Stony Brook University Top Questions

What is your overall opinion of this school?

Erica

Stony Brook University is composed of predominantly pre-med students. Stony Brook University is very strong in their departments of sciences/engineering, mathematics, and computer science. Nevertheless, their liberal arts departments are decent, yet, not as strong as the STEM departments. In addition, Stony Brook University has many commuter students which means that on weekends, many people go home and thus, the campus life on weekends seem "dull." The weekends will not be dull if you actively find things to do, hang out with your friends, or catch up on things you wanted to do and etc.

Matt

I have only been here for one year, but it has been the most profound experience of my life and I can't see it happening anywhere other than Stony Brook

Vikalpa

I believe Stony Brook is a good middle ground for students looking for a quality science education at an affordable price. Our university is ranked very high in our science and research departments, a ranking I can vouch for as a Biology major. Unfortunately, since this school is so heavily dedicated to science and engineering, it may not be suitable for those looking into other fields such as business or law. However, regardless of what a student chooses to study at Stony Brook, there is always help available.

Tino

There are a lot of things I want perspective frosh to know before coming to SBU. First of all, this school is huge! This includes both the tremendous size of campus as well as the number of students who attend here. It takes on average 5-9 minutes to walk almost anywhere from dorm halls to class. One thing I would definitely change is the on campus food. They got rid of Taco Bell (WHY?!). Wendy's, CPK, "Dunkin Donuts" (probably the ghetto-est ever), and the campus dining food gets sickening very quickly. The best thing about this school is that you are given a lot of freedom- but of course this entitles a lot of responsibility. People assume I party a lot and have so much fun when I tell them I go to this school. While I do have fun, it is only because my friends and I seek out the fun or make the fun ourselves. There aren't a lot of parties and the Greek life isn't impressive at all. The worst part of SBU is that since the campus is so big and a lot of people go home during the weekends, SBU is sort of dead. It becomes worse when you realize without a car, you are entrapped in this deserted island. Even when you go off campus, there is nothing to do for quite a great radius. My opinion of the school's administration is that they are bunch of suits trying to steal any kind of money they can from its students whether it be through an annual increase in tuition or ridiculous prices for books. The biggest recent controversy on campus was the fact that there are new charges being added to the tuition but just recently the university was given $1.5 million...(exactly?!). I do admit there is a lot of school pride- just go to any student ask them "WHAT'S A SEA WOLF?" and find out for yourself what we think of ourselves. Classes here are really hard and you must keep up with the material otherwise you are going to be as depressed as the kids that are sitting at the library the night before the final! One experience I will always remember is meeting all of my friends. Because of that one incident, I am able to have fun and make the best of my time here at Stony Brook.

Krystalyn

It is a good school. There is an abundance of interesting classes and a lot of new people to meet and get to know. However, tuition keep going up, the meal plan kind of sucks, and there is a lot of construction on campus. The campus is large, but not so big as so you couldn't walk completely across campus in about 15 minutes. Sometimes administrative red tape can be very confusing, but the staff are generally friendly even if they have no idea how to help you. School pride is something that is really big in some circles, and not so important in others. You can easily go to a rally and rage and cheer with hundreds of other students, or be comfortably, completely negligent. I like this aspect of the school; how they encourage school spirit without demanding it. Personally, my favorite area to hang out is the TAC or "Tabler Arts Center". Starting at around 9pm and lasting almost completely through the night people gather in front of the TAC to hang out, make friends, and be generally silly. I will always remember these giant gatherings of friends and soon to be friends as we experimented in all sorts of crazy things.

Caterina

Stony Brook is really good at providing opportunities for every type of college student. There is a bit too much science-driven students which shows in the lack of emphasis in the Humanities department. Also the campus is a bit liberal and it's hard for conservative students to express themselves. There is a lot of school pride and there are options to leave campus (the train to Penn Station is five minutes away!). The school's administration is a bit annoying, but overall it's a good school

Rachel

The best thing about this school is the location. I love being surrounded by trees and fresh air. I would probably make more programs to make everyone feel more welcome, because it is so easy to become just a number in such a large school. One of the most frequent complaints that I've heard is that the food is less than average. On the other hand, this is not my personal opinion.

