SUNY Stony Brook University
Reviews

Unique Opportunities at My School

As the number two largest school in the SUNY system, Stony Brook University provides unique opportunities and it benefits from its strength in Long Island, NY. For example, we have various scholarship opportunities in Long Island, such as DMALI Scholarship, which is tailored only for students in Long Island. As the most powerful univeristy in Long Island, students from this university will gain more chance to win the annual scholarship.

Besides, stony brook university students have a lot of working opportunities in the city if they cannot enter to the most distinguished universities like NYU, Columbia University, Therefore, SBU is a good option for those students cannot afford expensive tuition and fees and can go to city conveniently.

SBU has a lot of connections with entities and org. in Long Island, which provides many opportunities for students.

Sociology

The process of getting into my Sociology major was very easy. I took the necessary courses and declared my major by going to the Sociology departments administrative office to sign papers; then I was given a checklist of classes and requirements for graduation. The administrative staff are very helpful when students need advice- don't be afraid to ask! To graduate, in addition to all the required courses, sociology students must submit an upper division writing requirement to a professor. Most professors assign a 6-10 page writing assignment during the course. If a student wishes to use this assignment to fulfill the writing requirement, simply notify the professor and they will submit this to the administrative staff if the paper is satisfactory.

Meeting with staff and faculty during office hours can be very helpful to students. Many professors are busy but if a student shows they're willing to work and participate, professors are more likely to help with questions. Furthermore, this would help in creating a network that can be very beneficial after graduation.

Its What You Make It.

There is opportunities for you to do as much as you want as long as you don't stay in your room.

Crazy

The weather in LI changes quickly. It can change from warm to chilly just in 5 mins. Very windy

Broad View from a Commuter

These statements should be taken with a grain of sand I suppose, only because this is my first semester here and I have litte experience with all the facilities. However, most buildings are in good condition, there is a decent amount of renovations going on currently, new housing, a hotel, a new student center and renovations on an entire building/lecture hall (spring 2012). The computer labs are often full, but that varies on times during the day and semester and the specific lab. The library is a great collection of information and tools that i often utilize, as well as several secluded areas for quite study. There are plenty of campus activities and i'm sure that there is a club for most things one could think of, if that is something you are interested in. Generally most people are committed to their work and you'll find a diverse community of students and teachers and professional staff that are quite helpful.

Pretty Safe Place

Smoking runs rampant. Other than that, everyone just like to drink.

Best experience of my life

Stony Brook has become the best school a college student could ask for. It has amazing diversity, thriving campus life, a sick party scene, active Greek Life, and excellent academics. By the way the whole worrying about this only being a commuter school well that whole thing is far from gone. While there's still many commuters there are many more students who live on campus. Stony Brook is a top choice for the Full College Experience.

Definitely became a Partyy School

I don't know why most people say otherwise because most would agree on campus that this is definitely now an excellent party school. There's parties almost every day of the week. But the best part is the students here are excellent at finding a balance between partying and studying and that is the best thing about this university. If you wanna party, but care about school as well then this is your place!

Very Active

Although many times Greek Life is seen in a very negative light, coming to Stony Brook really changed my opinion. Greek life is very active and admirable here. Make sure to check in and form your own opinion because most would agree Greek Life accentuates Stony Brook.

Pretty Safe

Apart from occasional drunkards, pranksters and petty thieves Stony Brook is a safe place to be. The police force is always on top of things and never leaves suspicious activity unattended.

Melting Pot

There is a grand melting pot of styles, trends and orientations at Stony Brook. I've seen gamers, hipsters, skateboards, jocks, poets, scientific types, valley girls, punks, and many more types of people in both men and women. You'll definitely find someone with similar interest to you at Stony Brook.

Big Sea, a Lot of Fish

Stony Brook has an enormous amount of students (22,000+) of all interests, ethnicities, backgrounds, and come in all shapes and sizes. Most of the most attractive girls are commuters, but there are still a ton of great (cool and attractive) people. There is someone for everyone!

