Finding the Right Place for Grad School

Maf

This thread is less about schools (I'll worry about that, as it's not your job), and more about where they are located.

I will be graduating at the end of next semester, and then it is off to grad school for me. I will be majoring in either environmental engineering or hydrology, I haven't quite decided yet. I've been doing some research on grad schools, and I'm interested in Cornell and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

The thing is, I am graduating from the University of Toledo in Ohio. The city is a shithole. I've had my car broken into, my house burgled, and yesterday some fucker stole my bike in broad daylight by cutting the chain. I'm just waiting to get mugged before the year is out. I hate it here, and I want something better.

Who can tell me about the areas of Troy, NY (where Rensselaer is), and Ithaca, NY (Cornell)? Has anyone lived there or visited? Are they nice cities? I'm interested in the local community, crime, how much money is there (wealthier is better), stuff like that.

I'll update the thread as I become interested in new schools and areas. Thanks!

UPDATE: New schools: University of Florida, University of Buffalo, and Penn State

Lewisham

I wouldn't worry about it until you get any acceptance offers, then go and visit and see what you think.

The program + financial support offered > where it is.

Pure Din

I don't think you're going to like Troy.

The Crowing One

I did my undergrad in Saratoga, which is close to Troy and I had the pleasure of interacting with a number of their students over the years. Troy is a high crime low-income area, though RPI, to my hearsay, does it's best to keep their students safe. Mostly, it tends to be a residential school. Living in Troy isn't recommended. I'd contact their Student Affairs dept and ask about standard housing options.

Ithaca, to my understanding, is mostly a "college town" where the vast majority of life revolves around the campuses. Aside from being cold as hell it is billed as a very safe place to attend.

Again, I'd look at crime stats and contact the schools to determine what they suggest with housing. I've spent a few years in Residential Life, and schools are very concerned with safety. You can usually gauge the safety of a school by inferring through housing options and suggestions while marking it against crime rates, etc.

Thanatos

Ithaca is three square miles surrounded by reality.

shadydentist

Thanatos wrote: »

Ithaca is three square miles surrounded by reality.

Pretty much this. Ithaca is a pretty low-crime area, and the university occasionally sends out crime alerts for things like burglaries, theft, and the occasional mugging.

The local community is what you make of it, its not hard to find stuff going on downtown, but its also pretty easy to find stuff to do on campus as well.

I do love Ithaca, but after 4 years here I'm ready to leave.

Deathwing

Thanatos wrote: »

Ithaca is three square miles surrounded by reality.

I used to live about a half hour away from Ithaca before going off to school, and my dad grew up there -

Compared to bigger cities, it definitely is going to be lower crime, though stuff still happens. I never got the impression of the area being extremely wealthy (this is true for most of Upstate NY), but it's certainly not destitute either. Very much a college town.

The local shopping tends towards more arts & craftsy type stores, although there's a halfway decent shopping mall not too far away. Anything you can't find in Ithaca's general area, you can likely track down in Syracuse, which is about an hour or so north on I-81.

In general, I can say that if for some reason I was ever to move back to NY, Ithaca is probably where it would be...I don't have an in-depth opinion of Troy to give, but one thing that stood out when I visited while hunting colleges - I visited on a bright, sunny, beautiful day, and yet there was practically nobody to be found outside almost anywhere.

Hypatia

As a couple people have said already, Troy isn't a very good area but you do have other options in Schenectady or Albany if you wanted/were willing to commute.

The Crowing One

Hypatia wrote: »

As a couple people have said already, Troy isn't a very good area but you do have other options in Schenectady or Albany if you wanted/were willing to commute.

There was a "moving to Capitoland, NY" thread a week or two ago. If you don't mind a 30-60 minute commute down the northway you can find many nice towns between Albany and Saratoga.

Thanatos

Honestly, there's not a whole hell of a lot of difference between Ohio and Upstate New York. You're basically just going to get more snow.

KalTorak

The biggest crime issue during my time in Ithaca was the "College Creeper," some dude who would sneak into students' apartments and watch them sleep or something. He may have also stolen their underwear. Anyway, they caught him.

Be prepared for pretty harsh winters. They aren't Minnesota-style winters, but all the freshmen from anywhere south of PA were pretty astounded at the snow. The winters are long, very cold, and there are a lot of hills. Make sure your car can handle ice/slush/snow/salt on the roads while climbing a steep hill.

Alternately, if you don't have a car, the bus system is halfway decent. My senior year I lived off campus and took the bus up the hill - if you're going to be riding semi-regularly then a semester-long pass can save you a lot of money.

VeritasVR

Thanatos wrote: »

Honestly, there's not a whole hell of a lot of difference between Ohio and Upstate New York. You're basically just going to get more snow.

Having been in both areas for extended periods of time, aside from the Metro-Columbus area, this is actually a keen observation.

