Another Update: Binghamton University
Shortly after I posted an update about Binghamton University this spring, I was invited to a counselor’s event on campus. The university’s admissions team shared updated data. Academic departments told us of opportunities that I had not reported before. I’m posting an updated profile as well as a Pinterest page with more photos.
Binghamton University is the most selective, and for many the best, public university in the Northeast, as well as one of the best educational values in our country. The university accepts between 35 and 40 percent of all applicants each year. Admissions to the programs in Business, Engineering (including Computer Science), Nursing, and now Pharmacy are more competitive. A 1300 SAT—a 670 minimum is expected of prospective Computer Science and Engineering majors—will not place an applicant in the middle of the freshman class.
New York has one of the best state university systems in our country, and Binghamton is its crown jewel. It is more undergraduate focused than the university campuses at Buffalo or Stony Brook, and remains a smaller school—with fewer than 14,000 undergraduates—than the more selective University of Virginia and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill as well as Cornell, which is part private and part public.
However, Binghamton does not have the “spirit and sports” culture of these Atlantic Coast Conference schools, or of Syracuse University, its private neighbor one hour north, or even Cornell. This is the only flagship university in the State University of New York system that does not play football. Binghamton’s most attended alumni weekend, including tailgating, happens around a soccer game.
Thirty-three years ago, the phrase ‘Public Ivy’ popped into the minds of college-bound students, counselors, and the colleges themselves. Back then Binghamton University achieved “runner-up” status. Today, Binghamton is one of seven schools still worthy of this recognition. This school does everything that a state university should do for as many of its students as it can: maintain affordability and academic rigor and build upon a positive non-academic experience as it guides students towards graduation and life after college. Because Binghamton does all that it does, admissions are becoming less achievable, though they are still not as competitive as they are at schools such as UVa. or UNC-Chapel Hill.
Very bright students who are looking for a “smart state university” at a reasonable price, New Yorkers or not, should put Binghamton University on their lists. Unless they also want their future alma mater to have a football team.
The Report Card: Binghamton University
- Four-Year/Six-Year Graduation Rates: A/A
- Freshman Retention: A
- Costs: A
- Curriculum: A
- Community: B+
- Curriculum: A
- Connections: A
Check out my update on Binghamton University!
Check out my Binghamton University Pinterest Page!
Visiting colleges? Daytripper University’s travel guides highlight the best restaurants and hotels as well as the most interesting attractions near Binghamton University. Founded by Liora Yalof and Bonnie Klein and relying on a network of parents, locals and current students, this comprehensive website features guides to over 100 campuses and resources to help you navigate the college process.
Need help in comparing schools? Contact me at stuart@educatedquest.com, or call me at 609-406-0062.
