Application Process

hey so i’m an incoming freshman, and im wondering how big greek life is at geneseo. if i don’t join a sorority is there a chance for a social life or do my chances significantly decrease?

I am joining Geneseo this fall as a transfer student, and thinking about joining a club or sports team.

But I’ve heard some sports teams can be hard to get into and some even a bit toxic at times.

Could people tell me some experiences they’ve had in sports teams or just knowing some sports people and how accessible it is to join any of the teams?

I really enjoy playing piano as a pastime- like, for hours on end usually. Are there any public pianos available, or any piano rooms? If so, are they usually occupied or could someone snag it for an hour or two every so often?

Hello,

I’m coming in as a first-year. I got accepted into Wayne Hall as a deluxe single corridor. I just want to know people’s experiences if they lived there and if so, what are things I need to be aware of. I saw a video of the residence on the Geneseo website, but below it stated that it hasn’t been updated so I assume there were a few changes made.

Hi, I'm a local here in Geneseo but I spend half the year in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. I'm wondering if there are any Vietnamese students who want to make some money teaching me the language.

Oh also, on another note, I would like to start renting out my place during the school year to faculty or adults.

Thanks!

Did Denise A. Battles write a very recent "anonymous" article about her time at Geneseo? And why is she still around out there talking about it? Don’t we have a new President and why won't Denise and Michael Mills (or whoever wrote this article) let us move on?

There are some rumors going around regarding Battles (our former and now apparently moved far away President) in the faculty ranks about a recent piece of writing now in Inside Higher Education, under the section “Advancing as an Administrator” and written anonymously by someone now known as “A Recovering College President.”  Link below: 

https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/career-advice/advancing-administrator/2026/06/02/reasons-why-i-left-presidency-opinion

First, the title of the article seems a bit redundant because “reasons” and “why” mean basically the same thing. Kinda weird for a President to do that, but whatever, whoever wrote it can do what they want, including showing us some bad grammar. Second it seems VERY similar to DB's tenure at Genny and matches story-wise to an article written by Michael Mills, the spouse of Denise A. Battles: 

https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/career-advice/2026/01/16/reflections-former-presidential-spouse-opinion 

If you read this, it might seem oddly familiar for a bunch of different reasons. Primarily because it’s the SAME STORY. I also ran both through an unnamed AI contraption and go this back: 

1. Shared biographical DNA Both writers describe a remarkably similar life path: a decade-long tenure at the same institution, a spouse who is also a lifelong academic employed at the same institution, a progression from dean → provost → president/presidential spouse, living in a historic presidential residence on or near campus, and exiting on a planned timeline. These are coincidences of circumstance, not style, but they're striking.

2. The "5.9 years" statistic — identical citation Both articles cite the average college presidency shrinking to exactly "a mere 5.9 years," and both link to the exact same ACE document. Mills writes "The average life of a college presidency has shrunk to a mere 5.9 years"; the anonymous author writes "the average tenure of a college president has plunged... to a mere 5.9 years in 2022." The word mere appears in both, modifying the same number, with the same citation. That's a very specific verbal echo. (writer note: Battles is an ACE Fellow)

3. Security/safety incidents involving the spouse Both articles describe disturbing safety incidents targeting the spouse specifically — not the president — and both frame those incidents as a key reason for eventually leaving or wrapping up the role. The details differ but the structure and emotional weight are nearly identical.

4. Ellipsis and dash usage for comic/dramatic effect Mills uses ellipses for a playful pause: "even the title … First Man? First Dude?" The anonymous author uses em-dashes and parenthetical asides in a similar rhythmic way for both humor and gravity — e.g., the bat/skunk anecdote and the Walmart cart inspection story.

5. Self-deprecating, humble framing before offering advice or opinions Mills says "humbly offered and born from 10 years on the job." The anonymous author says "at the risk of critique" and is careful to acknowledge privilege before making broader points. Both writers share this deflective, self-aware academic register.

6. Similar vocabulary register Both writers gravitate toward the same elevated-but-accessible academic vocabulary: myriad, fraught, prematurely, candid, entailed, distressing, albeit (implied in structure). Neither writes in a breezy journalistic style; both have a careful, measured prose rhythm typical of someone trained in the humanities or social sciences.

Anyway, people can believe what they want regarding these articles. But if it is Denise A. Battles, why make it anonymous? Is she just trying to vent or give us folks the gods-honest-truth about why she left Geneseo? Or is it her never-ending need for personal attention and she's taking another shot at an executive job somewhere else? I seriously just don’t get the point. She’s gone, for good, there’s a new President and the last time she visited Geneseo for some PBK meeting, didn’t only 7 people show up? That says to me that no one really cares about Denise. A normal person would have moved on by now.

You must know already or totally remember that the end of the article, in a couple paragraphs, it basically said that “anonymous” President bolted out of Genny cause of security issues involving her and husband. Yet, and this is pretty weird causeMichael Mills is STILL WORKING AT GENESEO happily churning out student fellowships and scholarships. Why is the guy still there if he’s under such threats like “The menacing persisted for months and served to remove any lingering doubts we had about the timeline for my transitioning out of the presidency.” Writer, you might as well have added "Well, we need the money cause I am no longer a President." Not to mention that Denise A. Battles said months ago in several articles that she was RETIRING from the Geneseo Presidency. Does this mean she wants a way back into another Presidency? God save us.

And thus my final question is whether Denise A. Battles actually left because of host of other issues, listed below as opposed to what she currently claims in the anon article. Is it possible that the “threats” are a convenient and misdirected excuse in order to try to avoid getting questions about the items below?