Sarah

I love Stony Brook University with all my heart. However, I do realize that SBU is not an ideal fit for everyone. Choosing a college is a very important decision and should not be done hastefully. Here are some factors that I believe are important about every university. I have included some details about why I specifically love Stony Brook for each catagory. 1. Location – Do you want to live close to home or do you want to live in a completely new environment? Personally, Stony Brook was the ideal balance between close proximity to my family and a new environment. Campus is only a 1 hour drive away from home, however, I don’t find myself feeling obligated to see my family every weekend. On a positive note, due its proximity and the amazing public transportation services on Long Island I have gone home on weekdays just to eat dinner with the family. Along with location comes an often overlooked factor – weather. If you are not someone who enjoys the snow chances are you would not like going to college in upstate New York. I personally love Stony Brook because we get every type of weather. This allows me to add to my ever expanding shoe collection with new boots, flip flops, sandals, etc.Stony Brook University is located on Long Island which offers a great suburban life as well as access to the world's greatest city - Manhatten! I am able to easily get to NYC with an hour drive or a two hour train ride! In the summer Stony Brook's proximity to many of Long Island's best beaches is a great way to enjoy an afterwith with friends after classes. 2. Programs and majors - One of the most important things to look into when selecting a college are the programs they offer. Even though, a vast majority of students apply to college with an “undeclared” major, make sure your college of choice offers classes in the general subject matter you are interested in. I love Stony Brook because of their science curriculum. As a research university Stony Brook's science classes are challanging but engaging! Students are also always given the opportunity to conduct research with professors in a subject of interest. 3. Cost- It is very important to take into consideration the tuition rates when selecting a college. Obviously, you don’t want to put yourself into incredible amounts of debt as an undergraduate especially if you are planning on pursuing higher education. Luckily, Stony Brook is a public school (SUNY – State University of New York) and has relatively affordable costs of attendance. :) 4. Extracurricular Activities – These expereinces not only compliment things you learn in class but also they can serve as a way to explore on of your new passions. Stony Brook has over 300 clubs and organizations! I am 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} sure that within this vast number you will find something you are passionate about. 5. Size of the undergraduate class- Most likely you knew everyone in your highs school graduating class but in college this can dramatically change depending on the size of your undergraduate student body.The nice thing about Stony Brook is that there is enough people that you can remain anonymous yet I have this theory that everyone knows everyone by at least 3 degrees. 6. What is the school “known” for?- I consider Stony Brook a well-rounded school but I am proud to say our strongest departments are science, engineering and journalism. Before you select a college do some research about their most popular and well known programs.

Gaby

I love the people that I have met here. I would change the registration process for classes because it is so difficult to get into required classes sometimes. The size of the school is decent. Stony Brook is a pretty good school and I think anyone that goes here should be proud to go here. The most frequent student complaints are that there is nothing to do on campus but honestly, your experience is what you make of it. If you don't stay on campus and go to events, you're going to be bored with your experience.

Raj

The school programs are phenomenal and the football team is doing really great this season. Going to events and being involved on campus really makes this a fun place. There are a wide range of courses and majors offered here, but it is difficult to choose a major for that reason. The wide selection allows for lots of opportunities to learn interesting things.

Seth

When I first came to Stony Brook, I didn't have an overall opinion of the school. But now after a year and a half, I have made my own opinion based on experience. Even though there are problems with administration and the Undergraduate Student Government, Stony Brook is a very good place to be for undergraduates in terms of the education you get, groups to get involved with, and the people you get to know. The education in the school of journalism is top notch. Many of the journalism professors come from Long Island's Newsday, and some are even on staff there while they teach. I can't speak for other majors but of the other classes that I have taken that aren't in my major they have been taught by people who are knowledgeable of their field of study. There are so many different groups to get involved with, it's kind of overwhelming. One of the days that shaped my opinion of Stony Brook was the Involvement Fair; from the fraternities/sororities, to the five different student press organizations, to the multitude of sports teams (both intramural and division teams), and so many more I was blown away by what Stony Brook has to offer to get involved. I know I'm talking about a lot of positive things about my school, but is also a negative side. We don't have a college town. On the weekends it can get pretty depressing if you don't have anything to do. There is a Weekend Council that is supposed to schedule events, but they are scattered and don't happen every day of the weekend. Many students commute from the surrounding Long Island area so when they leave for the night/weekend suddenly there are no more fun events to go to. The price of food is another hot topic as it's hard to eat a full meal without spending over $10. But there are a lot of food options, yet it's very hard to find a healthy meal.

