Hi everyone, I’ve concluded I want to go to Binghamton… I have not received a decision yet, but I was hoping someone can tell me my chances…
I am majoring in political science…
GPA: 90.201UW, 94.606W, 93UW first quarter of senior year
SAT: Math 570, Reading 600, Writing 630 (1800)
AP Classes: AP World History, AP US History, AP English Language, AP Spanish Language, AP Environmental Science, AP US GOV
Honors classes: English 9H, English 10H, Pre-AP World History 9H, Pre-AP Spanish 10H, Science Research 9H
College Level Classes: College Business Law, College Statistics, College Computer Applications
Extra Curricular Activities: SADD officer secretary 11-12, Anti-Bullying Club secretary 11-12, Natural Helpers 9-12, Student Government Officer 11-12, Religious instructor at local church 11-12
-Bernie Sanders for President volunteer
-Tim Canova for Congress volunteer
I wrote my essay on my experience volunteering and phonebanking for Bernie Sanders, I believe my recommendation letters are strong as well… Writing tends to be my best subject.
I don’t know if this helps but my high school has a pretty high acceptance rate from Bing, about 60% of our applicants get in. I am in the safe range on Naviance, but I’ve heard its super hard to get in.
@dylanrosenthal Your unweighted gpa and SAT scores are low for Binghamton. Even though you took rigorous courses your extracurricular and volunteering likely will not be able to overcome the low gpa and sat. Naviance usually has statistics of admissions for the past ten years so even though it may indicate you should get in, the data may not be accurate. In the past 5 years the admissions to Binghamton has gotten more competitive, even for Harpur which is where I assume you applied as a political science prospective major. You should apply to Buffalo or Albany as a safety just in case. For Political Science I would lean more to Albany as a safet because it’s in the capital and you may have more internship opportunities.
How exactly will they crawl back? I mean - every school defers students from EA into RD pool. How is Binghamton different in that regard? You seem bitter and/or incredulous about its deferral decisions.
And how do you know all of the “high stat kids” will go elsewhere? Answer - you don’t know.
If you have something constructive to add, by all means. Or, perhaps you can start a Binghamton Axe to Grind thread and mingle with the disaffected.
Thanks for biting. And thanks for adding something “constructive.” What took you so long?
How will they crawl back? By eventually accepting the many kids who are perfectly qualified and took the time and effort to apply early as they were encouraged to do by Binghamton.
You are correct. I don’t know that “all” the high stats kids will go elsewhere. But I do know that many will go elsewhere. It happens every year, so why wouldn’t it happen this year? Binghamton is and always has been a safety for the high stats kids.
Axe to grind? Bitter? Maybe a bit, yes. Bitter because my son was actively courted by a regional rep. Bitter because he was encouraged to visit by an admissions officer (which he did). Bitter because he was invited to attend a class during his visit (which he did). Bitter because he was encouraged to apply early (which he did). Bitter because he was given every indication that he would be welcomed at Binghamton.
Most bitter because, based on his application, he is perfectly qualified to succeed at Binghamton but his EA application, and so many others, was shoved aside just in case someone better comes along in RD. Weak, in my opinion. Either he’s qualified or not. Accept or reject.
By deferring so many kids who were endlessly encouraged to apply early, Bing is attempting to vault itself into Ivy status. Frankly, its a joke.
Your candor is refreshing. You are bitter because a school didn’t immediately accept your well-qualified son. So, you offer a sardonic view of the school’s admissions process. That is fine. This is a forum of ideas.
I attended Binghamton - thirty years ago. It was then - and is now - a safety for kids who aspire to attend an Ivy. I know from experience that Binghamton grads wind up in the same law schools and med schools and jobs as those high stat kids who declined Binghamton and went ivy. My law school had 400 students per level. One-quarter went to Ivy League schools. Six of us came from Binghamton! I was in awe of being in the same school as a Harvard or Yale grad - until I actually got to know them - and realized they were no brighter than anyone else in our class.
Why is Binghamton deferring qualified students? It is obvious if you think about it. Binghamton is between one-third to one-half the cost of an Ivy. So, the number of applications is skyrocketing every year. Last year was 33,000 applications. Wanna bet they will beat that? So, they are unable to fully review every EA application within two months, so they are deferring many soon-to-be-admitted applicants to RD.
Nothing insidious. Nothing cruel. Nothing even curious about it. You are right. These kids will be admitted. But, we live in a society of entitlement. Everyone thinks they are entitled to something. Like being admitted immediately to a selective school that is deluged with applications. Sorry. I don’t think anyone should have a right to expect an immediate reply.
