Ohio State vs. Binghamton for accounting

Daughter is a NY resident planning on staying in the northeast after graduation and plans to study accounting. She has direct admits to both OSU and Binghamton (and Fairfield) and is torn between the two. With scholarships, OSU and Bing cost the same, so lifestyle and career prospects are the key decision drivers. She is a recruited athlete at Binghamton (Track/XC) but not at OSU and will not likely be able to walk on at OSU.

Both schools have strong ties to Big 4 accounting firms. My guess is that Bing has a bigger NE network, but OSU alums might be more active/loyal. Should she be considering Fairfield more? Thoughts / advice?

My son is a freshman business major at Fairfield. Their business program has improved significantly in the past few years and is ranked high. The brand new state of the art business building will be ready this summer. I would highly highly recommend you consider it especially for accounting. The career center is great with 98% of graduates employed or attending graduate school within 6 months. The alumni network is strong with internships and job shadowing opportunities and the relatively quick train ride to NYC also opens many employment opportunities. All that being said Binghamton also has an awesome business program and is usually more affordable. My son did not choose Bing because he wanted a smaller school with small class sizes, access to professors, close to a major city, internship opportunities and located in a small town he could go out to eat, movies, shopping etc. Let me know if you have any questions on Fairfield.

My son, also from NY, selected OSU/Fisher. He was admitted to Fairfield with a large scholarship which made those two comparable price wise. He was wait listed at Bing (???). Also had Maryland/Smith, Syracuse/Whitman, and others as choices but he really liked Fairfield despite being very close to home. What sold him and us on OSU/Fisher were several things - the ranking, the alumni network as you point out which really is national (because one never knows where a career or significant other will take you), the sports, and the fact that it would give him an experience outside of NY/CT. Columbus is really nice, has internship and job opportunities there (not a train ride away) and he won’t grow out of it like the town of Fairfield (and a lot nicer and economically vibrant than Binghamton - if that was even going to be an option.) Downside is the distance and travel costs and it’s BIG. But I think they are three great options and either way and it comes down to personality and size preference. Most important factor is to have a happy kid.

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Binghamton because it is a solid program recruited by Big 4 & because your daughter can run cross country & track which is likely to help make her college years healthy & productive.