Those that enroll in the Advantage program are not the strongest students that Binghamton did not accept.
It is interesting to consider the many factors this Advantage program impacts. Are those in the program counted as having been rejected from BU in their tallies. If so, that is another way Binghamton U is far less competitive than it appears. Sure we’ll reject you, count you as a reject in our tallies, and then invite you to stay at and pay for our dorms, hang out with Binghamton students, graduate with them but we won’t count your scores.
Nearly 80% of those accepted (to actually attend classes at BU) turn Binghamton down. How many do you think decline the Advantage program? Adcons know that there is a sweet spot, a level of credentials below those that would allow student to gain admission at a competitor, that increases the liklihood they will come to Binghamton. And those scores have to be pretty low. Most applicants who apply to 4 year schools and are told they can attend a community college instead will decline that invitation unless their other options are pretty poor. So which students are left with options that are pretty poor? It is clearly not driven by finances since cost for Advantage stduents are just about the same as cost of the other 4 year SUNYs.