Where should I go? (Geneseo vs. Bard, fit-wise)

College Search & Lists
1

<p>where should I go? I’m pretty confused, so I guess I’ll just tell you a bit about myself. well, at times it probably gets annoying, but I can’t stand anything mainstream…I know, it sounds pretentious, but I just can’t stand big Hollywood movies, radio music, etc., etc. my favorite band is Animal Collective, favorite book is Naked lunch. I’m not a fan of the whole fraternity business, and I very much enjoy being around intelligent people. I am into politics and lean rather far to the left. </p>

<p>so, where should I go? </p>

<p>I got into:</p>

<p>Binghamton
Geneseo
Ithaca
Skidmore
Bard</p>

<p>which school sounds like a good match? I love to read and write, am obsessed with music, and really enjoy class discussion rather than lecture-style teaching. I really, really want to go to Bard, but money is an issue. I guess the main reason for this thread is to find out just how off Geneseo is for me, how it compares to Bard, as a fit. thanks in advance,</p>

<p>Michael.</p>

<p>Also, I will probably major in literature or philosophy, so that may affect something.</p>

2

<p>(No idea, but I love Animal Collective too. I presented “Winters Love” to my AP Music Theory class last week as part of a presentation on harmonic progressions. Amazing song!)</p>

3

<p>awesome! yeah, that’s a wonderful song. they truly stand out in today’s music world.</p>

4

<p>Mike, it sounds like Bard offers a little more of what you are looking for. I think on the whole the kids there are much more liberal leaning and I don’t think they have any fraternities. Geneseo is an excellent school, but it sounds like Bard is a very good fit. Best of luck!</p>

5

<p>geneseo doesnt seem like a good fit</p>

6

<p>yeah, I really feel like Bard’s a fit. Geneseo is a good school, dirt cheap too, but I’m just not sure I would like it. I actually got a 24k/year scholarship to Bard, so the money’s not a huge thing. I’m going to visit tomorrow, it’s only 45 minutes away, which is nice. </p>

<p>thanks for the help all. any additional suggestions welcome.</p>

7

<p>As a Geneseo student who considered going to Bard, I’m going to give it to you as straight as I can. This is all my own biased opinion, so take it with a grain of salt.</p>

<p>Geneseo:
Very small, relatively boring town. Rochester is 30-45 minutes away. There’s plenty of activities that don’t involve drinking, but I am pretty sure fraternities have a larger presence than at Bard. Lots of people serious about their work, so if you’re into your research you can find people to share ideas with. I don’t know how left you are, but while Geneseo is a pretty liberal school, Bard makes it look like Washington & Lee. Bard is much more liberal than any other school I’ve ever visited, including Brown. Maybe Wesleyan tops it, but not by a lot.</p>

<p>As an English major, I read Naked Lunch my first year at Geneseo. Burroughs is awesome, although I like Pynchon a bit better. Our English department is easily one of our strengths. All of the classes are based around discussion, not lecture. Education and most sciences are good, and theater (particularly the musical theater club) gets a large amount of support and attention.</p>

<p>Bard is awesome in all of the liberal arts, although their writing department is better than their lit department, they are both great programs. As a side note, Annandale-on-Hudson is pretty rural too, although I thought it was slightly more upscale than Geneseo.</p>

<p>Skidmore is pretty cool. A bit more laid back than Bard, student body is equally artsy but often too blazed (I kid, but only partially) to be as vehement as Bard students. Saratoga Springs is an incredible town. </p>

<p>Admissions wise, and this is mainly using collegeboard and anecdotal evidence, Geneseo is harder to get into and has slightly better test scores than Skidmore, although this has only been the case for about 2 years. Bard is more selective than Geneseo.</p>

<p>During my visits, I liked Geneseo better than Bard, and when it came down to nearly $40,000 vs. about $8,000, as someone who wants to go on to grad school it was an easy choice. </p>

<p>If you’re willing to float the money, I think you’re a slightly better fit at Bard, although you would definitely get along well at Geneseo too. As a parting shot I would suggest you just erase Binghamton from your list. Good school but by far the least compatible out of your list.</p>