Thoughts on Binghamton??

[Reichart12]

So I figured I would ask around to see if we have any people from Binghamton NY. I may have an opportunity to attend graduate school there and visited the other day. Overall I was slightly disappointed in the actual town as it seemed on the rundown side.

Has anyone attended the college? Or anyone from the area care to share their opinions?

[Mr. Burns]

Brandon AKA Fear is from there.

[chadthestampede]

It always seemed like it was in the middle of nowhere to me.

Swanny lives there as well.

[Reichart12]

Oh cool good to know. I like the area of New York being close to the finger lakes and mountains but this specific area seemed underwhelming to me.

[e30_325es]

Your view on the town is accurate. They used to have a decent indoor go cart track there, but it closed 8-10 years ago. There isn't much to do city wise in the area. Really anything fun is outdoorsy/nature related. I have an uncle who lives there and I grew up just north of there in Syracuse.

[Reichart12]

I definitely like the area of New York better than the actual town. And its still fairly close to where I grew up in Maryland. I need to see the financial offer from the school before I can make a definite decision.

[carolyn]

I live/go to grad school ~45 min. north of Binghamton (in Ithaca), and I love it--the finger lakes region is gorgeous.

Best of luck with the grad school decision!

[Swanny]

Thoughts on Binghamton??

Oh hey there


What program will you be attending at BU? The college has very mixed reviews locally and by some of the admin that I know.
The area is slowly beginning to see more interest good food, good drink, and good music but you have to know where to look and be into that.
Overall it's a great area to spend some time in as it's hard to get overly distracted while you're at school. It is most certainly economically depressed so job market post graduation is weak (one of the main complaints is that the school isn't interested in keeping graduates local)
Ithaca is absolutely amazing and guaranteed I'll be over there sometime this weekend. Its only about 1 hour - 1:15 drive from Downtown.

So, really comes down to what you're into.

We also have amazing chicken wings and Italian food.

[Reichart12]

I got into the biology grad program. The actual program didn't seem as prolific as my other option. I guess the only major pro for me is the proximity to home. Most people in this field do not stay in the area after graduating because normally you still have to do a 2 year post doc.

Im flying out to Montana on Monday to check out MSU in Bozeman as that's my other option. On paper that program seems leaps and bounds ahead but the distance scares me and being sight unseen so far.

[carolyn]

lololololol 2-year post-doc....that sounds great. They're more like 4-7 years in my field :(

Yeah, you definitely want to be somewhere where you have an opportunity to publish a lot. Montana sounds cool!

[Swanny]

Their bio,science, and medical programs are growing exponentially, big emphasis on diversifying their departments.

Uncertainties aside, you're on the right track and it should be fairy clear once you visit the other school what the cost/reward will be.

Had friends with a similar dilemma that were living in St. Petersburg FL. Ended up moving to Buffalo NY because the school offered such a good deal.

[Reichart12]

lololololol 2-year post-doc....that sounds great. They're more like 4-7 years in my field :(

Yeah, you definitely want to be somewhere where you have an opportunity to publish a lot. Montana sounds cool!

I may have underestimated it a little lol.

After seeing Montana the program is just light years ahead of Binghamton and it the better fit for the research direction I want to go. The distance and relocation was the only struggle I had but after seeing how accessible gorgeous nature is out there it definitely calmed some nerves. Thanks for the opinions everyone!