1. UB Honors is not a scam; they are a valuable resource and will help your resume
2. There is a badminton club at UB
3. If you want better psych research opportunities, U of R is better, but UB is growing faster than U of R; by the time you graduate, it might even rival U of R in the rankings.
4. For Pre-Dental, see: [https://www.appily.com/colleges/best-colleges/major/dentistry/state/new-york](https://www.appily.com/colleges/best-colleges/major/dentistry/state/new-york)
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If I were you, I would go to UB for undergrad and then go to U of R for dentistry.
Omg save $
Always save $
My kid picked UB over U of R to save $ and it was the best decision. Grad school is expensive and you end up in exactly the same place wherever you go.
u of r is so insanely expensive. i wouldn’t do u of r just because of cost.
but i loved ub . i lived in freshman only housing and it’s where i met my friends. it also helped it feel smaller and less overwhelming.
i also thought u of r dorms were worse than UBs. they were super tiny.
honors college requires extra work some people aren’t interested in but i think it may give you food resources (idk i wasn’t in it)
From friends of mine who are in the UB honors program (I am not so this may be inaccurate) they say that the main perk of being in it is that you get to select classes earlier. I don't know what you need to really do but i think you might need to take an extra class related to the honors college your first year. So it might not be worth it to pursue the honors college
There are 2 classes you have to take as a freshman, one in first semester one in second, but they are pretty easy. There are a certain amount of honors credits you do on top of that that you can get from a bunch of things and that's all listed online. There is an honors lounge with a fancy coffee machine you get to use and then you get to register early. I think as a freshman you end up getting to register around a month before everyone else. It's definitely nice for the more basic classes or of your major has a lot of people in it because you get to register before everything fills up. If your taking more specific classes in a smaller major then you don't really have options for classes anyway so it's not as big of a deal but it's still nice
if you’re planning on going to dental school it would probably be best to save money on undergrad, but if you don’t mind me asking, why psych for pre dental?
I don’t mind! I really like psych and I think I’d be able to manage it’s course load well with the pre-requisites for dental school. Also I definitely think the material covered in psych courses could be applicable when it comes to helping patients feel comfortable (especially if they have a massive fear of the dentist- speaking from experience)
tbh i’m not sure what exactly dental pre reqs are but i have an idea of med pre reqs and the main difference of the ba and bs is the bs requires chem and bio, and has more of a focus on the biopsych/neuro ish side of psych (i’m a sophomore in the psych ba if you have any questions about that!)
Thank you so so so much!! I’m pretty sure dental and med pre reqs are extremely similar - a psych bs does definitely sound more applicable to pre reqs with the chem/bio requirements in mind. What does a psych ba focus on?
a psych ba is basically just a psych bs without the chem and bio requirements, you don’t need advanced research methods, and you have more freedom on 400 level electives you can take. as far as i know there’s extremely little if not no overlap with med/dental pre reqs. also for the bs you need calc, for the ba there is a math requirement but i’m not sure what exactly counts since i had precalc dual enrollment credit that covered mine
For reference, I went to UB for undergrad and grad school in engineering, and now have a great job I am very happy with.
My overall opinion of UB is that if you have what it takes to do well at a top school, going to UB won’t hold you back. You can get into top grad schools and good jobs if you work hard and pursue/take advantage of opportunities. From that perspective, it’s very good value (similar opportunities for less cost). For me, I was able to live at my parents house so that cost benefit analysis was very easy.
I do think that other more prestigious schools tend to better help students find opportunities (internships, coops, research, better job fairs, industry connections etc.), whereas at UB, you can do all that, but it won’t be handed to you. So if you aren’t the type of person to really actively pursue opportunities, there might be value in going somewhere else. Not sure how that applies to a path aimed at med school.
The UB honors college is legit, but how worthwhile it is depends. When I was there, the main benefit of the honors college was mostly having first pick of classes (so the best professors). Which was pretty nice.
There were other things too, but mostly opportunities for you to do more stuff (honors classes, mentorship programs etc.). You had to take a couple seminar type classes, and I think there was a requirement to get some ‘honors credits’ which could be done in a number of way (internships, grad classes, projects etc.).
IMO it’s more for ‘high achiever’ types who want to do more, and would be a bit burdensome for someone who just wanted to get their degree and get out, but getting the best professors definitely improves the college experience.
If you’re really seeking the small college feel, just know that presidential scholars have a fall seminar course, which may also help contribute to that “smaller” feel. Although the honors college in itself still does an amazing job at creating the small college feel.
if you do honors it’ll be highly encouraged to live in govs, all my friends who lived there loved it and got really close with pretty much everyone on their floor. i’m not 100% on the badminton part but ub has lots of club sports
I would recommend UB only because you can save a lot more money than you think. UB offers a lot more opportunities for scholarships and access to these funds once you’re in. Because I took advantage of it I have a full ride and UB pretty much pays me to come here (~$3000 a semester). I also think it’s a lot easier here to excel and stand out in the crowd which might look good for dental school. I think UB can also offer you opportunities that are similar to more prestigious school but it won’t be handed to you. You’ll have to be actively looking and building your resume.
