My friend is arguing that Stonybrook is better, but when I look at stats, Binghamton is the top SUNY in New York State. Also, the average SATs are higher at Binghamton the last time I looked.
Both are great schools. You can get a fabulous education at either school. You can look up the stats on your own, as you did, and also, if you care about these, overall rankings (Bing does better in US News/ Forbes) vs. subject area strengths (Stony Brook shines in a number of subject areas, esp. in the sciences and engineering, etc. And Stony Brook has a great medical school with hospital. I interned in a genetics lab at the university when I was in high school.)
But I will offer two important, more subjective differences, as someone who grew up right next to Stony Brook U and whose son looked at Bing:
- A number of Stony Brook students are commuters. I work on Long Island as a school administrator and every teacher I have here who went to Stony Brook was a commuter when (s)he attended. Everyone from my high school who went on to Stony Brook was a commuter. Loads of Long Islanders enjoy being able to attend such a great college right in their backyard, so they enroll and commute. Some go home every night. Some metropolitan-area students have dorm rooms for the week but go home on the weekends. International students, of course, live on campus all week, as do some other students from elsewhere in the state/country. When I was a child, my family sometimes “hosted” international students for weekend entertainment and meals.
Binghamton has a high percentage of students living on campus and more of a campus-centered weekend culture.
- Stony Brook is large and sprawling, with buses to take between classes, dorms, etc.
Binghamton has a compact, walkable campus.
Good luck. Two great choices!