Binghamton is an outstanding school that is very hard to get into. In my opinion it is foolish to spend twice the price for a fancier campus that has a weaker student body. As I have repeatedly stated, many of these OOS schools attract kids who would never get in to Bing. That does not mean that strong students do not attend these schools.
If you are looking for trailers lining up before a football game, do not go to Binghamton. Go to Penn State.
@Lindagaf @twogirls it gives off the false impression that it is a public Ivy League equivalent, which it is obviously nowhere near. It overrates itself to make itself seem more exclusive. It is mainly a financial safety for those “top students” who apply. If it was popular, it’d be more known outside of NYS. It is not “outstanding” by any stretch of the imagination, nor is it “the premier public in the North” - that title would have to go to either one of Penn State, Maryland, UConn, or perhaps even Pittsburgh.
Bing is a good school, certainly. But “public Ivy”? They’re deceiving themselves.
I agree that Bing is not a " Public Ivy." It is, however, a very strong school. Top students do use Bing as a safety. They also use Maryland as a safety and often make honors. Pitt is a great school as well. All of these schools, including Binghamton, will give you a good education.
Who said it’s a public Ivy? Who is giving a false impression? Maybe I didn’t read that comment, I do not think its a public Ivy. Is it outstanding? Maybe. According to pay scale, it ranks 87th nationally, for public or private, for 20 year ROI, at $726,900. That is better than Georgetown, Wash U, William and Mary, Rutgers, Purdue and many other supposedly “better” schools. Here is the link: http://www.payscale.com/college-roi?page=6
According to pay scale, Binghamton is well ahead of every college OP listed. Indiana came in at something like $303,000 20 year ROI. Certainly in terms of money and expected financial returns, it is a no brainer. Not sure why LBad is trying to bash it. @brynn336 , it looks like educationally and career wise, Binghamton is by far your best bet. And really, lots of kids around here attend the college and love it. I am sure you will too.
Congratulations on your admission to so many good schools. You will be able to get a good education at any of them. I have experience, as a professor, at two of them – Binghamton and Maryland. If the choice were just about academic life, I would give Binghamton the edge – academics are top notch, professors are accessible and supportive, other students are bright, engaged, etc. Maryland can be just as good or better an academic experience but it is much more what you make of it; the school is large, the classes may be larger, the professors may have multiple things taking their attention. But there are also a number of learning communities which allow for very good interaction with professors; there are numerous possibilities given the DC area to have classwork and realtime experience in what you are studying, etc. Your education at Maryland can be, and is for many students, as good or better than you’d get at any of these other schools but, in my experience, it is also much more what each student works at making it at Maryland. If the choice were purely academic, I’d say Binghamton.
But you say you want big time school spirit, rah rah rah – and there is nothing wrong with also wanting that to be part of your college experience. Maryland is definitely that so at UMD you could get the academic and the big time college sports, joining huge arenas of students screaming their heads off for their school, etc. I am sure that many of the other state schools – Penn, Indiana, etc. might be the same.
None of these are bad choices academically or to put it the other way all of these are good choices academically. One is probably the better academic choice, IMO, but some of the others seem to offer you the balance you want between academics and the rah rah. I hope you will get to visit them and see how they feel to you.
All the best in whatever decision you make. It is great to have such choices!
@Lindagaf Rutgers is certainly no better than Binghamton. At all. In fact, I’d make a case for the opposite. I’m not even a fan of Wash U or W&M either tbh. Bing is rated so highly on that list because it is in NYS. Where do most NYS kids go after graduation?? NYC? Yup. That says everything.
Let the OP go OOS to get a full college experience at better choices if they so desire.
Interestingly, it seems there might be a case of sour grapes afoot. @brynn336 , someone on this thread was denied admission to Binghamton, so consider that when reading some of the comments.
What is a real/full college experience?
You keep using that term. I do not think it means what you think it means {Inigio Montoya}
@LBad96 I understand you went OOS from NJ but that doesn’t mean everyone wants to, nor does it mean that those who stay in-state don’t get a real or full college experience (whatever that may be). At first I thought you were comparing the sports scenes with the OOS colleges and Bing but with Delaware that’s not the differentiator. Then I thought it might be urban life, but with Penn State that’s not it either. The only similarity I see among the three vs. Bing is being OOS. Or am I missing something?
I would do a serious Net Price Calculator estimate in each school you are considering and then put the info on a spreadsheet (issue is that many schools cost much more than your guess or USNWR info). Subtract cost for Bing from each so you can see the actual annual and 4 year deltas.
Next look at the websites for your major interests for each schools. Note any pros and cons for each school.
Visit if you want, maybe do an overnight. Again, note pros and cons.
Do you like the idea of being far from home, maybe returning home once per semester in weeks that are different from high school pals at other schools ? Do you like the idea of a warmer climate ? A different type of city/town ?