Satisfactory

There are an abundant amount of SINC sites on campus. These sites allow students to gain access to computers, internet, and printers. There is no time limit to how long a student is allowed to stay on a single computer for and to compensate for this, there are computers designated strictly for printing. When using Wolfienet-Secure via an ethernet cable, the internet is almost always reliable. Going wireless is on another level however. The speeds are slow around peak hours, which is expected, but is completely unpredictable as well. It might be down, as in not working at all for wireless users, for days at a time. There's isn't much need for a wireless computer, however, because of the multiple computer labs available around campus. Hours of operation are also extremely reasonable, opening from around 8 in the morning until 3 at night.

Transportation=Needs Improvement

There are buses that run everywhere on campus. Unfortunately the times are not listed at the bus stops and they rarely pick someone up when not at the bus stop. They are free to take but definitely for good reason. The only buses that run off campus on the weekdays are the Suffolk County buses which are not to be depended on in the least. Even on the weekends when the Stony Brook buses go to the mall they are not to be depended on. Waiting 47 minutes at a bus stop is not my idea of a good use of time.

Overflowing With Diversity

Since there are over 300 clubs, a fair number of religions have a club. Everywhere I look I see someone of a different race and hear of a different ethnicity. In my housing alone there is a Panjabi Indian, a Dominican, two Caucasians (one is Irish), and Asian and me, The African American. No one can feel isolated because they're of a different color or has an accent because this is a very culture-filled campus. Same thing for sexual preference because the Gay/Lesbian club has over 30 members. Stony Brook has a Study Abroad program so I constantly hear different accents and languages. In short, there is no way a person can feel alone.

An honest review

Ok, after reading several pages of comments I want to try to give as unbiased of an opinion of this school as possible.

Relevant Stats about me: I am a sophomore, I am 19, I live in NY (about 45 min north of NYC), I have a car but its not on campus, and I am a white jewish male.

I had the naive perspective of College before I came here, expecting to find the perfect group of friends and to party and to essential sever my ties with home (I have a great relationship with my parents, thought that may be important also). Upon my arrival, like so many other kids, i was thrown through a loop. I spent the better part of September and October in a quasi-depressed state. I ended up going to the counseling center to get help, which turned out to be the best thing I ever did. As I went through this pretty rough patch, I really tried to analyse if it was me or the school that was causing me to feel this way (there is the psych major in me). I ended up deciding that it was an even split.

Why is it the schools fault:

Its size, no matter how you can argue it, is not conducive to a great learning environment. Sitting in a lecture hall with 450 kids where all you are is just a clicker tends to be a bit de-motivational.

Its inclusiveness; This one is tricky, because so many can argue that this is more on the person than anything else, but here is where I disagree. I came to this school knowing 3 kids, and was not friends with any of them. I really came to find that unless I shared to previous bond (same highschool, same major, etc) or was similiar because of my nationality it was very hard to feel that connection with the other kids because they didn't seem very interested in including everyone.

The night life/weekend life: Here was (and still really is) the biggest hitter in my book, and it goes hand in hand with the inclusiveness. Unless you are a very extroverted person, you are going to have trouble finding a party on a thursday, friday, etc.. The parties tend to either be small dorm parties where only if you basically know the people hosting it you go, or the massive frat parties. These parties are off campus and you have to take a cab home, another thing that im not a fan of. As for the weekends, it really does die here. 50% commute every day, so at full capacity, stony only has 50% of its students on campus during the weekend. Then (this is a guess btw) i would say about 1/4 of the residents go home on any given weekend. I personally averaged about 2 times a month mainly because of how boring it got.

Why its my fault

Im an introvert. I have always been a shy kid, not to the point where I have no friends here, but to the point where im not presenting myself in a way that would be appealing to others. I have a few friends who are extroverts here and I truly believe they are really happy here because they are just to capable of socializing with anyone

I am still a big fan of home. I wouldn't call my relationship with my parents un normal, but I dont love both of them greatly.That, mixing with the limited friends I had (especially first semester) almost was like a magnet that drew me away from this place.

