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From even before you came to Marist, you've been hearing about priority points. Everybody will tell you that priority points are important for housing, and if you get in trouble, you lose priority points. But it's hard to get an easy answer as to exactly what a priority point is, how you get them, how they work, and what you can trade them in for.
Step 1: Getting priority points. You can get points by joining clubs, getting good grades, not destroying your room, not getting in trouble, and getting involved around campus. There is a maximum number of priority points you can get in each area, so joining every single club on campus will NOT let you live in President Murray's house next year. The bulk of your priority points will come from grades and activities. Two good clubs can net you eight points very easily. Tack on eight more for not setting fire to your room, and you've already gotten yourself off to a good start.
Step 2: Losing priority points. Ok, so your party got a little bit loud, you punched a hole through your wall, and Origins in Modern Time turned out to be tougher than you could possibly imagine. It's not the end of the world. As a freshman, the worst that will happen (assuming you didn't get thrown off of campus) is that you won't get your first choice in housing next year. If you get caught drinking or anything else not allowed at Marist, you will get a certain number of points taken away in the "discipline" section. Depending on the severity of the situation, the number of points taken away will vary, as will the punishment. (For example, getting caught drinking gets you a letter home if you're a freshman, and a mantatory alcohol awareness meeting) Room condition priority points are very easy to get, as long as you don't do anything stupid like hang a hammock from the walls of your room.
Step 3: Trading in your priority points for valuable gifts and prizes. So it's the end of the year, and you're ready to put these points to good use. Thing is, the only thing you can use them for is housing. When you and your group picks out where you want to live, they take the average number of points your group has, and uses that number to determine who gets to live where. A few weeks before housing forms are due, they post everybody's priority points outside the RD's office, so you can see how good your standings are. Remember... housing is based on priority point averages, so if you pick up a straggler who never went to class and kicked a nun, your group average will probably suffer a loss there. As soon as housing is figured out, all of your priority points vanish, and you get to start over again next year.
A common misconception around Marist is that priority points get you something other than housing. They don't influence how early you get into a class, how good your parking space is, or how much your tuition comes to. Basically, if you just don't do anything ultra-stupid, you'll be fine. And legend has it that if you get over 100 priority points, they give you a pick Caddilac... but then again, it's just a legend.