" you’re going to spend your life pulling your hair out in frustration". I’d never suggest anyone would spend their life pulling out their hair or that explaining where the school is would cause any frustration. My experience is that outside the NY area, few people have heard of Binghamton. Academics are more likely to have heard of it. Few people from areas distant from the NY area attend and most attending students end up settling in New York. Not all by any means. Just most. So the name of the school isn’t as widely known to the public as it would be if students came from all over the country to attend or if those attending ended up living in distant states. Since that does not happen, it does not have the sort of name recognition that Syracuse has.
Both schools have respectable business programs. According to US News, SU’s undergraduate program is rated in top 50 while Binghamton is in the top 150. Given the number of schools in this country, both ratings are very good.
LBad96, I did not state that “Binghamton is good”. I did not state that “Syracuse is good”. I said that the ratings were “good”. If you want PR for Binghamton, just call them. I’m sure they will give you loads of positives about Binghamton U. Sorry but I don’t work for them and I do say things that representatives and fans of the school don’t. I feel that they misrepresent the school in their PR material. Misrepresentation never serves anyone well. If you don’t like my comments, obviously there is no need to read them. If you are looking for the answer to “WHAT IS LIFE??”, maybe the PR administrators can fill you in.
@lostaccount I have no preference to what you comment. In fact, it’s always interesting to hear the other side of the story. I was just surprised by what you said lol. And not to go slightly OT, but there were two stuck-up/creepy kids I met through a group chat app who make me happy that I didn’t even get into Binghamton.
These two schools do not typically share the same set of applicants. Go look on naviance. Also, the sports factor is a clear divide. I happen to agree with lost account about Bingo’s name recognition outside of the tri-state but if you think you will stay in the area after graduation, does that matter? There are many brilliant kids at Binghamton because they are middle class and can’t get any financial aid and they don’t want to take on all the debt. I hated the area while I was there but I loved my college experience. Good luck to you!
I know a few NYC kids in my daughter’s year who applied to Syracuse and Binghamton. They all preferred Syracuse and were hoping that the financial aid fairy would make Syracuse possible. One family paid for Syracuse and the rest are at Binghamton or Geneseo.
If one wants to settle in NY or the Northeast or go on to grad school I have no doubt that SUNY Binghamton will be a known commodity. Fact is that most schools become well known due to having sports teams on TV rather than because of academics.
happy1, not necessarily. There are a ton of schools known to the lay public that are known because of their contributions to different areas., This is mostly true in STEM areas-CMU, MIT, CalTech, etc.
Loveyounot. When you apply to binghamton, make sure you apply to SoM. If you are offered a spot at harpur, don’t bother taking it because it will be near impossible to transfer into SoM. Syracuse has a lot of advantages over binghamton. It has more name recognition, better sports, (slightly) better city and better social life. However, it is also much more expensive so if finances are a big factor, then you are better off going to another, cheaper school. If you live in the nyc area, baruch is a good alternative. It is cheap and has a really good business program. You can also go to a CC for two years and transfer.
My parents want me to go to a 4 year right away. I know cc then transferring is a good option, but neither me nor my parents really want that. I also know Baruch is great, but Im really looking to live away from home, but still in NYS or other neighboring states…
Syracuse has the sports, the town, the name recognition, the nice mall, and some very well respected departments. Binghamton is the stronger school, academically. Top top students go to Bing all the time because they simply can’t afford to go to Duke or Cornell, or they are saving their money for grad school. Top students do not generally go to Syracuse ( there are always exceptions)- if they can spend that kind of money they will go to the higher ranked school.
In our school district you will always see kids in the top 2% attend Bing. These kids never attend Syracuse. Not putting down Syracuse at all.
twogirls, this was far more true before the Ivy League schools upped their game, in terms of financial aid and Binghamton expanded the size of the school without ensuring that the resources to handle the expansion were in place. Whereas Binghamton used to attract many students accepted to Cornell but lacking funds to pay for it, Cornell now meets need. It is true that upper middle class students who don’t qualify for aid may end up deciding that the cost of Cornell is not worth paying. But the larger group of students who used to decline Cornell because they really could not afford to attend are now far more likely to attend Cornell. At the same time, Binghamton increased the number of students being accepted. It is also accepting students who it believes are not prepared for a 4 year university, bussing them to community college for 2 years followed by having them join upper level classes at Binghamton (rather than starting with the entry level Binghamton classes). That is a game changer!
“In our school district you will always see kids in the top 2% attend Bing.” Really? What high school?
Many upper middle class families with one kid in college will not get sufficient aid to the Ivies or schools just below the Ivy League. I realize this will turn into a discussion about " what is the upper middle class." They may get some aid, but not enough. These kids either attend Bing or take the merit to other schools. Many choose Bing because at the end of the day, Bing is academically stronger or on par with some of the schools giving them merit. I still believe that Binghamton attracts a higher level student than Syracuse because top students who can afford Syracuse will go elsewhere. Top students can and do attend Binghamton because they can’t afford Emory or Cornell even with some FA, and do not always want to attend the schools that gave them merit. Lastly, my kid went to a county dinner honoring Vals and Sals and there were 2 students attending Binghamton. You don’t have to agree with me, and you do not have to like the school. It’s not for everybody, but there are plenty of very strong students who are happy there.
Where I live, top kids who can’t afford to spend ( or won’t spend) more than $22,000 a year go to Binghamton unless they are fortunate enough to get enough merit to a " better" school that will drop the price down to match the cost of SUNY. Yes- top schools give decent FA, but for many families the price is still too high.
twogirls, I know some who attend Binghamton who did not get into Syracuse. There is a big difference in admission rates across schools at SU. Some programs are very competitive. Others less so. Maxwell School (policy studies, citizenship/Max school, International studies, ete) and Newhouse are very competitive. A student admitted to thosewould likely have no problem getting into Binghamton and many at Binghamton would not get into those programs.