Antithesis

The Crowing One wrote: »

I did my undergrad in Saratoga, which is close to Troy and I had the pleasure of interacting with a number of their students over the years. Troy is a high crime low-income area, though RPI, to my hearsay, does it's best to keep their students safe. Mostly, it tends to be a residential school. Living in Troy isn't recommended. I'd contact their Student Affairs dept and ask about standard housing options.

Ithaca, to my understanding, is mostly a "college town" where the vast majority of life revolves around the campuses. Aside from being cold as hell it is billed as a very safe place to attend.

Again, I'd look at crime stats and contact the schools to determine what they suggest with housing. I've spent a few years in Residential Life, and schools are very concerned with safety. You can usually gauge the safety of a school by inferring through housing options and suggestions while marking it against crime rates, etc.

I've visited both, and this sums things up pretty accurately.

VisionOfClarity

Albany is kind of a shit hole too.

Thanatos

VisionOfClarity wrote: »

Albany is kind of a shit hole too.

This goes for pretty much all of Upstate New York. But hey, if it's your kind of shithole, I'm not one to judge.

kedinik

Broad-daylight bike theft is extremely common on most campuses.

Maf

Thanks for the responses. I know that college campuses and the areas around them are going to have higher than average crime, I'm just really sick of it. I do everything that people tell you to do, I lock up my bike and bring it inside when I'm not using it, I never let anyone know what kind of valuable stuff I have in my house, I try not to go anywhere alone, and shit still happens. I guess it's something I have to live with, but there must be better schools than this one.

I just started looking into Penn State, University of Buffalo, and maybe the University of Florida. I haven't heard much about Penn State or University of Florida, but I have heard that U. of Buffalo is, despite being in Buffalo, not too bad since the school is in the suburbs and out of the city.

The Crowing One

Maf wrote: »

Thanks for the responses. I know that college campuses and the areas around them are going to have higher than average crime, I'm just really sick of it. I do everything that people tell you to do, I lock up my bike and bring it inside when I'm not using it, I never let anyone know what kind of valuable stuff I have in my house, I try not to go anywhere alone, and shit still happens. I guess it's something I have to live with, but there must be better schools than this one.

I just started looking into Penn State, University of Buffalo, and maybe the University of Florida. I haven't heard much about Penn State or University of Florida, but I have heard that U. of Buffalo is, despite being in Buffalo, not too bad since the school is in the suburbs and out of the city.

This is just not true. Urban areas tend to have higher crime. I think you'd find Ithaca to be a safe, safe place.

Elin

I'm actually from Toledo, lived there for 27 years. The city is just really going down hill. There are still parts that are good to live in, but they're all really the 'burbs. Holland, Maumee, Perrysburg, and such. I think every city has areas where you just don't want to live. You just need to talk to the locals and find out what those areas are.

Also - send me Tony Pacos. I neeeeeds it. /cry It's the only reason I'd ever go back, a Tony Pacos dog with pickles and peppers and a side of Hungarian dumplings.

LeftOT73

I'll throw a few thoughts in, as I did my undergrad at Cornell and am currently a grad student in engineering at Penn State.

Ithaca is relatively pretty safe, as has been mentioned - some of the streets in Collegetown (the primary residence area, other than on campus, for most undergrads) can be a bit dodgy at night, but reports of anyone actually getting robbed are sporadic. The Commons (the town's 'downtown') is fairly safe as well, as long as you aren't afraid of hippies. Finding good housing can be a bit of an issue. The prices in Collegetown are overblown, often for places of not a very good quality. As a grad student, the situation improves, as, if you are willing to have a short commute, you can get some decent housing a little farther out for a better price. The area is definitely a bit insulated, as has been mentioned. Until a few years ago, there was no wal-mart, target, or any chain restaurants. This has changed a bit, but there are still a lot of fantastic local places to shop/eat, and Syracuse is only an hour a way if you, like me, are a big consumer whore and want to go to a huge mall. There are a lot of things to do in the area - on campus performances, concerts, lots of wineries in the vicinity, and tons of out-doorsy stuff if you're into hiking/biking/rowing/etc.

Penn State seems to have a bit higher crime rate, but I haven't noticed it to be too bad here, either. I live 2 miles off campus, in a suburban neighborhood, and crime is minimal (last week we got an e-mail from our landlord that people had had things stolen from their cars, but only people who left their doors unlocked...). Downtown, I think thefts and robberies are a little more common, but it is generally held to be a relatively safe area. There are a lot more housing options here than at Cornell, but prices can still be a bit steep if you want to live really close to campus. State College has more in the way of national chains of restaurants and shopping than Ithaca by a long shot, but, conversely, you have to drive 3-4 hours to Pittsburgh or Philly to really get to any bigger towns.

One piece of unsolicited, slightly off topic advice: more than location, more than department, more than anything else, finding a good grad program is about finding the right advisor. From personal experience, the difference between an advisor you gel with and can get stuff done for and one you can't is what makes or breaks a graduate school experience.