Which school has strong academics and quality, and which one would boost my chances at getting into an Ivy League grad school?
@juillet may have some insight on this.
However, whether or not you will get into an Ivy League grad school (what field?) probably depends as much, if not more, on how you approach your undergraduate education than the school you attend.
Are both equally affordable?
Congratulations on your acceptances.
@juillet can probably write about attending Spelman and Columbia.
Very different experiences. What are you seeking from a college. Small, sister connection for life vs larger university?
I wanted to go into law, and both are around the same price after aid
I feel like I would thrive at both schools, but I want to choose the school that would advance me further
I sincerely believe that students are 100% responsible for advancing themselves and a college is a merely a pathway.
All colleges at a certain level of assumed quality, a level at which both Spelman and Syracuse reside, it is a matter of what is specifically the best for you.
Since it’s up to you to earn opportunity, you should be in an environment that motivates and pushes you. Only you can know this answer.
However, in today’s economy there is a real emphasis on workplace diversity and inclusion. The foremost women’s HBCU would stand out to me as an excellent choice. I’ve always considered it to be an elite option.
I’d say that Spelman is more “elite” and would help you stand out if you hit the ground running.
Realistically, Syracuse will have more students into big sports and partying.
Regardless, for an Ivy League law school you’ll need straight As. That means going to office hours every week, participating in class, getting a tutor as soon as you get a B.
Spelman can sponsor you for a special grad school prep seminar for HBCU students but you’ll need to take an elementary stats and and philosophy logic class to improve your chances.
http://schools.lawschoolnumbers.com/ can give you some idea of the GPA and LSAT score you need to target for various law schools, as well as articles about undergraduate preparation and applying.
https://www.lstreports.com/schools/ can give you some idea of post-graduation outcomes of various law schools. Obviously, if you spend time and lots of money to attend law school, you want to be able to get a law job.
Thank You!!!
Also consider Howard for law school, top law firms recruit there.
A top 10%, law review Howard law student probably has the same opportunities as an Ivy law student.
Congrats!!! It has an excellent reputation in my community with is the Raleigh-Durham area of NC.
@happyteen19 Presumably you should have sought and received answers to these questions before you applied. A lot of students—about 20 per year—attend Binghamton from our local high school in the NYC metro area, including friends of my children. Most of them are very happy with their experience at Binghamton. And given the outrageously high cost of attendance at private and out-of-state colleges, they are happy to be able to get admitted to Binghamton and receive a solid education at an affordable price. To some the price is a bargain. Binghamton is considered one of, if not the best SUNY, so it attracts the top students in NYS and admissions is very competitive. I know of a few students who chose to go out-of-state and were not happy so they transferred to Binghamton after freshman year. Harper offers a strong liberal arts education and many who do well have many opportunities for graduate school (law, medical, business, psychology, etc.). Student life is active with lots of clubs and things to do on weekends on campus because it’s a residential school—almost all students live on campus and do not go home on weekends. Even though a lot of the class is from the NYC metro area downstate, the student body is ethnically and racially diverse as it’s classes are representative of the student population in NY state. The student population is large (approx 13,500) as Bing is one of the 4 university research centers in the SUNY system (along with Stony Brook, Buffalo and Albany). Also Bing has made an effort in recent years to recruit applicants from out-of-state (with enticing merit aid offers) and there are more students in attendance now from NJ and CT than ever before.
OK - I have absolutely no idea what student life is like. But it’s a very solid choice, and you will be in good company with a lot of very good students and the academics are good. Binghamton is kind of in the middle of nowhere, but at least it’s a small city. Lots of great day trips. I’m sure you could make a great 4 years for yourself there.
@happyteen19 —Syracuse has a good reputation around the country. It attracts a applicants from California and across the nation. I’ve heard anecdotally that people in other parts of the country sometimes mistake Syracuse for a NY state public university, which it is not. It is actually one of the most expensive private universities in the country. A lot of people heard of the Syracuse due to the Newhouse School of Communications, which is one of the best in the nation and has famous alumni in broadcast journalism. Also the Syracuse Orange basketball team, a perennial top 20 team and in the NCAA tourney almost every year under coach Jim Boeheim, has contributed to public awareness of the school. The Whitman school of business and Maxwell school of citizen and public affairs are also well known schools of Syracuse. But attending Syracuse is not worth it if you need to take out loans and accumulate a lot of debt to attend. I know you you asked about Binghamton on your other thread—if you want to major in political science, Bing has a Philosophy Politics and Law major that is very popular for pre-law students. And if law school or other graduate school is in your future then it’s best to limit debt at the undergrad level.
Thanks!
Hey there OP - I attended Spelman and then attended an Ivy League graduate school (Columbia, as others mentioned!)
In terms of preparing you to attend a top graduate school (whether Ivy League or otherwise), either college can do that! Spelman, like many LACs, is special because of the personal attention and direct involvement in research that many students can get there. If you’re a young African American woman, there are some other (tangible and intangible) benefits to attending Spelman that serve to encourage more of us to enter graduate programs post-college. I loved my Spelman experience.
My understanding is that Syracuse is also a great school and you could get into a top graduate program from there as well. I think it’s more about the kind of experience you want to have.
Depends upon what you plan to study.
Political science for Syracuse and Bing, Biology at Spelman, and Criminal Justice at Temple… I was very indecisive when I was applying to college
Probably biology at Stony Brook ?
All are very solid schools. Have you visited each school ?
Without definite majors or career plans, you just need to see which school feels right to you & is affordable.