Stephanie

Stony Brook is such a great school. I live in the Buffalo, NY area and coming out to SB was the best idea I ever had. The teachers, the extracurriculars are all amazing. They really have a lot of knowledge and first hand experience. The class sizes are also a plus. I'm majoring in Theater so my classes are actually relatively small and I get a lot of attention and help. On campus I spend most of my time at Staller Lawn. Stony Brook has one of the most gorgeous campus's I've ever seen so its fun to just sit out on the lawn and hangout with friends. This year the biggest controversy was the Shooter in our SAC. But Stony Brook Admins reacted to the best of their ability to the situation. Its a unique feature of SB that we have text message alerts that tell us when something is up on campus. This helped to keep the calm on campus that day.

Jennifer

Overall stony brook alright very diverse campus, weekends are dead because everyone goes home. The food all right some of the food taste like crap, and very expensive. One thing I change is having more activities on the weekends so more people would stay. Stony Brook is pretty large and when I tell people I go there they say stony is a good school. I spend most of my time in the dorms or classes. Stony Brook's administration is horrible, and how they they place people in dorms sucks and the simplest thing you want to change they can't do. The biggest controversy would be the false shooting on campus. The school tried to create school pride so there a decent amount of school pride. The unusual part about Stony is where does all our money go? we pay so much for tuition and dorm and its not even worth it. One experience I'll always remember is Albany Day, there was alot of school pride and amazed at how student spoke out. The most frequent complaints is how expensive the food is and its not worth the price because the quality sucks!

