Overachieving HS students going to Binghamton University?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Binghamton University - SUNY
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<p>Are there any overachieving students (Rank within top 5% in high school) who've decided to go to Binghamton because it is instate, cheaper, and/or for various other reasons?</p>

<p>I'm in such a situation and it's making me a bit uncomfortable that I may just have to go to Binghamton despite working very hard to precisely get into other more prefered colleges. What more, the SUNYs' campuses are far too small for my liking. I'm also not too keen of the lack of a cycling team or even a club (Which frankly surprises me given the size of the school). </p>

<p>Call me entitled but I find it disheartening that I may have to go Binghamton, a college that I could of gotten into with far less effort and with far more sleep, despite putting so much effort to go to a, for lack of a humbler word, befitting school (Befitting to me in regards to academic offerings, environment, extracurriculars variety which the SUNYs do not meet).</p>

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<p>I know many overachieving students that rank in the top 2% of my school that head off to CUNYs because they are cheaper. I suggest, for undergrad, you not look that much into the prestige of a school. Save that for grad school. You can also transfer after a year or two if you do not like Binghamton. I’m not heading to Binghamton, but one of my friends who is at Binghamton now enjoys it a lot and he doesn’t want to transfer.</p>

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<p>I actually found myself thinking the exact same thing you did before I came to Binghamton. I had been accepted to a top 5 school via early action, and I consequently only applied to expensive reach schools. Then came April, when I realized I couldn’t afford any of the schools I had gotten into without taking out 160k of loans. I literally emailed Binghamton and asked them if I could still apply, even though it was a few months after the application deadline.</p>

<p>Fast forward two years, and I’m loving Binghamton. I initially thought that the school was too easy during my first semester, but in retrospect, I think that was just a result of having taken a relatively light courseload and not being very involved on campus. College is seriously what you make of it in the sense that you can make it as easy or hard as you want it (to some degree) based on the classes you take, the clubs that you join/make, and the social life you pursue among other things.</p>

<p>Also, you need to consider your plans after college. If you’re planning on picking up some sort of professional degree, e.g. MD, JD, or a master’s, then, as ZMCIngus suggested, you should definitely save that money for grad school. Student loans are a monster these days, and it’s definitely in your best interest to minimize how much debt you’ll pick up during your education. Talk it over with your parents; find out exactly how much debt you can feasibly take on and how as well as to what extent it will affect you and your family.</p>

<p>Unless you’re planning on going into finance after college, undergrad doesn’t matter too much. If you want to break into investment banking or something similar, however, a highly ranked undergrad is extremely handy. That being said, it honestly depends on how much money you’re going to have to take out in loans for the more expensive schools and how those loans will affect you and your family.</p>

<p>Lastly, if Binghamton is too small for you, spend some time in the Nature Preserve! It’s an awesome place to cycle in, and it’s got about 180 acres of land that will take you a while to explore in its entirety. Additionally, it’s really easy to start your own club here, so feel free to start your own cycling club. I’m sure you’ll find other people willing to join your club. My girlfriend likes cycling a lot, so you might have her at the very least.</p>

<p>I know it’s frustrating to feel like you’ve worked so hard in high school for what seems like nothing at this point, but the work ethic you’ve developed in high school will give you a huge leg up over a LOT of people in college. If you have any questions about Binghamton, feel free to PM me :)</p>

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<p>There is a great number of people like that at Binghamton. For very “smart” NYers who can only afford public school, Binghamton is where they go. Or people who just missed getting into an Ivy. Or people who were told by their parents that private school was simply not an option.</p>

<p>I’m going to give you some tough love. We have a ton of really bright, motivated people here. If you’re going by numbers, I’ve met PLENTY of 2200+ SATs and 32+ ACTs. I know people with incredibly impressive internships, field experiences, and tons of creative energy. You’re not doing us a favor by gracing us plebeians with your overachieving presence. You’re FAR from the only person in your situation. If you act like you’re better than your classmates or if you’re constantly bitter that you could have gone to a high ranking private, you’re going to have a bad time. </p>

<p>I’m not saying this to be mean. I’m telling you this because I was in your situation two years ago. I couldn’t afford the private schools I got into-- Brandeis, Cornell, William and Mary-- and I resented having to tell people I was going to Binghamton when I knew they expected better of me, when it seemed like half my high school was going here, and when I had worked so hard and scored so highly. I made sure to tell people I was in the scholar’s program and that this was certainly not my reach or even match school. But then I grew the hell up and realized that nobody cared that I got into Cornell. Plenty of them did, too. Plenty of the people around me are much smarter than I am-- they have interesting, stimulating conversations that I can barely keep up with. I have friends who are writing incredible screenplays, who have published articles, and who have jobs lined up after graduation which I could never have achieved. I know it sucks that you can’t go where you want to go. But don’t act like they’re sending you to the garbage dump. There are great people and opportunities here.</p>

