<p>@Aloha TM My son is a freshman @ Marist. He is very happy there. We had major decisions to make last year this time, as he had several schools he considered his “top” that he was admitted to. I therefore, worried that he might regret his decision. He doesn’t! As someone else mentioned, it is what you make of it. My son is not a partyer, and found other friends who are not as well (its not hard) and he has joined a club or two and is involved in intramural sports. He chose Sheahan dorm, and its a stones throw from McCann Athletic center, and he finds himself there all the time. The dorm has a lounge that includes a ping pong table and large screen TV couches, etc and so he spends alot of time there too. The weather hasnt hampered him as much as I thought it would as we got record snows this year. He still gets out, and manages to eat! Hawaii is a long way away, and that makes it all the more difficult a decision, but I would recommend staying over in the area for a few days before making a decision, spend time on campus, just being a part of it, and eating there, maybe visiting a few classes. You can contact the school for a “shadow” day, and a current student, usually a senior will spend the day with your student, and they really get a feel for the campus. You can spend the day getting a feel for Poughkeepsie, and the surrounding area while your student is on campus. Rte 9w is a very busy road, and the area is best described as suburban I think. If fast food is a love there is plenty to be had! The older part of Poughkeepsie, closer to Vassar College is actually kind of run-down, and possibly what someone else referred to as city, but you never really have to go there. My son found getting the classes he wants easy and the classes available, so that was pleasant too. If your student has AP credits they are given priority selection- of course you do have to pay for the AP credits you roll over ($50 per credit). Lets see, I know this is long, but I would love to help with my new-found Marist experience! So ask anything you want and I will try to help-will even get my sons point of view if that would help you. The choice is hard, and you want to make the right one-but again its not the location as much as the attitude.</p>