Jenny

Academics are great. Living on campus is two thumbs down so the two outweigh each other unless you want to commute, then you won't have as many problems. Our school has a big population, and I say that's good and bad. It's good because there are always a lot of people to interact with and it just feels livelier. I’m used to a big population, and this almost feels small with over 15,000 people on campus daily. It's bad because classes and dorming are beyond overcrowded. Dorming for freshman and transfers went from doubles, to triples, and is now overflowing into quadruples-in a double room. Talk about a fire hazard. Most classes are huge, especially the intro classes like intro psych, into bio courses etc. Those can go up to 600 students so if you don't understand what's going on, go to the office hours because you won't be noticed or helped otherwise. A lot of classes do not have individual interactions and professors don't care who you are. So get noticed, stay and ask a question you may know an answer to, or just email them. Some professors are young too, so they get it, just talk to them. Also, getting in touch with professors, chairpersons and other officials can be a hassle sometimes. Outside of professors, people who work there just don't care about you; you're a number so don't expect to get personalized help, or be noticed unless you become friends with them, or you have some sort of outstanding achievement. Emergency appointments also don't work, be prepared to plan ahead for appointments or just to even track down RHD's (residential hall directors who should have hours mon-fri & live in your building but are almost never there because of meetings, errands etc), and even at the clinic if you fall ill. You'd probably still have to make an appointment for the next day. Overcrowding is the cause of many problems at this school-shortage of housing, not enough seats in classroom, longer periods to grade work, long lines for food in dining halls, and even a shortage of food at times. There is always food somewhere, but cafeterias do run out of items especially at the end of the semester so be prepared for a possible turkey sandwich...just bread and turkey, a small rarity, but does happen. Also, vegetarians and vegans won't enjoy eating on campus because the options are slim to non-existent. If you want to grab a snack between classes and the 10-20 min you might have, good luck. You'll be standing on a line way past that time limit. This is also a huge problem of current president. The money is being used on repairing roads, which don't need work, dining rooms that didn't need a drastic and immediate change, and therefore are currently out of commission even while we have too many students. There are new lecture halls and other buildings being constructed when we have a high demand for housing. Two new dorms are being built, but we need much more than that if students are now being quadrupled, and a lot don't get moved out either so you might be stuck with three other people you hate for the entire year, in really small rooms. Some are bearable and decent; others can barely fit two people with all the furniture. Your bed functions as your chair for your desk in some rooms. Imagine four people, and four beds. But you still only get two closets, two dressers, and two desks. Housing is by far the biggest compliant. But if you can commute, you're golden. Also, the social life does not exist here. People go home weekends and therefore shorter dining hours, and one campus bus every 30-40 min compared to 4 differently routed buses that operate 10-15 minutes apart. We also have almost on campus activities for weekends except for the beginning of fall each year, for freshman to become more acquainted with the school. But we do get some good shows at the Staller center once in a while. Don't be fooled by the $25 + ticket prices for some shows. Arrive 15 minutes before the show and ask for rush tickets. $7, and one per student only. There's no sign that will tell you that. Also at the SAC (student activities center), there are good shows, and cheap too. Comedy shows, talent shows, fashion shows. It might sound boring and dumb, but it's actually not that bad. We also have decent Greek life. So if you're looking for that, there's plenty of it. Other than that, in terms of parties, drugs, etc, there's no difference between here and other schools. Having guests is easy, no signing papers, no special hours etc. There are written rules, but I have yet to hear or see someone following those rules. It's just not a big deal but if you throw a big enough party, cops will show, and students aren't afraid to yell at you out their window to tell you to shut up. A plus is that we get public transportation to the mall and a mall bus on weekends so you can get some grocery shopping if you live in an apartment or just want to have some munchies around your room. Transportation wise, we're right next to the LIRR. You get off the train, and you're on campus. Very easy transport into the heart of the NYC too with a train every two hours both ways. But, besides the 7-11, a pizza place, bookstore for classes, a barbershop, deli and another few stores, you'll need a car. There are no sidewalks off campus and a walk is really far. It's either the public bus ($1 per ride for students, only once an hour) or a car. It's doable and a lot of students don't have cars, especially freshman and sophomores (not allowed unless you have an off campus job). Parking can also be a hassle. More students = more cars = less open spots. Still doable, but once in a while it is a huge pain.

KJ

When I first visited Stony Brook, I have to admit that I was quite overwhelmed by the size of the school. There is no doubt that the school is quite large but luckily mostly every building a student would go to is either in the academic mall or easily accessible by the bus routes around the school. One thing that bothers me about the school is that a commuter student has to park in the South P parking lot and then take a bus to get to the academic mall. I wish that we could have a better transportation system then the buses which are often late. However, I do enjoy the scenery that does compensate for the late buses, and having to park so far away from the academic mall. Recently, there was a supposed gun man on campus, but it proved to be a false alarm. However, the school kept everyone very informed.

Cody

There is not a huge focus on sports here, but people are really working on school spirit. I spend most of my time on campus in dorms, or outside with my friends. It is a small town, but there is plenty to do once you have been here for even just a semester. Being close to the city, but not too close, is really nice.

Danny

There are a few great things about Stony Brook. For the money cautious, it is affordable, and they LOVE to give money away, even if its a little. Though Stony Brook may not be a Boston University or Columbia, we are regaining our stance among the ivies. Each year we're getting new facilities built, our popularity start to increase and more and more people are seeing Stony Brook as a great school to go to. From the 2 years alone that I've been at Stony Brook, there has been many changes, and they're only going to get better. The administration can be a little bureaucratic, at least we got a couple of awesome teaching faculty to make up for that. The classes I've taken for my major have been great and we really have amazing professors active in research. Even in a class of 600 students, its not hard to walk up to the professor and strike up a conversation about anything, not only the class material. We're special in the sense that we encourage students to do research right from freshman year, and its not just cleaning the lab, but hands on projects that may even get published! Going to the actual layout of the University, we're pretty big, the largest SUNY. After the first week, I never bothered me how large my campus was. Especially the way we divide the freshman, into Undergraduate Colleges (separated from our Academic Colleges) based on the student interests. It made the 25,000 + student body down to just a couple hundred students who at least shared one thing in common with. Made adjusting to Stony Brook a hell of a lot easier.

