That moment is exactly what this article is for. Not to decide for you whether Marist College is the right school. It is so that when you reach that silence in the car, you already know what to ask and what each figure they show you means.
Marist College is a private, nonprofit college in Poughkeepsie, New York, within Dutchess County. It is a medium-to-large school, selective without being out of reach, with a small community of Latino students and a sticker price among the highest in its comparison group. None of that makes it good or bad for your family. It makes it a concrete piece you need to understand before including it in the plan.
What kind of school it is, in terms that matter
The systems that classify colleges in the United States—the one used by the federal government and the one used by the Carnegie Foundation—agree on one thing: Marist College is a four-year, nonprofit institution that awards credentials ranging from bachelor’s degrees to doctorates and is designed for students to live there. Carnegie labels it “highly residential”: according to 2019-20 data, at least half of undergraduate students lived in institution-owned or institution-affiliated housing, and at least 80 out of every 100 attended full time. Carnegie also places it in its selective-admissions group.
This is not a decorative fact. If your child plans to live on campus, room and board are almost never included with tuition in the brochure you are first handed. Ask for them separately, including the meal plan, before comparing this school with any other.
The campus is in a suburb within the Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh metropolitan area, not in the center of a major city. If your child plans to live at home, drive the route yourself on a weekday at the time they would have classes. The actual travel time is almost never what the map shows.
And one thing is worth clarifying right away: Marist College has none of the three federal designations that families sometimes look for—it is not a historically Black college or university, a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 colleges in this federal directory, 138 have at least one of those three designations. Marist’s absence from that list says nothing about which students it serves or how your child will feel there. Ask directly: what cultural centers currently exist, what student organizations are available, and whether you can speak with someone who already attends the school.
The size of the community your child would join
Marist had 6,452 students enrolled in the most recent official count: neither among the small schools nor the enormous ones. Compared with the 941 selective, private four-year schools in this census, it falls on the larger side—between one and three out of every ten schools in that group have more students. Of that total, 5,545 are undergraduates and 907 are graduate students: it is primarily an undergraduate institution.
Within that community, 12 out of every 100 undergraduate students are Hispanic or Latino. It is a small minority, although the share is above the midpoint among the 941 similar schools in this census without reaching the highest quartile. Put plainly: there are few Latino students here. That does not remove the school from the list, but during the visit it is worth asking what exists specifically for Latino students—a student group, a cultural center, someone in the office who speaks Spanish.
There are more women than men—57 out of every 100—and almost no one older than 25: only 2 out of every 100. And something that often surprises families: fewer than half of first-time students, 44 out of every 100, were permanent residents of New York State. The rest come from other states or other countries, or their residency was not clearly reported. This figure does not measure distance or travel costs, but if your child will be coming from far away, that transportation expense is included only generally within the cost of attendance—with no breakdown for flights or moving. If that applies, build your budget around the actual trips, not the generic estimate.
Being a medium-to-large school does not mean more options for your child, just as being small would not guarantee more attention. Always ask about the specific program, not the school as a whole.
How the academic year works and how broad the offerings are
Marist’s calendar is organized into semesters: two long terms of roughly 15 weeks each. The institution reported that it accepts credit for AP exams and also what IPEDS calls “credit for life experiences”—independent study, courses for adults, work experience, portfolios, prior licenses, or military or professional opportunities—as well as credit for military training. It also enrolls high school students in college courses for credit through a formal dual-enrollment program.
Here is a hard truth that should be stated plainly: the school’s reporting that it accepts AP does not mean it will award credit for every exam. It does not say what scores are required or whether those credits count toward your child’s degree program. Request the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrolling. Do not budget for the savings until you have it in hand.
In the most recent year reported, Marist awarded 1,267 bachelor’s degrees across 20 fields of study. By far the field with the most degrees was business and management: 414 of the 1,267, or 33 out of every 100. Compared with the 942 similar schools in this census, Marist is in the quartile awarding the most degrees per year. But the existence of 20 fields with rows in the report does not mean there are 20 programs active today: a row may report no degrees for that year, and a field groups together several distinct programs. Verify the exact program that interests your child.
