The State University of New York Binghamton

One of the best things about Binghamton are the extra curricular activities. It is very easy to become involved and there are so many things to choose from. There are a lot of multi-cultural groups, volunteering organizations or publications to choose from.

Social life here comes down to luck and where you live, at least in your first year. Freshmen are required to live on campus their first year and each community has its own personality.Housing ranges from dilapidated 50 year old structures (Dickinson) to gleaming new spacious suites (mountainview). I lived in Newing and I would avoid this place unless you are from Long Island and in a fraternity. The social scene is not dominated by Greek life at all. The only people that go to frat parties are freshmen who have not figured out how to get into downtown bars. State street is the somewhat pathetic arcade of bars that cater to students and the center of Binghamton night life. But there are many people in this school that do not drink so you will not have a hard time finding something to do on a saturday night. There is a significant discord between students and the local population. I find that they are nicer to you if you wear Syracuse apparel.

The quality of education varies by department. Some departments are very good and filled with high quality professors while others are concerned only with research and politics. Binghamton does have a great deal of pre-law/pre-med students who are generally more competitive(read:annoying) than the average student but they concentrated in certain majors.

Binghamton does have it's down sides. One is the lack of geographic diversity. I am from western New York and the only other people from this region are on sports teams. Most people are from NYC or Long Island. Binghamton is diverse racially and ethnically but you often see people staying within their group. You don't see a lot of interaction between groups. There is also a very large Jewish population and Hillel is a big deal. There are definitely certain populations which are more comfortable with the environment here. A lot of people are confused as to why someone from upstate would come here if they didn't have a really good reason.There are times when I wonder that myself.

Binghamton, overall, is a decent school. Its still within the SUNY system. Its pretty starved for cash. There is no football team and everyone has that accent but I feel as though I received an adequate education, especially for the price tag. I feel that Binghamton has nowhere to go but up.