<p>Is Stony Brook impressive at all, especially for medical students ? Its ranked number 88 for best national universities , so does that mean its a top university, tier 1 , tier 2 or what ?</p>
<p>US News seems to consider the top 200 or so universities “tier 1.” How that carries over to different majors and how recognizable the name is to different employers will obviously vary; but yes, US News considers it tier 1.</p>
<p>No SUNY is a top tier college/university regardless of how US news does or does not list them. If SUNYs are top tier, where do you put Mich-AA, UNC-CH, UVA, Wisc -no SUNY comes close. Or even William and Mary, UFlorida and on and on. No, SUNYs are not top tier. There are about 64 campuses. No flagships. When you have a system that is so large without any standouts-that’s what you get-generic state institutions. They are state institutions that efficiently move students though. They do that well. That is the strength. Students can attend cheaply compared to costs of private schools and students move through efficiently-minimizing debt. They can return to their home communities and earn decent salaries. That is a very good thing. For the bulk of graduates from NY high schools, it fits the bill. Most students don’t need anything more than they provide. But being adequate is a far cry from being “top tier”, which is what you asked about. I’d be surprised that anyone who spent any time (at least a few days) on the campuses of Michigan, Wisc, Illinois, UNC would think that any SUNY can be mentioned in the same sentence. Yet, like the buildings on the campuses, the SUNY degree is utilitarian. </p>
<p>While I agree there might be some noticeable difference between the SUNY schools and other public schools like UCB, W&M, UMichigan, ect. to call it only an institution that “efficiently move students though” would be arrogant. My friend went to Binghampton for two years before transferring to Cornell and he still enjoyed his time there, mentioning that their bio program prepared him well for the academics at Cornell, despite it being called a “lower tier” (which imo is quite misleading in itself).</p>
<p>Similarily, I think part of the reason SUNYs don’t have a “state flagship” necessarily is because each institution has its own personality and strengths for different majors. For instance, Stony Brook is well known as the school for science majors. Our valedictorian of my school (4.0 GPA, 36 ACT) who probably could have gone almost anywhere was about to turn down Northwestern (yes, that northwestern) to attend Stony Brook to study nuclear physics. (He is currently at our own state flagship) Similarly, my best friend’s brother attended Stony Brook for two years (due to the cost) before transferring to Columbia. He commented that some of the professors at the former were actually better than the latter. Although these accounts are mostly anecdotal, it goes to show that to characterize a whole school system as a lower tier of lesser value would be misleading.</p>
<p>I really don’t believe such a “tier system” exists, and some of the SUNY schools can be an excellent deal for your major. (If I recall correctly, the governor of NY has a program that would make SUNY tuition free for the top 10% of the class if majoring in STEM) While I am not arguing that all things equal, SUNY schools = UNC or UCLA, they can certainly be a valuable asset to students and allow them to go great places while getting the bang for your buck</p>
<p>Edit: found the link here <a href=“Governor Cuomo: Free SUNY, CUNY Tuition to STEM Students in Top 10% of HS Class”>http://blog.suny.edu/2014/05/governor-cuomo-free-suny-cuny-tuition-to-stem-students-in-top-10-of-hs-class/</a></p>
<p>For undergrad stony brook isn’t particularly impressive or prestigious tbh but it does have a solid pre-med program if that’s what you are going to do. It is mostly known for its research and graduate programs. Those rankings tell you very little about a school anyway so you should take them with a grain of salt.</p>
<p>lostaccount, perfect assessment.</p>
what school did you attend ? @lostaccount
What college did you attend? @anotherparent22