The SUNYs that are usually mentioned as best for Math are Stony Brook, Binghamton, and Buffalo. I’m worried that those will have large classes.
I’m curious about the other SUNYs - Oneonta, Oswego, New Paltz, and any others that have strong Math departments. I like the course offerings at Geneseo and I know that the class sizes are small. I’m looking for other possibilities for my daughter.
Also, if anyone knows the typical sizes of the Math classes at the bigger schools, I would love to hear about that. I checked the online class schedules for Stony Brook and Binghamton, and neither of them list the number of students enrolled.
At larger schools, frosh/soph level math courses tend to be large, since students of many majors take them. If honors versions are offered, they may be small, since relatively few students choose them.
Junior/senior/graduate level math courses are more likely to be small even at larger schools.
You can see if on-line class schedules list class sizes, or class sizes can be inferred from the information that they do give.
^ I agree, honors college is the way to go 
One thing to consider is how advanced the student is in math. A very advanced student may bypass most or all of the frosh/soph level courses (having already taken them at local colleges while in high school) and dive right into the junior/senior level courses, and will likely want to take graduate level courses as an undergraduate. For such a student, the class sizes of the frosh/soph courses are not too important, but access to a good selection of junior, senior, and graduate level courses is important.
Currently a math major at Stony Brook. Class sizes for intro calc are very large usually 100+ people but I can’t tell you the exact number as I came in with calc done. Once you hit 200-300 level courses you will generally be in classes of 10-20 kids especially if you take some of the accelerated sequence stuff.
Thanks everyone.
@ucbalumnus, my daughter will be taking AP Calc in her senior year of HS, so she’ll probably be starting with Calc 1 or 2 in college. So she should have plenty of classes to take.
I did check a few of the SUNYs. Albany, Stony Brook, and Binghamton don’t list the sizes of the classes. Buffalo does, and they’re pretty big classes. 80 - 90 students in second year classes like Intro To Linear Algebra and Intro To Differential Equations. There were even 90 in a 400 level course - Intro To Probability. Most of the upper level courses were smaller, though. I’m sure it’s all of the Engineering students.
@MYOS1634, I’m going to look into the Honors Colleges. Would that typically be for the courses in your major, or for the core courses?
@existential12, thanks for the info on class sizes. How do you like Stony Brook? It always gets mentioned in discussions of good Math departments in the SUNYs. Do you have to be in the Honors College to take the accelerated courses you mentioned? How are you liking it socially? Is it as much of a commuter school as people say? Are there things to do on the weekends?
Thanks again for the info everyone.
It depends on the honors college that’s why it’s worth investigating. Some only offer one or two special honors seminars, others offer special sections for first and second year classes. Honors calculus will often be proof-based.
Thanks for the clarification @MYOS1634. I’m going to check some of them out.
Sometimes, a math department may offer honors math courses that are not dependent on enrollment in an general honors program, if such exists at the school. Or there may be more advanced or proof-based frosh/soph math courses available as an alternative to regular ones.
For example, at Stony Brook, the following single variable calculus sequences are usable for the math major:
125-126-127: slower paced calculus
131-132: typical calculus
141-142: proof-based calculus and analysis (also covers 320)
171: accelerated calculus for students with AP score of 5 on AB or 3 on BC
AP score of 4 on BC
http://sb.cc.stonybrook.edu/bulletin/current/academicprograms/mat/degreesandrequirements.php
http://sb.cc.stonybrook.edu/bulletin/current/courses/mat/
Based on the number of recitation sections associated with each lecture as listed in the class schedules, 141-142 look like small classes, while 131-132 and 125-126-127 look like large classes. 171 did not appear at all in fall 2016.
http://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/registrar/registration/classschedulearchives/2016schedulepdfs/fall2016/UNDERGRAD%20WEST%201168%20070716.PDF
http://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/registrar/registration/classschedulearchives/2017schedulepdfs/spring2017/ugrd%20west.PDF
@WalknOnEggShells Academically I don’t have that many complaints about the Stony Brook math department. Probably has the best variety of theoretical math courses of all the suny schools. If you come in and really go for it in math you can be taking grad courses by your junior year. Professors in Calc can be bad but once you hit upper level courses you have a chance to really interact with them. You do not have to be in the Honors programs to take accelerated courses but they do give priority to honors students. Here’s an overview of the accelerated courses.
MAT141-142 analysis (this is a rigorous introduction to calc). Equivalent to a standard calc sequence and you get a course waiver to MAT320.
MAT150 an introduction to advanced topics in math. Equivalent to MAT200.
MAT 220 an intro to linear algebra. However it is more theoretical. Equivalent to MAT211.
These courses are mainly aimed at kids who have the nuts and bolts of the subject out of the way and who are more interested in the theory behind the subjects. I can’t say much more on this topic as these courses are new but here is a link to the advanced track.
https://www.math.stonybrook.edu/advanced-track
You can always email somebody in the math department if you have questions about classes.
Socially I can say stony brook is not a college town but it’s not as bad as people like to make it out to be. The campus does sort of die on weekends but if you make friends who stay on campus over the weekend it’s not really that bad. There are events every weekend. I don’t generally attend to many events anyhow though. If you are interested in classical music then there are a variety of concerts which happen throughout the semester. I’m not the most reliable person to ask about social life as I’m pretty introverted.
if you have any questions about the math department I’ll be glad to answer.
Thanks for the info @ucbalumnus. Interesting. That’s a good way to try to get an idea of the lecture sizes - by looking at the number of recitations. I’m going to use that at all the schools that don’t list class sizes. Thanks.
Thanks @existential12. I appreciate the info. I’m going to take my daughter to visit soon. She’s still a junior in High School. I didn’t know about the Advanced Track. I’m going to look into that.
As of right now, I am currently enrolled in my senior year as a math major at SUNY Oneonta! Every class starting from Calc 1 - Complex Analysis can only have at most 24 students in the class. Currently, I am taking Complex Analysis and have 13 people in my class. The professors you most likely will have more than once and get close with. Overall, the majority of the math professors are great but just like any other college there are some bad professors. The great part is that up until the higher level classes, there is usually more than one class offered each semester so you can choose who you want as a professor. I have learned a ton and will use these skills to further pursue a graduate degree in Applied Mathematics.