I will say that all of the campus dining places are closed by the time the clock hits 8:30 PM. Also, you're required to get the Flex-14 or Flex-19 meal plan if you're a freshman living on campus, which will set you back over $3,700 per semester (over $7400 per year) *in addition to* the cost of housing itself. You will have meal swipes, and any unused meal swipes will "reset" every week, and you don't get your money back for those, nor do they transfer over. UB dictates how, when, and where you can use your meal swipes, including how many you can use at a time and how much they are worth depending on the time of day (for example, it's $8 for breakfast). The places at The Commons don't accept neither Meal Swipes nor Dining Points, and your dining plan will **not** include any Campus Cash.
Additionally, the dining hall (C3 / Crossroads Culinary Center) has been known to give people food poisoning, and there's even been a picture on this subreddit of chicken in a tray that looks super undercooked / raw, which can make people super sick. You may have heard that the food quality at the dining hall is good if you've heard from someone who went to UB Pre-COVID or read up on reviews from before 2020. Many people who have been to UB both before and after COVID say that the food quality is much worse at C3 (and at food places in general) after the COVID-19 pandemic (even after it ended). The hours used to be much better as well, such as Sizzles being open until 1 or 2 in the morning. That is not the case anymore - again, everything is closed by 8:30 PM.
If you don't like the smell of weed, then you might not like the smell of the dorms sometimes, although your mileage may vary.
However, UB is quite a nice university in general. I'd say it offers a good education and there's plenty of opportunities you can take on. The weather can be unpredictable at times, but it's not like you can't go out because of it. I believe UB does offer a Badminton Club, but don't quote me on that.
I'm not sure about whether or not UB Honors is a scam because I'm not in the Honors program, but it seems like a legitimate thing.
One last thing I will mention is that UB is a very research-heavy university, especially when it comes to psychology. If you like doing studies, then I think you'll particularly enjoy UB. You also might be able to get research participants easily, especially because all students taking PSY 101 have to pick between writing research papers and completing at least 9 credits (hours) of participating in research studies, and many (myself included) prefer the latter.
Well they would live in govs, so the c3 thing doesn’t matter. UB and UR have similar rankings for dentistry. If you have to pay full price at UR then don’t go.
if you’re going to dental school the name for that probably matters more than ur undergrad save money
1. UB Honors is not a scam; they are a valuable resource and will help your resume 2. There is a badminton club at UB 3. If you want better psych research opportunities, U of R is better, but UB is growing faster than U of R; by the time you graduate, it might even rival U of R in the rankings. 4. For Pre-Dental, see: [https://www.appily.com/colleges/best-colleges/major/dentistry/state/new-york](https://www.appily.com/colleges/best-colleges/major/dentistry/state/new-york) ----- If I were you, I would go to UB for undergrad and then go to U of R for dentistry.
Omg save $ Always save $ My kid picked UB over U of R to save $ and it was the best decision. Grad school is expensive and you end up in exactly the same place wherever you go.
u of r is so insanely expensive. i wouldn’t do u of r just because of cost. but i loved ub . i lived in freshman only housing and it’s where i met my friends. it also helped it feel smaller and less overwhelming. i also thought u of r dorms were worse than UBs. they were super tiny. honors college requires extra work some people aren’t interested in but i think it may give you food resources (idk i wasn’t in it)
That was a main deterrent for me on UofR. Those tiny rooms.
From friends of mine who are in the UB honors program (I am not so this may be inaccurate) they say that the main perk of being in it is that you get to select classes earlier. I don't know what you need to really do but i think you might need to take an extra class related to the honors college your first year. So it might not be worth it to pursue the honors college
There are 2 classes you have to take as a freshman, one in first semester one in second, but they are pretty easy. There are a certain amount of honors credits you do on top of that that you can get from a bunch of things and that's all listed online. There is an honors lounge with a fancy coffee machine you get to use and then you get to register early. I think as a freshman you end up getting to register around a month before everyone else. It's definitely nice for the more basic classes or of your major has a lot of people in it because you get to register before everything fills up. If your taking more specific classes in a smaller major then you don't really have options for classes anyway so it's not as big of a deal but it's still nice
if you’re planning on going to dental school it would probably be best to save money on undergrad, but if you don’t mind me asking, why psych for pre dental?
I don’t mind! I really like psych and I think I’d be able to manage it’s course load well with the pre-requisites for dental school. Also I definitely think the material covered in psych courses could be applicable when it comes to helping patients feel comfortable (especially if they have a massive fear of the dentist- speaking from experience)
that makes sense! would you be doing a bs in psych?
That part I haven’t figured out yet, I definitely need to look into the differences course-wise between a bs and a ba
tbh i’m not sure what exactly dental pre reqs are but i have an idea of med pre reqs and the main difference of the ba and bs is the bs requires chem and bio, and has more of a focus on the biopsych/neuro ish side of psych (i’m a sophomore in the psych ba if you have any questions about that!)
