Diversity At Marist?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Marist College
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<p>Please be honest.</p>

<p>I've read countless reviews saying there's not much diversity. That it's just a school for rich white kids who were average B students in high school. I don't really want to stereotype, but I looked at the Dean's List from this year, and i couldn't imagine the countless amounts of "average" last names, you know, Anderson, Johnson, Michaels, etc..</p>

<p>I go to a school where I am the minority and I can't tell you how uncomfortable I feel. I even have a teacher who jokingly picks me out on it, but it sucks that there aren't more of me and my "wierd" features. As an olive skinned female, I was always treated like I was dumb and lazy. I always felt a lot of racist undertones growing up and I've truly had enough!</p>

<p>I am also a pretty smart kid, straight A student in the top 10% of the class, etc.. My interests range from surrealist French cinema to Ancient Roman history. I love to learn and I love teacher who love to teach. </p>

<p>I'm scared I won't find kids at Marist like me. I'm pretty open minded, but there is a point up to where I can tolerate the air-headed Jersey Shore loving teenagers. It's just not me.</p>

<p>Also, what would be a better fit for me: Marist or New Paltz?</p>

<p>I'm commuting. I'm looking for a diverse AND INTELLECTUAL student body, a challenge, and some grade inflation won't hurt :P. Both will cost the same for me, thanks to aid and scholarships, blah blah blah... </p>

<p>So, I like the idea that Marist is a private school with a beautiful campus and numerous study abroad opporunities. I like New Platz's hippy vibe, openmindedness, and philosophy department(even though I'M NOT going into philosophy), but I'm afraid since it is a public school, I will miss out on a lot of opportunites such as lectures and study abroad opportunities.</p>

<p>What do you guys think?</p>

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<p>Well, my son has been accepted for the class of 2015, and he’s biracial. He knows going in about everything you’ve said, but isn’t worried about making friends. Everyone keeps saying what a great place it is, so…fingers crossed!</p>

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<p>@MyPencilCase: My S is a freshman @ Marist, in his group alone I can name many diverse backgrounds, but I won’t because I know them by their first names, not their race. My S is Hispanic, Italian, Irish, German, Swedish and French he personally brought diversity to the school! Lighten up! You say you are open-minded yet in your post you smacked, rich,white kids, average B students, “average” last names (what?), Jersey Shore loving teenagers…It would seem you are the one doing the stereotyping, and you will look for it wherever you go to school. Be open and accepting, and others will treat you the same, even if you are the minority. Sorry if this seems harsh, but I feel like the movement of the 60’s (and yes I was a part of that) was set back a few years just by your comments. My S has a ton of friends in New Paltz and there are lectures there. I kind of feel that may be the better fit for you. Not because Marist is not diversified, but because you are perceiving it as such. Also those “rich,white kids” help fund your scholarships and aid as a minority, should you decide to go there :).</p>

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<p>^petcat, I LOVE the 60s. Wish I lived in that generation, but I’m a 90s kid :p</p>

<p>Just a thought, stereotypes stem from a common belief. There is truth to them. Some schools just have THAT vibe. I personally know one kid who is going to Marist and he is a rich white average B student, again adding to the stereotype.</p>

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<p>@MyPencilCase: We just got back from visiting Marist with S who is a junior. We are black, and probably “rich” by most people’s standards. From visiting the campus, I would say that it is not the most diverse campus. However, I felt that the school had plenty of resources available to students and they would get a quality education. Students there seemed genuinely happy and there were games being played and it seemed it would be a nice place to be. In contrast, we drove to New Paltz and there was so little ambience there that we left within 5 minutes. When I asked my son if he felt he would be comfortable at Marist, he reminded me that there are only 4 black students in his school, although we have some Asian and Hispanic students. We have raised our kids to not make race a primary factor in anything they do in their lives and I think they have done that even better than we the parents could imagine. </p>

<p>Not a scientific survey, but my vote’s with Marist.</p>

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<p>^very nice post. We felt the same way about New Paltz. We walked around the campus on our own before our admission’s appointment. We decided to cancel our appointment and leave. </p>

