Should I attend SUNY Geneseo or NYU?

when I was applying for grad school (public health) I saw the power of what a good diploma is worth. Me and my ex-girlfriend were applying to essentially the same grad schools. She had a biology degree (which is way closer to what an MPH wants than my degree) from Providence, and I had an economics degree from the University of Michigan. My GPA was only slightly higher than hers, the difference is negligible. I got into pretty much everywhere that I applied, she didn't even get an interview from most schools. (In fact Ohio State somehow managed to schedule my interview before they even officially received my application, to this day I don't know how they did it, the system must have notified them that I submitted an application and they didn't even wait for it, they sent me an e-mail the next day to get me on the schedule) There's the difference for you, Michigan vs. Providence diploma... I know it may not look like it now but a good education will carry you a long way in life. Think about the alumni network that NYU will give you after you graduate. You will be in a much better place, with much better people, and that degree will actually be worth something. At least this way you'll be getting something in return for your $$, the $25k that you'll spend at SUNY is money literally thrown away...