<p>I'm curious as to why Binghamton University is only ranked #77 among National Universities in the most recent USN&WR rankings.</p>
<p>Compared to many public universities which are ranked in the 35-50 range, Binghamton appears to be similarly selective overall. The middle 50% of ACT scores for students accepted at Bing is similar, often to within a single point on either side of the range. (Note that I use the ACT here instead of the SAT because many of the other schools in question prefer the ACT.) Binghamton accepts a much lower percentage of applicants than these schools. Admittedly, the average class rank is often lower at Bing. However, this might be explained by the fact that in much of the Northeast, one is more likely to attend a selective high school and thus be competing against stronger students. For example, in NYC, you apply to high school. It's a competitive process. In most of the country, most people just attend their neighborhood high school and thus compete with a wider range of students.</p>
<p>As someone who's considering attending Bing, I'm curious: Does the lower ranking indicate that Bing isn't as strong as other public universities ranked in the 35-50 range?</p>
<p>Or is my hunch correct that Bing is simply underrated?</p>
<p>I personally think it’s pointless trying to rank colleges anyway. Ranking programs like pre-law, international relations, etc. is different, but since colleges have their strong and weak points, it’s kind of hard to really discern actual ranks. IMO, the most you could do is separate colleges into tiers but as far as individual rankings go… it seems kinda arbitrary. I mean, I know they have methodologies and formulas for this type of thing, but still. For people who are easily swayed by these things (i.e. my parents.) and don’t know much about the school, rankings severely twist the images of some colleges.</p>
<p>But yeah, to go more with your point, I think Bing is underrated. It’s becoming more well-known, however, so you may see it climb up there within a few years.</p>
<p>Much has to do with total university appeal, not strictly academics. We do not have the appeal as a UF or UMICH based on sporting factors, state funding, and years in operation. Additionally binghamton is no central florida, it is a an old post-industrial town where 70% of the people are on welfare. Academics i would say its on par with any top school though.</p>