SUNY Geneseo vs. Marist College for Psychology

College Search & Selection
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Hi, I was waitlisted at my top choice schools and only accepted to my two safeties (Marist and SUNY Geneseo). In case the waitlists do not work out, I have to commit to Geneseo or Marist by May 1st. I am having trouble deciding between the two, and I would appreciate any insight that someone may be able to provide about either school. For context, I am a prospective psychology major and both colleges seem to have great social science programs.

Here are my pros and cons for both schools:

SUNY Geneseo
Pros:
-Overall cost is lower than Marist, but either school is affordable
I was accepted into the Edgar Fellows Honors Program, which guarantees smaller class sizes, better housing, and an additional scholarship of $2,000 per year.
-From what I’ve heard, students are hardworking and willing to challenge themselves academically (which is definitely the kind of environment that I would like to be in).
-I am looking for a smaller school, and I like the close-knit feel of campus.

Cons
-The main library on campus will be closed for renovations until my junior year.
-I have heard many complaints about the food, since Geneseo recently switched to a cheaper meal plan.
-The housing doesn’t seem great… even the “better” housing for Honors students seems outdated, very small, and has no AC. That being said, this is true for freshmen housing at just about any college, and there are townhouses available for upperclassmen.
-While I definitely do not want to attend college in a large city, Geneseo is located in a VERY small, rural town. The college is rather isolated, and there is almost nothing fun to do off-campus.

Marist:
Pros
-The campus is absolutely beautiful and seems to have nicer amenities in terms of housing, food, and the library (which is to be expected at a private vs. public school).
-I hear that Marist is great for finding internships, especially since it is so close to New York City.
-Marist is closer to home for me, so I feel more comfortable in the surrounding area.
-From what I’ve heard, the psychology program at Marist provides many opportunities to pursue research and allows students to explore various fields of psychology through a flexible curriculum, which would be beneficial considering I am not sure of which field I would like to go into. I do not know how much of this is actually true- if anyone has studied psychology at Marist, I would love to hear about your experience!

Cons:
-Marist has a reputation for being a party/bar school, which I am not at all interested in.
-Overall cost is more expensive than Geneseo.
-I have heard that students at Marist are less academically-driven and that the coursework is less rigorous than at other schools. If anyone has any insight on this, I would love to hear your perspective. I consider a school’s academic environment a very important factor in my decision.
-Since Marist is not necessarily considered an “elite” school, I am worried that this may hurt my chances of gaining acceptance to a top graduate school.

Thank you in advance to anyone who took the time to read all of this and help out!

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Personally, I would choose SUNY Geneseo. It’s an outstanding school with strong students. You are right about the school being isolated, but I am sure there are things to do on campus….and there is also a small, walkable town.

It looks like psychology research is available if you are interested,

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It sounds like you prefer Marist - but most kids live on campus just one year so if you were at Geneseo, you could be off campus in no time.

Typically you can find rigor if you want it - so if you aligned with a prof at Marist, you could maybe get on a project and deeper.

As for parties, most schools have parties and they equally have kids who don’t…they find one another.

For what it’s worth, both get a B+ for party scene from niche.

Sounds like both could work for you - but certainly being in the Honors group as Geneseo would be a big plus for you. It likely comes with other benefits too.

Good luck on your choice.

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Do you expect to have a car? Would the cost savings, if you go to Geneso, cover the cost of a car, to help offset the relative remoteness?

I’d agree with your assessment that on the whole, Geneseo is perceived as more rigorous. This could be offset if you were in a program of particular strength at Marist (Italian, for example), but for psych, I feel as if Geneseo probably has the edge, and paying more for Marist would be mainly a matter of comfort factors rather than substance per se.

These profiles are interesting to compare. The two schools are much more alike than different, but there are more students from very-high-income backgrounds at Marist:

The Honors program at Geneseo sounds like an additional draw. In addition to the small honors seminars and the individualized capstone project, more than 65% of Fellows Honors students are accepted to Phi Beta Kappa… whereas Marist doesn’t have a PBK chapter at all.

The library issue is a drag, but there is an alternate library and students still have access to the same materials. Fraser Hall Library | SUNY Geneseo so I wouldn’t see it as a deal-killer, especially given how much research is done online nowadays. A lot of campuses closed altogether during the pandemic, and students could still access the materials they needed, either electronically or by remote ordering… so using an alternate space on-campus for a couple of years shouldn’t be a fatal flaw IMHO. (And the renovated library should be very nice - and asbestos-free! - when it’s done!)

