<p>My son seems to have narrowed his choices down to these 2 schools. He was accepted to the exploratory program at Ithaca and he is undecided at Geneseo. He seems mostly interested in physics and communications/TV. With financial aid from Ithaca, the cost of attendance is roughly the same as attending Geneseo. If he goes to Ithaca, it will cost about $1700 more for Freshman year and he will owe a little more in loans. The amt of financial aid he will receive for subsequeny years will be less, because his sister will graduate college next year. </p>
<p>We are from Boston, not NY. But when we went to visit Geneseo, my son was quite comfortable talking to the kids he met. NY is a large state with all different kinds of people, so Geneseo seems diverse enough. We even found a history professor who is a red sox fan!</p>
<p>My son is impressed with Geneseo's status and selectivity, but seems a bit disturbed that people outside of NY doen't seem to know about the school. </p>
<p>Wow-- those are two of my son's three choices as well. My s's major concern is that he won't find enough diversity in either school since we are from NYS and he would have liked to go oos. A friend whose son goes to Geneseo characterizes the student body as smart and unpretentious, down-to-earth. So that may be a plus on the side of it not being well-known. Kids who go aren't as concerned about that.</p>
<p>Any Geneseo or Ithaca students on CC who can speak to their experience at the college?</p>
<p>My son attends geneseo and loves it. The classes are challenging and he is involved in other activities. Having been shy in high school he has definately come out of his shell. Being a medium size has been a good fit for him. After reading so many posts on this site I have come to believe that any school has name recognition with those who count, such as grad schools and employers. I think there is way to much talk about that and not enough on whats best for the student. Most students who go to college arent going to be I bankers or PHDs but when you read enough times that the name is the most important thing its tough to let it go. Two of our neighbors are high school teachers and were both extremely impressed that he got into Geneseo. In our area of N.Y. which is about 2 hours from each school Geneseo does have a bigger wow factor. I am in no way anti Ithaca, this is just our experience with Geneseo and how impressed other people were. To be honest at the time he got accepted I had never been on this forum and only knew Geneseos rep from others. We chose it for academic reasons and fit for him.</p>