<p>The goal at Geneseo is to provide the same LAC experience you would get at a private college in a public setting. I can tell you from my experience that yes they come quite close. </p>
<p>Yes most of us got admitted to private or public LAC’s like Vassar, the William & Marry’s but we went to Geneseo because they offered pretty much the same education, same level of student population (Not as geographically diverse ofcourse, mostly NY State students, but bright students) at a much bettter price. </p>
<p>If you are planning on graduate school Geneseo is an excellant choice. In terms of merit aid for out of staters you would need to check with Geneseo.</p>
<p>The class of 2012 I believe had an avg SAT score of 1326, ACT of 29 and 93 avg. So it is competitive to gain admisson. I think this year the avg SAT was 1350.</p>
<p>Chedva – If only that were true. Geneseo has not historically attracted much interest at all from OOS students. They would like to increase geographical diversity but after 7 or 8 years’ effort they have only been able to move the percentage of OOS students from 1% to 2% (and most of that gain came from 2006 to 2008). I don’t know if it the rustbelt image of Upstate NY, the weather or perceptions that Geneseo’s student body is too homogeneous (smart white, suburban Upstate kids), but it has been a hard sell getting OOS students to consider Geneseo (as opposed to Stony Brook and Binghamton). And now that NYS is in the process of raising tuition it may become a harder sell.</p>
<p>hudsonvalley51: Agreed. Can’t see how someone could get into U Penn but not Geneseo as an OOS student. I think the gains in OOS from 2006 - 2008 has been because of more publicity from articles like the one in Kiplinger where Geneseo was named the #1 public school for OOS, this year they were #2.</p>
<p>The only way I can see a Penn student not getting into Geneseo is if s/he threw the application in as a safety without putting in any effort, and the admissions office particularly picked up on this alienation.</p>
<p>According to Kiplinger’s, Geneseo’s student/faculty ratio is 19:1. My flagship, which would likely also be cheaper, has a ratio of 12:1–and it doesn’t try to be an LAC. Geneseo isn’t out of consideration, of course, but I’m still skeptical as to how it compensates for fewer faculty = larger classes or overworked teachers. Anyone know Geneseo’s average class size?</p>
<p>Keilexandra: I think if you go to the Geneseo Forum and look around u will find alot of the answers to your questions. There are some posts comparing one of the SUNY University Centers to Geneseo. From what I understand at some of the University Centers there are TA’s teaching labs stuff like that. </p>
<p>I have never seen a post by a current student or alumni complaining about the size of the classes or that the professors were overworked. </p>
<p>Did you read the comments section from students in the Kiplinger article???..there were a number of students and alumni who posted there. </p>
<p>Also remember that at most colleges your introductory courses will be large lecture courses that is typical at most colleges. </p>
<p>If you are referring to the University of Deleware as your state flagship you should also find out how large your Intro to Bio, Chem classes are. I am sure they are pretty large. </p>
<p>Geneseo has definitely worked hard to kick it up a notch and certainly deserves a second look. But I would not put in the category of William and Mary or begin to think that it’s as hard to get into as an IVY. And I agree about the acceptance of one student to UPenn but not Geneseo. Probably a half-hearted application. In some circles the opinion is that while the caliber of students admitted to and attending Geneseo has vastly improved, the teaching, professors, funding etc has remained the same. It is a better than average state school and still a bargain for OOS. But why is it that few OOS apply compared to the OOS that apply to UVA, W&M, and UNC Chapel Hill.</p>
<p>Geneseograd - I did visit the Geneseo forum at length and was unimpressed, although I’m sure that’s not the response you intended. An honors program with 10-20 person seminars implies that non-honors classes are not that small; at an LAC, they would be. I also read that Geneseo’s intro bio/chem classes range to 200 students–hardly LAC-sized, about the same as UD. Compare to Haverford, a highly selective LAC outside Philly; its largest classes, general science, are around 60 students. In any case, I’m not going into the sciences; UDel caps all of its English intro classes at 30 (mind, I’m not enthused about the course offerings, but Geneseo’s don’t particularly excite me either).</p>
<p>Keilexandra: I just want to make sure you knew that I wasn’t attempting to compare a school like Haverford to Geneseo one is a private LAC the other is a public. You made reference to your state flagship the University of Delaware so I simply was making the comparison of a public to a public even though one is a University the other is a LAC. </p>
