St. Mary's Maryland vs University of Mary Washington vs. SUNY Geneseo
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Anonymous
Most (all?) publics have an honors college or honors program(s) within the school. For SMCM (and I guess Geneseo, per pp), the entire school is an honor’s college. |
Anonymous
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DD applied to both. I think she liked the smaller size and waterfront setting of SMCM but not how isolated it is. UMW she liked the campus and proximity to Fredericksburg. As VA residents, UMW with merit would have been half the cost of SMCM OOS w/ merit.
She ended up at a private LAC. |
Anonymous
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I live in NY, so know Geneseo much better than the others. It is highly regarded in NY. Lots of NY kids who can get into Binghamton choose Geneseo, especially due to their locations. It's in a nice town.
Wikipedia tells me St Mary's is half the size of Geneseo, which is a big difference. |
Anonymous
| Academically, some of the stronger programs at Geneseo include psychology, music and physics. |
Anonymous
I also have a freshman at UMW, in the Honors Program. They register before seniors and he got all the classes he wants for spring semester (their first semester classes are chosen for him). SMCM was too remote for him. Geneseo he strongly considered but ended up not applying. UMW received a large STEM endowment that really makes the STEM majors attractive there. |
Anonymous
My DD is also in the Honors program. The early registration is a huge bonus. |
Anonymous
Thank you, and pp above as well — really helpful to know. DC has a good shot at honors, and it sounds like that’s worth it. |
Anonymous
| How rigorous is SMCM? It says it’s an honors college but has a v high acceptance rate. Would a top HS student be bored here? My kid loves the campus but worries it would be like MCPS “everyone in honors english” |
Anonymous
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If you would like to consider these schools by student selectivity, this analysis places them in the order of, from most selective to least selective, Geneseo, SMCM, UMW:
College & University Rankings in 2026 https://share.google/7vljh92W4eKbjFzUk |
Anonymous
I'm familiar with Geneseo and UMW, and I echo this. While I like UMW, Geneseo is a big step up in terms of the quality of student it attracts. |
Anonymous
| How do SUNY Geneseo and New Paltz compare? I think the SUNY system has some hidden gems and it’s not a bad option for OOS students, still a reasonable cost for a solid education. |
Anonymous
I don’t know what your kid would find boring, but if they what organic chemistry or advanced physics of the most writing-intensive English class you can imagine, you can take those at SMCM! And the other people taking them will be super smart kids just like your daughter. There are indeed students at SMCM who are not super smart, straight A students. My kid is one. He actually is very bright, but he’s not a fabulous student. He is a funny, kind, generous man, though, so your daughter might like having him as a classmate even if he is a business major. |
Anonymous
| Both MW and SMCM have slipped over the years in terms of selectivity and reputation. They used to be much tougher admits. Now they let in almost everyone. |
Anonymous
| Unless ED, I strongly feel this is a gut decision made by the student at the end of senior year. Once all acceptances are known. |
Anonymous
Understanding Geneseo is well regarded in NYS, how does that translate for jobs in bigger metros? |