Onondaga Community College 4585 West Seneca Turnpike, Syracuse, NY 13215

"The Broadcast Media Communication program (BMC) is top notch. One of the best in the entire country."

"Graduated here a bit ago. Overall, this place is aesthetically beautiful. The wildlife, overview of the city, and sunsets while having headphones make you enjoy your free time there. However, there are a lot of things I wish could be improved here. For one, the dining experience is interesting. None of my friends enjoy it, there is occasional food poisoning, and the allergy/diet accommodations are few to none and staff are only given a seven minute training for accommodations through video. I warn anyone who plans to live on campus with allergies have a good lawyer and doctor or connections at school that will care about your health because the meal plan is mandatory and I have been told by my friend with celiacs that it is complicated to get accommodations without getting mistakes in their food that is life threatening. There is a food bank that can provide meats and veggies but Wegmans/Aldis nearby will be your best friend. Also, there is no food available on Sundays/Saturdays until 12pm. Living on campus without a car is a struggle, but I have heard Veo scooters are now on campus. Nevertheless, unless you have a friend who lives on campus with a car, each week will grow increasingly frustrating if you're stuck on campus. Parties are abundant but can be frustrating if you study diligently. Only building B has a kitchen in the room and I don't recommend using the public kitchens in A or C. The dorms are way better than other SUNY dorms, but make sure to document any problems and contact maintenance, unless you want to pay extra fees. Make sure you have friends to dorm with you and get a single room, because you could get ANYONE. I have had nightmare experiences with suitemates using my things without permission, and unfortunately a lot of my friends have had that problem. There are lots of good staff, and there are staff who do questionable things. Look at RateMyProfessor and definitely ask people for info on previous professors. I'm lucky to have had most of my instructors, since they are amazing people. One concern I have is the amount of stress they have from the workplace, which means stress on students. Expect this to be commonplace and understand they are people too. Micron is making big changes and it's overwhelming staff and students. Transferring and financial aid have been frustrating. I had to figure out everything myself on how to transfer because the transfer services are frustrating to reach out to and bring more questions than answers, so you'd be more in luck asking for help from the transfer institutions in the college you're transferring too. With financial aid, all I can say is make sure you look into it every week/month in case miscellaneous fees are charged and make sure to apply for TAP and FAFSA if able. There is a joke here that everyone has problems with financial aid here. Near the end of my last semester, changes were being made to the program I was a part of. Beforehand, a lot of my classes I needed to graduate with were cancelled and I ended up with credits I could not transfer with, classes I was overqualified for, and courses that ended up being too crowded. As a result, I will have to take another year at my new institution. Some courses are cancelled without reason, so do be wary. One of my friends had to confront the dean to fix this problem or else they would not graduate. Overall, talk to your professors once you get screwed over like this and they will help. I am lucky to have had the professors I had, but I felt there was more stress than there should've been with my college experience. Overall, I enjoyed my time here and made countless connections, but I question if I would be better off at a 4 year. I would suggest coming here if you would like to get back on your feet, like me, or take a few courses or just imprive your GPA. If you expect to go to a 4 year college and you want to save money at a community college, I recommend you do more research. On the more good side of things, you will definitely find amazing people and friends here."

"Went here my senior year of high school for a dual enrollment program, didn’t have any problem with my classes, they are what you’d expect at a community college. Campus is a little unnecessarily large so the walks to class in the winter can be annoying."

"This “school” is absolute trash. The “advisors” don’t ever reach out or actually advise anyone. You are always left to fend for yourself. Like creating your own schedule not really knowing what classes to sign up for. Only to have the school change your schedule a week or less prior to the semester starting. Also, Financial aid here is a joke. No one helps you or explains anything to you and you are always greeted with attitude. They randomly send an email (no phone call, no advisor reaching out for a heads up. Nothing. This was also one week prior to Summer semester starting) they take aid away after saying it was due to “poor grades”. I received a final GPA for 2022 Spring semester of a 3.75. When I called them based on the issue expecting them to say that it was a mistake, they claimed it was due to a “PACE score” which I have never heard of. Or knew about before this happening. Had I known withdrawing from classes back in 2012 when I was 18 years old, fresh out of high school, also dealing with a stalker situation that stopped me from going to classes, would effect my financial aid (TEN YEARS LATER!), I NEVER would have tried to go back and finish my degree at this “college”. DO NOT EVEN BOTHER GOING HERE! Spend your time and money at a school that actually WANTS to see you successful!"