Geneseo Not What I Expected

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I have lurked here for some time, but the college process has been so difficult, that we were just going to apply ED to Geneseo. It's close to home, small, supposedly one of the best publics in NY, and affordable.</p>

<p>A girl that I know has recently transferred out of Geneseo to go to Canisius because she said that they made her dorm with upperclassman and it was "a party school". I was shocked, given the admission requirements.</p>

<p>We went to visit on the weekend. I have some serious concerns. </p>

<p>They said that applying ED will not increase your chances of getting in. You just save yourself a wait. They do not consider weighted averages. </p>

<p>The campus is dead on the weekend. We were there several hours, where the heck was everyone? </p>

<p>I am no clean freak by any means. But I deeply concerned about health.</p>

<p>I saw some sort of black mold or mildew all over the ceilings in the athletic facility. I think that they are racquetball courts, those rooms that you can walk into and hit the walls. But you can actually see into them on a walkway. The pool is close by, perhaps it is that humidity. That's another thing, the pool was closed on a Saturday afternoon.</p>

<p>I cannot remember the name of the dorm now, but it was not far from campus. Chip wrappers and large crumbs all over the floor when you come in. What the hell? One student in the entire lounge area. Kitchen area is nothing but a tiny stove like I've seen in ghetto apartments. The dorm room that I saw was tiny for two, the roommates had actually decided to create a bunk situation. Which really makes me wonder how the heck they triple up "when needed". </p>

<p>The dining area central to campus was closed and we did not get to see any other dining areas. That's nice that they have tacos, pizza, subs, but that is not how I want my kid to eat. Given that the food plan is required, and very expensive at that, they should have shown a dining room that is actually active. I did note that they have a student comment board, and I read some of the comments. Complaints that food is not ready when it is supposed to be, one comment about flies! In fairness, it does look like they write back to the students, and leave these things posted.</p>

<p>They focused a lot on the surrounding area, telling us to look down the road, talked about who has come to visit the school. I can get that stuff on the internet. I wanted to see the place, to see what my child would experience. The guide seemed to feel that it was important that one building used to be an elementary school, and that they were maintaining the character. I was not impressed with that building at all. Dingy, dark.</p>

<p>And on the way back to the admissions office, it was all uphill. I workout 5x a week, but this was unreal after a 2 hour tour. And there was not even snow on the ground. </p>

<p>So now I am really disturbed because we were all set to apply ED. On the one hand, maybe the focus is really academics and to hell with the rest, you get what you pay for, right? On the other hand, if her chances are no better ED, maybe we should keep looking, even at a "lowlier" school. She absolutely does not want to be in a big research university, but is willing to apply to Binghampton because it has high academic standards. We've always been around here, we don't care about snow. I know that some of the state colleges are only a step above a community college. My child has about a 3.67 GPA, which would actually be higher if senior year were considered. She is undecided, leaning towards the sciences. Band and chorus are important to her, but she does not want to commit to a music major.</p>

<p>So what would you do. New Paltz? Fredonia? Brockport? Plattsburgh? No party schools. Help!!</p>

2

<p>"None of the above." Go to U Rochester. SUNY is generally mediocre.</p>

3

<p>I went to an Ivy and the dorms looked like what you described, even worse, especially on a weekend because people would party Friday night and no janitor service on Saturday. So that wouldn't turn me off. But I'm surprised that a student thought it was a party school and that they would room freshmen with upperclassmen. I don't think my daughter will get in anyway! New Paltz was named a "hot school" in Newsweek this year, although people of my generation think that is funny. How about the Forestry and Environmental SUNY at Syracuse, since she likes science? You get to use all the Syracuse facilities and join their student groups.</p>

4

<p>If it must be a SUNY, I hear that Stonybrook is pretty good. Most colleges are going to have a nice number of parties. That is just part of the college experience for many students. One can choose to participate, or stay away. You are not going to find everything perfect anywhere that you go. If you are looking for a chipped ceiling, garbage in some areas where it should not be, you'll find it. I would try not to judge a book by its cover. Also, about food, just about all of the campuses I have been to are going to have pizza, burgers, pastas on the menu. Most schools also have soups, and salad bars, and offer fresh fruit. It is all about the choices that your child will make. I call my son to remind him to eat properly, because the inexpensive pastas and french fries are too easy to eat daily. It is college food, and it is served on a budget. As far as student complaints, you will always find them. The students who are content with the plan are probably not motivated to post a comment to thank the food service. They probably feel that paying for the food was enough thanks. As far as empty campus, well I don't know if it is a suitcase school or not, but most campuses look empty on a weekend morning. Lots of college kids only wake up after 2pm on a weekend. They tend to be night owls. If you don't like this school, your tour was not wasted. Why bother having your D start at a school where she is likely to be unhappy and want to transfer? Your best financial offer will more than likely be going in as a freshman. Sorry if NY is instate for you. NJ is instate for us, and I can empathize. I wish we were instate for VA, or NC public Us!</p>