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<p>Thank you rebeccar!!! I totally agree with you! I would not have been as gracious as you if I had written my response upon reading the initial post!</p>

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<p>I get what your saying about the SUNY thing. I also look at it a few other ways.
Your very lucky to have the STATS you do to get into a top notch SUNY. The average student cant even have a shot at the lower tier like a New Paltz or Oneonta and even Cortland. One of my daughter friends parents now HAVE to shell out a ton of money for her to attend a college. She was denied at a SUNY.
Alot of the SMART wealthier families in my area will send their kids to a SUNY because they will not get the grants from the privates. No college is worth 56,000 a year. Im sorry.
Both my children need to go to grad school. I would love to be able to help them but if I would have to pay that I could never be able to. It kills me how people over extend themselves just to have the “name brand” college.I actually think they are very stupid people. I am also teaching my children the value of money. Unless you HAVE the money and its no issue on spending 50 something thousand a year for college then dont.
I always ask my doctors now about there ungrad and notice dimlomas on their walls and I cant tell you how many came out of the SUNY system. Binghamton is a really great college. You should be proud.</p>

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<p>Hi,</p>

<p>My name is Rob and I’m a Binghamton University Student Ambassador.</p>

<p>I graduated my high school with a 97.4% unweighted GPA, 4th in a class of over 500, and enough college credits to make me a second-semester sophomore coming into Binghamton. I had an SAT score of 2190 (1540 on math/critical reading).</p>

<p>This is the average at Binghamton. The people who come here were top of their class in high school with high scores on the SAT or ACT. They took advanced classes and were leaders in their high school. They also applied to prestigious private universities - and got in. They chose Binghamton for a variety of reasons, but we wouldn’t have such a prestigious student body if our students didn’t whole-heartedly believe that Binghamton can offer them a top-notch education that will help prepare them for their future. And we can.</p>

<p>Binghamton is a public university. That isn’t a bad thing; it’s a good thing. All that means is that it costs less to come here. It says absolutely nothing about the quality of education. We have plenty of other things that speak to the quality of education at Bing. We’re considered a public ivy. We consistently receive accolades for the value and quality of our education from reputable publications. We have professors who are at the cutting-edge of their field, including the inventor of the lithium-ion battery that is in every one of the mobile devices that you carry around, and these prestigious professors are teaching undergraduate students, often even freshmen. We have great job placement rates because employers recognize that our students are successful and at the front of the pack relative to those from other universities - both private and public.</p>

<p>You said that Binghamton isn’t befitting to you because it can’t match the academic offerings, environment, or extracurriculars available at private universities. That’s simply not correct. We’ve not only matched the academic rigor of private universities, but we’ve surpassed a great number of them. We offer hundreds upon hundreds of clubs that make it nearly impossible to be unable to find one you’re looking for - and if you can’t find one you want, make it! We have a process to do that. I happen to know that we used to have a Cycling club that is currently inactive. Maybe you can be the one to revive it.</p>

<p>As far as the environment goes, this is a deeply personal choice, but I find our campus beautiful. I walk into the center of campus and see a large university, with all the opportunities that entails. I walk into College-in-the-Woods, the dorm area I live in, and see a home - a small community with close ties and a sense of tradition and comradery. I take a bus downtown and I see a large city full of opportunities to gain real-world experience.</p>

<p>This is Binghamton University, and this is amazing, in my opinion.</p>

<p>Sincerely,
Rob Clark</p>

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<p>Thank you Rob for your reply. My son also got into other colleges but will probably attend BU – and be very happy doing so knowing he won’t be sacrificing his financial future. J81wong better have an attitude adjustment. A few questions for you – do you know anything about computer engineering at BU? It seems to be a growing program whose outside reputation may not yet have caught up to others. Does it provide a solid foundation for grad school, employment and internships during college? Also, I have heard that BU forces students to take AP credit if they score 4 or higher rather than repeat classes. Does this make scheduling difficult in terms of getting into courses “off semester” or upper level classes? Finally, what as your experience been in terms of getting research opportunities from professors? Thank you again for your help!!</p>

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<p>First I would like to apologize for a few things I have said: I was not in the best of moods after a wave of rejections. </p>

<p>Thank you all for your replies.</p>

<p>BingUStudent, would you please take a look at the questions I’ve posted on another thread?<br>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/suny-binghamton/1483467-questions-about-environment-binghamton-surrounding-area.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/suny-binghamton/1483467-questions-about-environment-binghamton-surrounding-area.html&lt;/a&gt;
I may just start a cycling club perhaps also with a competitive element.</p>

