If you want a nice college town, Burlington > Binghamton. In fact, I’d pick Geneseo (Honors?) before Binghamton if surroundings matter to you. Geneseo is very strong academically and the town’s nicer than Binghamton.
I have many friends at Geneseo who all love it as well @AnxiousMomof2
Burlington is supposed to be great place to attend college. I’ve heard nothing but positives about it. I’m not sure a differences between yields for 2 schools below 25% is a difference that is meaningful. My guess is Vermont attracts students from a wider geographic area who have also applied more widely whereas students applying to the NY schools are less likely to have applied as widely. Thus the VT students may be selecting among a wider range of desirable schools.