Schaeffer stayed in his home state to attend college, accepting a basketball scholarship from St. John's University.

[2] In three varsity seasons spanning between 1970–71 and 1972–73, Schaeffer established himself as one of the premier players in program history.

[2] He contributed to the team reaching the 1972 National Invitation Tournament semi-final, losing 67–69 against Niagara University, when his last second shot didn't fall down.

[5] Schaeffer played a second full season with the Nets the following year as they failed to defend their title.

They finished second in the regular season standings but went on to win the EPBL championship, two games to one, over the Hazelton Bullets.

On January 7, 1976, he was traded along with Swen Nater to the Virginia Squires, in exchange for Jim Eakins.