<p>Also, how hard or easy is it to create my own major?</p>

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<p>Peppersmom: To be entirely honest, I am not incredibly well-versed in our Computer Engineering program, as I am not a student of Watson. The best place you could go for information regarding that would be the Watson website here: [Binghamton</a> University - Electrical and Computer Engineering: Undergraduate Programs](<a href=“Undergraduate | Electrical and Computer Engineering | Binghamton University”>Undergraduate | Electrical and Computer Engineering | Binghamton University)</p>

<p>As we offer graduate programs for Computer Engineering at Binghamton, our faculty are aware of the necessary skills and knowledge that are needed to succeed in such a program and the coursework for our undergraduate programs reflect that. Some schools tend to separate their faculty into a group that teaches only undergraduate courses and a group that teaches only graduate courses. We don’t do that at Binghamton. Our professors have experience teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses. Many teach both types in the same semester. Because of this, all of our professors are very well-equipped to ensure that students are well-prepared for graduate school.</p>

<p>As far as employment and internships go, we have an absolutely excellent Career Development Center that helps connect our students with employers. I actually work there part-time, and it’s amazing how many services they offer. Some of the employers that we regularly have recruiting and interviewing on campus include Microsoft, IBM, and other similarly-prestigious tech companies. These companies come to Binghamton because they know that we prepare our students for employment and they know that they’ll have a hard time finding employees that are better equipped to perform their jobs.</p>

<p>If you receive above a 3 on an AP exam, you will receive some type of college credit. Sometimes this will be elective credits, while other times this will include course exemptions or general-education credits. This does not negatively impact scheduling in any way. Our students register for courses based on their class standing, which is determined by their number of credits. This allows students that come into college with advanced credits to register earlier than other students that entered the university at the same time with no credits or less credits, which prevents any issues where upper-level courses are blocked to them.</p>

<p>For instance, I entered Binghamton with over 40 college credits from my various AP and dual-enrollment classes in high school this year. This gave me second-semester sophomore standing in my first semester. I’m taking upper-level classes that are often taken by juniors next year, but I also get to register for classes with the juniors because of my credits, so I’m at no disadvantage to get into the classes I need to.</p>

<p>I have no experiences doing research because I’m aiming to get a career as an actuary, and employers of actuaries do not value research experiences very highly. I do have several friends that participate in research, though. One of my friends, Sam, reached out to a professor that she didn’t have a class with in her first semester at the university. She went to this professor’s office hours several times throughout the semester, expressing her interest in research and explaining her qualifications. As a result, she is performing research regarding Parkinson’s Disease in her second semester as a freshman. It takes work to get a research opportunity in that you have to reach out to professors and take the first step in setting such opportunities up, so I wouldn’t call it “easy.” The opportunities are definitely available, though, and the professors here are incredibly open to talking to students interested in research and getting them involved if at all possible. You can perform research at Binghamton during any year you are here and in any major.</p>

<p>j814wong: I’ll post an answer to your questions from the other thread tomorrow, most likely, as it’s getting a bit late.</p>

<p>As for the Individualized Major Program, it is relatively easy to create your own major. If you plan to do so, you should get in contact with the academic advising office for Harpur as soon as possible and get their guidance on how to go about doing it. We have had many success stories in the Individualized Major Program. PPL (Philosophy, Politics, and Law) and Integrative Neuroscience (a combination of Biology and Psychology) are two official majors at Binghamton that began as majors created by students through the Individualized Major Program and became so popular that they were officially picked up by the university.</p>

<p>Let me know if any of you have any other questions!</p>

<p>Sincerely,
Rob Clark</p>

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<p>Thank you so much for your very detailed response Rob. One thing I would suggest for the open house 4/13-14 is that the university give tours of the engineering school and make engineering students and professors available for questions about majors and programs. Many schools, including Buffalo, RIT Union College and Rochester, have had specific open houses during the college tour season for their engineering programs with tours of facilities and opportunities to interact with professors and students. Binghamton’s program (other than its web site) has been a bit of a mystery. I think Binghamton is heading in the right direction by having you respond to questions on this blog. Hopefully this trend will continue at the Open House. Thank you again for all your help – it’s much appreciated!!</p>

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<p>Peppersmom: We offer two types of tours, generally. One of these options is a science tour which focuses on science majors at our school, which include the engineering majors. At the Open House, there will also be information sessions specific to the Watson School of Engineering. Assuming nothing has changed since I got a memo regarding the schedule for the day a few weeks ago, these information sessions will be from 1PM-2PM on either day.</p>

