Boston University or SUNY Stony Brook...HELP!!!

<p>What were your other options to attend college?
Why did you pick Stony Brook.
LOL I was there twice this week and had food in the Jasmine resturant in the Wong center and that food was really bad.</p>

<p>Did you look at any other SUNY schools or private schools?</p>

<p>I looked at a lot of other schools. My actual college application process was a little unusual because I graduated high school a year early somewhat unexpectedly, but in the end it came down to Stony Brook and Reed College in Oregon. I picked Stony Brook because they had great professors and research opportunities in the fields I was interested in, an incredibly diverse, interesting, and fun student body, a hospital and health sciences research center on campus, and lower tuition than anywhere else I could get a comparable education.</p>

<p>You made a great choice BU has an UBER expensive tuition for average education. Cheers good luck!</p>

<p>I would choose UB because SB is kinda in the middle of nowhere (it’s not as close to the city as they make it out to be!), the campus is kinda blah (I would hate being there for 4 years), and Boston is awesome!</p>

<p>What does everyone else thing? Care to share your 2 cents?</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Although yes, there are “prestigious med schools”, in my opinion, getting into ANY med school in the US is a big deal. It is very, very difficult to get into any US med school. If you get into Harvard, great. If you get into SUNY Downstate, great. You should be darn proud, no matter where you get in, simply for the fact that you managed to get in! The vast majority of applicants to US med schools don’t get in anywhere. Full stop. </p>

<p>Another factor to consider is that it’s highly likely that students going to Stony Brook have picked that school, in part, because 1) they are from NY and get the lower in-state tuition rate, and 2) they have financial concerns, in general, re: paying for education. These factors would also follow them into their choice of med school. SUNY Downstate is a state school, and thus it’s way, way, way cheaper for a NY resident to attend than a private med school, or an out-of-state public med school. They may be <em>choosing</em> SUNY Downstate because it is so much cheaper.</p>

<p>Med school is notoriously expensive. You pay for it almost entirely through loans. Being able to keep your costs down, before med school and during it, will give you more freedom re: what field you’ll practice, where you practice, and etc. You’ll be less burdened by debt, and thus have more choice. </p>

<p>In other words, the fact that Stony Brook mostly funnels to SUNY Downstate should not be seen as indicative of a problem with Stony Brook. Stony Brook is, in fact, one of the best science schools in the country. It tends to rank in the top 50 or so in many of the sciences, especially the life sciences. It really does not suck. :winks:</p>

<p>I really wonder if you ppl have actually been there. I’ve been there 5 times and to sum it all up:
The campus is divided amongst itself… asians and everyone else
(this sucks for my b/c im asian and european but look like neither).
How do you have a traditions college experience when everyone is gone on the weekends…
So what if I don’t want to go home or the city every weekend? the ppl who stay there on the weekends just some weed and drink all the time… read the student reviews or as a matter of fact look around.</p>

<p>nikon50bigma, it really seems like you’re trying to give yourself an excuse to choose BU. No one’s trying to stop you; if that’s where you want to go then feel free. But don’t fool yourself into thinking it’s a vastly superior education or social experience for the extra money, and don’t spread misinformation. Stony Brook might not be the right place for you, but the reasons you’ve given are really flawed.</p>

<p>I’ve been here for 5 years (slightly more useful than visiting 5 times) and your description doesn’t sound like SB at all. I just got home from two parties on campus, both of which were racially mixed (Asians and non-Asians hanging out… gasp!) and both of which had alcohol available but didn’t rely on drunkenness to be fun. And the number of people I saw walking around outside at 4am made it really clear the campus wasn’t empty by any stretch of the imagination. Studies of people’s ID card usage patterns have shown more than 80% of residents are on campus on an average weekend. That adds up to more people than make up many schools’ entire student body.</p>

