It’s looking more and more like I’m going to Stony. It’s by far the cheapest option for me and the academics are top-notch. That being said, I have some serious misgivings about going there. From what I’ve heard, student life is awful. The majority of students are commuters and the campus is dead on the weekends. Also, I feel like the general location is kind of middle-of-nowhere and unexciting. That’s not necessarily bad, but it doesn’t really bode well in terms of things to do or even for internship opportunities. And overall I get the feeling that the undergrads there really don’t like it and they aren’t happy. I don’t know how accurate this is, but I saw SBU at the top of a list of “least happiest schools”. I know a degree from them is really valuable (especially in my major, physics) and that the price is impossible to beat, but is going there really as miserable as it seems to be?
People like to complain a lot about things they can easily fix. This is not to say that there aren’t some bad things here (campus does feel dead, isolated, campus food, etc). However, if you make an effort to make friends it will be fine. It might not be as fun as living in a college town but it certainly won’t be miserable. In terms of internships i know that a lot of kids here get them so don’t worry about that too much.
A lot of students here are from the city and are probably used to doing lots of stuff, always having something going on, etc… I’m from the middle of no where so it’s understandable that I would find campus life to be full of activities. There is practically something going on every day of the work week. The weekends tend to be a little more empty (I personally like it. It’s very peaceful.). If you want more things to do just join another club. There are so many and it’s how I get all my social time in.
I’ve been researching Stony Brook a lot and came upon this old thread from 2007 by Chris…although it’s dated response (about 10 years ago) maybe he can update with more recent results if he has any…
if you compare with other colleges like SUNY Geneseo which has a total student population of 5520 students or any of the top Liberal Arts Colleges like Amherst (1792 students), Wesleyan (3224 students), Williams (2099 students) then Stony Brook still has a lot of students hanging around on campus…
02-18-2007 at 8:53 am
(sigh)
We house over 9,000 students on campus… and according to a study we did last year, on a typical weekend during the 05-06 school year, 70-75% of our residential students stayed on campus. So on any given weekend, you’re talking about anywhere from 6300-7000 students on campus. I hate to say it, but that’s far from empty. A lot less than the 40,000 people walking around campus (when you include faculty and staff) on a random Tuesday afternoon, but we’re still pretty busy on weekends.
The sigh was because the “empties out” thing is something we’ve been fighting for a long time – and it’s why we did that study, which showed us a very different picture than what might have happened years ago.
Chris D’Orso
Assistant Director of Admissions
Stony Brook University
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Please don’t let these “lists” scare you! I went to Stony Brook in 1982 and the school was deemed by some as a commuter school. It was anything but that during my time there and has only gotten better as the years go on. If you take advantage of all the school offers(sports, clubs etc) you will enjoy your time! My friends from my SBU days are still my closest friends now! My son Anthony is applying also and can tell from my enthusiasm that the school has a lot to offer. 30 years later and we are still meeting each year for Homecoming! Enjoy your time and make the most if it! Good luck!!