Parents ask me and time and time again while I’m giving tours, “Why did you pick Marist?” I usually give the same lame answer over and over again, about how great the education is and how the college feels like a family --- blah blah blah. Ninety-nine of my comments on tours are sugarcoated more than Pop Tarts. It’s my job to tell the paying parents what they want to hear.

At family parties, I am always asked again, “Are you still liking school?” The answer is always yes; then I sip my drink, or walk away. I’ve never given that much thought into what I liked most about Marist, or why I chose it. Now seeing my younger cousins and friends siblings applying to colleges got me thinking, and it made me realize that if I could do it all over again I would NOT choose Marist.

I would not pick a school out of state, because why would I ever want to leave home and experience a new part of the country?

I would not pick Marist because as a junior and senior in college, I would never want the option to have my own bedroom again.

There’s nowhere to get good food in Poughkeepsie, so why bother going there?

I would not pick Marist because as a film major, I want to pay thousands of dollars for my own equipment instead of renting brand new cameras from the media department.

I would not pick Marist because the faculty to student ratio is 16-1, and that means I have to actually talk to and befriend my teachers.

And I sure as heck wouldn’t pick Marist because they have far too many adorable groundhogs running around.