Albany,NY: The College of Saint Rose is a small school in the capital city of New York.Although the school is named after the first American female saint, it isnonsectarian.

Founded in 1920, St. Rose was once a women's college, but itopened its doors to men in 1946. There are just over 2,700 students, with morewomen attending than men.

I was surprised to learn that tuition, room andboard at St. Rose is just under $20,000 a year. Because it is a private school, Iexpected it to be even more expensive.

When I visited, I had a short butinformative tour. It is a very small, cute school known for its teachingprograms, which are what I am very interested in. The education building isscheduled to be completed in 2003. The library even contains books on curricula,which is helpful to an education major. Everyone I talked to was interested inworking in education.

St. Rose is a Division III sports school, so it isnot very competitive. I am interested in joining the swim team in college, and Ihad a chance to talk with the swim coach. There are only 18 girls on the team,which is a nice way to make friends as a freshman.

Music is anotherinterest of mine, so I went to see the music buildings. Music is not one of thepopular activities at St. Rose. There are only small ensemble groups, but I'mmore interested in getting a good education than focusing on music. Music is justfor fun at this school.

The freshman dorm rooms are fairly small, but veryclean. The bathrooms were large and cleaner than I expected. The dorms are co-edby floor so you'll never have to share the bathroom with the opposite sex. Afteryour first year, you can live in Victorian houses on campus, which makes dealingwith the dorms worth the wait. The rooms also have one phone line and computerline per student, so you can be on the phone and on-line at the sametime!

After the tour I got to eat at the college. I was worried because Idon't eat meat, but the food was excellent and there was plenty for vegetarians.It was great.

I really liked The College of St. Rose. It is good forpeople who are interested in majoring in education or pursuing careers ineducation. Although the music department is small and the school is Division III,I'm sure the education programs at St. Rose make it all worth it.


Reviewed in 2002