KC

As an athlete i hang out in the Pritchard Gym most of my day

Ashley

I love my decision to go to Stony Brook-it provides me with a sort of metropolitan/cosmopolitan feel which I tend to enjoy

Andy

NO COLLEGE TOWN!!! WELL, THAT IS, IF YOU CONSIDER A 7-ELEVEN, 2 PIZZA PLACES, AND A DUNKIN DONUTS TO COMPRISE A COLLEGE TOWN!!

Vanessa

The school is pretty large, but not too much so. Many students go home on the weekends, since most of us live within an hour of our college. There isn't too much school pride although they try to facillitate it with slogans like Stony Brook "Red Hot," but it doesn't really work. Many of us didn't think too highly of Stony Brook when we first got here, but now, our opinion of it has significantly improved.

Jessica

Stony Brook fulfilles its promise to provide an excellent well-rounded education.

Adrienne

The best thing about Stony Brook is the marine science department. the teachers are wonderful, the staff is wonderful, the mini campus is wonderful. I love taking marine, and environmental classes because i really feel like i'm part of something. however, i'm also a commuter student which just makes life so much more difficult. commuters are not treated with consideration at all. the school is never shut when it snows, even though that means risking our lives to make it to class, the parking situation is horrible, there's usually not enough buses on cold, rainy, or snowy days, and there's no heating bus stops on the campus. Many times, students are left outside huddled together like pigeons, to keep warm. Also the class schedules are horrible. Usually classes that are needed for a particular major are offered at the same time, or at the most distant time periods. every year there is frustration in making the schedule. and with breaks, it's even worse as a commuter student. unless u want to study or eat, there is no place to go. if u want to a nap between classes, u can't go anywhere that is halfway quiet, and once i even got told by a police officer that i couldnt sleep in my car, although i was in the south p, and in my own car. what's unusual about stony brook is the huge campus, with classes in the most desolate, creepy areas, and only 10 minutes inbetween, so if your two classes are on opposite sides of the campus, be prepared to run.

Ryan

Improve the campus recreation and accessibility around the neighborhood for the students. The administration can be quite painful at times with the imbued bureaucracy, however, President Kenny has made quite some improvements. Frequent complaints were that the campus is extremely depressing and there's nothing to do for students who are here during the weekends, but that is also changing over time. Having been focused in a science major, I had no life whatsoever, thanks to all the intense workload, but it was good overall.

Nelle

Stony Brook is too large! For people who dont have cars the smallest tasks could be the biggest pain in the ass. For example, buying a pack of cigarettes or going grocery shopping. It seems like Stony Brook should be its own little self sufficient community where the college students can walk to wherever they need to go. The campus bar is a complete failure- no one goes and most people don't even know about it. Another thing- the food here consists of really these choices: really bad pizza, prepackaged sandwiches, overpriced salad, stale fried food, tacos, or asian cuisine. There is no dining hall which you pay a price and eat whatever you want to except for weekend brunch at the residential dining halls which isn't too great. Sometimes the maintenance people come to fix problems right away, and sometimes you have to wait a long time. The residential buildings can be good as long as you get in with the right people- and terrible if you get stuck in a bad building. It seems like most of the problems I hear about come from the Kelly Quad, which has balconies that people apparently break in from, and steal. The time I've been here I have not noticed school pride, but the people who play sports seem to stick together and there's gotta be some pride within those groups. There are a billion sororities and fraternities but most of them seem like ethnic group organizations. So, if you are a middle class caucasian person not from long island or NYC, you might feel a little lost here... not really during the day when all the commuters are here... but living on campus and on weekends sure thing.

Anne

Really diverse, parking situation is horrible, they try do have a lot going on on campus but it doesn't always work out, and I wish the sports teams were better.

