Emerson

Located at the corner of Boylston and Tremont in Boston's theatre district and across the street from Boston Common (think Central Park but smaller), Emerson is truly an urban campus. Known for it's Communications programs, students here are likely to major in journalism, media production, marketing, writing or theatre. There are 3100 undergrads and nearly all will live on campus their first 3 years upon completion of their new dorm next year. They are also renovating an old theatre which will bring the number of buildings to 11. Students are involved in productions, the campus radio station, television station and newspapers. Things here are quite new, with over half the campus renovated since 2002. The technology is state of the art and helps prepare students for careers in the communications industry.

Northeastern

Northeastern is a 73 acre college campus right in Boston, making both a traditional campus and an urban campus at the same time. It's a big school with over 15,000 undergrads. Probably the most defining trait of Northeastern is it's Co-op program. Nearly all students participate in this program which has students working in their chosen career field prior to graduation for at least one semester. As a result, most students here take either 5 years to graduate or use a summer vacation in order to fit in all requirements. During co-op, students are not required to pay tuition and usually are paid by thier employer so, in theory, it may actually cost less. The most popular majors here are engineering, sciences and business. Architecture, physical therapy, international affairs and computer science are also interesting options here.
Many classes here will have over 40 students enrolled and housing is only guaranteed for the first 3 years. It is a competitive school in terms of admissions standards (B+/A- with 1260 ish SAT) yet nearly 1/3 will transfer or drop out prior to graduating.

Boston College

Boston College is located in Chestnut Hill, just minutes from the heart of the big city which shares its name. Chestnut Hill is an upscale town where the 9000 undergrads at BC feel very safe. The 4 schools at the college are: Arts & Sciences, Education, Business, and Nursing with communications and finance being the most popular majors. Nearly all students live on campus, at least when they are not studying abroad (40% do during junior year) and enjoy big-time college athletics and typical college life on campus except without any Greek organizations. Although the city beckons nearby, most students would rather stay at the college so as to not miss anything.

Important factors to the admissions office besides good grades (A/ A-) and test scores (1350-ish SAT), include diversity (students come from 49 states, 10% are international)and children of alumni. Total cost for a year is just over $51,000. This is another Jesuit school with a large contingent of priests living and working on campus.

Cazenovia College

Cazenovia is located less than 30 minutes from Syracuse. The town itself is quite small, as is the college. With less than 1000 students, the college is one of the smallest I will visit during my sabbatical. Art & Design and Business are popular majors, but the college may be best known for its Equestrian program. Many students major in Equine related studies and even more participate with the Equestrian team. 75% of the student body is female, SAT/ACT tests are optional, most students live on campus and about 30% play on an athletic team. B and even C students can gain admission here. Total cost is about $34,000.

LeMoyne College

LeMoyne College in Syracuse is a small school (2400 undergrads) in a nice part of the city. It’s a Jesuit school, which means you will be required to take 2 religion classes and you’ll be expected to work hard. Students with a B average will have a decent shot of acceptance here and A students with above average SAT/ACT scores can expect significant merit money. While visiting, I had a chance to have lunch with 2005 VHS grad and current LeMoyne senior, Laura Pasquali who LOVES her college and thinks it is a great fit for Voorheesville students.
The top majors here are Biology & Health Sciences (with most going on to some type of advanced medical training after graduation), Business & Management, and Education. There is also a new engineering program.

SUNY ESF

The SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry was originally part of Syracuse University but now is part of the SUNY system. It is located on one end of SU’s main campus, right next to the Carrier Dome. ESF students live in SU dorms, dine in SU dining halls, play on SU intramural teams, occasionally take SU courses and enjoy SU’s events all for a price slightly more than at a typical SUNY school. The 1500 students at ESF typically major in a traditional science related field, or in a specialized science field such as Wildlife Management, Forestry, Paper Science or Fisheries & Aquatics.
The Ranger School in the Adirondacks is part of the 25,000 acres owned by ESF throughout New York State that students benefit and learn from. Forest and Park Rangers, Environmental Conservation Officers, Paper Engineers (highly in demand) and Science Teachers would be well served by an ESF education.

Syracuse University

It’s very easy to get to Syracuse, NY from VVille, being just 2.5 hours from here. It was a bitter cold day on the day that I visited, which is not atypical for Syracuse, but, come on- it's March already! You don’t go there for the weather! SU is a large urban school with nearly 12,000 undergrads and another 5000 grad students. Their 9 colleges have produced some of the most famous and successful Newsmen, Athletes, and entertainment figures in the country and also our current Vice President! The colleges, in order of size, are: Arts& Science, Visual & Performing Arts, Management, Communications, Engineering& Computer Science, Human Ecology, Architecture, Education, and Information Sciences. There are over 200 majors offered with admission to the Newhouse School of Communications being the most competitive, followed closely by the Whitman School of Management.

SU boasts students from all 50 states and 115 countries. Most students are from outside of NYS, 58% are female, 60% live on campus all 4 years, 25% are involved in frats or sororities. Maria Qualtere, 2007 VHS grad, is a current Orange Sophomore and is quite involved already and quite fond of her college.