Anyone accepted to the Binghamton Advantage Program and if so, what are your thoughts?
It’s a great program and I’m glad I took the offer. There are definitely a lot of flaws but I would do it again.
What kind of flaws are you referring to?
@vescon when did you get accepted?
@Shelly215 I believe it was about a week ago.
My daughter was offered the program for fall 2016 but not sure what to do. I am really hoping anyone currently in the program can offer any information. What are the pros and cons of the program and how does grants or scholarship offers apply. Is it a rough commute to and from campus?
Gabidani, this is a post I made on another thread but I think you will find it helpful. again I think it depends on your daughter’s major. Here’s what they don’t tell you about the program. The busses are risky. Sometimes they don’t show up or they are very late or they leave ridiculously early and you’re late to your class.(this happens once or twice a month) Thankfully all of my professors have been very understanding since a lot of other Broome kids rely on the bus as well. There’s a 95% chance that your roommate is also in the advantage program. They tell you that it’s random and you’ll probably get a BU student but they room the international students together then the athletes stay together and the BAP kids stay together. Next thing is I am not getting a good education at Broome. I’ve only had 3 good professors the rest aren’t qualified to teach. However getting the 3.0 will be the easiest thing in the world. Also your GPA will not transfer over to Bing. Once your daughter is at Binghamton she will have a clean slate when it comes to GPA. If your daughter decides to join BAP please PLEASE tell her to be careful with what classes she chooses at Broome. I can’t tell you how many of my friends took classes at Broome thinking the credits would transfer to Bing only to find out Binghamton doesn’t accept the credits. Which means they have to do another year at Broome which is every BAP kids nightmare. Do not be fooled the advisors at Orientation do not know what they are doing. They will recommend classes that will not transfer and screw you over. There is an easy way to avoid this. If you search ‘Binghamton Transfer Credits’ into google and choose the first link it will show you how to check which classes will transfer. Or you can call Binghamton (NOT BROOME) and they will help. Other than that I honestly love this program. It gave me a second chance to come to my dream school and I don’t regret my decision. I feel apart of BU campus and also apart of Broome’s campus. I meet a lot of BU kids and most of them don’t know I’m in BAP cause it just doesn’t come up in conversation. Others do and they honestly couldn’t careless. I feel very welcomed and loved on both campuses. Also they tell you that if you’re in BAP you can’t join a frat or sorority but I know A LOT of BAP kids who are in frats. They have no way of checking so BAP kids are apart of Greek life and no one cares. Let me know if you have anymore questions!
Jjrny, along with my above post I would say they aren’t very organized with the program. Which is understandable since it is new. However it gets better every year. When I first started the program I had an 8am class and had to catch the 7:25 bus. This meant I had to wake up at 6:30. The dining halls were not open until 7:30 so I had to come up with my own breakfast. But a lot of kids complained and they opened the dining halls earlier for us so we could have time to get breakfast. Also there was one particular bus driver who would leave 3 to 4 minutes early. Which doesn’t seem like a big deal but it is. The bus leaves Broome at the :55 of the hours. Most classes let out at the :50 of the hour. Which is more than enough time unless you’re leaving from the Titchner building at Broome which is a long ways from the bus stop and when the bus driver starts leaving 3 or 4 minutes early it means you miss the bus and have to wait a whole hour until the next one which is HORRIBLE. Most BAP kids loathe Broome. We just want to go there to take our classes and get back to Bing as fast as possible. Anyways the bus driver was fired or switched to a different bus because we complained. So they listen to what we have to say and try to make changes which means the program is continuing to improve. If you can’t decide if you want to come here I would tell you to ask yourself how much do you love Binghamton. How does a Binghamton degree compare to a degree from the other school I applied to? You are most likely just taking gen eds which have nothing to do with your major at Broome. And when u get to Bing you’ll start to take classes that have to do with your major and you’ll actually be getting a good education. Also the first year goes by fast trust me :). If you got a better offer from somewhere else definitely take it. But if Binghamton is your dream school then I’d accept the BAP offer because it is worth it.