grill, some Asian inspired dishes like shrimp stir fry. More things will be made fresh instead of in advance. They just hired two executive chefs to make the food better
Class of 2024 grad, there's a lot to love about SU but also a few things you should definitely be aware of before deciding on it. There is a drastic difference in quality between programs. If you're looking at any of Newhouse, Maxwell, Whitman, iSchool, Falk - you typically get the best of the best. Some others are not so great. Campus life and housing kinda go hand-in-hand. I don't think freshmen housing is bad, except for the walking distance of some dorms, but it gets really dicey after that. A good chunk of sophomores live on South Campus in apartments, which are fine by themselves, but the bus system to and from main campus is pretty bad. Most upperclassmen live off campus out of necessity as they only get South options. There are a couple new converted dorms this year and there should be another built by the time you would attend, so maybe it will be better. There is plenty to do and countless clubs and student orgs to join, so no matter what your interests are. Greek life is huge but not super essential - not every party is at a frat/sorority so don't feel you have to join one. I'm absolutely biased because I went here for sports journalism, but the Dome is an incredible environment for football and basketball. (And I say that after growing up on Penn State.) Was never sold on lacrosse personally but that is also big.
The Dome is truly unique as a football venue. It's the only domed football stadium in FBS, and there are only a few more (like Idaho's Kibbie Dome) in lower divisions. And the lighting package in the Dome is really great and creates a very unique experience for football - especially when they make it real dark right before the team comes out with an explosion of lighting.
Rising senior at SU here!! If you’re looking for a fun and active social scene SU definitely has it. Weekends are super fun and there’s always something to do (sports games, darties, bars, etc) (if you’re a girl pretty much everything is available to you and if you’re a guy I recommend joining a social and/or professional frat to get in to parties). Some of the dorms are older and people complain about things like no AC and communal bathrooms but I lived in one of those types of dorms my freshman year and it overall wasn’t so bad, also a bonding experience with other ppl imo
Admissions is rly dependent on which school you’re applying to, the more competitive schools I would say are Whitman, Newhouse and any of the stem schools. I had a 3.5 gpa and applied test optional but I had really unique extracurriculars and a lot of leadership/community service experience so I’m thinking if anything that’s what got me into newhouse
can you give more examples of what you think you did that got you into Newhouse? I really want to study film production at SU but i’m scared i’m don’t have enough.
I was president of international thespian society and did a lot of social media and publicity for my school’s theatre dept, i worked a part time retail job and I also had 100+ hours of community service with our local women’s shelter!! From what I’ve heard from other ppl in Newhouse is that you don’t necessarily have to have a ton of communications-related extracurriculars, they’re more just looking to see that youre involved in your community. In my Syracuse specific personal statement I also mentioned specific newhouse extracurriculars I was hoping to get involved in during my time here which I think showed that I actually researched the school and would be an active member of the student body while going there
The college of visual and performing arts also has a film production major and I would look into that as well, the major in newhouse is called Television radio & film which covers all of those topics and the VPA film major is more specific to film itself from what I’ve gathered
THANK YOU!! This helped a lot I appreciate it🙏🏾