<p>We know kids at Fredonia quite well- music peformance- and have to say that the school didn’t pay much attention to academics (at least for the ones we know who have been admitted in the last 3 years), going instead for the stronger peformers and those that had great letter of recommendation. In upstate NY, it is thought that Crane is the go-to school for Music Ed, Fredonia for performance (If one wants to attend a SUNY school and didn’t/couldn’t apply to conservatory or “name” music schools). Geneseo is at the head of the list for academics in the SUNY system and also has an excellent school of education (don’t know where the music fits in there though), or are an “undecided” major; in fact, Geneseo doesn’t really seem to have a “bad” department.
And then there is the whole “upstate NY thing”… snow is a way of life and “flurries” here easily mean 6" of the white stuff while “squalls” indicate that any given location could be facing a foot or more! Then there is the unique " Lake Effect", which only exists in the Great Lakes region; winds blowing across the lakes pick up moisture and then bury the surrounding regions under piles of snow.Many colleges in the area actually have underground tunnels to enable students to gert around campus without having to dress for an arctic expedition! Potsdam is isolated and the weather makes it feel even more so; Fredonia is about an hour from Buffalo, but most folks don’t look at Buffalo as an ultimate destination and the weather there rivals Potsdam’s; Geneseo is not far from Rochester, which, while not NYC, at least has the Eastman School and the Rochester Philharmonic and as a result, many really good music teachers.
“Cranies” are a loyal breed and often mix with the techies from Clarkson; going to WalMart is a big thing for those at Fredonia because the town is really tiny (a car can guarantee instant popularity) while Geneseo makes the “best of” lists in many publications. Each school has something to set it apart and like any other school, is what you make of it. Luckliy, some kids like urban locations while others love the peace and quiet of the more rural areas. I can try to check with some other friends of my D to find out what they know about the music program at Geneseo and I’ll post what I discover.</p>