University welcomes returning and new students and their families

Approximately 2,450 freshmen, 950 transfer students and 900 new graduate students will join the Binghamton University community this year. Nearly 15,000 students began classes today, Aug. 29.

“Binghamton University has a well-earned reputation for academic excellence,” said President C. Peter Magrath. “Yet even as we reflect on our past, we can look with pride to the future. The incoming class represents some of the most talented students we have ever seen and we fully expect that their contributions will greatly enhance the intellectual, cultural and social vibrancy of our campus community. We are all excited about these students and what they will learn and contribute to the University. We are really looking forward to working with them.”

The University received over 32,000 undergraduate and transfer applications; 28,024 from freshman and 4,582 from transfer students.
 
With nearly 4,500 applicants for the Graduate School, there is also high demand for master’s and doctoral programs, including computer science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, nursing, K-12 teacher education, clinical science, accounting, business administration, chemistry, materials science-engineering, economics and social work.

Graduate School Dean Nancy Stamp explained that graduate degrees are becoming more valuable. “In today’s economic turbulence and global business world, recent bachelor’s degree graduates and professionals realize that a graduate degree furthers their marketability,” she said. “And while they are here, they contribute to exciting innovations and discoveries in their fields of study.”

The Class of 2015 boasts some of the most impressive academic credentials of any Binghamton undergraduate class ever.

“Every year, Binghamton University attracts some of the most talented students from across the nation and around the world,” said Sandra Starke, vice provost for enrollment management. “But this year, we will welcome one of the most impressive classes in University history. With an average high school GPA of 94 and an SAT score of 1931 in math, verbal and writing, the Class of 2015 is particularly impressive.

“Coming in at 422 points above the national average, their SAT scores alone are record breakers for the institution, and when combined with strong high school performances, it is very clear that this group of incoming students will bring exceptional academic excellence to the classroom,” she added.

About 8 percent of the incoming class is comprised of students from Broome and Tioga counties. Approximately 30 percent of the class is from upstate New York, another 22 percent is from Long Island and 19 percent hails from New York City.

Binghamton welcomes more than 1,000 transfer students as well, with a mean GPA of 3.4. Approximately 200 of them are coming to Binghamton University from Broome Community College.

Binghamton has again welcomed a large number of new international students. The approximately 500 incoming international students represent 55 countries, with the largest numbers coming from China, South Korea, India, Vietnam, the United Kingdom and Turkey.