Narrowed it down…SUNY Buffalo vs. SUNY Binghamton for computer science for first degree but goal is to become a lawyer in Yale…suggestion on the best choice. I was also accepted in all the SUNNY.
Binghamton has the better reputation for CS, but if you happen to like Buffalo more, it wouldn’t hurt you to go there.
I’d be surprised if Yale made a big distinction between Binghamton and Buffalo.
You can’t really pick your law school until your have a gpa and an LSAT. Did you want to do patent law? Otherwise CS will be a gpa killer for law school. I would pick based on personal preference of the campus and other factors since they will each have a decent CS program.
Thanks what do you mean CS will be a gpa killer?
SUNY Binghamton has the overall better reputation academically.
I think @BrownParent meant that computer science has a reputation for being a “harder” major, so your GPA might be lower in that major than it would be if you had majored in, say, English or psychology. I am inclined to partially agree - I think it depends on your aptitude for math and programming vs. writing. A math genius who is a terrible writer would get lower grades in humanities and social science classes than otherwise expected.
Here is a good example of the need to be very careful about the information on this site (and any site). Do your homework. Don’t let comments derail you.
First, Buffalo and not Binghamton has the more highly rated Computer Science program. For example, US News and World Report rates Buffalo’s at 63 whereas Binghamton’s is rated at 112. Now people will write in to say that the ratings are really more relevant to graduate training. Nobody knows. The ratings are simply a result of a peer assessment survey. It probably reflects the reputation of the department among faculty members of similar departments in other colleges and universities. It is probably worth spending time at both schools and exploring the departments that interest you most along with the rest of the school. Visit both Computer Science programs. look at their resources, examine their mission as it pertains to undergrads. Which campus are you more comfortable at. They are only a few hours apart by car/bus. Visit both. Walk through the Computer Science Buildings.
Second, the advice to avoid a major because it is more difficult or your GPA might not be as high as it would be with an easier major is probably the worst advice I have ever heard. I will go so far as to say that advice like that and the trend of gaming college for the sake of a better GPA instead of using college for its intended purpose (to become educated, to learn well, to master material) threatens to dumb down this generation of college students. It is an extension of a high school mentality of chasing grades instead of pursuing subject matter-and it is disgusting to see that mentality contaminate college. This country needs people who are well trained and well educated. Learning is hard work. If you haven’t put in hard work you are wasting money and the slot you are occupying at that college. We don’t need a generation choosing to be English and Education majors because they have inflated GPAs-thereby making entry to professional school more possible. Hopefully admissions officers in these professional schools will smarten up. Hopefully humanities will decide there is actually a content to be learned in those fields and so they will raise expectations for their students that include mastery of that content. But to hear someone advising a student applying to college not to pursue their interests in favor of easier A’s is simply sickening.
Of course those at Brown can just drop any course that makes them sweat a wee bit. And, they can make up their major–no need to sweat any sort of requirements beyond a made up major. Brown’s certainly a good school for someone whose major interest is maintaining a particular GPA. But if your interest is Computer Science, by all means pursue it. Why wouldn’t you?
I agree with @lostaccount Buffalo is better when it comes to sciences and Research programs. They are well known for that and rated above Binghamton because of that. So if you want to do that major I would highly recommend you go to Buffalo. Because the best is better than the second best.
Schools should not be looked at as divide between academics and social life both should be regarded. Buffalo is better OVERALL. It’s well know and has a great reputation. Getting internships and jobs will be easier there than with binghamton. You want to enjoy the school in totality.
Do not let these vague comments deter you, do research, get the campus feel. From what I’ve experienced Buffalo is the best SUNY you could get. Don’t let the ivy of the north slogan Binghamton sells waver your decision.
Good luck on your choice and make sure with whatever you choose you’re content with it, because college is one of the most important decisions you’ll make
little late in the game to worry about dumbing down 'merica… as for gaming the system, there are a ton of practicing lawyers that did not take their own lsats, many physicians that did not take their own mcats, and a lot of current ivy leaguers that didn’t take the sats. time to grow up.
Choleas, so what is your point?
my point is that if you are competing against people that will lie,cheat,steal,kill to reach their goals, you either play the game or be pushed out. don’t give people bad advice based on your 17 years of wisdom if you don’t know how the real world works.
