Beyond the Brochure: Does Marist Live Up to the Lofty Expectations Set Upon Arrival?

Banner outside of Fontain displaying student athlete Jackie Piddock '26 with the tagline "Inspired to do more." Photo by Ben Rossi '27

The Marist 100’s three core strategic plan pillars are: academic vibrancy, student centrality and an expansive community. These three pillars summarize what Marist University hopes to achieve in maximizing the student experience.

Meeting such lofty expectations is a difficult task for any institution, but for a university whose tagline is “Inspired to do more,” it is fair for students to hold their school to the same standard that Marist University holds itself.

“There’s no promise that I can think of that they didn’t keep,” said Jack Murray ’26. “Freshman year, they said Dyson Center would be ready by 2025 and that we would get a new food provider by my sophomore year, and they did.”

The out-of-state tuition for Marist is roughly $43,000 a year before additional fees and living expenses. It is only right that the school reinvests that money back into students, and for the most part, it does.

In the past five years, students at Marist have seen the construction of a brand-new Dyson Center, updates to fitness centers across campus, a new track and turf field for student-athletes and the addition of an e-sports lab. 

“They told me by the latest fall of my sophomore year I would have a track to run on,” said track and field runner Justin Schwartz ’28. “I will give them credit; they did live up to the expectations.”

Marist hasn’t just followed through on reinvesting in student life; it has also delivered on its commitment to providing a plethora of experiential learning opportunities.

Programs such as the Center for Sports Communication, the Center for Social Justice Research and the Marist Poll all provide students with clubs, activities and internship opportunities to learn hands-on as opposed to the traditional textbook style.

“Not only do those experiences give you real-world experience using things like professional equipment, but It helps you learn what you like and don’t like,” said member of the Red Fox Report and multimedia intern for Marist Athletics Jonathan Chernin ‘27.

If parents are sending their children off to a university with the belief that it will prepare them for an adequate career, then the fact that 94% of Marist graduates are either employed or in graduate school within six months of graduating shows clear positive results.

While all of these factors make Marist seem appealing, the school certainly has room to grow. 

“There have been a few times when I, as someone with gluten-free needs, have been given something that I cannot eat,” said Chernin. “That’s one thing I don’t think they lived up to, and for a student with food allergies, that’s one of the biggest factors in deciding where you want to go.”

Although mistakes like this reflect poorly on the University, Marist has previously acknowledged these shortcomings and switched dining providers from Sodexo to Gourmet Dining just three years ago.

Upon arrival, Gourmet Dining added an allergy-friendly kitchen, along with expanded menus and dining locations to fit the growing nutritional needs of Marist students.

While no school will ever be as perfect as the brochure, Marist University has consistently shown an ability to live up to its high standards while recognizing its shortcomings and working to improve them.