<p>Other programming during the Open House that is relevant specifically to Watson students includes an open house of the Watson Innovative Technologies Center (ITC) from 2:30PM-4PM.</p>

<p>If you went on a tour in the past, I’m sorry if you didn’t feel that our tour gave you the information that you needed about Watson. Please let me know if you feel there is anything we can add to our tour. I’m a tour guide on campus, and I can pass along any suggestions you have to my supervisors. We’re always trying to get better!</p>

<p>Sincerely,
Rob Clark</p>

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<p>I’ve met many valedictorians and salutatorians here. To answer your question: Yes. Tons. Many people go here because they simply cannot afford an Ivy League education, not because they couldn’t get in. I also know people who have turned down guaranteed transfers from other Ivy League schools.</p>

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<p>Right, there are many students here that do well and could do the Ivy transfer. But they learn to like the school and they see no benefit in spending more $$$$$$$$$$$$ or going into debt $$$$$$$$$$$$$$.</p>

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<p>If you worked hard in high school just to get into a good college then you will find yourself in good company at Binghamton. Students there tend to be grade oriented with less curiosity and interest in scholarship and academics than you’d find in most universities. You’ll see that APs give you more credit at Binghamton. Its all about efficiently getting that degree! Points, grades, and moving through. The IVYs are not more expensive than Binghamton. The aid provided by top schools make them affordable for anyone. But if you want a large state university that helps you to get through quickly without much stress, Binghamton is a reasonable option. I don’t think there are many students who opt for Binghamton over Cornell. They were more similar 20 years ago when that could have happened occasionally. The students at the two schools are now so dissimilar that I doubt that any were accepted to Cornell but opted to go to Binghamton. I think there are many positive things about Binghamton but I also think it important to be very clear and honest about the university. I am not sure that always happens.</p>

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<p>Stateissue: I have found nearly the opposite to be true during my time at the university. Students here, in my experience, are genuinely interested in learning and curious about the field they’re going into. I walked into my Macroeconomic Theory lecture this morning around 10 minutes early to find the other early arrivals and the professor joking about some of the latest blogs that Paul Krugman, a leading macro-economist, posted on the New York Times website about BitCoin, a currency online. They were discussing the implications of what will happen when BitCoin has a fixed money supply in relation to some of the economic models we were discussing in class and how Krugman had mocked the currency’s structure as being based on ideas that were outdated by the standards of Adam Smith way back in 1776. It was, all-in-all, a pretty nerdy conversation. It goes to show, though, the curiosity of our students in taking what they learn in the classroom and applying it in the real world. Krugman’s blog was not assigned reading of any sort, and wasn’t particularly relevant to what we were discussing in class. These are students (and I’m one of them, for that matter) that were closely following the blog of a notable macro-economist simply because they wanted to hear what he had to say and wanted to learn from it.</p>

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<p>That was all over Fox news. Not nerdy at all. The story was squeezed between two salacious stories about celebrities. I don’t think that is a sign of intellectualism.</p>

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<p>Stateissue: They were specifically referencing the following blog post by Paul Krugman, a leading macro-economist: [Adam</a> Smith Hates Bitcoin - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/12/adam-smith-hates-bitcoin/]Adam”>Adam Smith Hates Bitcoin - The New York Times)</p>

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<p>State issue do you attend Binghamton or Cornell? A certain element of practically is inevitable when you have a university that includes a school of management, nursing, and engineering, as well as pre-professional programs like pre law and pre med, but that can easily be found on Ivy League campuses too. And I know at least 2 People who turned down admission to Cornell to attend Binghamton, one of whom is pursuing a BA/BS. I think your outlook depends on your area of study and near term academic and career goals.</p>

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<p>We drove into Cornell one summer day to take a tour and had difficulty finding parking by admissions. It felt claustrophobic with all the tall building in such a confined space. We drove around until my son saw the jumping bridge with the fence and the flowers attached. My son wanted out at that point and we never considered Cornell.</p>

<p>We know two families who had their sons go to Cornell and both have had rocky first years. One had a housing problem but go it straightened out after going to housing and telling them he was getting depressed. The other is struggling with the work load at Cornell.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, my son is going to Binghamton and has had a wonderful first year experience and is doing very well. Even though he got his last choice on housing, it worked out fine. He made a bunch of friends and they’re all living together next year in a suite. THE HOUSING AT BINGHAMTON IS AWESOME AND GETS BETTER EVERY YEAR. I have seen a lot of schools, private and public, and have yet to see housing that matches Binghamton. The new work out facility at the East Gym is incredible. </p>

<p>All this at more than half off from Cornell’s price!</p>