5

<p>Given that weather is not an issue for you, I would encourage your DD to take a look at SUNY at Plattsburgh - it has a nice small campus and a really laid back feel to it. Their programs in the sciences, especially biology, are good.</p>

<p>I would also vote for SUNY ESF at Syracuse. It is, however, adjacent to a major research university, which you indicated that your DD was not interested in.</p>

6

<p>In general, when we visited colleges, I felt the SUNYs were the very worst campuses for appearance and upkeep. I don't know why it has to be that way. </p>

<p>The Ohio publics, like Miami U and Ohio U in Athens are just lovely. You would never know you were even at a public school. Same with Penn State and U Pitt really. So I can't speak to any of that. But, in general, campuses are very quiet on weekends, even at non-suitcase schools. (Which I don't think of Geneseo as being a suitcase school.) And guess what, there is partying - and way too much of it in my opinion - on ALL college campuses.</p>

<p>Kids around here seem happiest at Geneseo, Fredonia, or Buffalo. Least happy at Binghamton (and I am a Bing alum), Albany (although I only know one kid there) and Stony Brook. I don't know, maybe it's the upstate/downstate cultural divide. I have no idea.</p>

<p>Is your daughter applying to any private schools? Why not apply to Nazareth in Rochester or someplace else? Do you think you'll qualify for need based financial aid? If so, a private may not be that much more expensive than a SUNY.</p>

7

<p>My D was accepted to Geneseo last year and it was a strong consideration. She is a very strong student and was academically accepted to other schools that are usually considered more selective; however, she was not accepted into the honors program at Geneseo, which was one of the reasons she chose another school. Knowing how bright my D is, and knowing she was turned down from the honors program, I had to assume the quality of students there must be very high. I agree with other posters; many of the things you criticize could easily be said about most college campuses. Because kids tend to sleep in on the weekends, you don't see much activity anywhere on campus until mid to late afternoon. Regarding hills, I've been on plenty campuses where the hills are equally challenging if not worse. The students get used to it.</p>

8

<p>I think SUNY's are very underfunded. One of the reasons, I think, is that NYS had so many established privates when the system was being created. I wonder about that lobby. Can't think of any other reason they have to be ugly.</p>

<p>I attended and have taught at Stony Brook and really do like it, but I guess that's a minority opinion. Shirley Kenny has done a lot to make it beautiful, which it now is. It has world class departments, but is a bit of a commuter school which can be demoralizing.</p>

<p>(I'm thinking the kids at Geneseo may have still been sleeping or in their dorms. It's amazing how late college kids get out on the weekends.)</p>

<p>Here's what I'd consider if money is a big issue and she is interested in science. I'd apply to two of the state supported schools at Cornell. Not as cheap as SUNY, but not far behind. Neither is as selective as Arts and Sciences, and you are basically competing with only NYS students. Human ecology is a good half-way point between science and social science.</p>

<p>Then I'd consider Bard which offers free tuition for some students majoring in science. I'd check it out.</p>

<p>I would definitely apply to Stony Brook which is a science power house, proximate to NYC and has fairly decent whether. Its music, art, theater, etc. is superb. There is a bus to a mall, a multiplex, and a strip of stores is in walking distance. Bus to Port Jeff, cute town with jazz club, restaurants, docks, ferry to New England.</p>

<p>I would apply to New Paltz which is in a wonderful town and attracts really fun students.</p>

<p>If you qualify for need-based aid there are many options. I am not too up on merit aid, so others on this board would be more knowledgeable.</p>

9

<p>collegehelp- thanks for categorizing a good chunk of middle class NYS students and the education they receive as mediocre.</p>

<p>and I disagree with Weenie's assesment of campus appearance. I was very much impressed with the SUNY colleges of Oneonta, Cortland, New Paltz and others. I thought they were very well cared for and was a pleasant living and learning environment. I also visited public U's like Towson, Temple, GMU and West Chester and felt the SUNY environment was on par with the others.<br>
I'll admit, mold in the ceilings might convince me NOT to apply ED!! </p>

