@romns116
1) Yes, the campus was wonderful-exactly what you would want for any student. The architecture is beautiful, the facilities are modern, and the Carrier Dome resides in the heart of the campus. The way I described it when I visited was as a rural campus in an urban location. Although it is not located in a major city, SU encourages access to the college town (which is pretty nice) and the city of Syracuse itself (which features several retail outlets as well as Destiny Mall. the sixth largest mall in the United States). It’s definitely not in the middle of nowhere.
Weather was definitely a factor (which is also why I didn't want to apply to (or even visit) RIT or UR). The snow is almost never-ending! I am from Long Island, but if you're traveling from Texas, the transition would be even more of a shock. What really turned me off was the "college life." There were two huge facts that were real deal-breakers.
The first is that Syracuse has been ranked the most dangerous city in New York on multiple occasions. The amount of violence (and I mean violence-rapes, murders, assaults, robberies) that goes on there is greater than almost any other school in the Northeast, or even the United States. I would NOT want to be a student there with these rates.
(https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ny/syracuse/crime I would read this article if I were you-it shows just how unsafe the city is)
The second is that Syracuse has been ranked in the top 10 "party schools" consistently; in fact, they were #1 in 2014. They also rank high in categories such as beer and Greek Life (which I do not plan to associate with, much less be a part of). I like a good football game as much as the next guy, but come on-#1 party school AND one of the most violent cities in America? That doesn't sound like a great, safe campus environment to me!
(http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2017/07/top_party_schools_princeton_review_syracuse_university.html read this article as well-a real eye opener as far as the social scene)
I hope I haven't scared you too much about SU, and by all means apply if you're interested! I only toured Newhouse, but it was incredible! DO NOT apply to VPA-multiple on-campus alumni shared with me that it is possibly the worst program on campus. The professors are terrible, the course load is ridiculous, and there is no real hands-on experiences. Now, I'm sure not everybody feels this way, but enough sources agreed upon the same opinion that it convinced me to avoid VPA.
If you have any other questions, please ask! SU does have some wonderful opportunities, but in my case, those two facts were simply unforgivable when it came time to applications.