SUNY Binghamton

Actually located in Vestal, NY (close to Pennsylvania), on 887 acres above the Susquehanna River;  SUNY Binghamton is touted as a "Public Ivy".  It is also "the number one best value in the nation," says Kiplinger Magazine in 2010.  The average cost of tuition, room & board is $18,000 per year.  That's a deal compare to the "Actual Ivys", who average $50,000 per year.  But alas, it is quite competitive.  Over 20,000 apply each year for just over 2,000 seats.  There is also quite a large number of transfer students as well (over 4,000 apply for just under1,000 seats).   One third of SUNY Binghamton students transfered from somewhere else.  This begs the obvious question, "Why don't these students just start out at Binghamton to begin with?"  The answer is simple, the transfer requirements are easier to fulfill than the freshman requirements.  Out of the six schools on campus, the two hardest to get accepted into are the School of Management and the Decker School of Nursing. 

With a total student body of over 11,000; SUNY Binghamton is the third largest of all the SUNYs that confer doctorate degrees.  The student body is diversified, but with a disproportionately larger group of Jewish students from Long Island.  Bare in mind the winters at Binghamton are bitter, with an average temperature of 15 degrees F, and a wind chill of -20 degrees F.  Summers are beautiful at a high of 80 degrees F; but with a 190 acres of forest and wetland nature preserve on campus, there is very little to do on or off campus for the city folks.  Vestal and Binghamton are small towns.  Buses will take you to NYC on holidays at a reduced rate, but it is 3 1/2 hours door to door.

Students who applied to SUNY Binghamton, also looked at Alfred University, Colgate University, and SUNY Stony Brook.  For more information on SUNY Binghamton, visit http://www.binghamton.edu/

SUNY Binghamton is located at 4400 Vestal Parkway, Vestal, NY  13850 (607) 777-2171