<p>Hmmm was that ACTUALY on campus or was it in the Port jefferson area?</p>

<p>I said on campus because I meant on campus, not Port Jeff.</p>

<p>Hmm thanks for all your imput. I honestly and sincerly appreciate it.</p>

<p>But why do you think that places like **************.com and other college review websites; students rate Stony Brook so low?
The main complaint is that there is no social life; do you think that the peopel who say that are ppl who are lazy to make new friends and smoke weed all day??
???</p>

<p>I agree with Pseudonym that it seems you have made up your mind. Why keeping asking to be convinced of Stony Brook’s benefits only to counter with negatives. Any school is what you choose to make of it and if you are so biased against Stony Brook you should go elsewhere as it is not the school for you. Student review sites are often very unbalanced as happy people don’t feel the need to report. Stony Brook is still a good school even if it isn’t the right fit for you.</p>

<p>Are there any review websites that aren’t biased?
In my mind I keep fitght for Stony Brook because of its price but thats as far as it goes…
So I’m trying to see wether it might just be better to go there and ‘suck it up’ for the nxt 4 yrs.</p>

<p>Anyone? Bump bump bump</p>

<p>im in a similar situation. i recieved scholarships from both schools, 19000 from BU and 2000 from Sb. im really torn and i dont know where to go…i love BU but id have to pay a ridiculous amount of money. I’m very hesitant as to whether or not i would like SB. I want to major in Political Science and probably go to law school after. </p>

<p>Can anyone shed some light on the political science programs at each school? which is better, what kind of opportunities? it seems to me that either way you are going to get a good education, just one school is 30000 more a year. </p>

<p>thanks for your replies.</p>

<p>But don’t you guys think that Boston Univeristy would be a better expereince?
More of a typical college experience where as Stony Brook is a commuter school?</p>

<p>nikon50bigma: If you think BU would be a better experience, go to BU. Going somewhere with the idea of “sucking it up” is a terrible way to start college, and f you think you’ll be happier at BU, go there. However, I’m still not sure why you decided SB was a commuter school when all of the actual information contradicts that. Over 90% of this year’s freshmen live on campus. Over 80% of people who live on campus stay on campus on an average weekend. Not a commuter school! </p>

<p>As for why the review sites say what they do… I don’t read them and haven’t posted reviews on any (perhaps I should!), so it’s hard for me to say. Maybe the fact that my friends and I aren’t posting reviews is part of it–those sites self-select for people who have an axe to grind. We also have more of a “complaining culture” than a lot of more expensive schools; in my experience someone who’s paying $40,000+ a year for college is much more likely to try and convince themself that everything is totally perfect and wonderful and amazing no matter what, since otherwise they feel like their exorbitant tuition is a waste. I’ve seen that in action many times–whenever I visited my friends at Brown, they were almost embarrassed to admit that there were problems with the bureaucracy and that sometimes there were things that weren’t awesome, when their complaints were exactly the same as the ones I wasn’t shy making about Stony Brook.</p>

<p>madcrazy235: I can’t really speak to BU’s, but I love Stony Brook’s political science department. Stony Brook may be best known for natural sciences and engineering, but a lot of our social sciences, humanities, and arts departments are really fantastic too. I’m not a poli sci major, but I know a pretty large number of them (since they’re disproportionately represented in the politically active groups on campus, understandably!) who all really love the department. Our political science profs produce a huge amount of research, and there are lots of opportunities for undergrads to get involved.The poli sci electives I’ve taken were interesting and well-taught, and the political science buffs I know have all had great research and internship opportunities. I know a few poli sci graduates in law school now, and a bunch working for activist groups and non-profits.</p>

<p>From what I know about law school admissions, your LSAT and GPA are more important than any other factor–major, school, whatever. I know a bunch of people from all different majors who ended up at great law schools after SB, and a few more who seem to be on their way. Our pre-law club is very on the ball in terms of programming and events, so you should definitely check that out if you decide to come here.</p>

<p>If you’re planning on law school, Stony Brook seems like the obvious choice to me–good department for your major, plus you have less debt which gives you more options after graduation.</p>