Ok, now we get to the better stuff. Now, I did apply to transfer during my second semester. I applied to a school with the same academics about 5 hours away from where I live and one about an hour way with slightly poorer academics. The big component of why I applied was becasue they were about 1/5 the size of Stony. I got into both, but I decided to stay. Below is why I decided to stay

I befriended some of the faculty. I established a very strong relationship with my academic advisor very early in the year and they helped me get through the worst part of my depression first semester. Once you have an in at a school like this, the school almost seems to shrink a little

I got help when I needed it. A lot of the comments here are from people who just appeared to be unhappy and left. I was so scared of how unhappy I was that I immediately went to the counseling center and got myself some help. Through there i felt like I really was able to pull myself together and turn my attitude from making it through school to enjoying it. I was also able to secure an internship through that center

Clubs are really great. Every kid needs to feel like people care about them. Since that is not happening in the 500 seat lecture halls, its great to look for places where it will.Clubs are great for meeting people and feeling involved. A big thing with why I was so upset in the beginning was because I had the time to be upset. I would just sit in my room. That changed 2nd semester when I joined a few clubs and has help me (the introvert) make a bunch of more friends.

The academics are great. Plain and simple.. Stony brook is 26 in the nation for its undergraduate psychology cirriculum (both ba and bs). i realized that for me to pass up on that would be a grave mistake.

It is in a great location, despite what people think. Yes it SUCKS not to have a car out here yet (1 more semester!!!) but the LIRR is the most convenient mode of transportation that I have seen at a a school that is not in the city.

As for me now, I just got back for my second year yesterday and Im not feeling so hot, but i know that because of what I went through last year, this year will be a lot better

Finally, just some general advice:

Go home if you want to! You and only you know how to feel your best. If you know that Staying at Stony Brook this weekend is going to make you feel miserable, go home. People who go home a lot (not every weekend) have a similiar social life to those who stay for 4-5 weeks at a time.

Get involved, being busy means being distracted from bad thoughts

Get to know some faculty, in my opinion, if you are feeling lonely, its always good to have someone on campus who knows your name and waves to you

So I guess im going to say what everyone on here says, It is a school where you are the sculptor who sculpts the masterpiece. The difference is that some people are given an easy substance such as mud, while others are stuck with diamonds, a much more daunting task

Necessary

Stony Brook isn't an expensive school to go to but should always try to apply as many scholarships as possible to lower tuition and other costs. Stony Brook does offer many scholarships and loans but not as easy as I thought. Most students pay through scholarships.

Good Courses, Professors Who Need Help

Stony Brook is famous for it's science programs. I wonder if it's for the amount of people who can pass with a 27 average or, because the courses are taught so damn poorly. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of great professors here at The Brook, but some of the professors who you HAVE to take if you're on the pre-med track just seem like they're out to make your life miserable. Bust out the pencils and notepads kids, you'll be working hard the entire time you're there.

It Is What You Make It

Despite everything I heard about the nightlife at Stony before coming here, I have no complaints. House parties, dorm parties, nearby clubs - it's just like any other college.

Dorms

I live in Hquad and I love it. I do not like the suite style rooms (personal preference). My quad is clean, I don't feel the same about others. The entire campus I believe has a great social atmosphere. The cost for the school in general amazing due to the value comparative to a lot of other schools. That's one of the main reasons I go here.

Safety

I feel extremely safe on campus. There are also multiple services if I have to walk alone or get back to my room at night.

Very Good

Clean dorms, respectful and quiet suit-mates, close to campus dining hall.

Cost a bit much.

Professors are amazing

All the professors are very friendly and approachable. They love to talk and interact with students. They are very open and understanding. Also, all our academic programs are amazing. People think we are only good in Biology and engineering but all our programs are strong. The Poltical science, Economics, and Business fields at Stony Brook is very underrated. The number one major at Stony Brook is Business Management.

Seawolves!!!

Our Athletic program at Stony Brook is very underated.All our programs are Division 1. Our football team won their second straight conference title. Our lacrosse, Rugby and hockey team are rank in the top 25 in the country. Our basketball team had a rough year this year but it is getting better.

School Pride

Everybody has school spirit. Everywhere you go on campus you see Seawolves colors and logos. Everybody is wearing Stony Brook attire and proud of this instiution.