Then you can do a nice evaluation of whether it is worth say $40K over 4 years to attend a different school, and if your family has it and you have fallen in love with one of them, you can feel that you did a good job justifying that to yourself and any busy body in the future (and life has ways of changing outcomes, so don’t beat yourself up if you don’t pick the perfect choice … and once you pick, don’t look back).
I have heard good things about Maryland and Delaware, especially the honors programs at each. Maryland also has a scholars program with specialized offerings. Maryland can be too much of a party school for some people and many of the more serious students are hidden away on their honors or scholars or engineering floors.
I don’t think there will be a huge difference academically amongst the schools, especially if you are proactive about getting the most out of the school you ultimately attend.
Lbad, you attend UNC-Wilmington, you should stop disparaging other schools. There are people in all states that respect their state flagships especially … and people also pick on other factors.
Perhaps LBad was being derisive towards Binghamton with the “full experience” remark, but maybe they actually mean that a “full experience” for OP would be whatever OP wants from a college, which appears to include school spirit and sports and a bustling campus and whatnot. A “full experience” for me, conversely, would include different things, as would LBad’s and whoever else’s. But if OP wants the rah-rah experience (which tbh makes us sound like a school composed entirely of cheerleaders), OP can/should try to make that happen (affordably).
LBad96 keeps using that term. I want him to tell me what it means to him.
A full college experience is one that isn’t entirely, or almost entirely, centered around academics. It’s in a setting that is conducive to fun, whether it be on the campus itself or the city surrounding it (if not in a mid-sized or even small city, then it should at least be in a college town). It also tends to be on an aesthetically pleasing campus. Schools that provide this include most state flagships, many Ivies/similarly selective privates, UNCW, Appalachian State, UNC Asheville, UBuffalo, etc. These schools may include really big-time sports scenes, although they don’t have to (the schools I just mentioned by name certainly don’t have big-time sports despite the presence of decent teams on campus).
Binghamton, while a good academic school (don’t know how many times I have to repeat myself on this), certainly doesn’t have an attractive campus by any means, nor is the surrounding area of Binghamton/Vestal at all easy on the eye. Also, when most people on CC mention or recommend Binghamton, they only mention the academics or its relatively low cost, which means that it does provide an efficient education. But why do they never mention anything fun to do on campus? No huge events? I know you can’t mention the basketball team, but isn’t at least ONE sports team good on campus? Is Binghamton appealing to the average college student who’s looking for ways to have fun that are alternative to partying? Is Bing a place where people can have fun outside of the classroom? Based on what people have said here, it certainly does not seem that way.
I have made my point clear now, I think.
@PickOne1 what does the name of my school have to do with “disparaging” other schools? Because if you’re trying to put it down academically then you should read up on just how good it is.
LBad96- UNCW is a good school. Most kids applying to Bing would not apply to Wilmington because it’s not on their radar- CH is on their radar. And most would not get into CH.
Many kids are looking for schools that absolutely do center around academics. One girl I know at Bing is very active in several academic clubs and spends time tutoring. Another girl I know is working with autistic children in the area. These activities are enjoyable to these students. Not everybody wants the rah rah sports scene. And by the way- many schools ( not all) have partying that goes hand in hand with the active sports scene. The sports scene does not always take the place of parties.
A quick search will lead to a discussion taking place next week on the Middle East, a concert on Wednesday, and hiking the following week. In 2013 President Obama came to campus to speak- that’s huge.
There is no college town. The main strip right outside the school is typical of a suburb and has restaurants and hotels. The campus needs serious updates- I have always said that.
Fun means different things to different people. Bing is not for you, and that’s fine.
UNC-CH has statistical similarities to Binghamton (e.g., same 25th percentile SAT score) and would, if it were among the OP’s choices, represent an academically equivalent school to which reasonable comparisons could be made.
@twogirls I actually know some kids here who got into Chapel Hill and NC State, but chose to come here for the best fit. UNCW is a great school that is only rising every day. True, it’s not on Bing’s level academically, but it will be very soon. I applied to both UNCW and Bing, FWIW. But even if I had gotten into both, I definitely would be saying the same thing that I am now. Bing was far from a good fit, and I would not have enjoyed it there at all.
@merc81 that may be true, but UNC-CH is elite; Binghamton isn’t close to that.
IMO the bottom line is that if price is an important factor then SUNY Bing should not be quickly dismissed. However, if price is not an issue then the OP should feel free to pick the college that he/she thinks will provide the optimal 4 year college experience for his/her personal set of criteria.
LBad96 kids in NC will absolutely choose Wilmington over CH for a variety of different reasons. Most kids up north have not heard of Wilmington. That’s not a bad thing- it is just the way it is. Consider yourself lucky that you found a school that you love. Congrats!
I’m not sure this differentiates Bing from Delaware at all.