State University of New York at Binghamton

Statistics

Scholarships & Financial Aid

Rankings & Lists

Students Say - Academics
With fewer than 12,000 undergraduates, Binghamton University is "a decent sized school that doesn't feel that big." It's thanks to this that "you get to know people easily" here. Yet the school is also large enough to accommodate "a great education in a variety of fields, ranging from the liberal arts to engineering to business to education to nursing." Students report that "the school does the best it can to prepare its students at an Ivy level. It knows that it does not have the name recognition of others but teaches its students the values of hard work so that they can compete with Ivy students for jobs. Students aim for these jobs and are often successful getting them." Professional programs, which are among the most popular here, are "amazing" and "the connection with alumni is great," not to mention "the career development center is awesome," all huge pluses when it comes time for the job search. And the school accomplishes all this at a very reasonable cost. "Everyone here says value is a huge strength for this school," one student explains. In the past Binghamton students have complained that administrators "can sometimes be frustrating to deal with." Fortunately, Binghamton has addressed these issues by implementing an integrated student service system and creating a joint service area for registration, records, and financial aid.

Students Say - Campus Life
Students tell us that "campus life is really great" at Binghamton, offering "tons of activities to participate in, including club or intramural sports, student government, fraternities/sororities (both social and professional), student groups, and more." Dorms are "convenient" and "clean" (although "living off-campus is less expensive"), and undergrads are kept busy "trying to balance classes, school work, jobs, volunteer work, and sports.... There's never enough time for everything you want to do." Some complain that "the weekends can get pretty dull on campus," which is why they opt for beer-soaked fraternity parties or "the bars downtown." According to the drinking crowd, "The weeks can be stressful with a lot of classes, papers and tests, so students tend to unwind on the weekends. Once the frats run out of alcohol, people generally walk about 10 minutes to the bars." However, the drinking scene is by no means the only weekend alternative. As one student explains, "For people not interested in that, there is Late Night Binghamton," which "shows movies; has hypnotists, magicians, or comedians come; [and] has crafts to do, and it's all free." Binghamton is also experiencing a resurgence, and students frequently patronize many of the cafes, restaurants, and galleries found downtown.

Students Say - Student Body
The typical BU undergrad "is someone who was smart in high school"-they had to be to get in here-but was "well-rounded enough so as to not be only invested in academics. In general, although people are relatively smart, they have other things on their mind than pure academics." The campus is "very ethnically diverse," with "a lot of Jewish students and a lot of Asians" factoring into the mix. Geographically, Long Island and New York City are extremely well represented, "but there are many others from around the country and the world." Class background and local weather conspire to make "The North Face" a conspicuous brand on campus.

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