Wow, sounds like @lostaccount has a very different of Bing than my nephew, a current student and observant Jew, does.
@lostaccountâs Bing is the school I attended many years ago. Different people have different experiences so definitely do your due diligence. It does have a big Jewish population.
Iâm sure there are some happy students at Binghamton.
It is a safety for many students. Sometimes those students had very unrealistic ideas about where they would end up. Regardless of why, they can be disgruntled and feel they are all that and more, so they are above it all, if you know what I mean. That isnât helped by the fact that Binghamton has had some problems-and those problems arenât all ancient history, as some have claimed. Some are current, others are recent and all have impacted on the experience available at Binghamton. It has also increased enrollment without providing the supports necessary and without being able to accommodate the increased enrollment well. There is a lack of space, a lack of instructors and students get closed out of classes as a result. They are building so some of that may subside.I believe buildings that were supposed to be built decades ago are just now being build. I believe the buildings were delayed by priorities like building the arena and by consistent cutbacks. They are some swank dorms and resident halls. But, little money has gone into instruction and it shows in dated classrooms and poor resources. Itâs a school that has had pretty poor priorities for a good long time. That is my read. You can disagree but that is my opinion.
On the plus side, Binghamton is a reach for some students who attend and they may be grateful to be there. Some of those students are invited to live in the dorms but go to community college for classes. Eventually they take Binghamton University classes. Certainly there are happy students. But there are definitely issues. All schools have some. No school is perfect for every student. The advice to research the school thoroughly is very good. Binghamton might be the ideal school for some students. Others may decide there are better ones for them.
@lostaccount - thank you for your perspective and further clarifying your previous post. Itâs important to hear the negative as well as the positive about any college. Back when I was touring colleges, I always asked the tour guide and any other random students we spoke with what they didnât like about the school. Itâs good information to consider.
âWow, sounds like @lostaccount has a very different of Bing than my nephew, a current student and observant Jew, does.â
I know a lot of kids who have graduated from Bing in the last several years or are students there now. I have never heard of any of them having the type of experience lostaccount has described. The students I know who have gone to Bing have gone on to med school, dental school, law school, jobs in finance/accounting in NYC, etc. Almost all I know who have gone there have not gone because it is a safety but because the COA is so reasonable - even though these kids come from upper middle class families.
The NYS SUNY system suffers from a lot of blah and ambiguity. The system is also very wasteful with lots of odds and ends and no critical mass. Most would consider Stony Brook the flagship, but it has less than a 50% 4 year graduation rate.
To think a state like NY doesnât have a legitimate flagship school is puzzling to me.
Thank you all for your thoughts. My daughter will definitely be taking the SAT again in October. She felt pretty confident that she can get her scores higher. She took a practice ACT and hated it. Her final grades arrived today and I am thrilled that she received an unweighted GPA of 3.8. She has one AP and several honors classes. She worked so hard this year and it really paid off!
Our school does have Naviance although there are minimal stats for many of these schools. So many of our kids want to go to Michigan, UCSB, UCLA and many fewer to small schools like Gettysberg. Out of a class of 150 kids over half will apply to MichiganâŠcrazy! My daughter has âcome outâ as gay, but does not particularly want to be involved in gay politics on campus. We are a fairly conservative family, both religiously and politically. The crunchy-granola thing is not for her.
I will look into College of Charleston and KU. Indiana is already being considered. We are lucky to not have any financial restrictions, however if a school offered her some scholarship money that would be fabulous!
I am working hard not to get sucked into the college search crazy. I am trying to steer clear of the âletâs compare GPA and SAT scoresâ crowd.
@lostaccount, where did you get your information that the students are not too happy?
I showed the recent posts about Binghamton to several recent grads, Jewish and not, and they all felt that the student population there is happy with the school, their fellow students, and their overall experience. None of them sensed a general unhappiness or dislike of the place at all. I live in the area, know many graduates, students, faculty and staff and have never gotten the impression that the mood there is what you describe.
Cuse87, I am glad for you and your friends. As I said, i am sure there are some happy students at Binghamton. Binghamton also has an active PR department. PR staff are probably happy too. If you access recent articles and recent surveys, you will see that there have been problems and there continue to be issues. But potential applicants should not rely on either you or me. They should research the school thoroughly and visit. Applicants should make up their minds based on information that they gather from different sources and based on their own experiences Just because I would not recommend Binghamton University does not mean that a student should not apply and/or attend. This is my opinion.
Iâll add that there are tons of reviews on the internet that were written by current students and by former students. They discuss how students view the pros and cons of the school. Naturally something mentioned by one or two students is probably not a reason to choose or reject a school. Students should look for overall patterns and should consider aspects of the school that are important to the student. Weather, for example, is probably often mentioned in reviews of Binghamton University. Many students donât care about the weather. It isnât something that would keep them from considering a school. What is important is different for each student. The aspects of a school that leads one student to hate it may make no difference or even may be embraced by another student. I would not discount what is said in reviews if it is mentioned repeatedly however.
Oh my Gosh! This discussion about my Alma mater is making me crazy!! Ok. I spoke with a parent of a graduate of SUNY Bingoland just yesterday. Child was a psych major, as I was, back in the day. proâs are that its a very solid education and very serious one, at that. profs are still good, still has some kind of school spirit, but not full of partiers. Neg is that the school, like many state schools, has expanded and built so fast that they donât have the expanded classroom space. Classes, I was told, are overcrowded even more now, and the school has become overcrowded feeling as a result. Parent I spoke with would have preferred her child to try for a smaller private school where she would have gotten scholarship to have a more personal experience. Her other son did just that, small school with scholarship.