<p>My son is now a junior at Marist. He has biracial cousins, Cuban cousins, gay cousins, Irish cousins, etc. so he doesn’t even factor race into any equation in his life. It’s true that Marist doesn’t have the diversity that you’d find at public universities. Then again, most privates don’t. However, he’s found a nice core group of friends. He and his housemates joke that they live in the “minority house”—two Hispanics, two Asians, one gay student, and my son (the mutt–LOL. Italian, Austrian, Scotch, Irish, English, and who knows what else).</p>

<p>I can say that Marist does a very good job helping students make it through the initial college transition as freshmen. He lived in Champagnet his first year. The dorm had plenty of floor meetings, floor activities, and dorm activities which helped to offer opportunities for students to meet. If I recall, they even had the freshmen students “check-in” a couple of times a year with the RD to make sure everything was going OK. Intramural sports are a fun way to meet other kids. Son had a blast playing coed volleyball and coed soccer. </p>

<p>The teachers are accessible and it’s pretty hard to get away with hiding in the back of class without contributing to discussions. The teacher will notice. My son has had to do quite a few group projects and presentations as well as individual presentations. In many of his classes, participation (or lack of) is factored into the course grading. </p>

<p>Regarding the “Jersey Shore” comment: Yes, there are some kids that fit the stereotypical look of the Jersey Shore cast. My son has met quite a few–lol. According to him, it’s more of a “look” than an attitude. In other words, behind the facade they’re just regular kids. </p>

<p>Spend some time on campus. Accepted Student’s Day nailed it for my kid. He met a lot of future students and found them to be friendly and open. I’m sure my kid isn’t the only student at Marist who doesn’t consider race or ethnicity when making friends. </p>

<p>Why don’t you visit New Paltz and Marist back-to-back? It’s a good way to compare the two schools. </p>

<p>PS–In another one of your posts, I saw that you’re also considering Syracuse. I have one kid there (grad program) and he loves it. He prides himself on the fact that his circle of friends are from all over the world. He lives with a student from the Middle East, a Jewish student, and a student from South America. In addition, he also has friends from China, Italy, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Spain, and Japan.</p>

<p>Good luck in your college search. When you visit schools, try to go in with an open mind rather some preconceived second or third hand idea of what to expect.</p>

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<p>I can’t tell you how much as a child of the 60’s the premise of this discussion irritates me. Having marched with my parents in Civil Rights demonstrations (they were Marist College Professors) and fully believing and living my life based on the primary lesson of Dr. King to judge others on “the content of their character” rather than the color of their skin and now everywhere I look the litmus test for Diversity is just the opposite. The thing that gives me hope is the post from newtodis who sounds like the same type of person that I try to be and I hope his kid goes to Marist and meets my kid; sounds like they would get along based on the content of their character. THAT and only that is what I marched for 40 years ago and what I stand by today.</p>

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<p>cdrnole, we are very much the same way in that we don’t judge anyone based on the “outside.” Unfortunately, that’s not always the case with others, which can be a huge letdown to my kids. We’ve had people say, “oh, you’d probably be more comfortable at blah blah blah…” just based on race. Uh, no, YOU are more comfortable with that idea, lol.</p>

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<p>Yes I am sure that you are right but I refuse to live my life based on other people or their reactions. All of the people that have posted on this thread give me hope that one day we are all just going to be Americans and all anybody will judge our offspring on is character. Not just a “dream” I pray…</p>

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<p>I am white. Graduated Marist in 2000. The school is mostly blonde/blue-eyed kids (jocks) from either Long Island or Jersey. If lucky one or two black or spanish kids will be in your class(es). If so, they are looked down upon because people assume they are part of the HEOP program. (Financial aid students.) Crazy thing is that it is in Poughkeepsie which is GHETTO! Anyway, I had a black Marketing teacher named Murray who you would see out at the clubs. They had one other black career/intern advisor also named Murray who favors the few minority students with internships. Took 2 summer classes at New Paltz cuz credits were cheaper and I LOVED IT. Unlike Marist; jocks, hippies, ghetto, punk, gay, hispanic kids every where. Best thing about Marist is the beautiful and clean campus. Nothing around there though, other than a gym and new walkway. Class sizes are like HS (about 30 kids). So you’re not just a number(like universities). If you don’t want to be known as the “Puerto Rican” or whatever your race, DONT GO TO MARIST. Besides all this, Marist is really only known as a “good” school in this area. If you go to NYC for a job, they are like where is that? Never even heard of Marist.</p>

