I was accepted into the University at Buffalo Honors College and SUNY Binghamton, but not their Scholars Program. I have visited Buffalo multiple times and stayed overnight (I have a friend who attends). I’ve visited Binghamton twice. Wondering if anyone had advice on either schools. I’ve done a lot of research on both. Price/financial aid isn’t a factor in my decision. I applied undecided to both schools, but at this point, I’m thinking about exploring political science or economics (don’t plan on going to business school or law school). I have tried making a spreadsheet and talking to others about the two schools. I hope to be very involved in whichever school I choose.
I loved my time at Binghamton. People were very involved and there’s lots of opportunities to choose from. There isn’t a huge sports scene, but there’s always something going on around campus and I found everyone to be very friendly. It really is a great community. Any specific questions or areas of concern I can answer? Not really sure where to start!
If you’re in Buffalo’s Honors College, I would take that offer. More to do in Buffalo than Binghamton, as well. I’ve got no connection whatsoever to either college, btw.
Do you have a preference based on your visits? I believe Buffalo is almost twice the size of Binghamton so do you want one of these environments more than the other? Also exactly what does the honors program give you (it varies widely from college to college).
In general, Binghamton has the better reputation academically. Friends of my D who went to Buffalo (second hand information) had a great time but did say that they had a number of large lecture-type classes.
I was in scholars so I always had priority registration. For my friends, they had to be a bit strategic but there were so many options that it was more “aw, didn’t get into the interesting English class I wanted” than “oh no, I can’t graduate on time because this pre-req is filled.” I took intro classes that were 200+ people, mid-sized classes that were about 70, and a lot of smaller classes in the 20-30 range. Those were my favorite. Professors, in my experience, were always accessible and I had a lot of amazing ones. They were funny, interesting, and passionate about their subjects. I keep in contact with a few. I agree with happy1 that the feels of the campuses are different so if you visited, you might feel yourself leaning towards one over the other.
My daughter is a scholar in Buffalo. She loves the school. The size only brings more opportunities. Yes, the entry level classes are large, but if you sit on the first 3 rows there is no difference. And if you visit your professors during office hours, they will know you by name. Plus every school will have them. Even small schools.
My younger daughter just got accepted to both schools as well. And she decided to go to UB.
It’s extremely far from our home, but that school is a bargain considering what they offer students.