All sarcasm aside, I hope your son is admitted and soon. My son is in the SOM. Loves it. Everyone there is very bright and motivated. Best of luck.
@itsajoke - @STEM2017 has a valid point. Binghamton’s admissions yield is low. About 21% of those who get in actually go. I know many kids who applied just in case they do not get into other schools or certain programs.
I have known for 30 years that Binghamton is a safety for Ivy League and more prestigious schools. So, yes, valid point but one not disputed. It’s yield is on par with most other state schools. If lower, not appreciably.
Our friend was upset with Binghamton because his son was deferred from EA to RD. I was trying to explain why so many “well qualified” students are being deferred. But, as you have aptly demonstrated, not sure anyone is reading more than the first sentence of a post.
Not going to lie, this happens every single year. A whole thread of people really excited about Binghamton but as soon as they get deferred, suddenly Binghamton is a snobby wannabee public school, sitting on a high horse and rejecting perfectly good applicants because they think they’re an Ivy (not saying anyone on this thread, but it happens every cycle). I get it, it’s frustrating. When I’m rejected, my immediate reaction has always been anger. But you can’t have it both ways. You can’t say Binghamton is an excellent, inexpensive, option for smart kids and then get upset when thousands of smart kids apply. It’s not an immediate safety for the typical student who has fairly good stats.
If you were deferred with a 2200 SAT or something, you can be pretty confident that the tens of thousands of applicants just meant that they didn’t have the time or manpower to really look at your application. It’s not like they’re accepting random 1700-scoring kids and rejecting you, a clearly better candidate, for no reason whatsoever. It’s hard to not take personally and it is very frustrating but if the school is as desirable as everyone claimed it was before deferrals went out, it makes perfect sense.
When we visited Bing last fall, they kept on touting how selective they are, over 30K students apply, and the freshman class size is only 2.5K, making it seem like their acceptance rate is less than 10%, well, if you look through the statistics more closely, you will note that they accept over 40% of which about 20% decide to go, so the yield is 20% and it is true, there are a lot of kids who apply to Bing as a safety school while their number 1 schools are Ivy Leagues. I specifically did not let my son apply EA, his average was good, his SAT score was within the range but towards the low end of the range. I want all the dust to settle first. He applied to Harpur.
Apologies for my rant above. Son is still hopeful and excited about Bing. If accepted, it will be his best in-state option, and one of his most affordable options.
Every school does this. We had 30,000 applicants for 2,500 spots. That is true. You just assumed that they rejected 27,500 applicants. There is something called yield that others have discussed. They have to accept 5 people for every one slot to be filled. So, out of 33,000 applicants, they accept 12,500 and wind up with roughly 2,500 students. That gives rise to an acceptance rate of 38%. The SOM and Nursing schools have lower acceptance rates.
STEM - you didn’t rant at all. You are bothered that your son wasn’t admitted. That is understandable. What rebeccar said is 100% correct. She and I are both proud alums. She just said it more eloquently (and less sarcastically) than I said it. Admissions just does not have the resources to review 33,000 applications so quickly. And I mean it when I say that I look forward to your post that your son was admitted. I will be right here to extend my congrats and to answer any questions you might have. Or, my son can help answer.
This is supply and demand folks. Binghamton is $23k per year in-state. Private schools are $60k and up. My guess is Binghamton will exceed 34,000 applicants this year. It is a terrific school with really bright students and one of the top values in the country. It isn’t Michigan or UVA or an Ivy. But, most of its students would be fine at any of those schools.
Agree with its a joke. If you live in the northeast you will run into a lot of lawywrs and doctors who went to Binghamton University. This trend will continue. Many kids are seeing the price tags of the Ivy league schools, private liberal arts schools, Syracuse, even OOS UDel or Penn State etc. Of 50-70k / yr…Are having conversations with their parents who are saying “you can save that money that you will need for law school, medical school, pharmacy school, etc.”
The other kids will already be a two hundred thousand dollars are more in debt coming out of undergrad. And will not want to come out 400 thousand in debt.
In NYS Binghamton and Geneseo are viewed as the public flagships. The more affordable options for the high stats kids who for a number of financial circumstances or situations has them make great sense.
Chances are the same kids who will be accepted at Binghamton will be merit aid eligible at private colleges. Although it would take significant merit aid awards to bring the total cost of attendance down to the SUNY level.
There is no doubt that a lot of very talented students are ending up at Binghamton because it is by far their best and most affordable option.
I do wish our public system was on par with California and Virginia.