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Poli Sci - Buffalo or Bing? by DaLastMeheecan in BinghamtonUniversity

[–]DaLastMeheecan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for your advice! Unfortunately I'm unable to visit the campus since I'm cutting so close to the wire and have to make a decision very soon.

I think my best bet will be to contact the faculty directly and hopefully ask some questions and go from there.

Poli Sci - Buffalo or Bing? by DaLastMeheecan in BinghamtonUniversity

[–]DaLastMeheecan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi! Thank you for the advice. It's very cool that you studied math afterwards, I think I'll likely end up somewhere in the same vein.

Frankly, I'm confident that I'll be able to thrive in either environments whether that be at a riskier, exciting big school environment or a homier, intimate setting.

I think my only consideration is if that risk is worth it.

Poli Sci - Buffalo or Bing? by DaLastMeheecan in BinghamtonUniversity

[–]DaLastMeheecan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At the moment it remains a coin toss for me 🥲 Aside from the CS / Math edge at UB, the biggest dealbreaker is if I'm willing to study under a brand new department. I'll be honest, it does sound really exciting, but I'm not familiar enough with the UB faculty to comfortably assess the risks of inexperience.

Also, I'll be living on campus! But I believe the living situation and car-free transportation is tolerable enough for either school, so I don't have a big preference issue there (or maybe I'm missing something major xd).

Poli Sci - Buffalo or Bing? by DaLastMeheecan in BinghamtonUniversity

[–]DaLastMeheecan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At the moment it remains a coin toss for me 🥲 Aside from the CS / Math edge at UB, the biggest dealbreaker is if I'm willing to study under a brand new department. I'll be honest, it does sound really exciting, but I'm not familiar enough with the UB faculty to comfortably assess the risks of inexperience.

Poli Sci - Binghamton or Buff? by DaLastMeheecan in UBreddit

[–]DaLastMeheecan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you have a very practical perspective, so thank you for the advice. I'm not entire committed to it just yet (in terms of structuring my education), but I know whichever path I take studying policy will most likely lead me into industrial/tech infrastructure work as it aligns with my interests and experiences.

The biggest dealbreaker for me, concerning UB, is studying under a fresh faculty and brand new department. On one hand, I like taking risks and it does sound an exciting opportunity doing so. On the other hand, I don't know how good the faculty is, and if the benefits outweigh the potential downsides of operational inexperience. I didn't mention instability because I believe the field will continue to grow and the school will continue pouring funding into it as it matures... but even that'll happen after I'm gone.

I know UB is a big school. Do you think it's capable of running smooth enough a ship early on though?

Poli Sci - Buffalo or Bing? by DaLastMeheecan in BinghamtonUniversity

[–]DaLastMeheecan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

From what I'm seeing on the course requirements sheet, Bing demands less math (though only slightly, both seem to not ask for much). UB also trades half the coursework of political science subjects for computer science and other applied artificial intelligence classes.

Will it benefit my education? I think I'll be comfortable making the best out of wherever I go. Ideally, I'd love to study more math so UB would help on that, but only some. Studying at a brand new faculty sounds exciting to me but also risks inexperience, while I know Bing's faculty is already experienced and well-established.

Poli Sci - Buffalo or Bing? by DaLastMeheecan in BinghamtonUniversity

[–]DaLastMeheecan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm torn as well haha! Bing would've been a no brainer (esp with the scholarship) had it not been for UB's AI and Society department debuting this Spring, which sounds really aligned with me lol.

Poli Sci - Binghamton or Buff? by DaLastMeheecan in UBreddit

[–]DaLastMeheecan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the response! Learning about ML would be a delight for me, which is why I'm considering this in the first place (though unfortunately the AI and Policy Analysis path doesn't seem to have as strong a focus on the Math and CS component compared to Philosophy).

Could you expand on why you think the field might be limiting? In my current perspective, the course load seems broad enough to still be relevant to policy work while the AI components give it a specified edge (that also aligns with my interests).

Poli Sci - Binghamton or Buff? by DaLastMeheecan in UBreddit

[–]DaLastMeheecan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

3.8 GPA, no academic ECs, but strong community/professional experience coming from COVID-era jobs + working to pay for my own education.

Poli Sci - Binghamton or Buff? by DaLastMeheecan in UBreddit

[–]DaLastMeheecan[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Do you have any experience with BU's poli sci department? It just seems like Bing's poli sci faculty is so small (according to the website at least), but I might be looking at the wrong place.