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<p>Sorry, forgot to talk about academics :0</p>

<p>Marist course-work is EASY. Not strict at all. Will be a breeze. A lot of their teachers are adjuncts so its just a job to them. Some even give you cheat sheets. Surprisingly, New Paltz teachers make you WORK!!! I worked harder at both NP and Dutchess (a two-year community college) b4 transferring to Marist for my Bachelors.</p>

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<p>You don’t need to worry about study abroad opportunities at New Paltz. There are tons of options and you can use the whole SUNY system’s study abroads. You can also study abroad with any other university.</p>

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<p>@domino77 I hope everyone here seriously considering Marist realizes your comments and attitude are 11 years old. A lot changes in 11 years, except your attitude apparently. Mature, much?</p>

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<p>Yes, wow, I was thinking the same thing. Some people have not kept up, lol…</p>

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<p>Petcat is exactly right on this, people like tthat are what is holding us all back. It is funny to domino say, “if lucky one or two black or spanish kids in your class”; that is an absolutely racist statement! What if you changed it around and said you would be unlucky it would be equally racist but would garner more attention. It’s also curious to see people speaking out for “diversity” saying they want more people like them? It proves that diversity is just a buzzword that if you are against you are considered a pariah. How about we go back to Equality; that is something I can stand behind and support regardless of what you look like.
With regard to Marist’s reputation for Academics it has changed for the better in the last 20+ years to the point that I cannot even believe it. My son got into and is comparing the school to Fordham, Binghamton, Pitt, Lafayette, UConn,and American University with Marist as his top choice. That is pretty good company if you ask me.</p>

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<p>You’ve probably already decided, but I would go for New Paltz if you want diversity and acceptance! I was there for two semesters (Fall '10/Spring '11) and while I couldn’t handle the atmosphere of drinking/smoking pot, there was definitely diversity among students. I’m more so talking about racial/ethnic diversity. I bet half the college consisted of Long Island-ers…</p>

<p>But, you said you don’t like “air-heads.” I can definitely say there are standout people (RA’s from my experience) at New Paltz. You can easily find your own niche, especially by joining clubs (I was on the Equestrian team and LOVED it). Still, the vast number of partiers is overwhelming. I couldn’t handle the fact that no one seemed to really care about academics, or at the least hold them to a high standard. The most common talk around NP was last night’s party, how drunk they were, how high they were, who passed, etc. etc. Very annoying. It felt a bit like high school.</p>

<p>However, if you’re an A student/good all around student… why don’t you go for more ambitious school? From my impression, although NP has an average student GPA in the low 90’s, they just seem like a bunch of average students. Nothing exceptional in general, although I’m sure there are specific standouts in the 6,000+ student body. Personally, I didn’t find it very much of an intellectually stimulating atmosphere. I did like at least half of my professors, though. (Prof Rooney for french! One of the best profs/teachers I’ve had.)</p>

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<p>Hi everyone,
I am a senor in high school who is also interested in Marist but I am also having trouble deciding if it is the right school for me. When I visited, the campus was beautiful and the academic opportunities such as the 5 year accelerated programs fascinated me. This along with the close affiliation with IBM and caliber of internships given to students also excited me. The study abroad opportunities were also a bonus! However, I come from a very competitive high school ranked pretty well in the nation, my school contains 5,000 students and we have a very diverse population. My parents are well off and I know I am not eligible for financial aid. I am of South Asian race and noticed on my visit that the school is heavily populated with students of Caucasian races. Although race is just a side factor, after reading these posts, the academic atmosphere worries me. I need to know if the course work will challenge me at all since I’m used to competing with students with 4.0 GPA’s in my school. Is it better for me to go to a more diverse SUNY and pay half the price and then go to (hopefully) a top notch graduate program…or should I go to a school like Marist and join the 5 year accelerated programs for BA/MA?</p>

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<p>You are absolutely correct about academic rigor at Marist. If you look at graduating Seniors in the graduation program you will notice that 60% graduate cum laude or higher indicating that a degree from Marisit isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. If you have better than average SAT scores consider another college as SATs are optional admission requirements now at Marist. Also, there is a large population of special ed students where Marist exploits their cognitive deficits by charging for Special Services.</p>

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<p>Marist also has a committee with the student government that is focused on diversity!</p>