<p>as far as "party school environment". on the week-ends that's going to be a big issue at MANY colleges. D # 1 is at an Ivy- yeah- these kids work hard during the week- but on week-ends: they party hard too. I really do not think I would want to be near her dorms on Sunday AM either</p>

<p>I'd suggest NOT to apply ED to Geneseo if you have your doubts.
For sciences look at Stony Brook (they just took over Southhampton college and use it as separate campus for environmental science (?) check it out , not sure on the details)
U of Buffalo and ESF which is a Suny program and tuition, but kids live on Syracuse campus.</p>

<p>weenie- after ALL these years, I think the upstate/downstate cultural divide still exists as it did when you were a student at Bing and I went to Oswego. </p>

<p>as others said- check out non SUNY schools too. U of R is a great school but admission standards are very high and it is quite pricey!!</p>

10

<p>Marny1-
NYS is my home. I wish NYS kids had a great public university like Michigan, California, Virginia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Illinois, and so on. I wish NYS would budget and develop a new, beautiful campus for the best NYS students.</p>

11

<p>college help- I understand.
But we checked out alot of public colleges in Va too- so if you don't get into UVA or william and Mary, you're left with the "second tier" schools like GMU, VCU, Old Dominion and a few others. These schools are no better or worse than the our SUNY's. </p>

<p>the Suny's which are far from perfect at least make an attempt to provide a decent education to EVERY NYS resident. I think that is an admirable and worthy ideal to educate ALL new Yorkers. As that is what public education is all about.</p>

12

<p>This will generally address all posts, which I appreciated.</p>

<p>She has shown interest in SUNY ESF. She is interested in the biological sciences, anthropology, and environmental studies. But she is also interested in psychology, and music is very important to her. We are concerned about what would happen if she realized that she truly wants to declare a major in psychology or anthropology. To be honest, I think that she needs to stay away from any major that is writing intense. I think that she has a very good grasp of English. She won a spelling bee and her 690/800 SAT CR score is in the 99th percentile for her school. But what does that say about her school? My daughter cannot put together a decent essay in a reasonable amount of time. I don't know why. Her SAT writing score was a 540, which makes no sense given her CR. She says that she cannot write in 25 minutes. </p>

<p>For the record, I am a UB graduate. I don't think that the campus is unmanageable, I actually enjoyed that aspect of it. It is the teaching philosophy that worries me. The lecture halls were so big and the accent so thick on some professors, that I learned some classes by text and syllabus alone. Professor did not make themselves accessible for office hours, you had to deal with a TA. That was ok, I was very self-directed. My child, on the other hand, needs direction. She also has a speech and hearing problem which has been manageable in a small high school classroom, but which I fear would really rear its ugly head in a large lecture hall. Especially with a thickly accented science or math class. Maybe I should just tell her to sit up front, tape the lecture, and deal with it at home. </p>

<p>As to non-Suny's, I think that we would be happier with Haverford, Reed, Bates, and Grinnell. </p>

<p>The problem is the CSS Profile. I got pregnant when I was unmarried and 19. I had to get medicaid. I was a severe asthmatic and the baby needed insurance. Her father was a violent man. I called the police, but back in 1992, nothing was ever done. I kicked him out when she was 10 months and enrolled in college. I didn't ask him for support, I just wanted him to leave us alone. I was not about to initiate court action that might result in him seeking formal custody or visitation. 3 years down the road, I had 5 college scholarships, was an Honors scholar, almost done with my B.S. degree. But medicaid demanded that I assist them in going after him for the hospital bill, under threat of terminating my current medical. I told them his name and location, but told them that I would not be present in court out of fear of retaliation. The Court made an award for the medical bill and barebones support. Didn't matter, as soon as they garnished his wages, he started showing up at my house demanding the money back under threats of foster care and anything else that he could think of. I met my (very large) current husband and the bio father went off to spread his seed elsewhere when the child since she was 5. Eventually he beat her too and had to be taken away after being pepper sprayed. I heard from this other mother that he left the state, abandoning contact with those kids too. By then I was working on a doctorate and I lived off of student loans to support us. Now I am a well-educated professional and married, but self-employed and heavily in student loan debt. My husband is blue collar and had cancer 4 years ago, which also incurred debt. I have a wonderful child who never had to experience that violence. But to this day, we have never tried to track him down for a name change, adoption, or anything. I did not want to rock the boat. Those garnishments (a pittance, believe me) are sent to an anonymous P.O. Box so that he cannot show up at my house. I thought that I could finally breathe when she was too old for him to force into a custody/unsupervised visit situation. Now I see that my daughter will be punished because of this CSS profile. Tracking him down will not put any money into her pocket for college, but it will put all of us in jeapordy. Other than perhaps going to the police station and asking for his rap sheet (which I probably won't get), I don't know if a private college will care. </p>

