A few questions about SBU

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stony Brook University - SUNY
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<p>So SBU offered me a $3000 a year campus grant (what exactly is that? Do I only get it as long as I'm on campus?) and I'm now seriously considering it again. But to make my final decision, I need to know more about SBU. Here are some questions you guys can answer for me:
How respected is their Business Major?
What is there to do outside of campus (as in stuff to do in the town)?
Is it possible to dorm in doubles rather than triples?
I heard that the food is either fattening or over-priced. Is that true?
Do xboxes get stolen?
Are there racquetball courts on campus?
How rigorous are the classes?
How competitive are the students?
Are all of the classes taught by TA's who speak broken English?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>1) Pretty well-respected, I’d say. It’s a broad program, with the intriguing requirement that all students also complete a minor. So when you graduate, you’re not just going to have </p>

<p>2) We’re five minutes from the mall, Target, movies, shopping, restaurants, etc. It’s a pretty suburban area.</p>

<p>3) Possible? Yes. Likely? We won’t know until after May 1, once deposits are in.</p>

<p>4) Yes, we have fattening, overpriced food. We also have 23 different dining facilities on campus, so it’s certainly possible to find food that works for you, whatever your dietary needs.</p>

<p>5) I can’t say.</p>

<p>6) Absolutely, yes.</p>

<p>7) Depends on the class, the professor, and you. What you consider rigorous, someone else might find mind-numbing.</p>

<p>8) I wouldn’t say they’re competitive, but I’ll let a student address that.</p>

<p>9) Yes, every single one. Come on… what kind of question is that?</p>

<p>As far as the grant goes, I think that’s valid as long as you’re a full-time student, up to four years.</p>

<p>Chris</p>

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<p>

Well I heard a rumor that there are international grad students with thick accents that TA for people and end up teaching the class. And I think that it’s a fair question for any large university. </p>

<p>And about the racquetball courts, how many are there?</p>

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<p>Not a fair question when you ask if “all the classes” are like that, because clearly, they’re not. Some of the recitations in some of the departments may be taught by TAs, but I can’t speak to the English language competency of every grad student on campus.</p>

<p>As far as courts go, at least six or eight in the sports complex; they’re on both sides of a long hallway.</p>

<p>Chris</p>

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<p>K, thanks a lot for the answers</p>

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<p>I am in a math course taught by a professor not a TA and we had a 2 different subs (which happen to be the other two profs for that class)… anyhow, all of them speak english as a second language and have accents. This just depends on the major- a lot of math and science courses in ANY large university are bound to have a large amount of TAs and Professors that speak english with an accent. However, having said that, i could understand all of them just fine, not nearly as bad as some courses I had at ucla for example.</p>

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<p>

Do you think you can elaborate on this? What are the major towns around Stony Brook and where do students usually go? What town is the mall in? Is there anything in the town of Stony Brook itself? Is the area safe? What kind of travelers benefit do students receive from LIRR and Amtrak? I’ve never actually been downstate.</p>

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<p>“Do you think you can elaborate on this? What are the major towns around Stony Brook and where do students usually go? What town is the mall in? Is there anything in the town of Stony Brook itself? Is the area safe? What kind of travelers benefit do students receive from LIRR and Amtrak? I’ve never actually been downstate.”</p>

<p>Hmmmm I think I remember you saying that you were from Central NY around where I’m from. I’m nearing the end of my freshman year here and love it. </p>

<p>Major towns around Stony Brook?? Ummmm East Setauket, Port Jefferson iare close… I don’t really know how to answer that haha. Smithaven Mall is in Lake Grove and it is pretty close to the campus. You can take the Suffolk County Buses all over and they cost a dollar and I believe they run 7 days a week. Sunday, you can take Stony Brook bus to the mall for free, and on Saturday it goes to Target. Both days they go to grocery stores if you need any of that stuff. Stony Brook Village is pretty nice, they have some cool stores and are right by the water. There are beaches close by. The area seems safe to me. I have never run into any trouble off or on campus.</p>

<p>Not too many travelers benefits… The first day of the month they sell roundtrip LIRR tickets to the city for $9 when they are usually $18, but that’s about it. You can get discount on amtrak if you sign up for a Student Advantage card. It’s like 15% savings and you will probably get info about it over the summer… Like you, I had never been downstate either. Hope I helped a little.</p>

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<p>How respected is their Business Major?</p>

<p>business is pretty serious stuff there, but science is like the main thing people go to stony for.</p>

<p>What is there to do outside of campus (as in stuff to do in the town)?</p>

<p>not much happens in the town. there are parties every thursday night, and friday nights too if you live with people that don’t go home, but otherwise, not many people go into the towns. </p>

<p>Is it possible to dorm in doubles rather than triples?</p>

<p>as a freshman, you’re going to be tripled. i was detripled within my first week there though. alot of people i know were detriples pretty fast.</p>