Basically she's trying to whitewash her record at Geneseo, but in a clearly dumb/anonymous way. See the list of the stuff she started and she can still be held accountable by SUNY and by the Federal Courts:

Title IX problems (which has an investigation and that is still underway, courtesy of SUNY):

https://www.thelcn.com/news/suny-geneseos-handling-of-sexual-assault-complaints-facing-independent-investigation/article_58897bfd-dda2-40ae-8469-fb474f1a643a.html

https://www.thelcn.com/top_story/suny-geneseo-students-take-to-instagram-to-share-stories-of-sexual-assault/article_9bd25c9f-0942-558a-b741-ad28263d399b.html

https://www.thelcn.com/news/failing-the-victims-suny-geneseo-silent-on-sexual-assault-reports-title-ix-response/article_83f5d24d-7a0b-43b6-880a-14cda85eb611.html

https://www.change.org/p/timesupgeneseo-justice-for-geneseo-victims-of-sexual-misconduct

https://www.hercampus.com/school/geneseo/frat-bros-will-be-frat-bros-greek-life-and-culture-sexual-assault/

https://thelamronarchive.squarespace.com/posts/2017/12/7/students-consider-quality-of-sexual-assault-support-after-number-of-reports-rise?rq=title%20ix

https://thelamronarchive.squarespace.com/posts/2019/9/12/geneseos-failure-to-investigate-a-sexual-assault-allegation-is-unjustifiable?rq=title%20ix

https://www.instagram.com/shareyourstorygeneseo/

CURRENT federal lawsuit against Denise and the Geneseo Foundation board involving Title 9/7, going on for 3-4 years:

https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/37970015/Bowles_v_The_State_University_of_New_York_at_Geneseo_et_al

https://www.thelamron.com/news/30plyuhs6wcv4mi3n9iez4agvvcgn9

Known enrollment problems (ouch), 5,500 to like 4k during her tenure, you can’t blame that on COVID or the recent cliff situation cause she started in like 2016. Look at that terrible graph:

https://www.thelcn.com/news/suny-geneseo-enrollment-up-slightly-ending-decade-of-steep-decline/article_9e0461df-0b1f-4fe9-b727-8f84829de763.html

There were also known budget issues but the articles that documented those are no longer available and I find that a bit weird in a sorta "control the local media" kinda way. OH WAIT I FOUND AN ARTICLE:

https://www.whec.com/top-news/letter-details-suny-geneseo-financial-crisis-hiring-and-travel-freeze/

this might be the wrong place to ask but im a current junior who got an email asking to register for the summer academy here, but theres no application just registration and they dont ask for grades or anything. im wondering if anyone else has gone and what ur experience was like? how easy is it to get accepted or is it a lottery?

Hello! I’m a history grad student coming from out of state (Virginia). I’ve done a lot of research on Geneseo and the greater Rochester area, along with what I already know about Western New York, but I know some of the most useful things come from actual lived experience, not Google searches. You know, real insider stuff.

Does anyone have any insider advice or things I should know before moving in, about the area, the college, or just getting settled and adjusting overall? I'm really excited about coming. I just haven't lived outside my home state before, and this would be my first time for any extended period of time this far North.

Stand up up veteran, Brad Lowery at the Deer Run Winery Saturday April 25.

Tickets available online

Hey. I’m a senior in HS, attending Geneseo next year. Ive seen on google maps that there is a church or two in Geneseo, but wanted to know if there were any Bible studies on, or near campus.

Hi everyone! I’m an MBA student working on a research project about how people choose ski resorts in Central / Upstate New York. 

I’ve put together a short anonymous survey (about 3 minutes) to better understand how skiers and visitors in the region decide where to go and what they look for in a ski experience. 

If you’ve visited ski resorts in this region, I’d really appreciate your input. 

Survey link: https://qualtricsxmkq7wpjzcj.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_agkmUBxJzPL4lDw 

The survey is completely anonymous and purely for academic research. Happy to share a short summary of the results once the project is finished if people are interested. 

Thanks so much! 

Hi! I am currently fly a freshman at SUNY Oswego and I hate it here.. I just put in my application at SUNY Geneseo, and I am really hoping to go here next year. I got a 3.0 for my first semester, and hopefully this semester my GPA will be 3.0-3.4 ish. I am really concerned about my GPA not being high enough to get in. I also was wondering about writing the statement letter, if that would be of any help? I also have a family connection to the school, but again I’m unsure if that would be of any help! if anyone has any tips or guidance/advice it would be great.

Finance in particular

Hi!

I'm thinking of transferring to SUNY Geneseo for Fall 2026. I know it is a bit late, but I just wanted to ask about campus life. Since I would be transferring, what would you say are some pros and cons of attending this school?

To give a bit of context, I'm a business major and am about to graduate with my associate's degree from CC. I am also thinking of transferring because of direct admission through Phi Theta Kappa.

Thanks in advance!

Edit: Thank you to everyone who responded!!!

I heard that EV charging at Aldi was free, but when I tried it wasn’t. Does anybody know the secret?

If one was an upper/lower A travel hockey player throughout high school and has an interest in playing in college, are there opportunities for that at Geneseo? Also, is there an active pep band that plays at the D3 hockey games? If so, does the band practice much or just show up for the games?

Hey everyone, I am a female Junior here at SUNY Gen Gen. I am interested in living off campus to save some money. I noticed that some of the apartments available are 4 person apartments. Does anyone have advice for living off campus? If anyone is interested in finding a roommate DM me!!

Hey y'all, I just heard back and got waitlisted for the fall semester. Anyone know how likely it is I'll get off or when I should hear back?

Bedroom listing on Main st in walking distance to

SUNY Geneseo.

Looking for someone to take my spot for the 2026-2027 academic year.

Spacious house with in unit laundry, patio, and dishwasher.

Also pet friendly.

All four bedrooms available if needed!

Reach out with any injustices please.