Don't know much about Buffalo, but here's my input on Albany:
It sounds like you like Albany's location and just have reservations about the environment at Albany, is that correct? Right before Christmas would definitely have been an off day to visit - not that you usually meet too many students during the tour - interview days are always such slim snapshots, (and actually if you came to the evening info session, you may have already heard my two cents), but it was the day before our first year Neuro final exam, which is one of our hardest systems, so I'm sure campus was completely dead. 2nd years had an exam the next day too, so they were probably all holed up as well. There is no undergrad here on campus (though there are a couple of colleges somewhat nearby, so you might run into that crowd at bars, coffeeshops, but otherwise it's just med students and a few PA, NA, and grad students.) As a result, there are probably fewer resources than at a larger school, like if you're looking at extracurriculars and such. (We still have a variety of clubs and such, but when you're at a smaller school there are fewer people which definitely affects activity levels.)
No idea on the ranking/prestige bit. I've heard our 4th years match pretty well, and I've heard good things about the Buffalo program (and graduates from our school have gone there for residency and attendings seem to say good things when they hear that). Someone posted our most recent match list on another thread if you want to take a look at it.
Albany is in a residential area (Pine Hills). I've always felt safe as a female walking at night to and from school or from friend's houses, etc. Of course, we usually try and walk in pairs or groups anyway, since that's just a smart thing to do. And people are usually watching out for each other in general and always make sure to offer rides or to walk with you. Like any city, there are places you probably shouldn't walk around at night. I went to undergrad in a well-off suburb of Los Angeles, and I heard about as many reports from security this past year at Albany as I did in a typical year at undergrad (probably one or two). There's a shuttle from campus that will take you to your front door in the evenings, you can call for a security escort, etc.
I feel like cohesive student bodies are a little dependent on who is in your class as each class is going to have a different dynamic. That said, most everyone I've met at AMC is cooperative and concerned about everyone doing well. My class gets along really well, is always sharing information, throwing class parties, and so forth. Interaction between classes is rarer, but whenever I have interacted with upperclassmen, they are incredibly generous with their time, always trying to pass along advice or helpful handouts, and interested in our well-being. The class above us made sure to set up some mock practical exams for us, has panels at the beginning of each system (theme) to give advice, and a couple people always email us with useful information. The 4th years we work with for our clinical skills class always let us pick their brains.
As for the hospital, I hear we get a lot of cases at Albany since we serve a large area. I'm just starting MS-II so I haven't been in the hospital much, but most people say the clinical years are great. It looks like the 3rd year Peds rotation is mostly in the hospital here on campus or local sites. I do not think there is a children's hospital anywhere nearby; I seem to remember hearing that several of the 4th years who matched in peds last year said they did an away rotation at a children's hospital to see the difference (and most who did really liked that, so perhaps that is something to consider.) I am in the Peds interest group and the physician advisors we have are FANTASTIC. And the clerkship coordinator is great, too. They're very interested in helping anyone interested in Peds get connected and succeed. Our faculty advisor made sure to ask us all what we were interested in getting out of the interest group and then went ahead and made the connections for *all* of us. (I thought I was responding to some sort of brainstorming email, but she was seriously interested in finding out what we wanted to get involved with or get more exposure with and found opportunities and got us hooked up.)
Our dean for the first and second years is awesome. Our class mom. She is always looking out for us in all regards and at all times of day/night.
Personally, if I were in-state I would choose Buffalo for the money factor, because my dad's an accounting major and the compound interest on the extra 20k tuition per year and the fact that you make less as a pediatrician compared to most other specialties would have won both of us over... but I also don't have family ties, I like exploring new cities and traveling, so that would have also put more pros on the Buffalo side for me. I'm sure the education you'd get at either school is pretty comparable. If you like the location better and money really isn't an issue, I'm pretty sure you could be happy at either school.