<p>I heard that the food is either fattening or over-priced. Is that true?</p>

<p>all food in america and on college campuses is fattening and over priced. umm there are a few healthy options, but sooner or later you’ll prolly just end up cooking your own food, or bringing food from home.</p>

<p>Do xboxes get stolen?</p>

<p>no. not if you lock your doors.</p>

<p>Are there racquetball courts on campus?</p>

<p>i don’t know. there are tennic courts though. is that the same thing?</p>

<p>How rigorous are the classes? </p>

<p>classes are pretty rigorous. chem is killer at stony. </p>

<p>How competitive are the students?</p>

<p>alot of the students are really competitive. everyone there i know is there because they couldn’t afford to go to more prestigous schools. so everyone is smart basically. you get a few airheads here and there though. </p>

<p>Are all of the classes taught by TA’s who speak broken English?</p>

<p>no. classes are taught by professors. recitations which are once a week are taught by TA’s. alot of them speak fine english. some don’t. when you end up with one that doesn’t speak english, just swap into another recitation with one that does. it’s not hard.</p>

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<p>How respected is their Business Major?

  • known for its science, not for business</p>

<p>What is there to do outside of campus (as in stuff to do in the town)?

  • the campus is surrounded by highways, unless you or friend can drive (freshman cant have cars on campus)</p>

<p>Is it possible to dorm in doubles rather than triples?
freshmen always get tripled until space clears</p>

<p>I heard that the food is either fattening or over-priced. Is that true?
Truth</p>

<p>Do xboxes get stolen?
No, unless you leave the door open</p>

<p>Are there racquetball courts on campus?
Yes there are.</p>

<p>How rigorous are the classes?
Depends really. Big lectures are easy, the curves are huge </p>

<p>How competitive are the students?
The classes I was in Intro ECO, intro psych, calc 1, they were all free A’s because the other students were idiots. the curve was huge because everyone cut class and everyone did horrible on the finals. expect like a 30-40% attendence in your lecture classes, people dont care at all</p>

<p>Are all of the classes taught by TA’s who speak broken English?
I had 1 TA with bad accent, just try to avoid those</p>

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<p>I just want to add my perspective on the area Stony Brook U is in. I grew up right here, was actually BORN at Stony Brook Hospital (!) and I can tell you this college is located in a VERY affluent area. Stony Brook town is in the Three Village School District which is tops on Long Island and professionals move there for the advantage of that school district for their kids. Travel all the way north into Setauket and that area and you will see huge homes and it is a very beautiful, impressive area. It is very safe and the entire surrounding area is nice, there are lots of stores nearby (well, you need to take a bus or car but it’s not that far!), there’s movies, a mall, food stores, gyms, fast food/nice restaurants/fun restaurtants, Wal-Mart, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond. It’s limitless- there’s everything here! It’s just a really nice, safe area where you won’t have to worry that much. I was accepted to U of Maryland- College Park and am not going because SBU is a MUCH better deal (!) but now I hear there is a crime-ridden area pretty close to the campus- nice! You can really be assured Stony Brook is an upper-middle class suburb where you can feel safe. Not to say things don’t or can’t happen, but you don’t have to worry going off campus into areas you are unsure of and feeling scared. Hope this helps!!! See you on campus in the fall!!!</p>

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<p>
[QUOTE=pitbulls]

It is very safe and the entire surrounding area is nice, there are lots of stores nearby (well, you need to take a bus or car but it’s not that far!), there’s movies, a mall, food stores, gyms, fast food/nice restaurants/fun restaurtants, Wal-Mart, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond. It’s limitless- there’s everything here! It’s just a really nice, safe area where you won’t have to worry that much. I was accepted to U of Maryland- College Park and am not going because SBU is a MUCH better deal (!) but now I hear there is a crime-ridden area pretty close to the campus- nice! You can really be assured Stony Brook is an upper-middle class suburb where you can feel safe.

[/QUOTE]
</p>

<p>Well…in comparison to Maryland then of course yes we’d be safer since you’re setting the bar there, but we’ve had a lot of unexpected new crime incidents this past year and it’s on the rise. I would not say you’d feel “really assured” to be safe here as there is several area’s around campus that you do not want to be around at night, especially if you are a girl.</p>

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<p>I do understand any college campus can have problems, with all different people coming and going all the time. I live in the area so I did see the problems in the news at Stony Brook last year (whatever was in the paper and on TV anyway). But the actual towns AROUND the campus are very, very safe- might be even safer than the campus!!! lol You are so right, though, inno!!!</p>

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<p>“I would not say you’d feel “really assured” to be safe here as there is several area’s around campus that you do not want to be around at night, especially if you are a girl.”</p>

<p>I’ll be a new transfer this Aug. I also happen to be female. Could you possibly elaborate on this? Naming names (places, of course) and whatnot?</p>