Jacquelyn

Best: Our School is pretty. The New buildings are beautiful snd the landscaping is always to perfection. Things to change: Puddles!!! The Puddles around campus are horrendous. We walk into lakes, out of control. Staff. People who work in the Adminsitration Building or any building where they think they have power they have some sort of Attitude. We are paying students and do not need rudeness when we need help. Housing, if we can't house the students already going to our school or who want to be residents they should have more senority over Freshmen. More security. In South P, peoples cars get broken into, windows smashed and tires slashed! Spend most of my time in the library. There is one time which I will never forget. I was a rainy day. The water was falling from the sky in buckets. I was waiting with my friend for the South P bus, a bus that takes you to your car for commuters. The bus took about 10 minutes. By that time me and my friend were soaked it looked like we just stepped out of the pool. We run on the bus to sit in a puddle of water that had dripped off our clothes to the seat. As we drive into the South P parking lot we see that half of South P was a lake. And cars were actually partially under water!! Me and my friends car thankfully only had water up to the bottom of the car door so we were able to get into the car without tracking too much water. After that I vowed never to park in South P, bought a Stadium Parking pass and never returned!!!

Alex

I LOVE THE SIZE OF STONYBROOK. EVEN THOUGH THE INSTITUTION MAY BE CONSIDERED LARGE, DURING THE YEARS I HAVE STUDIED AND WHEN I HAVE NEEDED ADVICE OR HAD QUESTIONS, THE STAFF CONSIDERED MY REQUESTS OR NEEDS ON A ONE-TO-ONE BASIS AND THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. I HAVE NEVER FELT JUST LIKE A "NUMBER" BUT THEN, AGAIN, BECAUSE OF MY AGE I DON'T HESITATE TO HAVE A FRIENDLY TONE TO INICIATE A POSITIVE REPONSE. I KNOW WHEN I WAS YOUNGER, I WAS MUCH MORE ON THE SHY SIDE. THE POSITIVES - THE PEOPLE, THE FOUNTAINS - ESPECIALLY - AND ALSO THE BEAUTIFUL PLANTINGS AND THE INCORPORATION OF WILDLIFE INTERWOVEN COMPLIMENT THE ESTHETICS OF A STUDYING ENVIRONMENT. ALSO, I LOVE THE CLOCK THAT CHIMES FROM THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING. STUDENT COMPLAINTS - FROM WHAT I HAVE HEARD THEY ARE JUST JUVENILE SUCH AS TO "WHY AM I GOING INTO TEACHING WHEN I CAN'T STAND KIDS"...IT MAKES MY HAIR STAND ON EDGE. WE SHOULD EMPHASIZE VOCATION AS TO HAVING THE SUMMERS OFF. IT FRIGHTENS ME THAT SOME OF THESE "KIDS" MAY TEACH MY OWN CHILD SOMEDAY. I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT ALL OF THE PROFESSORS IN THE SPANISH DEPT ARE GRADE A...I HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH AND HAVE BEEN TOTALLY INSPIRED BY THEIR INSIGHT AND ENTHUSIASM WITH RESPECT TO THEIR SPECIALTY OF STUDY. THEY ARE TO BE HIGHLY COMMENDED AND CERTAINLY MERIT THE SAME ACADEMIC CONSIDERATIONS AS DO THE SCIENCE DEPT AT STONYBROOK. I AM 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} BEHIND STONYBROOK, THEIR ACADEMICS AND ADMINISTRATION!

Reese

The campus is large and has different places where you can eat and have fun. The administration people were very nice...without generalizing..because some others can be nasty...

Casey

"What college town" The parking sucks SBU admin sucks, they really don;t know how to handle money and all they really want is our money and not give us value for our $

Harper

Stony Brook is a fairly large school. I'm not gonna lie, the introductory classes to any subject are large and intimidating which can make it difficult to get to know professors. However, on the flip side, these professors do have office hours and are available for appointments so it really rests on the student to initiate a conversation or ask for help. As for other things, the location is fairly convenient. Dunking donuts, cosmo, 7-11 right across the train tracks which is on campus makes things fairly convenient. Also, there are buses that leave every hour going to the mall, waldbaums, etc.... Of course it is easier if you own a car to get to places off campus but then you may run into parking problems during the weekdays.

