<p>IDK about reputations, but I think there might be a different style of life at UMassAmherst compared to the SUNY's. I always thought that UMass is larger and has every state kid from Massachusetts on the one campus, while the SUNY's are decentralized and each campus has its own emphasis (for example, Fredonia for music, Purchase for theater/arts, Geneseo is the academic honors SUNY, go to Oneonta for speech-language pathology or teacher ed, etc. Plus some SUNY's are in small towns (Binghamton) while others are in Buffalo or Albany, so more of a city. Each SUNY campus has its own style, in other words. But then, there are so many kids in NY State that some of the big SUNY's like Buffalo (is it 25,000?) probably have almost as many on the campus as UMass Amherst. I'm just too whipped to look up all the numbers tonight, but my impression from living in Buffalo and visiting UMass Amherst is that SUNY at Buffalo feels about as big as UMass at Amherst. And, sorry to be fuzzy and unsure, but I believe that SUNY-BUffalo's strongest major is poli sci.</p>
<p>UMass has the good fortune of being part of the Five College Consortium, along with: Amherst College, Smith, Mt.Holyoke, and Hampshire College, and a free shuttle bus connecting the 5 campuses, so a very rich offering for extracurricular activities. I love the location, too; two hours from Boston (free bus runs daily) or three hours to NYC. Town of Amherst is a great combination of suburban and rural New England amenities. Fresh air, low crime, see the stars, but there are about 30,000 students in the Pioneer Valley when you count all 5 colleges, with UMass supplying the most students of course.</p>
<p>IDK any thing about the others you mentioned, so won't comment.</p>
<p>I don't think any opinion can hold water unless they are specific. For undergraduate Zoology, I'd vote for U of New Hampshire. For Marine Sciences, U Rhode Island and UMass Dartmouth are very good, with URI being one of the best in the nation. URI is also strong for Animal (livestock) sciences. UMass Amherst has a great Natural Resources program (woodlands, conservation, etc.). So it depends on your particular interest.</p>
<p>I just have to mention UMaine, with a good honors college, engineering (with lots of scholarships for top students), and overall strong liberal arts studies. My dd didn't want to go to school in-state, so didn't even apply to UMaine, but we know lots of people there. One advantage is that it is small for the flagship university, so classes beyond the introductory ones are small with opportunities for students to get involved in professors' research. Lots of state politicians went there and there are plenty of political internships.</p>
<p>Another good public in Maine is University of Maine-Farmington, which is highly ranked nationally as a public liberal arts college.</p>
<p>To OP: The important point was made by A2Wolves above that Geneseo and TCNJ, and particularly Geneseo I would say, are going to be totally different experiences than UMass or UConn, prestige, reputation, etc., aside. Because of this it would be wise to at least have some idea of what kind of environment you prefer, big U or moderate-sized with a Liberal Arts focus.
And as for reputation, prestige, etc., this is an interesting question because here I think quality and reputation may diverge a bit. In my view at least, Geneseo and TCNJ are clearly above most of the regional state universities in terms of student body strength and undergraduate focus. However, outside the Northeast (and even within the Northeast, I am sorry to say) if you mention UConn or UMass, people at least can associate with a flagship university, whereas Geneseo and TCNJ can be pretty obscure. In some people's minds, it seems, if you haven't heard of it, it can't be any good (rather interesting logic). From a personal standpoint I would be very pleased to have my own kids attend Geneseo (one of them was actually accepted there, but didn't go when he decided on a major they didn't have).</p>