First of all, thank you @rebeccar for your help and advice ahead of our trip to Binghamton!
The day was beautiful, 65 degrees and sunny. Lots of kids outside, enjoying the weather, sunning themselves, playing frisbee, soccer, and lots of other games. We couldn’t have asked for a nicer day. It definitely helped the “sell.”
The admissions building is new, and very welcoming, however, this will probably be the only time we’ll ever use it, so I was quickly over it. Our initial admissions presenter, a fairly senior person, was kind of a dud. Mostly read from the slide show and played videos. Thankfully, several student tour guides were present to jump in and give their personal experiences. Their stories were much more interesting and captivating.
Our tour guide Mark was fantastic. Perfect balance of lecture, Q&A, and movement throughout the campus. We got a great look at most of the facilities and a solid representation of what life is like at Binghamton. We saw several lecture halls, some small, some enormous (350 seats). We saw chemistry labs and the greenhouses - all adequate. We did not see the athletics (too far) and engineering facilities - which was a little disappointing. The engineering building looks a bit like the state penitentiary, so this omission may have been by design. Hopefully this will be the next re-build.
At one point our group bumped into President Stenger in the quad who whispered to our tour guide,“tell them the weather is like this all year long.” This got a big laugh from the group. The weather, however unrepresentative, made the day very agreeable.
The student union and marketplace were impressive (the bowling alley was a big hit with my S). The food selection was typical - mix of cafeteria food and some healthy choices, although I do worry about my S will be eating those “world’s best” chicken fingers every day for four years.
The dorms (Newing, Dickinson, and College in the Woods) were the newest and nicest we’ve seen so far (vs Stony Brook, Stevens, Villanova, Rice, Lafayette). Suite style rooms had very large bedrooms and common areas, and the corridor style rooms were fairly large - the biggest we’ve seen. Everything was very clean and well kept with plenty of laundry machines (free, I think). The shared dining hall between Newing and Dickinson was big and naturally bright, with lots of happy faces (spring fever?). Thankfully, the “old” Dickinson dorms are being re-purposed into classrooms and admin offices.
The student driven buses were running constantly and there were many students at every bus stop, so I assume the service is well used.
We did not have a chance to explore the surrounding area, but I would have liked to see the nature preserve. I’m sure my S will be using it for runs and bike rides if he attends.
Overall, it was great trip and has solidified Binghamton near the top of his application list. He affirmed that he could see himself there for four years of college - always nice to hear from a kid that says very little.
I’m happy to answer any questions about the tour.