Choleas, I’m still not sure what advice you are espousing here. What is your advice anyway? I thought you were the one asking for advice. Can’t figure out what you are trying to communicate. Add about 50 more years to your calculations and you’d be closer, choleas. {Flattered if I come off as young and energetic tho}. My real world advice is based on loads of advising of students and even my own kids. But I can’t figure out what you are trying to say. I hope you don’t want to go someplace where the bulk of students are dishonest. Are you saying you’d rather go for an easier major chosen for the likelihood of a higher GPA? I guess that suggests you are not particularly interested in Computer Science (CS). My advice is only relevant if you are interested in CS. CS GPA’s may be lower than GPAs in the humanities because the material is harder. You are learning a skill that is quite difficult. Because it is difficult, many people opt not to pursue it which reduces the number of people with the skill, which in turn makes those who do pursue it much more marketable. Those who go right into the market have to know the material very well. “Sorta” won’t cut it. If you pursue CS and continue to law, you will have a a very strong skill set. If you opt out of law, you’ll have a good skill set and probably be marketable. I’m not sure why you mention Yale as opposed to stating that you’d like to go to a strong law school. Yale is ranked by US News as the #1 school. The acceptance rate is under 10%. FYI, for the class of 2017, the most recent stats I could find, show that no student from any SUNY was admitted. Yale isn’t a school that is easily gamed.
Three words; “:Lake Effect Snow.”
Kidding, of course. But consider geography and how far from home you’ll be. From our home on LI, Binghamton is only 4 hours. Buffalo is, or seems like, millions of miles away.
. But beyond that, I’ll defer to others who know the particulars on both school.
Once you cross the river, all bets are off-as to which town/city has worse weather. In fact the cities compete and Binghamton is right in there with them. All competing for the Golden Snow Globe. This year and in the recent years Syracuse is on top. But that is really an anomaly because of where in each city the snow is measured-which is at the airports. Remember that Buffalo got about 10 ft of snow in a couple of hours in September?(maybe a little later than that). Well that 10 ft did not count because their airport is either lower in elevation or more south and didn’t get it whereas even though most of Syracuse hasn’t gotten much, the airport happens to be on the northwest side of the city that gets smacked with lake effect. Binghamton gets the tails of the nor’esterners. But what makes it so brutal is that it sits in a valley and so the sun isn’t seen for months at a time. All the remote rural NY cities west of the river have brutal climates. Ithaca does too but they try to pretend otherwise because they are…you know…Ithaca.
Downstate we call those regions the “Snowbelt,” @lostaccount. 
It makes me cold just thinking about them.
Upstate we call those regions “Home,” @austinmshauri. For those of us who like winter activities like skiing, snowmobiling, ice skating etc it’s great! While no one I knows cares to shovel the stuff, I’ll take the snow over the tornados, hurricanes, sweltering heat etc. that affect so much of the rest of the country.
Yes the cities “compete” for the Golden Snow Globe each year - a light hearted embracing of what nature brings us.
Syracuse winning is not an anomaly - it’s average annual snowfall is higher than any other city in the US over 100,000 people. This contest is an example of how attitude means so much. One can be a Debbie Downer and look at winter weather as brutal, gloomy or whatever or one can look to take advantage of it and enjoy. I came to Syracuse for college back in the '80s and have lived upstate since then and love it! To each his/her own!
Being a amateur meteorologist I can assure you that crossing any river (which one?) has no significant effect on the weather and neither does Binghamton sitting in the shallow Susquehanna Valley cause the gray skies - Binghamton is no worse than most of upstate in that regard.
The biggest problem with being to the west of the Hudson isn’t really about the weather. It’s simply that the further you get from the coast, the less the Atlantic moderates the temps. But once you cross the river all bets are off about a lot of things. Just compare the communities that line the Hudson on the east to those on the west.
^You are correct that the Atlantic moderates the temperature which explains why downstate is warmer, but what the heck is the rest of your post talking about? Communities on the Hudson? This is a thread about Buffalo and Binghamton!
It was a response to your comment “Being a amateur meteorologist I can assure you that crossing any river (which one?) has no significant …” to which I replied that the problem with crossing the Hudson isn’t really just the difference in the weather. At least that is what I meant.
@Lostaccount …wow that sounds pretty arrogant. You make it sound as if all the towns on the west of the Hudson River are backwards, hick towns (which is certainly not true) You must be from Long Island.