The State University of New York Binghamton

Date: Feb 25 2005
Major: Biology (This Major's Salary over time)
I went to Binghamton with the impression that it was one of the highest academically for a state school, and rather diverse. I did not have a chance to check out the school beforehand, which was very unfortunate, because my stint at Binghamton ended up being a huge kick in the ass. The minute I got there I felt like I was just a forgotten number in a huge sea of mostly Long Island kids. Thinking it was just the confusion of the beginning of the year, I let that go on for awhile thinking things would settle. How wrong I was. I had previously gone to a 2 year community beforehand, and nowhere at Binghamton did I find friendly comradarie from fellow classmates nor from professors. To class I went, where no one could remember my name, back to my dorm because the professors were too busy to stay and talk most of the time.

The chemistry professor could hardly speak proficient English. I had to drop the course thanks to her.

I also learned the cold hard lesson that just because people live in New York City that does not mean that they are openminded and accepting of people different from them. I am from upstate. I was treated like a disgusting white trash alien by many city kids. I was told repeatedly that I didn't belong there, was asked constantly why I didn't just go to SUNY Albany (Why did the LI kids just not go to SUNY Stony Brook then?), was treated like a weirdo because I actually had an interest in nature, not shopping malls. Students were not friendly, they were cold, arrogant and snobby. Plenty of JAPs to go around as well.

If you like art or music, especially anything underground, this is not the school to go to. The radio station is all right, and I found a few pretty nice kids into indie rock there, but it just wasn't enough.

Also, I was a transferring junior there…I wound up being put into Newing College, which from what I found out AFTER the fact, it is the worst dorm to live in (unless you are a freshman from long island who hardly wears clothes and has a massive drinking problem). In fact, I quite remember the RA herself mentioning that I was put there in hopes to be part of lessening the HUGE problems they had there with the drinking. Yes, destroy my 3rd year in college because you have issues with other students. Nothing like having extremely rude adolescents standing outside my window drunkenly screaming profanities at 4 AM when I had to get up at 7 AM for a class/test, almost every single night! And the girls in my dorm screaming at their boyfriends on their cell phones in the halls around the same time. Or pounding on the walls/floors partying next door. Or being sexually harrassed by frat boys with paddles outside my dorm in broad daylight. A lot of immature childish brats attend Binghamton - it's a sure sign that the claims that you need high SATs and intelligence are false.

Also, whenever I had an issue with something on campus, like say…moving a mini-fridge, or financial aid problems, the faculty was less than happy about having to deal with you in any form. Extremely apathetic. It took 2 hours for campus services to send someone to come get the fridge, and by that time I had done it myself, because I was told over the phone that no one will help me. A woman who works in financial aid has one of the worst attitudes I have ever had to deal with.

And the apathetic, uncaringness of students in my classes disgusted me. I will never forget my experience in my bio lab, where we had to do a field walk and identify trees and plants. I had to listen to students whine about how they didn't want to be out there, how they didn't care, continually asking if they could just go back to their dorms, that it was too hot, that they'd rather be shopping. No joke. They would make no effort to even TRY. I wound up deciding to show my enthusiasm and answer the questions, and this totally surprised the bio instructor. He acted as though no one had ever done that, ever.