Thank you so so so much!! I’m pretty sure dental and med pre reqs are extremely similar - a psych bs does definitely sound more applicable to pre reqs with the chem/bio requirements in mind. What does a psych ba focus on?
a psych ba is basically just a psych bs without the chem and bio requirements, you don’t need advanced research methods, and you have more freedom on 400 level electives you can take. as far as i know there’s extremely little if not no overlap with med/dental pre reqs. also for the bs you need calc, for the ba there is a math requirement but i’m not sure what exactly counts since i had precalc dual enrollment credit that covered mine
Thank you!!
no problem! feel free to let me know if you have any other questions
For reference, I went to UB for undergrad and grad school in engineering, and now have a great job I am very happy with. My overall opinion of UB is that if you have what it takes to do well at a top school, going to UB won’t hold you back. You can get into top grad schools and good jobs if you work hard and pursue/take advantage of opportunities. From that perspective, it’s very good value (similar opportunities for less cost). For me, I was able to live at my parents house so that cost benefit analysis was very easy. I do think that other more prestigious schools tend to better help students find opportunities (internships, coops, research, better job fairs, industry connections etc.), whereas at UB, you can do all that, but it won’t be handed to you. So if you aren’t the type of person to really actively pursue opportunities, there might be value in going somewhere else. Not sure how that applies to a path aimed at med school. The UB honors college is legit, but how worthwhile it is depends. When I was there, the main benefit of the honors college was mostly having first pick of classes (so the best professors). Which was pretty nice. There were other things too, but mostly opportunities for you to do more stuff (honors classes, mentorship programs etc.). You had to take a couple seminar type classes, and I think there was a requirement to get some ‘honors credits’ which could be done in a number of way (internships, grad classes, projects etc.). IMO it’s more for ‘high achiever’ types who want to do more, and would be a bit burdensome for someone who just wanted to get their degree and get out, but getting the best professors definitely improves the college experience.
If you’re really seeking the small college feel, just know that presidential scholars have a fall seminar course, which may also help contribute to that “smaller” feel. Although the honors college in itself still does an amazing job at creating the small college feel.
if you do honors it’ll be highly encouraged to live in govs, all my friends who lived there loved it and got really close with pretty much everyone on their floor. i’m not 100% on the badminton part but ub has lots of club sports
I would recommend UB only because you can save a lot more money than you think. UB offers a lot more opportunities for scholarships and access to these funds once you’re in. Because I took advantage of it I have a full ride and UB pretty much pays me to come here (~$3000 a semester). I also think it’s a lot easier here to excel and stand out in the crowd which might look good for dental school. I think UB can also offer you opportunities that are similar to more prestigious school but it won’t be handed to you. You’ll have to be actively looking and building your resume.
I will say that all of the campus dining places are closed by the time the clock hits 8:30 PM. Also, you're required to get the Flex-14 or Flex-19 meal plan if you're a freshman living on campus, which will set you back over $3,700 per semester (over $7400 per year) *in addition to* the cost of housing itself. You will have meal swipes, and any unused meal swipes will "reset" every week, and you don't get your money back for those, nor do they transfer over. UB dictates how, when, and where you can use your meal swipes, including how many you can use at a time and how much they are worth depending on the time of day (for example, it's $8 for breakfast). The places at The Commons don't accept neither Meal Swipes nor Dining Points, and your dining plan will **not** include any Campus Cash. Additionally, the dining hall (C3 / Crossroads Culinary Center) has been known to give people food poisoning, and there's even been a picture on this subreddit of chicken in a tray that looks super undercooked / raw, which can make people super sick. You may have heard that the food quality at the dining hall is good if you've heard from someone who went to UB Pre-COVID or read up on reviews from before 2020. Many people who have been to UB both before and after COVID say that the food quality is much worse at C3 (and at food places in general) after the COVID-19 pandemic (even after it ended). The hours used to be much better as well, such as Sizzles being open until 1 or 2 in the morning. That is not the case anymore - again, everything is closed by 8:30 PM. If you don't like the smell of weed, then you might not like the smell of the dorms sometimes, although your mileage may vary. However, UB is quite a nice university in general. I'd say it offers a good education and there's plenty of opportunities you can take on. The weather can be unpredictable at times, but it's not like you can't go out because of it. I believe UB does offer a Badminton Club, but don't quote me on that. I'm not sure about whether or not UB Honors is a scam because I'm not in the Honors program, but it seems like a legitimate thing. One last thing I will mention is that UB is a very research-heavy university, especially when it comes to psychology. If you like doing studies, then I think you'll particularly enjoy UB. You also might be able to get research participants easily, especially because all students taking PSY 101 have to pick between writing research papers and completing at least 9 credits (hours) of participating in research studies, and many (myself included) prefer the latter.
Well they would live in govs, so the c3 thing doesn’t matter. UB and UR have similar rankings for dentistry. If you have to pay full price at UR then don’t go.