Written by Barbara Ross
Living on campus is a definite bonus for Stony Brook students. It offers amenities that you can’t get just by living at home. Fitness centers, computer labs, cafés, and dining halls give students the recreation and relaxation they need, while affording more time to study and take part in any of the hundreds of clubs and organizations that make up campus life. On the other hand, campus housing is expensive, especially to live in the apartments. The apartment complexes offer all of the comforts of home and none of the annoyances of living in the dorms, like the noise, community bathrooms, and dirty hallways.
Although the residence halls have undergone some major renovations, some dormitories are still considered below par. The consensus overwhelmingly positions Roosevelt Quad and Kelly Quad as the worst places to live. However, they are also the closest to Kelly Dining, which is pretty convenient at 3 a.m. when you’re coming back from a night out. H-Quad and Mendelsohn Quad, while newer with air conditioning, are also the farthest—about a 10–15 minute walk—from the Academic mall. The only way to get to Tabler Quad is to walk up some infamously steep steps. For the lazy, this quad is not for you. Roth Quad is the closest walk to the Academic mall and has air conditioning, which is a big plus. Where you choose to live simply depends on what you’re looking for. Corridor-style quads, like H-Quad, Mendelsohn, and Roosevelt, are the most social and tend to be noisy, but they can also be a lot of fun. Suite-style quads, including Roth, Tabler, and Kelly, are a little quieter and tend to be less social, although that isn’t always the case.