Parker

Stony Brook is just the right size-- it's a pretty big school, but that means they have just about every topic imaginable to study. The surrounding town is good, but only if you have a car or aren't afraid of the bus system. The campus is beautiful and well maintained. I feel like the administration tries hard to have activities on campus frequently, but not at all in the winter. I guess there is a lot of school pride, but that only really applies to the athletic types, which I am not. I can happily say, however, that as a non-athletic student going here, the campus community is NOT entirely dominated by sports, which is (for me) a very good thing. The most frequent student complaints are probably the quality of some of the aging buildings, but I'd say that's kinda silly. Most of the buildings are beautiful and new. My biggest complaint is the parking situation-- there isn't enough. When you park somewhere you shouldn't for 2 seconds, you're ticketed, and they just recently raised the ticketing price to $30!!! (for no apparent reason)

Toby

Best thing I guess is a reputable education for a small price. However, there are many things about the school that needs to change primary the fact that the school should pay more attention to the undergrads. People generally react positively when they find out where you go considering is a great school. As a CS major I spent most of my time on campus in the CS building in special computer labs just for the majors. A "college town" is non-existant, some people go to the city to have fun since the train station is right on campus but of course you can't do it everyday. I never had any issues with the administration but I constantly hear complaints from my classmates on every possible issue, mostly about the large bureaucracy and the need to talk to multiple departmetns to get something done. I guess the biggest recent contreversy was when the school accidently placed a database of private student information including social security numbers on a public domain and did not inform anyone until much later.

Christine

If I was able to change one thing in Stony Brook, it would most definitely be the cost of food on campus. I feel that they are overly priced for college students. I wish there was more school pride because then I would participate in more campus activities and feel more connected with the school. The one experience I'll always remember is being assigned in a triple in Roth Quad, which has the smallest dorm rooms on campus. During my first year, I didn't even receive any information about my room assignment or roommate information like other students did. Later when I moved on campus, I found out that I was tripled with two other students.

Brett

The best thing is the diversity and size of the campus. People think it's a really good especially for a pre-health track undergrad. Around the academic mall. What college town? Stonybrook's administration is a bit unorganized, they seem to shuffle people around too much and not react to things quickly enough. The gunman. No, not at all. Nope. This year's Homecoming game. Nothing to do, no one stays, too hard.

Tristan

One of the things I like most about SBU is that there is a diverse student population. I have grown up attending international schools, so this is just a natural extension to that. I have also experienced a situation where there is a majority of only one type of people. This was an extremely weird and, to be honest, stifling experience. Being able to interact with people from different backgrounds is a great thing. I think SBU offers many opportunities to those who are willing to take advantage of them. Many people complain about how there is nothing to do on campus. This is not true. Often, people who say this are the ones who stay in their rooms all day. Things don't happen while your butt is in your room, or while you're commuting from your classroom to your house. You have to make things happen. If you really want to do things, you'll find that there aren't enough hours for you to do them all. The one thing i have to mention regarding administration is the services that are provided for international students. We have to pay A LOT... but we don't get any extra benefits...

Rory

Most people are impressed to hear that you go to Stony Brook because its so prestigious on an academic level. Its a pretty big school (22,000 students) but it doesn't feel overcrowded. The dorms are alright, they could use some renovation and some of them are kind of small, plus this new habit of putting three people in a room designed for two is absolutely ridiculous. Plus food is priced WAY too high.

Mel

Campus is a decent size. The parking situation is terrible. Do not spend much time on campus, being that I live off campus. The biggest controversy dealt with the gun in the student activities center. There doesn't seem to be too much school pride. People hate the food and parking situation.

Theodore

The best thing about SB is the reputation of the school, so at the end of four years, regardless of what the school is really like, people will think that you graduated from a very good school. The administration will try to say that we rival the Ivy League, which is patently false. If you are a commuter to SB, get ready for a difficult time. If you live on campus, get ready for a difficult time. Commuters have to deal with parking tickets and crowded lots, while residents must endure overcrowded buildings (all freshmen are tripled-no exceptions). And in most triples, they still only supply 2 desks and 2 dressers. There is not a whole lot of school pride (compared to other schools). Though it is hard to have school pride when every team except Lacrosse has a poor record, and when campus police can't find somebody whose stolen $25,000 worth of stuff from campus, and when the administration has students go about their business when there is a gunman on campus.

