I’m from NYC and I got into the Pre-Pharm program at Bing and Pharmacology at Stony ( but I am most likely turning to a Physician Assistant track). I am having such a hard time deciding. Stony is better in terms of location but I don’t like the idea of it not having a lot of school spirit like what I wanna see at a college. I am not a huge partier but I do want to have chances to go out and have fun without being bored all the time and having to come back to NY on the weekends because that gets tedious and expensive. Also, I really dislike the food at Stony. It is pretty unhealthy and overpriced but Bing food is ok with me. Also, I’ve been told that Stony is better for the STEM fields so it has better internship opportunities and that Bing does not have a lot of science and math internships and experience opportunities so I am worried about that. Stony’s campus is pretty but the dorms look really small/depressing and the campus seems pretty quiet which is something I don’t want. However, I’ve heard Bing weather is pretty bad compared to Stony’s. Which is better in terms of getting a better GPA for grad school? Is going back to NYC complicated? I’m open to both schools and any opinions!!
Well, it’s obviously easier to get to NYC on the LIRR but there are a ton of Binghamton kids from the city/LI so you should always be able to find a bus or a ride.
Stony is known as a commuter school, where a lot of people go home on the weekends, but there certainly is a portion that doesn’t. Binghamton would definitely have more of the campus spirit feel. You’re right that Stony does have more of a reputation for STEM, however, the two Bing people I knew who wanted to do pharmacy are both in grad school for it right now and seem to be doing well.
Stony brook is better known for its health sciences/pre-health programs. So from a purely academic point of view it is a better choice. But not everyone the scene at stony brook. There are a lot of commuter students and a lot of international students that do not speak English. A lot of people leave on the weekends. This might work for some people. There is an LIRR station right on campus. You can save a lot of money by commuting if you live close enough. But not everyone likes that and that’s fine.
Binghamton is more residential. There are fewer local commuters and most students are from long island or nyc so they do not go home everyone weekend. If you want the dorm life binghamton is better for that. The social scene is better at binghamton. The con is that a lot of people do not like the city of binghamton or the surrounding area because for them it is big change from what they are used to (long island or new york city). The weather is colder and there is a lot of snow in the winter. Getting to new york is not that difficult. There are buses that leave from the bus station downtown that take you to port authority. If there is no traffic it can take 3 hours.