The student-to-instructional-staff ratio is 16 to 1. It is a midrange figure on the overall scale, but compared with schools of the same type, it is in the quartile with the highest ratio: three out of every four similar schools reported a ratio that was the same or lower. Both readings are true at the same time, and neither tells you the actual size of first-year classes—that information is not included in this figure.
Among the structured opportunities Marist reports offering are study abroad, a full program that can be completed entirely during evenings or weekends, and preparation and certification pathways for those who want to teach, including state approval for initial teacher certification.
What it takes to get in: the application, selectivity, and what happens afterward
Marist does not have open admission. Of the nine considerations it reviews in the process, it marks six as required: high school record, GPA, the correct college-preparatory course plan, personal essay, letters of recommendation, and an English-proficiency exam for applicants who need one. Other components—class rank, a portfolio or competency exam, and work experience—are not required, but they are considered if submitted. The published application fee is $50. It is a long application: start the essay during the summer, not the week of the deadline. The first draft is never the one that gets submitted.
In the most recent cycle, Marist received 10,224 first-time applications and offered admission to 6,616: 65 out of every 100. That is a common rate within its comparison group, slightly below the midpoint. Seen from the other direction, 3,608 applicants did not receive an offer. Admission is not assured, but neither is it a lottery.
And here is a figure that changes the conversation with your child: out of every 100 admitted students, only 19 enrolled. The remaining 81, despite having an acceptance in hand, decided to go elsewhere. Do not read that as a blemish—the federal record does not say why each person made that choice. What it does tell you is this: what others decided does not predict what your child will be offered. Wait for your child’s letter showing the net price, which is what the year will actually cost, before adding this school to or removing it from the list.
Marist is test-optional: the SAT and ACT are not required, but they are considered if submitted. Of the students who enrolled, only 15 out of every 100 submitted SAT scores. Among those students, the middle half scored between 620 and 690 in reading and writing, and between 600 and 670 in mathematics. Those ranges describe already-enrolled students who chose to submit scores—not all applicants, and not a guarantee or a minimum.
Regarding transfers: of the cohort that entered in 2017 seeking bachelor’s degrees, 16 out of every 100 transferred to another school without completing at Marist. Transferring is not failing, but your child should know in advance how to request the necessary records if that ever becomes necessary.
The sticker price, and why it is not the real price
At Marist College, among 104 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $25,331. Among 78 students from the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $34,963; among 772 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $43,143. For dependent students, the band combines their parents’ income with their own.
There is a difference of $17,812 between the average for the lowest-income band (104 students) and the average for the highest-income band (772 students). These are group averages, not a prediction of your family’s price. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $40,106.
Among the 937 schools of the same type and control included in this census that reported this figure with the same period coverage, Marist falls in the most expensive quartile for the lowest-income families. That does not mean it should be ruled out. It means you need to request the aid letter before deciding.
Because the price changes so much from one income band to another, correctly identifying yours is the first step. The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at public institutions, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average with grant or scholarship aid, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships. The aid letter you receive is what governs.
The aid that does reach students, and the aid that does not reach as many
91 out of every 100 students at Marist receive some form of grant or scholarship aid that does not have to be repaid. That is common here, not the exception. Among recipients, the annual average was $22,361—but that average includes people who received much more and people who received much less.
The Pell Grant, which is federal aid specifically for low-income families, reached only 16 out of every 100 students. That means the great majority of aid distributed here is not Pell aid but comes from other sources—the college itself, the state, or other programs—without the report specifying exactly which one. Ask directly who awards each scholarship, who qualifies, and what is required to renew it each year.
Regarding loans: 63 out of every 100 undergraduate students received a federal loan in the most recent year reported, averaging $6,566 per student that year. If your child borrowed a similar amount in each of the four years, the total would be about $26,264, not counting interest—and that calculation should be made before the first signature, not at the end. Moreover, that average covers only federal loans in the student’s name for one year: it does not include Parent PLUS loans that parents sometimes sign for, bank debt, or the total debt someone has upon graduation. That larger number is not in this report, and no one other than your own child’s aid letter will determine it for you.
Marist also offers an installment tuition payment plan as a formal mechanism for managing the cost.
