Although I’m waiting to hear back from most of my private schools, Binghamton and UB are my top 2 options at this point in time. I live within 10 miles of Binghamton, so I’d stay home when attending the school. I like how the University looks, and I could see myself attending it for 4-5 years. The 4+1 program is something that I can’t look over, and my only concern is not being able to do engineering internships at Binghamton.
I haven’t toured UB yet, but I know it’s massive compared to Binghamton! It has more engineering majors, and choosing my classes first at UB would be a big plus as an Honors Student. I’m also a bit interested in Civil Engineering as well, so UB sounds like a better option overall to me than Binghamton when it comes to majors. There’s a few cons to Buffalo for me though, like how it won’t accept all my AP/IB Credits (primarily AP Euro and IB English), and how there seems to be no 4+1 at UB like BU. Binghamton also has nicer weather that I’m more used to compared to Buffalo, so it’s something for myself to keep in mind. I could do a Co-op/internships for engineering at UB, which is something I’ll take into consideration when choosing between these two schools.
When it comes to financial aid, Buffalo will likely give me more than Binghamton as I live in the area. I applied for the Presidential Scholarship at UB, which could give me 15K a year at UB along with my 20K merit scholarship. 80K at a SUNY school is nothing to look over, but Binghamton could save me a lot too if I stay home. I should hear back from Bing about financial aid later this month, but what school do you think I should choose?
Why can’t you do an internship at Binghamton? You can go to any ABET school in America and get an internship. If you mean firing school - you’d likely have no time given the rigor of engineering. You will be studying, studying more, panicking, and then continued study. Internships will come via summer or co op.
In my opinion you should go to Buffalo. But I don’t know you. Both offer a wide array of majors in engineering.
I say this because I believe, assuming they can afford to, should go away to college. Grow. Experience. That won’t happen at Binghamton.
Clearly you want this as you are waiting for other colleges, presumably not within commuting distance.
Thank you for the response! I just hear more about internships with UB and SBU compared to Binghamton. Your perspective on going away for growth is something I’ll keep in mind, as UB would give me that experience better than Binghamton.
If you would like to consider this by winter temperatures, then note that Binghamton and Buffalo report the same average January low (a standard measure of winter extremes) of 19 °F.
@merc81 temps might be similar but there is no doubt that Buffalo gets a lot more snow.
I would say Bing, because it’s got a great reputation, but how badly do you want to live on campus?
I commuted to college for the whole of my college years. I had friends from work. If you will still have people to hang out with and don’t think you will feel as though you are missing out, my vote is for Bing.
Today internships are found via indeed and LinkedIn, moreso than the school, unless the school is elite. It’s not 100% this way of course but more than you’d ever imagine. My son is in engineering at a lesser rated engineering school. If you are in an ABET program, and you bust tail, internships will be there for you. It’s based on the kid and their hustle moreso than the school IMHO. And you can find positions nationally.
Last year my son was offered by…close to you ….Corning. And he goes to school in the South. Found it on his own via indeed. This year in the Fall he had 5 full time offers for May.
My issue with you and SUNY B is living at home is not ‘going away’ to school. It’s high school 2.0. You’d miss out on so much unless you lived on campus.
What schools are you waiting on ? Will you be able to afford without big scholarships ?
I don’t think it’d be High School 2.0, but I can see where you are coming from with going away to school.
I wasn’t aware how helpful a LinkedIn can be for internships, I’ll look into using it more during college.
I’m still waiting to hear back from RIT, Syracuse, Stony Brook, Boston University, Lehigh, Clarkson, University of Rochester, and New Jersey Institute of Technology, all RD. RPI gave me 76,000 in mostly scholarships and a couple loans, which would cover most of my cost for going there for the four years. Those loans will add up over time, however, so I’ll think twice about going to RPI.
You already have options you can afford with no loans so take those schools out of the equation that have loans.
I don’t see any schools you’ve listed where you couldn’t achieve equal success. RPI is strong as is Lehigh but in my kids experience at Alabama, he interned with kids from all over - Ga Tech, Purdue, Olin, Wisconsin, Ole Miss, Mizzou, Houston, etc. btw - the two ga tech kids he roomed with weren’t invited back the next summer. He was.
He was offered a position by a major defense contractor this year. On their students LinkedIn I saw RPI, Umass, and schools I had to look up - Christian Brothers.
Rankings aren’t a thing I don’t believe in most of the corporate world. In many ways it’s an unnecessary freeze. ABET is a must. Many apps say ABET only schools but that might be based on the engineering discipline.
If it’s ABET I truly believe you are good to go.
Loans - never a good thing. Back those $$ out to see the true cost.
This seems like a bargain for a school predominately known for its excellent engineering programs (should you want this type of tech-focused environment for your undergraduate education).
UB will be a lot less due to 5K a year plus potentially 15K a year. Binghamton will give me around 4-6K a year like other SUNYs have probably, but I’ll have to see what they do later this month (especially as a local).
That would be highly unusual and have never heard of that much merit aid. Usually that is the amount over four year. If you got that much per year it is a no brainer. Other than the Presidential scholarship at Buffalo which is almost impossible to get even for those accepted into Honors College the most merit is usually 3K with the Pride of NY scholarship so you are still looking at 25K unless you qualify for the Excelsior for families below 125K income.
RPI gave me 76,000 in mostly scholarships and a couple loans, which would cover most of my cost for going there for the four years. Those loans will add up over time, however, so I’ll think twice about going to RPI.