Hi, before I make this post can the judgements of my possible decision please be kept to a minimum because I do understand that some people can defiantly disagree with how i feel at the moment but everyone is different. I have a couple reasons for wanting to do this transfer but 1st… basically I came into college hoping to meet people from around the country like California, Chicago, etc because I absolute HATE long island and most of the people in it. Here at Binghamton, the furthest from long island that I have found is new jersey, which to me is basically the same thing and same types of people. Also the people here at Binghamton are not as focused on working hard and care more about partying… especially the boys. My type in boys are ones that are hard workers and care about their future but for some reason everyone at Binghamton just wants to party 24/7 and doesn’t care for their academics or future. 2nd… I don’t feel Binghamton gives me the opportunities and amazing alumni connections like Cornell would. I am an engineering major here at Binghamton but it is also my first year so I don’t know if ill be transferring as one yet but the research and internship opportunities are very minimal here which worries me. 3rd… as bad as it sounds, I just don’t think i fit in here at Binghamton. I feel like the people just aren’t the ones I want to be surrounded by 24/7. I like prestigious people but I also don’t know if i can fully handle being around it 24/7 rather than just a weekend visit because I am not that rich where I could easily fit in with every setting in a prestigious environment. What sucks is I’m not even sure I will be more successful transferring to Cornell because I will be a small fish in a big pond while here at Binghamton I’m a big fish. I am going to be applying to other schools as well that are similar to Cornell like Upenn and Boston U as a safety but I think cornell is going to be my best option, I have ALWAYS wanted to go there. I am just currently incapable of being proud to say I am studying at binghamton because I just don’t feel right about it. It isn’t me. Also, if anyone knows how difficult it is to transfer from a SUNY please share. Any tips on how to ensure I have the best chances of getting in would be amazing to. I am not sure if i should be rushing for sororities here because I am not sure if i want to stay and if ill even get in to other schools. Please, any advice helps! Thank you for reading!
So if I read correctly, you are making these judgments about Binghamton having been there for a matter of weeks??
From what I’ve gleaned, Binghamton is not really bad at all, certainly not as you are making it out to be.
There are definitely nice men at Binghamton. Including those who are serious about their studies, and their futures.
This may be less evident during the first month of college than it will be later on.
Though I agree that overall there will be a higher proportion of those types of people at Cornell.
If your desire is to leave Long Island behind, there is probably no worse competitive college for you to choose than Cornell. While it does have a much larger proportion of students from afar than Binghamton has, it still leans more heavily New York than most other colleges.
Transfer from Binghamton to Cornell is a well-worn path. But the large bulk of transfers to Cornell are into one of its “contract colleges”. Transfer into engineering would be a lot harder.
If you want to do it, I think your best bet would be to find out what the “guaranteed transfer” students have to take (there are probably a decent number of them at Binghamton), and take those courses to the extent that you can, then apply to the ag school. which assumes that you actually want to undertake the program of studies, and major, available via the ag school.
Transfer into Cornell’s engineering school would be a reach. If you want to transfer to a different engineering program I suggest RPI.
I have to echo Monydad - a significant portion of students at Cornell come from Westchester, Long Island, and New Jersey. Almost all of my daughter’s friends are from those areas. So Cornell is not going to be a huge change there. I’m not sure I understand what you are saying about the type of people at Binghamton versus Cornell - your post is a little confusing in that section. But, I will say that you will find students at Cornell with SERIOUS money that you won’t find at Binghamton. And my daughter says the social environment is more competitive than the academic environment. (Don’t get me wrong, she is very happy there, but these are her observations.) If you are intimidated by that, I don’t think Cornell would be someplace where you would be happy.
Have you considered the University of Michigan? Top notch engineering, and while there is a decently sized population of NY/NJ students, the population is balanced out by lots of Midwesterners. And with a student body twice the size of Cornell, there are tons of different populations there.
But before you get too carried away, try giving Binghamton a little more time. If you are interested in Greek life, you may find a house that you like and will make you feel better about everything. If you do transfer, you can usually join the chapter at the new school, and if there is no chapter you can sometimes join another house.
Are you eligible for FA? Many students from LI are not eligible for FA because it is a high cost area and a lot of families are in the donut hole (too poor to pay full fare and too rich to get FA). If that’s the case for you, Cornell is going to be a lot more expensive than Binghamton unless you could get into one of those contract schools, and Engineering is not one of those schools. Uof Mich is out of state for you, so your tuition is also going to be a lot more expensive. For some colleges, it is harder to get aid as a transfer student. Think it all through before you make a rash decision.