I have noticed that the Princeton Review ranked Binghamton as having the 17th least beautiful campus and have heard many other comments about the campus and school being depressing. Is this really the case? Also what kind of social scene exists here, are fraternities a big part of social life?
The weather is depressing. The campus is fine. 17th least beautiful? Target audience must be idiots or the impressionable.
The weather can be very cold. Get a north face. There are also pockets of very nice, sunny, t-shirts + shorts weather, and everyone appreciates Springhamton even more because it’s such a dramatic change. Agreed with itsajoke about the campus. It doesn’t have beautiful gothic or colonial architecture but it’s totally fine…there’s open, grassy areas with plenty of trees, flowers, and paved walkways. I also really like being surrounded by the nature preserve. Social scene is what you make of it.
To say it is amongst the ugliest campuses is an opinion very few will share - hence the tenor in my post above. Binghamton is situated in a valley. It is very pretty during the fall and spring. It is also very cold and dreary between December and March. Broome County has a lot of cloudy days. So, if warm and sunny weather is your thing, I wouldn’t focus on Binghamton. If you don’t mind some rain and snow - and cloud cover - then I would say the campus is about the last thing that would discourage you from attending. It is easy to navigate. Plenty of places to hang out outdoors (when it isn’t snowing or raining). I would not say it is amongst the most beautiful campuses - nor would I say it is anywhere near the ugliest…
No, it’s really not the most aesthetically pleasing campus. The engineering building is one of the ugliest things I have ever see. But at least the nature reserve and the new dorms are nice. Personally, I think stony brooks looks way more depressing. If you are from long island the weather will be colder than what you are used to but if you are from upstate it should not be and issue.
The social scene varies a lot. Binghamton isn’t really a huge greek life school. There are fraternities but their houses are off campus and they mostly do nothing but party and haze each other. It’s their is you want it. The school is diverse but some people say the school can be cliquey and a little bit segregated (people only hang out with their race/religion/ethnic group) but maybe you are the type of person who would prefer to be around people with the same background as yourself. In that case it might be a good fit for you.