For Release August 19, 2008

Binghamton University welcomes back students

BINGHAMTON, NY - Binghamton University welcomes returning and new students and their families August 21 and 22, with move-in days signifying the beginning of the fall semester and a new academic year. Approximately 2,400 freshmen and about 730 transfer students will join the Binghamton University community this year. They'll be joined by upperclassmen arriving Friday. Classes begin Monday, August 25.

In welcoming the new students, President Lois B. DeFleur noted: “"We are excited to welcome these bright, talented students to our campus.  I know they will be successful both in their college programs and beyond as recent data from PayScale.com reveals that Binghamton graduates rank in the top earners among all U.S. public colleges."

The University received a record 30,305 applications, a 4.5% increase from Fall 2007. This includes 26,592 freshman applications and 3,713 transfer applications.  Binghamton accepted 39% of freshman applications making the University one of the most selective schools in the nation.  On average, only 3 percent of colleges nationwide accept fewer than 50 percent of their applicant pool.

In the Graduate School, for a second year in a row applications are up by 14 percent.  Top choices for Binghamton University graduate students include nursing, public administration, computer science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, accounting, business administration, chemistry, materials science, economics, and SPEL (social, political, ethical and legal) philosophy program. 

Nancy Stamp, dean of the Graduate School, noted, “Interest in graduate degrees, especially master's degrees, is increasing as people realize that a bachelor's degree is no longer enough to ensure career success and flexibility.”

The Class of 2012 boasts some of the most impressive academic credentials of any Binghamton class ever. The enteringclass has an average SAT score of 1274 and an average high school GPA of 93.2.  The mean GPA for entering transfers is 3.4.  “Binghamton is on the rise not only with our national reputation but with the quality of students it attracts,” said Sandra Starke, vice provost for enrollment management.

About 16% of the total incoming class will be out-of-state students. Of the 84 percent of the students hailing from New York State, 22 percent emanate from Long Island, 20 percent from New York City, and 9 percent from Westchester and Rockland counties, and about 29 percent are from upstate and western New York.  Nearly 7 percent of new students come from Broome or Tioga counties.

A record number of new international students will join the campus community this fall.  Binghamton University expects about 520 new incoming international students, representing over 50 countries, including Burkina Faso, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Finland, Jordan, Kenya, Nepal, New Zealand and Zimbabwe will add to the University’s community.

The greatest population of international students comes from Turkey, South Korea, India, China, Taiwan and Japan.
Binghamton University will also welcome approximately 219 undergraduate dual diploma students from Turkey, of whom 130 are returning as seniors, while 89 begin their sophomore year of study in their respective programs.  The dual diploma program partners Binghamton with four universities in Turkey and the students will pursue studies in the dual diploma programs including management, information systems, and global and international affairs.

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