Hi! I got guaranteed transfer to Cornell, so I need to spend one year at a different school first. I got into Binghamton for Politics, Philosophy, and Law. At Lafayette, I’ll probably be majoring in public policy.
Money isn’t an issue. I received a research opportunity at Bing to do research and to get published by the end of my freshman year, which seems really promising. But also, Lafayette might be a slightly better school. I’m not sure though.
I’m asking because I’m thinking of applying as a transfer student to other top schools as well, so I want to have as strong of an application as possible. Thank you!
Let’s see, you got into Cornell and you want to ask Binghamton students/parents which school you should make a pit stop at on your way through? I guess I would recommend Lafayette then
@HankCT I’m sorry, but I wasn’t sure where else to ask such a question. I’m sure that if you/your child were given the chance, that you would take the Guaranteed Transfer option to a top school if given the chance (especially because Cornell was one of my dream schools).
I’m not trying to offend anyone, I just don’t want to screw around my first year of college and I want to make the best possible choice that I can. I still want to contribute to whatever college I am, even if it would only be for one year. And who knows, I could end up staying for all four years if I do end up loving it enough.
@Cornellian2009 I would say that it probablt boils down to your preference. Both are great schools, but entirely different. Lafayette is a tiny Christian school (about the size of the high school me and my children went to). Binghamton has 17,000 students, 5 different living areas, and so forth. Right off the bat, between that, the cost and location (all should be factors for you) you can probably get a good vibe.
I would say that the research and publication opportunity sound pretty great, if you are entirely on the fence. But in the end, I would say that these two schools which are entirely opposite (small, private, Christian vs. large, public) should probably drive your decision for where you want to spend the year. I know a lot of students transfer from Binghamton to Cornell, so it’s possible you might even know some other Bing kids who are doing the same you may see when you go there.
@HankCT It is a moot point since the OP is no longer on CC but I believe the OP is talking about Lafayette College, a LAC in Easton, PA which is not a Christian college (my D is a recent grad).
@happy1 That is correct. I was thinking about Lafayette College.
@HankCT I ended up choosing Binghamton! My primary concern was that it was such a big school and that it was in the middle of no where, but I’ll be joining a learning community so I’ll have access to some smaller classes. Otherwise, Bing’s culture seems awesome, the opportunities they’re offering are nice, and it seems like a great fit. Thank you!
I also ended up getting off the waitlist at Washington and Lee, but I think I’ll still be choosing Bing over it.
@happy1 I’m only going off of what I saw at niche, where it says it’s a small christian school (ranked #4 among Christian colleges) with about 2500 students. This is the one in Easton, PA: https://religiouslife.lafayette.edu/ - in either case, I was only mentioning that if it were an important component for the OP.
@HankCT , It’s always annoyed me that niche classifies Lafayette as a Christian college when it isn’t. Many schools have old loose affiliations with religious institutions, American University has one with the Methodist church and it isn’t a religious school in any sense of the word either.
Lafayette isn’t either though there are religious groups of all kinds on campus. Not sure why Lafayette hasn’t corrected that on Niche since I think it is unfair to either students looking for a Christian college or to those turned off by a religious affliliation.
