Hi, I am currently an undergrad from CT deciding where to transfer to in the fall and am considering SUNY Binghamton, Purchase, Brooklyn College or Uconn.
I have CT residency but my dad lives in NY and I’m trying to get NY state residency for my second year as a transfer to reduce tuition costs. However, in terms of academics and social/lifestyle factors, I am really torn.
I want to choose the best one academically, but it seems that there isn’t a very big difference academically between all these.
I‘m also uncertain (undeclared) about my major, so I don’t know which programs to look at directly and base my decision on. I am thinking of journalism/communications or international relations/some kind of cultural studies, with a minor in economics or business.
It seems like Binghamton is the strongest academically, which I am very interested in, but it does not offer a program in journalism/communications or international studies, and I am concerned about the distance and location, as it is about 3 hours away from home and even more from NYC. I’m also really not sure about what it’s like up there. I haven’t been able to visit the campus yet and I’m worried of how I’ll feel about it when I visit—if it seems too isolated or unwelcoming or boring etc etc
SUNY Purchase seems to be very arts-focused, which I don’t mind as I like the arts, but I am concerned about the strength of their non-arts programs. I am somewhat interested in their “Media Arts and Society” major as it seems to tie in a few of the things I’m interested in, but I don’t know the strength of the program etc. From visiting the school, I didn’t get the best feeling either as it is a pretty ugly campus and the students seem too artsy/quirky for what I’m looking for.
However, it has the advantage of being very close to home and only an hour or so from NYC, which is of interest to me.
Finally, Uconn is sort of the last of my considerations because although it may be a little cheaper, it is not particularly known to be strong in other majors besides business and engineering, and I know the culture very much revolves around athletics, which I simply don’t care about. Although I haven’t visited it in a while, the location of the campus is also concerning to me as it is very rural and I don’t think I would be happy there.
I also got into Brooklyn College but haven’t really considered it as I don’t think it’s that special and I don’t think it provides housing, so I would have to commute.
I would also want to find out more about the networking opportunities/career prospects of each of these schools and which one would be strongest in that respect.
So these are my concerns and I haven’t been able to visit Binghamton or Uconn yet but I am of course being pressured into making a decision ASAP by the colleges and I don’t know what to do. Thank you for any help you could provide.