Insight into Alfred University

jyber209
Thu, 12 Mar 2009 07:45:32 +0000

My son (high school class of '08) visited Alfred as a prospective mechanical engineering major. We his parents went along.

The staff could not have been nicer or more welcoming. They went to considerable trouble to plan out a day for him – campus tour, sitting in on a class, meeting with the head of mechanical engineering, etc. They set him up to room with another engineering major who shared his interest in being on the track team. There is a very nice small hotel on campus where we stayed – we had a fireplace in our suite and a lovely breakfast.

We were there in winter and actually found the campus charming in the snow. H and I walked to a cozy and good local restaurant for dinner, and saw a group of students eating there with their prof.

Reactions:
Lovely small, although certainly isolated, campus. Lots of personal attention. They do plan things to do on weekends and bring performances to campus.
My son’s reaction to the engineering program was that materials engineering (esp. ceramics) is clearly the specialty. He felt the mechanical engineering was not so strong, at least based on the class he attended. He was particularly disappointed that when he asked about the pass rate for graduates on the first engineering licensing exam, he was told, “We don’t maintain that data.” My reaction is that was either a lie (they have it but don’t want to share it) or that they are not doing their job well as it is something that should be tracked. The school he ended up attending prints their students’ pass rate in their engineering brochure.

For the right kid and the right program I think Alfred could be a hidden gem, as long as the location is not an issue. My son was offered a modest merit scholarship there, but we ended up allowing him to attend his first choice school (Lafayette).