<p>Yes introductory science classes at the 100 level you will have over 100 students in a lecture hall. Going to a Public LAC there are some things that I expected would not be the same as attending a private LAC. In my major I don’t remember exactly how many students were in each class that depended on the class. I would say 25-30 but honestly not really sure. But I do remember some classes being smaller than that. If the class size was an issue I am sure I would have recognized it. On average, yes classes had more than 12 students. </p>
<p>I agree with bluejay that Geneseo is by no means a UNC Chapel Hill or a UVA but again those are University’s with a greater funding stream and endowment. Agree again that William and Mary is up there as well. </p>
<p>Geneseo has been a rising star within SUNY for the past 10 years and is often commended for the work that has been accomplished without any additional funding from the State of NY. In other states colleges like Geneseo are officially designated as the honors college for the state with additional funding streams. Geneseo continues to make their case for such a designation. This is NY everything is a challenge here lol!</p>
<p>Over the years though the campus has made some major improvements to the facilities including the new integrated science center, town-house style dorms, renovation of many of the older dorms and a couple of other buildings have been built over the years. </p>
<p>In terms of the professors the ones I had were honestly some of the best and many are still there. Again some departments are stronger than others. </p>
<p>Everyone in NY who is familiar with the SUNY system knows that at Geneseo you have to work your butt off to pull good grades. The school challenges you which is a good thing. In fact I know people who have turned down the acceptance to attend an “easier school” because of that reputation. </p>
<p>Although there has been some improvement in the % of OOS students I agree they have a way to go. But part of what needs to happen is people including Alumni need to get the word out there and talk about their experience. </p>
<p>I can only share my experience and that of my friends and colleagues which was a positive one. </p>
<p>Any private LAC worth its salt should have smaller class sizes than Geneseo. That’s part of what you pay for. But from my perspective, Geneseo doesn’t seem to be much better than a medium-sized state university (e.g. UDel, UVM). Compare it to non-elite public LACs like St. Mary’s College of Maryland or University of Minnesota - Morris; both have s/f ratios around 14, IIRC, and likely smaller average class sizes, as well as a truly LAC-sized student body. Geneseo is quite a bargain for New Yorkers, but is it worth the OOS differential?</p>
<p>Keilexandra: I would post something on the Geneseo Forum asking for a current OOS student to respond to your last question. </p>
<p>With our Governor continuing to cut State Funding to the SUNYs I don’t see a s/f ratio of around 14 happening any time soon. </p>
<p>Although s/f ratio was important to me when I was looking into colleges and comparing costs for public vs. private there were other factors I was considering as well. Opportunities for undergraduate research, study abroad programs, internships, 4 year graduation rates, retention rates, percent of students going on to graduate school, there is a whole host of other things that Geneseo does well. Also what was important to me was how happy students were to be there. Some of the best colleges have a reputation for having the most unhappy students. The students I speak with actually like Geneseo and are proud to be there. </p>
<p>Are you familiar with COPLAC??? Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges? Geneseo is a member. </p>
<p>I don’t think one should look at S/F ratios because many schools include TAs and who knows what other type of “staff” in that ratio. It is much better to just look at class sizes IMO.</p>
<p>Keilexandra, may I ask what you don’t care for at UNC-A? Curious, because this school is on our radar.</p>
<p>North Carolina State, ranked 19 for best value out of state, gave me a lot of money in grants for OOS. It ended up being cheaper for me to go to NC State than Pitt and Penn State.</p>
<p>Well, one would hope TAs are at a minimum at public LACs such as Geneseo claims to be. I agree that average class size is more useful, but also more difficult to find (it’s almost always a good deal higher than the ratio).</p>
<p>I’m not a fan of Asheville’s core curricular requirements, weak CS, lack of linguistics, or retention rate (nearly a quarter leaves after freshman year). Minor cons include poor food and diversity. I’ve also heard that it’s somewhat of a commuter/suitcase school. But merit aid appears to be good and the starting OOS price is quite low.</p>