Collegiate Village

Pro: Love having my own bathroom and having the solar café when I’m too lazy to cook. Having the shuttles are nice for those who don’t have a car. It’s close to the highways.
Con: their internet is unacceptable and the slowness of their response is disappointing. Since before winter break, they tried to make everyone use wireless internet. They even inactivated the Ethernet cords… A lot of the residents are complaining but all they are doing is posting a link where we write down out complains and a person would come to our rooms to press the reset button on their routers. Pretty useless if you ask me. We’ve had this problem since last semester and throughout the finals week. There were kids who could not do their assignments. Yet it seemed, to me, there was minimal steps taken by the administration to fix the problem. Just to give you guys an idea: I’m trying to watch a YouTube clip and it’s not loading at all…
I would not recommend this place if you need Internet and please go somewhere else to eat. Will update once the situation changes.

You will get constant emails saying the internet is out or someone lost some staff somewhere in the lobby and they have videotaped who took it.
There are a lot people who smoke weed here, and the administrators don’t care. So if that is what you are looking for as well, then you should live here.
They have developed an extremely long list how to charge you, but they have never tried to really help to solve the internet connection problems or improve the living experience. They are people who don’t live here get into the gate and walk around the community at 2 am.
The price is way too much for a Buffalo. You are better off somewhere else.

I am new to collegiate village as I just moved in this fall as a freshmen. I have my own car and drive to school since shuttles are not offered for any of the ECC campuses. So I have never been on any of the shuttles since they’re of no use to me.
I have had major problems with the fire alarms going off all the time.
Also, if you plan to be able to park near your building you better get there before 7pm. At night its impossible to find parking because it gets so full.
It has issues, but so do dorms. And thus overall I still believe CV is a much more enjoyable place than an on-​campus dorm.

This is my 2^nd year at CV. When I was moving to buffalo for dental school from sunny LA everyone was saying that buffalo is a depressing/​boring place. I would say living at CV has kept me out of depression! But seriously at CV I have had many first time experiences like carving pumpkin, skiing to eating pancakes. If you are coming from another country you will have enough opportunities to get involved in variety of activities to know the American culture well and even if you are local you will find a reason to celebrate all festivals with fellow residents. I was initially thinking to buy a car before I moved here but I found CV’s shuttle service very reliable. Shuttle buses are always on time, may be a few minutes late if weather/​traffic is bad. Regarding facilities, CV has Pool, fitness center, gym, theater, gaming room, computer lab, study room, vending machine. You name it! I think that’s more than you could ask for. Recently they have opened solar café which provides different food choices at very convenient location. Staff members and fellow residents are very nice that I feel like CV is my second home. CV is a gated community with security car patrolling. I feel very safe to walk around/​take pictures whenever I want. We were 15 classmates who decided to live here during our 1^st year and 14 decided to stay for the 2^nd year too. This high retention rate shows that most people liked it.
Someone wrote that for printing you have to bring your own papers. I believe that is to prevent misuse. But I would like if they give residents a login ID/​password to use computers which will maintain privacy and also some fixed amount of money for printing. The only thing I don’t like about CV is when you make good friends and time comes to move on. Well, things change and friends leave. Life doesn’t stop for anybody. One thing for sure is, I am really going to miss CV when I move on!

I agree with Amy. I lived her when I first moved out to Buffalo and it is very over priced! I was there 2 years and after the first year, they increased the rent over $ 40 per month! It was definitely not worth the cost! Our air conditioner broke at least 6 times, my roommates toilet flooded and they never replaced the carpeting that was ruined by the water, the fire alarms would go off often and with no reason or explanation. Twice they charged me for needing security to unlock my apartment because I «forgot my keys» when I have never locked myself out of somewhere in my whole life. I disputed the charges and they realized they made a mistake, but it was a big hassle.
The selling point is the security. But after I had my (then) boyfriend come over, they would just let him into the complex without asking my permission like they should do. They also would let my mother in without asking my permission. Nothing bad happened because neither of these people are psycho, but I’m sure they could have let a few nuts in.
There is a lot on the lease that seems to be almost a «bait and switch.» For example, the apartment I rented with my friends was a 4 bedroom apartment with another apartment below us. There were only 2 apartments in the building. When I signed the lease, I specifically asked if the apartment below mine housed males or females. They told me that each building was either all female or all male. 6 months after, 4 males moved in below us. Another thing they told us was that there was a plow for the winter. This turned out to be someone who plowed every other day, and not on the weekends. As Buffalonians know, every other day may not be enough.
As Amy noted, there is a bus to take residents to local places. I tried taking the bus to U.B. South. I got to the stop 5 min early but it had already left.
If you are looking to rent here, check out other places. I moved from CV to a different apartment (which I still felt safe at) and saved almost $ 300 a month!
Also, I just looked at the reviews on their Website, every person that wrote a review is one of their RA’s who get free apartments for working there. They aren’t honest reviews from basic residents.

Five words: Over priced & not worth it.
If you’re unfamiliar to the Buffalo area, this seems like a relatively good option. It’s cheaper compared to living on student residence and offers bus shuttles to numerous places (super markets, malls, school, hospitals). It has a gate around the premises which «supposedly» increases security. They do a criminal check on you prior to leasing to you (to which I question its validity given it is not a formal police/​background check). However, my friends (who also rented from CV) complain of noise complaints, foul smells (residents smoking weed) and so much more. When they brought this to the attention of the staff, they did little to nothing about it.
Don’t get me wrong– CV isn’t short of amenities. They have a pool, a BBQ grill (to which you can rent out), a movie theater, study room, computer labs and free printing. But come on… free printing where you have to bring your own paper? It’s also quite far from schools if you really think about it (it is located in Cheektowaga).
Buffalo is a city where you NEED a car to get from place to place. The little towns (Amherst, Williamsville, etc.) are cute and close by (10−30m drive in between); but I definitely don’t find them to be walking distance. If you’re at the mercy of public transit, CV might be the best option for you. However, if you don’t plan on exploring the city during your studies/​work, perhaps renting close to your school/​work place would be wiser. Check out kijiji or craigslist for lease postings. My new monthly bill is almost half of what it would be if I was still renting with CV.