<p>So this is why I feel stuck with SUNY....</p>

13

<p>Also, I wanted to mention that I am by no means a neat freak. Being self-employed with two kids has never allowed that! But the mold/mildew was very prominent and practically at eye level when we walked by. And I see the point about weekend parties, but I wasn't looking for crumbs, it was the red chip bag that drew my attention, and this was large debris around it. I just didn't know what to make of it.</p>

14

<p>Also, we toured in the early afternoon.</p>

15

<p>I have thought of Stony Brook Southhampton, but there has been nothing said about it here. Perhaps that would give her the best of both worlds. Small campus with access to Stony Brook University.</p>

16

<p>Also considering NC Asheville. I don't know how feasible that will be, it does not seem terribly expensive. I would prefer that she be closer though.</p>

17

<p>please check out the program at stony brook southhampton. It is a separate campus from stony brook and does seem to concentrate on a science curriculum.
if you are looking at a smaller campus environment, you really may want to concentrate on the SUNY colleges. My kid is at Cortland. I believe Cortland has a 2-2 year program with ESF and they also have a combo Masters degree program with Duke U in Environmental science.<br>
my kid is a sport management major, so I really don't have too much info on these science combo programs, but I discovered them last year doing some research for another cc mom. To say the least, I was a bit surprised Cortland had this combo program with Duke for environmental science.</p>

18

<p>The Southampton campus is at least an hour away from Stony Brook's campus and one would need a car to get back and forth. There is not public transportation from the south shore to the north shore. She wouldn't have access to Stony Brook's campus. I don't know if that's important to you or not.</p>

<p>Check into schools that are FAFSA only and do not require the CSS profile. There are many previous threads about this where you could do the research.</p>

<p>I am so sorry you had to suffer so much. I am very glad things worked out as well as they did for you.</p>

<p>Yes, mold, yucky. Of course you want to provide the best you can for your child within the perameters you have. </p>

<p>Go visit New Paltz. I think you may be pleasantly surprised. It's really near Vassar, too, and the area is beautiful and the town is fun. It is not as small as some of the other schools you are talking about, but then again, neither is Geneseo.</p>

<p>The Writing Score you list is more about grammar than not being able to write the essay. You can actually earn a 650 on the test with no essay if your grammar is perfect. If I were you I would have her really study grammar and retake the test. My D studied for one hour and raised her grade from 600 to 780. I kid you not. </p>

<p>I am sure there are schools where she could get merit money and only the FAFSA would need to be filled out. But do this research today! Time is a wasting.</p>

19

<p>If she is interested in Marine Science (I don't know if she is), you might also check out UNC Wilmington, and you might want to see what kind of merit aid she could get from the University of Rhode Island, which also has a very good pharmacy program. </p>

<p>As far as the profile, can't the GC explain the situation of her biological father, and have you looked at fafsa schools to see how you come out ahead? Perhaps there are good 2nd tier schools that would admit your D into an honor's program and also give substantial merit aid. If I were you, I'd have her apply to lots of schools to see what the financial/merit aid looks like in the spring, and definitely apply to some instate SUNYs that would work the best for her.</p>

<p>Hi Marny, hope all is well. Don't forget that VA also has other good schools ranked between William and Mary and Old Dominion. There is James Madison, Virginia Tech, and the University of Mary Washington. In fact, we just visited UMW. It looks like a private school, but it is a public U. with only 4,000 undergrads. To the OP, I am not recommending UMW for your D bc their strong depts. are history, historic preservation, and English.</p>

<p>Also, as far as your concern about your DD's writing- My son was a very mediocre writer, at best, in hs. His writing just blossomed (IMO) in college. I am thrilled with his writing improvement in just one year. One year ago, he would have done anything to get out of an English lit. or writing class. He just signed up for 2 writing classes for next semester so that "he can improve his writing"! Believe me, this was a surprise!</p>

20

<p>My daughter's friends at SUNY Buffalo and Oneonta love their campuses; she was told SUNY Buffalo is kind of like a midwest flagship, lots of school spirit and lots of western NY students make it their first choice. The kids she knows at Stony Brook are not as happy because of the commuter atmosphere, although the new Southampton campus sounds cool! I think that is only a year or two old.</p>