YesâŠweather is always an issue at every SUNY. Part of getting your education for such a low cost!
So please stop beating up Binghamton! It may have become very overbuilt and crowded, but for the independent kid who is self disciplined, serious and focused, itâs a good deal. Visit before you trash it please!
LOl Who is beating up on Binghamton? I counter the idea that it is a âpublic Ivyâ. But it also has some qualities sought by some. And you essentially said likewise. Overcrowded classrooms, being closed out of classes, not having a spot to sit in the library are not characteristics of a school similar to a public Ivy. It is a cheap efficient way to get a degree. People are clamoring for that so the cheap tuition keeps the number of applications high making it look very competitive. Very few students end up with big debts. Binghamtonâs markedly increased its enrollment but failed to put resources into academics. Technology and classrooms are decades behind the times. But more students are pouring through the school then ever before. And as has been noted by others, it is not hard to shave off a year or so if you can get into the classes you need to graduate. It is a deal. A quick degree for less then youâd have to spend in most schools. You can save a ton of money and use it for something else. http://chronicle.com/article/How-I-Aced-College-and-Why-I/63791/
" I counter the idea that it is a âpublic Ivyâ.
A âpublic Ivyâ ???Who the heck said that? I have never, ever heard Bing called that and I donât think anyone would even consider it that. But, itâs a very good school and good value for the money. My son applied and was accepted but chose not to go there because he really wanted a small school.
I actually know a girl who transferred from Cornell to Bing after her 1st semester and not because of her grades or the work was too hard - she just hated the school. I think her parents pushed her to go to Cornell, because it was Cornell. Anyway, she spent the next 3 1/2 yrs at Bing, happy as a clam and just graduated from medical school.
âA âpublic Ivyâ ???Who the heck said that? I have never, ever heard Bing called that and I donât think anyone would even consider it thatâ
lol!
Crossfitmama- good for you for trying to avoid some of the college âtalkâ and pressure. I donât think it is possible to avoid all of it, but keeping your home free of this I think can make a difference in your childâs sense of pressure and feeling accepted.
For the kids, it seems they equate a comment on their college as a comment about them. I once heard a mother speak about the college her daughter was in as " She only got into this college, her ACT wasnât high enough to get into collegeX" I know that this mother was expressing her genuine feelings of disappointment, but I think this contributed to her daughter feeling she had to transfer to other schools to do âbetterâ- but her college was a good school and she ended up staying there.
Kids can get fixated on a college- like Michigan. However, at 17 , they really donât have a good understanding of the options out there. Also, once they leave their high schools- they will get new peers- at their colleges- and the âcollege comparingâ tends to get better when most peers are at the same college.
I agree that it is good to look for a college that fits your daughterâs personality, interests, and skills regardless of what colleges the peers group is looking at.
My daughter is a graduating HS senior. We did the Bing info session and tour twice- once during sophomore year and once during her junior year. Both times, the person doing the info session called the school a " public Ivy." Our HS sends a lot of students to Bing, and I personally know at least 10 kids currently attending, and 3 recent graduates. My opinion is that it is not a public Ivy, but itâs a very good solid school that comes with a reasonable price tag. The 3 recent grads just moved on to grad school; two at Columbia and one at NYU. Bing just put a tremendous amount of money into their housing; the dorms are gorgeous. The rest of the school, however, is incredibly dreary ( my opinion) and needs updating. I do not understand how many of the other SUNYs have updated academic buildings, but Bing does not. Bing is a terrific school but is not for everybody; it is not for my daughter. One girl I know transferred because she did not make the SOM. The others I know there are very happy. Top HS students typically use Bing as a safety- some attend and most do not ( my observation). Getting into Bing during the EA round is difficult- you really need at least a 3.9/4.0 or you usually get deferred to regular decision. The " typical" student at Bing ( my observations only) is one who was a strong B+/A- student in high school, with the " higher" HS students ( those above a 4.2,) making the scholars program.
Our biggest issue with Bing was that for my daughter, it felt like an extension of high school. For her it was a huge safety. For other students using Bing as a reach, it will not feel like an extension of high school. Itâs a great school for the right student and it will get you where you want to go.
I wanted to add that the SOM at Bing is competitive and difficult to get accepted to. It is also one of the only SUNYs to be off for the Jewish holidays - except maybe Buffalo (?). One last point- a B student may not get accepted to Bing- it depends on the academic profile of the kid.
" Both times, the person doing the info session called the school a " public Ivy."
Did everyone laugh at that?
I honestly have never heard it being referred to as a public Ivy. I canât imagine who would even think it comes close. That being said - I think the whole concept of âpublic Ivyâ is absurd.
Nobody laughed, but I donât think everybody agreed. I think the profile of kids attending Bing is one with maybe a 3.8/3.9 taking a combination of Regents, honors, and an AP or two. There will always be some " lower" kids and some " higher" kids. Itâs definitely a strong solid school for the right student. I found the campus to be depressing, but thatâs just my opinion. A hard working, motivated student will accomplish great things graduating from Binghamton, but a " public Ivy," it is not- and thatâs ok. One thing that bothered me about Bing is trying to find research- not one student I spoke with was involved in any, although I am sure it exists.
@Lostaccount, your first post didnât just state that there are just some unhappy students or that it was just your opinion, it stated "Well if you donât want a school where students are too happy, " and continued on from there with âthere is no need to worry about people being too happy thereâ. I asked you to back that up with some facts, but instead you backed off your claim slightly and continued knocking the school. You have literally dozens and dozens of posts on the Binghamton board doing the same sort thing. It is clear that you are the unhappy one which begs the question - why are you still there? Transfer somewhere you actually likeâŠ