Jordan

Stony Brook is a large and beautiful campus. It's sometimes painful to walk long distances, but sometimes it's lovely - it all depends on the weather. I would increase student activity in campus life. We mostly hang out in dormitories because the town isn't too active.

TJ

The social lifestyle is different than that of upstate. The happiness level. It is a 3 right now, and with a influx of happy people, it could be a 7 or 8. Too large of a school. Your a smartie pants but if it was private, it would be ivy league. In my dorm. College town I figure. They are sucking funds out of the school like leeches. They must realize that to make Stony Brook the best, they need to be the best. The candy man gunmen. NO school pride. I have tried to bring school pride, and people look at the school pride people funny. We are socially unaccepted. The food prices are very unusual. The day my friend called me a cat. The most frequent complaints are that the food is too expensive, no school pride, bad teachers, need to upgrade teachers to those teachers who actually give a damn!!!

Bevan

The best thing about Stony Brook is the ability to meet people from anywhere in the world. You can meet people from any given country at any given day. The one thing I would change is the miles apart classes are from the dorm rooms. I spend most of my time in my Quad. I hang out in Langmuir and make trips to West and Mendy. School pride is lacking. Students are more concerned with graduating and making money, rather than caring about school spirit. The one experience I will always remember in Stony Brook is how i survived the first semester in Stony Brook. The guys in my hall really helped me out.

KJ

the best thing: it is what you make of it - you cant experience a bunch of diff. things very large school but its good bcuz you get to meet lots of diff. ppl but also forge close relationships w/ professors & other students I guess the most frequent complains are about the administration & housing - stony could be a lot better with getting information out to students about programs, internships, class changes, etc.

Brett

i have to say the food, on visits to other schools there are very limited choices and they are not even good choices. One thing i would change is the average class size, way too many students to really concentrate. I wouldn't consider SBU a "college town" but it definately has it's moments.

Will

Jane

Kelly

The diverse student population. More events on campus (live music, etc.) or venues for such events. The University Cafe should be more widely advertised. The school is large but not too large. When I say I'm from Stony Brook and am an engineer people are impressed. Some dont even know the school. Engineering Buildings. No real college town. No opinion on admin. Not thaaaaat much school pride.

TJ

When I tell people that I went to Stony Brook they all say the same thing, "i hear that school is the most boring place to go to school on the planet". Stony Brook is definitely not considered a typical college town, even the campus life is a lot different than many other universities considering most of the student body lives on campus all 4 years of school and not in off-campus housing like most other places. I think the Stony Brook administration needs to do a better job about informing students about school happenings and also the advising center needs to do a better job about keeping students on track with their academic affairs instead of surprising them with information that is very useful to them at the last minute.

Emmerson

research. commuter school. overpriced food. good size. spend most time in class. not much of a collg town. high priced everything sucks and it shows. minimal school pride.

Tommy

the campus is definitly really big. I think it has its own zip code. Stony Brook is a good school but definitly not a party school. When I tell people I go to Stony Brook, they think good medical studies. The most recent controversy was a gunman on campus but it wasn't confirmed until yesterday that it wasn't a gun at all. Well since I'm a commuter and I know many other commuters, parking would have to be the biggest complaint. they rape you with parking fines, it's ridiculous!! I always wanted to see what it was like hooking up with a chinese girl, Stony brook definitly gave me that experience to remember. other then that, not much experiences to remember at all.

Carolyn

The best thing about Stony Brook is the high level of diversity. I would lower how much food costs on campus-- it's ridiculous! Just right. "That's a good school." In my room. What college town? They're overpaid and don't listen to the needs of students enough. I have no idea. I guess so. Not really. Getting into my room on move in day. The food is too expensive; campus isn't safe; not enough parking...