Alfred University

Throughout your Alfred experience, you or someone close to you will utter the phrase, “I’ve got to get out of here.” Students at AU make threats to transfer at least twice daily. Still, very few actually do. Many of us stay for an extra year. Some of us stay for grad school, and a good portion of our staff are also AU alum. Why?

Find out what makes students so strongly loyal to a school in the middle of nowhere, what makes them want to flee, and what keeps 80 percent of them there regardless. It’s a safe bet to say it’s not the local atmosphere . . .

5 Fun Facts about Alfred:

• Alfred was a station on the Underground Railroad.
• Ceramics are big in Alfred because of the rich clay deposits in the soil.
• Alfred is home to flesh-eating beetles.
• The region is also known as the “Valley of the Insane.”
• The Seneca Native Americans once revered the area as sacred ground.

“Is there stuff to visit? No. Coming from a city—no, there just isn’t.”

or the lure of the opposite sex . . .

“The people in Alfred are not hot at all. The guys and girls are mostly overweight or are all plain janes/johns. When I first came to Alfred, I was surprised to find such ugly people.”

yet in the end, Alfred students seem to find it all worth it.

“I’ve enjoyed my time at Alfred. I don’t think I really could have ended up anyplace else. I’ve learned a lot, and I’ve made amazing lifetime friends, and I wouldn’t change it at all. There is no place in the world like Alfred, New York.”

Find out if Alfred University truly has something for you, straight from the students' mouths.

Visiting campus isn't enough.

Read our Alfred University insider guide and discover what it feels like to be on campus for 4 years.

Discover if Alfred is Right For You.