I am born and raised and live in NY and I think Binghamton is a fabulous school where "smart kids go."

Better or worse than UMD? That's impossible to really say.

Does UMD have better name recognition nationally? 110%

One of the former co-hosts on the podcast YCBK had never heard of Binghamton. (The main host brought up an impressive statistic about the # of CEOs who graduate from there, or something like that.)

There's definitely a difference between a lay person who couldn't care less about "good colleges" and a person who is more in the know/educated. If the former is from say, Arizona, yeah, maybe they don't really know anything other than, University of Maryland is the university in Maryland. The latter should know that UMD has a stellar reputation in many ways and a lot to offer.

Binghamton is certainly more obscure nationally.

It's OK, a lot of people don't know there's anything impressive or have even heard about Harvey Mudd or Carnegie Mellon, either.

Anonymous wrote:it was 9 spots further down the rankings a year ago. in fact, for the last several years the ranking was firmly in low 50:

58 61 60 61 53 54 58 59 58

So it's been a solid top 60 for last decade.

UMD is growing in reputation, which is a good thing, but .. you can put me down as a person who considers its reputation much stronger regionally than nationally. That's the definition of a regional school. I also agree that it's not unknown - people probably assume MD has a big state university.

I think UMD and SUNY Bing are pretty comparable. it's possible you dont' realize how strong the Bing rep is in NYC, which would be totally understandable.

well, I never heard of UGA (ranked lower), but apparently you or a PP thinks UGA is a national school but not UMD.

My view is narrow because I'm originally from CA. Your view is also narrow (and old) because you are from NY.

From US News:
8. What are Regional Universities and Regional Colleges?

Like National Universities, Regional Universities offer a full range of undergraduate programs and provide graduate education at the master's level. However, they differ by offering few, if any, doctoral programs. Of the 601 Regional Universities, 238 are public, 348 are private and 15 are for-profit.

The 370 Regional Colleges – including 168 public institutions, 188 private schools and 14 for- profits – focus on undergraduate education but grant fewer than 50% of their degrees in liberal arts disciplines. The Regional Colleges category includes some institutions where only a small number of degrees awarded are at the bachelor's level.

Regional Universities and Regional Colleges are placed into one of four geographic categories: North, South, Midwest and West.

Anonymous wrote:So is SUNY Binghamton better than SUNY College Park or vice versa? They are both kind of obscure, and largely of interest to nerds, but it’s important to know the answer.

100%

For those of you that are saying the SB is ranked higher than Bing- this is a recent change to the metrics. No one in NY considers Stony Brook to be a better school. If anything the battle is between Binghamton and Geneseo (which isn't even a University).

So is SUNY Binghamton better than SUNY College Park or vice versa? They are both kind of obscure, and largely of interest to nerds, but it’s important to know the answer.

it was 9 spots further down the rankings a year ago. in fact, for the last several years the ranking was firmly in low 50:

58 61 60 61 53 54 58 59 58

So it's been a solid top 60 for last decade.

UMD is growing in reputation, which is a good thing, but .. you can put me down as a person who considers its reputation much stronger regionally than nationally. That's the definition of a regional school. I also agree that it's not unknown - people probably assume MD has a big state university.

I think UMD and SUNY Bing are pretty comparable. it's possible you dont' realize how strong the Bing rep is in NYC, which would be totally understandable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SUNY Stony Brook is ranked #58 and SUNY Bing is ranked#73 in National Universities by USNWR. They are not considered regional institutions by their metrics. People here seem to be basing that description off their own concept and familiarity with a school (more reputations, which may matter, but is not how schools are actually classified).

Yet, one poster wants to suggest that UMD, which significantly outranks both IS regional. What an idiot.

UMD is right next to Lehigh and University of Rochester in the rankings. You think that cohort is not regional?

It’s not some great insult, it’s a statement of fact. Some schools are nationally known, some are regionally known. It is what it is.

dp.. Your logic and that "regional UMD" PP logic makes no sense.

UMD is listed right above UGA, VT, Wake Forest, Case, W&M, but according to the PP, UMD is regional, while UGA isn't? As I'm sure no one will say W&M and Case are regional, either.

Both of you are dumb.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SUNY Stony Brook is ranked #58 and SUNY Bing is ranked#73 in National Universities by USNWR. They are not considered regional institutions by their metrics. People here seem to be basing that description off their own concept and familiarity with a school (more reputations, which may matter, but is not how schools are actually classified).

Yet, one poster wants to suggest that UMD, which significantly outranks both IS regional. What an idiot.

UMD is right next to Lehigh and University of Rochester in the rankings. You think that cohort is not regional?

It’s not some great insult, it’s a statement of fact. Some schools are nationally known, some are regionally known. It is what it is.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SUNY Stony Brook is ranked #58 and SUNY Bing is ranked#73 in National Universities by USNWR. They are not considered regional institutions by their metrics. People here seem to be basing that description off their own concept and familiarity with a school (more reputations, which may matter, but is not how schools are actually classified).

Yet, one poster wants to suggest that UMD, which significantly outranks both IS regional. What an idiot.

Are you ok? NP

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SUNY Stony Brook is ranked #58 and SUNY Bing is ranked#73 in National Universities by USNWR. They are not considered regional institutions by their metrics. People here seem to be basing that description off their own concept and familiarity with a school (more reputations, which may matter, but is not how schools are actually classified).

Yet, one poster wants to suggest that UMD, which significantly outranks both IS regional. What an idiot.

I was one of those people. I said they were BOTH regional. UMD is 40-something right? I think people assume both N.Y. and MD have state flagships .. so nobody is shocked they exist. And listen, they’re good schools but they’re not Cal or Michigan.

Anonymous wrote:SUNY Stony Brook is ranked #58 and SUNY Bing is ranked#73 in National Universities by USNWR. They are not considered regional institutions by their metrics. People here seem to be basing that description off their own concept and familiarity with a school (more reputations, which may matter, but is not how schools are actually classified).

Yet, one poster wants to suggest that UMD, which significantly outranks both IS regional. What an idiot.

Anonymous wrote:They are great schools to add to the mix when you are constructing a truly balanced list.

I agree. We are very seriously considering SUNY Purchase College as an OOS option for our artsy liberal arts student. SUNY schools have a lot to offer and are a great deal financially.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SUNY Stony Brook is ranked #58 and SUNY Bing is ranked#73 in National Universities by USNWR. They are not considered regional institutions by their metrics. People here seem to be basing that description off their own concept and familiarity with a school (more reputations, which may matter, but is not how schools are actually classified).

Ironically, everyone commenting that it’s regional also seem VERY familiar w it.

+ 1

They are great schools to add to the mix when you are constructing a truly balanced list.