Enrollment: 5031
Average SAT: 585
Average ACT: 25
Most Popular Majors: Business Administration and Management, General,Communication and Media Studies, Other,Education, General,
Regular Application Deadline: 02/15
Student Faculty Ratio: 15:1

Undergraduate Receiving Need-Based Financial Aid: 3
Average Freshman Total Need-Based Gift Aid: $12,662.00

Students Say - Academics
Marist College, "a smaller private school in a nice area with a great campus life," offers a surprising range of options to its largely career-minded student population. The school is home to "a very good business school;" "a good criminal justice department;" "a reputable teacher education program;" and "great concentrations in teaching, communications, and fashion." All departments benefit from the school's "unique partnership with IBM," which translates into "very advanced computer technology and Web services. Our online library is very extensive and extremely helpful for research papers and projects." Similarly, students appreciate the school's vigorous efforts to place them in meaningful internships. One student explains: "The internship departments have directors in each major, and a great many opportunities are made available to students for internships during both the academic year and the summer months. There is even staff on campus to go over your resume with you and make sure it is properly formatted and has all of the necessary information in it for potential employers to review when you apply for an internship." The school's location, "about an hour and a half from New York City," is key to the success of the internship program. Students also love the "intensive study-abroad program," through which they "can go almost anywhere in the world for the same price as a semester at Marist."

Students Say - Campus Life
With "breathtaking views of the Hudson River" and "a great campus complete with nature trails and a riverfront park," Marist College offers an idyllic setting in which to pursue a college degree. Students tell us that campus life "pretty much has something for everyone: campus organizations based around race/heritage, Greek organizations, service, sports, performing arts, and co-curricular organizations. Students have many opportunities to build their social network." Many here "are extremely concerned with life after college, and therefore many engage in activities and internships that will give them more experience in their career." They still find time for fun, though. Campus-based diversions include "comedians, bands, hypnotists, singers, and speakers [who] come every week to give performances for the students," while off-campus life includes forays into hometown Poughkeepsie ("the school is about seven minutes from the Galleria Mall, which has a big selection of stores") or nearby historic Hyde Park; trips to New York City are most likely to occur on the weekend, since the city is about 90 minutes away (the trip, however, only requires "an extremely easy train ride to the middle of the city"). Poughkeepsie has an active nightclub and bar scene, students tell us.

Students Say - Student Body
"A typical Marist student is from New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut;" is "middle- to upper-middle class;" and has "a good background education and social skills." Undergrads here "display a hard work ethic in class while taking the initiative to become involved with student-run clubs, activities, and sports," but students aren't especially driven by academics for their own sake; they simply want to "get their work done and have a good time while getting great grades." Many here "tend to be politically conservative, but a lot of students just don't have an interest in politics. Also, Marist does not have the hipster crowd." The school was once a Catholic school, and although it is now officially nondenominational, vestiges of its old identity are evident in the student body; "most students are Catholic," one student reports, "but religious diversity is increasing bit by bit" as the years pass.

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