I was accepted to Binghamton and Syracuse University and was wondering how the student life was at colleges in the middle of nowhere. Is there a lot to do in those areas?
I don’t know what life is like at either of those particular colleges, but upstate NY is really beautiful, especially in Spring, Summer and Fall. Winter can get a little dreary, but the snow kind of makes up for it. I guess it would depend on where you’re coming from and what you like to do. Your social life is probably going to be more about going to parties, hanging with friends, and going out to bars. Syracuse is a small city, so there’s a little bit on offer, and you’ve also got the whole Div I sports aspect.
There are lots of craft breweries and wineries across NY State. Lots of natural sights to take in. Lakes, rivers, mountains, skiing, boating, hiking. If your thing is art galleries, night life, lots of hubub, etc. then you might feel a bit isolated.
Actually, @happyteen19 - I’m originally from upstate NY and I now live outside Philadelphia. I don’t get into the city much because of traffic, parking, etc. When I go home to visit, sometimes I feel like there’s more to do in upstate NY than there is down here. (Other times I’m incredibly bored) There seem to be more community-oriented activities - craft fairs, fundraising dinners, theater productions, public concerts and dances, etc. Whether you will have the ability to know about and access these types of activities as a college student (assuming you are interested), I don’t know. But there are almost always things to do.
Binghamton has a whole city of Binghamton at your disposal… SUNY Bing has a bus that will take you around town
https://www.binghamton.edu/services/transportation-and-parking/buses-and-shuttles/occt/
Bing also has the Late Nite activities: https://www.binghamton.edu/student-life/latenite/
It depends on how you imagine yourself at your school. Syracuse for some NYC kids (I’m assuming you’re from NYC area) is great because they want to take part in the huge party/ athletic social scene there. For others, they really like to get out and about in the City, and Syracuse the city for them has less to offer.
How do you plan to spend your time? Active on campus? Or out and about in the city? Or a combination of that?
You realize, right, that Binghamton and Syracuse are large cities?
When you wrote, "middle of nowhere, " I thought you meant truly remote. Like the college where the admissions dean came out and made sure my kiddo knew there was a mall a few miles away. That remote.
OP: Are you still considering Spellman College in Atlanta ?
Yes
@lookingforward – the OP’s question is very reasonable to kids from NYC – very typical actually. First the size of those cities is dwarfed by what they know. Second, the facilities at their high schools, with sometimes thousands of kids, is often larger and better equipped than at many colleges they look at; this is an issue when you’re taking your child to see colleges, ensuring that your child scales things down in their minds before touring so that they can imagine the college having anything to offer. Not to mention, the number of events available in the upstate cities compared iwth daily array/onslaught of events in NYC, it just doesn’t compare. Third, those cities are generally organized around car travel, something that for most kids from NYC is foreign and remote and a little alienating even because you are just by yourself in a car, rather than walking someplace or sharing a train, and chatting with others you’ve just met. Also, lots of NYC kids don’t have access to cars and so can’t get around those big upstate cities.
Binghamton is a small city of almost 45,000 people. Broome County has about 190,000 population including the population of Binghamton.
Syracuse is much larger, but pretty rundown in many parts of the city–although an area adjacent to campus provides for most student needs.
Spellman College is in the heart of vibrant Atlanta.
A combination, but mainly on campus. I’d like the option of leaving campus as well
Those colleges are near each other. Syracuse is a proper city. Binghamton is a small city, but due to its location, I think it’s a little easier to access the outdoors. You can easily leave campus at both colleges. The lovely town of Ithaca isn’t far away. Neither of those colleges is the middle of nowhere, tbh. The saying “six of one, half a dozen of the other” comes to mind.
@Lindagaf you’re right that to many people those towns are not “the middle of nowhere.” To some NYC kids – and I imagine some kids from other large cities like LA or Chicago or Atlanta – those towns look like the sticks. In fact, I know of one student right now attempting to transfer out of Syracuse for exactly this reason. To be sure, a lot of NYC kids love Syracuse, it has a big NYC contingent going back for years, and a bus that comes directly between NYC and Syracuse – NYC is represented well there. And it’s a happy, fun school over all. OP is doing exactly what she needs to do to explore whether she will find enough to do, find it fun and welcoming, or find it cold and the sticks.
OP what other schools are you considering? That might give us a way to gauge what interests you.
Also–what activities do you enjoy? Knowing that might shed some light on what you might find in Syracuse or Binghamton.
At Bing – that would be an out of state school for you. Are you okay with the costs?
Travel and Leisure placed Syracuse at the top in this article on college towns: https://amp.travelandleisure.com/slideshows/americas-best-college-towns?source=dam.
I’m also considering Spelman College, Temple and Stony Brook. Binghamton is in state for me. I’d like to be able to explore and visit some attractions outside campus like museums and restaurants. None of my schools gave me a lot of aid so they’re all extremely expensive, but I have outside scholarships
I’ve found that NYC kids are more apt to take advantage of things that Syracuse (the city) has to offer because they are comfortable riding the bus, where kids from the suburbs tend not to leave campus much unless they have a car. Maybe Uber has changed this in the last year. That being said, the city is fairly quiet and there is always a lot happening on campus and so many kids don’t ever feel the need to leave.
How close would you have liked the mall to have been?
OP – okay good to know. I was under the impression that you’re OOS for Bing (and for Stony Brook). I am guessing that Bing and Stony Brook would be less expensive than Syracuse.
They are all excellent schools BTW – congratulations on all of these great choices!
@Dustyfeathers SUNYs are pretty affordable even for OOS!
Binghamton for a total COA of $25,000 is very reasonable. Same for Stony Brook.