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Does Binghamton University have a good Arts & Sciences program?
I've never heard much about the arts & sciences there. I do have a friend that went there for pre-med and know people who go there for business. Binghamton is generally a great school.
I've never heard much about the arts & sciences there. I do have a friend that went there for pre-med and know people who go there for business. Binghamton is generally a great school.
Yes it does. The Arts and Science College was called Harpur College. It may still be. very prestigious in a number of departments.
Correct and to clear something up, Binghamton University is actually in Vestal, which is a pretty nice suburb of Binghamton.
That's true to! Binghamtom was once a grand Victorian city, is now a crumbling shell of it's former self. There are some interesting cafes and restaurants there, and a famous health food store that has been visited by such luminaries as the Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan, but for the most part, it's pretty run down.
The campus is located in Vestal as the above poster noted. Vestal is a safe attractive suburb. No one needs to avoid the wonderfully well priced academic offerings of this fine SUNY school for fear of the city of Binghamton. They really never need to go into the city if they don't want.
That's true to! Binghamtom was once a grand Victorian city, is now a crumbling shell of it's former self. There are some interesting cafes and restaurants there, and a famous health food store that has been visited by such luminaries as the Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan, but for the most part, it's pretty run down.
The campus is located in Vestal as the above poster noted. Vestal is a safe attractive suburb. No one needs to avoid the wonderfully well priced academic offerings of this fine SUNY school for fear of the city of Binghamton. They really never need to go into the city if they don't want.
Actually, a lot of students live in the West Side of Binghamton, which is a nice area of the city(south of Main St.). Binghamton's East Side, most of the South Side(especially the western half) and Downtown are fine. There are apartments Downtown where many students also live. Binghamton is one of the safest metro areas in the US too. Here is information on the West Side, which is pretty close to campus: Binghamton's West Side
Binghamton is in Vestal but that is really irrelevant. There is really nothing to Vestal except a string of strip malls with stores like TJ Maxx, Walmart, Fridays type restaurants and one student housing development adjacent to the college and not at all part of Vestal. The rest of Vestal is residential and not really relevant to the college. Former IBMers and faculty with children live in the split levels and contemporaries in the suburbs that grew up around the college and now extend up the "Mountain" behind the school but which are filled with somewhat (for the area) pricey homes. Check out the Binghamton crime rate. it is relevant for students and, in fact, students have had their heads bashed in and have been killed in Binghamton. Since the crime stats for the university include only events on campus, those events don't get reported. Be careful! Binghamton was once one of the better SUNYs. That has changed markedly as it has increased the number (and therefore the type) of students it accepts, has not hired faculty at a reasonable pace so that the ratios of students to faculty is now absurd, and has changed its focus markedly. I would not encourage my child to attend Binghamton. I think Geneseo is a far better college. In contrast to Binghamton, teaching is considered important at Geneseo. That is not to say that students can't do well at Binghamton. It remains a cheap and efficient way to get a degree. Especially assertive students can push to get lab experiences. They give 4 credits for classes held for 3 hours and grade inflation and student expression of entitlements help raise GPAs. Especially for students who just want to get in and out-it is a reasonable place to go.
In terms of crime, some sites report something called safety and show Binghamton to have a reasonable index. Those statistics include things like liklihood of major weather events, dangers of losing ones job, etc. The name of the index defies the factors that are included in it. When people ask about safety they are usually asking about crime rates. It is important that parents understand the situation that their child will be entering. I am posting crime rates for Binghamton. This data does not get compiled with the campus security data. Nothing that happens to students in Binghamton-at their off campus residences or in local establishments or on the street-are recorded in the university stats. The following is from NeighborhoodScouts under crime rates for Binghamton:
"BOUT BINGHAMTON CRIME RATES
With a crime rate of 62 per one thousand residents, Binghamton has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes - from the smallest towns to the very largest cities. One's chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime here is one in 16. Within New York, more than 99% of the communities have a lower crime rate than Binghamton.
Separately, it is always interesting and important to compare a city's crime rate with those of similarly sized communities - a fair comparison as larger cities tend to have more crime. NeighborhoodScout has done just that. With a population of 46,996, Binghamton has a combined rate of violent and property crime that is very high compared to other places of similar population size. Regardless of whether Binghamton does well or poorly compared to all other cities and towns in the US of all sizes, compared to places with a similar population, it fares badly. Few other communities of this size have a crime rate as high as Binghamton.
The crime data that NeighborhoodScout used for this analysis are the seven offenses from the uniform crime reports, collected by the FBI from 17,000 local law enforcement agencies, and include both violent and property crimes, combined.
Now let us turn to take a look at how Binghamton does for violent crimes specifically, and then how it does for property crimes. This is important because the overall crime rate can be further illuminated by understanding if violent crime or property crimes (or both) are the major contributors to the general rate of crime in Binghamton.
For Binghamton, we found that the violent crime rate is one of the highest in the nation, across communities of all sizes (both large and small). Violent offenses tracked included forcible rape, murder and non-negligent manslaughter, armed robbery, and aggravated assault, including assault with a deadly weapon. According to NeighborhoodScout's analysis of FBI reported crime data, your chance of becoming a victim of one of these crimes in Binghamton is one in 164.
In addition, NeighborhoodScout found that a lot of the crime that takes place in Binghamton is property crime. Property crimes that are tracked for this analysis are burglary, larceny over fifty dollars, motor vehicle theft, and arson. In Binghamton, your chance of becoming a victim of a property crime is one in 18, which is a rate of 55 per one thousand population."
While Vestal may only contain a "few strip malls" and has a generally suburban vibe, it is very safe. From what I know, many of the professors live there.
I don't know "West Binghamton" from East, and there could well be a part of Bingamton that is decent. The point is, most of the city of Bingamton is a turn off.
I saw it over 25 years ago when I thought of applying there and more recently, with my children. It has not been an attractive city for over 50 years.
My father said Bingamton was crumbling in the 1950s.
This is no news flash.
Bing's problem is the city that bears it's name. Vestal actually brings the college up and makes it a place that middle class and above parents could send their kids and feel OK about it.
The crime stats don't change the deteriorating city. Increasingly, parents and students, are choosing schools based on climate and local. It's not how we choose colleges, but it is the reason that some extremely solid colleges that were popular choices in earlier times, have been admitting more students of a lower caliber. I have especially noticed this in upstate NY. There has been a distinctive trend towards urban colleges, as well. In my day, NYU and University of Miami were "safety schools" and NYU was mainly a commuter school for first generation college attendees. Now, it's a "destination college".
Still, academically, Bingamton is an exceptionally good school with a vibrant academic life and a faculty where most instructors have the highest degree in their field.
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Formerly known as Harpur College, Binghamton's liberal arts program is among SUNY's finest.