I’d lean toward Geneseo, as you can probably tell. The difference in median HS GPA between the two schools is not insignificant. (3.6 at Geneseo vs. 3.3 at Marist) The Honors program would put you in an even more concentrated group of higher-achieving peers. For what you say your priorities are, I think that’s worth a little less “polish” on the facilities side.

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Thank you for taking the time to write such a helpful response! I wasn’t aware that such a large percentage of Honors students at Geneseo are accepted to Phi Beta Kappa, nor that the median HS GPA between the schools was so different. I will definitely take this information into account when making my final decision; thank you again!

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Thank you for responding! I hadn’t considered living off campus, but you bring up a good point. I agree that the Honors program at Geneseo would be a big plus. Thanks again for your help.

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I am a mom to a college freshman who does not attend Marist but my daughter was accepted at Marist. What a beautiful, modern school with lovely water views. I thought the dorms were pretty nice compared to others we have seen. Were you accepted to the honors college? That might you feel more comfortable to be with more driven students like yourself. I was impressed with the amount of research opportunities there were available at Marist and while I am not familiar with the SUNY schools maybe you get these opportunities sooner than you would at SUNY? (I am not really sure, something to consider)

One thing that did not appeal to my daughter is because fashion merchandising is so popular a lot of the females seemed really dressed up while my daughter is more the roll out of bed and be in class in 5 minutes type and not fussing over her outfit. She wasnt sure how well she would fit in that way. But that was our impression visiting one time a couple of years ago so take that with a grain of salt.

Finally, did you appeal the amount of merit money Marist gave you? We did and the number did increase some. I would seriously consider doing this if you havent already! The timing is perfect with May 1 looming and the colleges want their yield to be as high as possible.

Good luck with your decision!

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Thanks for your input, I appreciate it!

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If considered just by academics, including by program strength in psychology, I think Geneseo would make a good choice.

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Thank you for responding! I was not accepted to the honors program, which is one of the main reasons I am leaning toward Geneseo instead of Marist. I haven’t appealed my merit aid for Marist, but I will certainly look into doing so. Thanks for the suggestion!

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The one thing to consider with SUNY - G is that the students are almost all from NY (98.8%). Marist will have a Northeast lean but less than half are from NY.

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If you have any questions about appealing merit aid please feel free to send me a PM! Good luck!

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I am familiar with both schools. They have similar freshman retention rates.

Your cons for Geneseo are not compelling, IMO. The campus is lovely. The honors program is definitely a bonus. I don’t think it’s that isolated. It’s 30 minutes to Rochester and there’s a lot going on there if you really seek some city life. Students are very happy. As for food, a friend’s child has severe celiac disease and he raves about the food at Geneseo.

What you’ve heard about Marist is generally true. It’s a solid school for B students, but they offer good merit scholarships to the best students as enticements. I am sure you will be able to find other academically inclined students there. I think the huge strike against it is the cost.

I do not think Marist is better than Geneseo, but it would be useful to know what you’re going to pay at both schools.

A word regarding what you said about waitlists. Assume you are not getting off WL. Deposit at a school, and look forward to enjoying yourself there.

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Thanks for responding- I hadn’t considered how close Rochester is to campus, and I’m glad to hear something positive about the food.

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Hi…my son is currently a freshman at Marist. He chose to attend Marist which was a “target school” for many reasons: he was accepted into the Honors College, received a sizable merit award, loved the beautiful campus on the Hudson, and really liked the vibe of the campus-especially the clubs and social scene. Just really fun, friendly and accepting people. Made a ton of friends and always has somewhere to go and someone to do something with. Awesome professors. But the school is overall way too easy for him, and he is transferring. He said he’s not learning anything new, and basically learned most of it in high school. I wish you the best of luck :slight_smile:

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My son is at a SUNY and most of his friends are from NY. He loves his friends. Many are from Long Island, which might as well be a different state, lol. People are still individuals, no matter where they come from.

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One of my kids attended a small SUNY, and most of her friends were also from Long Island.

I attended a large SUNY, and there were plenty of kids from all over the state. NYS is big, and there are definitely differences between Long Island and other areas of the state.

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Thank you for sharing this insight! I have been hesitant to commit to Marist because I am worried that the academics may not be challenging enough, so this was very helpful.

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Last year, my son got into GW and American U, honors colleges, in DC with decent merit last year. Between Covid and the riots, he was turned off spending his freshman year locked up. He also got into Skidmore and Connectiut College…thought both were too small. So he accepted Marist’s offer. He truly wants to stay but is afraid he won’t be completive for top grad schools. He is an uber intellectual…for him to be willing to leave “the greatest group of friends” one could possibly want, this says something. Hope this helps! :slight_smile: My kids never listen to me LOL

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This was a big help, thank you so much!

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