Campus life, athletics, and what is offered beyond the classroom
Marist has its own housing, although it does not require all full-time students to live there. It also offers meal plans, with the number of meals varying by the plan selected. IPEDS reports capacity for 3,463 students in institution-controlled housing. The existence of a room does not guarantee an assigned bed: request the annual rate, the application deadline, and whether space is guaranteed or there is a waiting list in writing.
ROTC is available, with the Army branch confirmed in writing in the most recent report; Navy and Air Force are not marked, which does not mean they are unavailable, only that their availability is not confirmed—ask directly.
Marist competes in intercollegiate athletics and is affiliated with the NCAA, with membership reported in football, basketball, baseball, and cross-country or track and field. That membership belongs to the institution and is not a promise to your child: if your child is interested in a sport, write directly to the coach and ask whether there is a place available, which division that team competes in, and whether that sport awards athletic scholarships.
The institution also offers distance education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, although very few people use it as their only mode of instruction: only 2 out of every 100 undergraduate students took all their classes remotely; the other 98 took at least one class in person. The library has hired staff, physical and digital collections, and interlibrary loan services—meeting the government’s spending threshold does not guarantee that it has databases specific to your child’s program; ask using the program’s name.
Reported services include combined academic and career counseling, employment services for current students and graduates, participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program, a point of contact for veterans and military service members, a student veterans organization, and a webpage dedicated to services for people with disabilities.
How many stay, and how many graduate
Of the cohort that entered in the fall of 2022, 89 out of every 100 met the official retention criterion: they were still enrolled at Marist or had already completed their bachelor’s degree by the following year. Compared with 930 similar schools, that share ranks toward the top. But a high retention figure combines two distinct groups without separating them—it is not a final graduation rate, and it does not reveal what happened to those left out.
Regarding graduation: of the cohort that entered in 2017 seeking bachelor’s degrees, 80 out of every 100 had earned the degree six years later. Using a four-year timeframe, the figure falls to 72 out of every 100—a difference of 8 points worth keeping in mind if the family plan depends on your child finishing in exactly four years. Compared with 920 similar schools, Marist ranks in the top quartile.
From that same exact cohort of 1,285 students: 1,026 completed bachelor’s degrees at Marist; 205 transferred without completing there; 3 remained enrolled without having finished; and 51 fell into the federal “no longer enrolled” category, which does not explain the reason and may include those who finished after the official deadline.
A high percentage is not a promise to your child. It is what happened to the cohort of 2017. What is in your hands, starting with the first semester, is making sure your child enters with credits in order and knows who their advisor is and when to register for each course required by the program.
There is a third, longer-term measure: following a cohort that entered between July 2015 and June 2016—including both first-time students and students with prior experience, attending full time and part time—by the August 2023 reporting date, 80 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from Marist. Among Pell Grant recipients, the figure was 77 out of every 100, three points below the group without Pell. Compared with 935 similar schools, Marist again ranks in the top quartile. This is an earlier cohort. It does not determine whether your child will graduate here or how long it will take. It is a good reason to ask during the visit about current support in the specific program that interests your child and about outcomes for more recent cohorts.
What these numbers cannot tell you
Nothing above tells you what your family will pay until the aid letter arrives with your child’s name on it. Nothing tells you whether your child would be admitted, because that is an individual process that no institutional average can predict. And none of this replaces a visit, a call to the department for the program your child is interested in, or a direct conversation with the coach, advisor, or veterans office if any of those paths applies.
It is the college’s role to admit, deny, and offer aid. It is your child’s role to study, explore, write the essay, and decide, with your guidance, whether this school fits what they want to build. It is your role to understand the family’s finances, request the letters in writing, verify credits before budgeting for savings, and not let your child carry alone a system they are only beginning to learn how to read.
You now know in detail one of the three pieces you need in order to decide: what Marist College really is and offers, with its real numbers and real limitations. Combine it with what your child wants and has built, and with what your family can and is willing to pay. A plan comes from that combination, not from a single figure.
Source note: the information in this article comes from data reported by Marist College to the U.S. Department of Education’s IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System), primarily corresponding to the 2022-23 and 2023-24 cycles, as indicated in each section. Best College Aid does not represent Marist College or any government agency; this article does not replace the admission letter, the financial aid letter, or direct communication with the institution.