<p>it is basically same distance between roth and mendelson.</p>
<p>It is a very good idea to do your studying at the library. This is good because you can separate your work life from your personal life. Plus at the library there are fewer distractions and it gets you into the habit of studying during sane hours, i.e. not cramming around 4 AM.</p>
<p>I never complained about the quality of the dorms, I just wanted to make that clear. I loved dorming at Stony Brook. And while I have noticed many ethnic groups staying within their group, I was fortunate enough to make friends all different kinds of people. It certainly is possible to make friends with a wide range of people, it's probably just easier to stick to your own group.</p>
<p>A word about getting attention from faculty and TA's, I don't want to be rude about it, but listen, you go to a school with over 10,000 students. You're probably not going to get a lot of attention. If you wanted a lot of interaction from Day One, you need to go to a smaller school. I will say that if you are proactive, you will probably find some professors who are willing to direct some independent studies or some research. You can't ask 3 professors and then give up when they reject you. A lot of professors are busy. Ask the younger professors as they do not have as many graduate students to advise. Many of them have been really good to me.</p>
<p>I really suggest you guys go to the library associated with whatever major you want to pursue. That way you can look up any books or extra material you might need, and you'll probably run into people from class/recitation. There is a Chem library, a math/physics library (which I see a lot of non math/physics students in there, boo!), etc.</p>
<p>Some advice for the younger students, since I see some freshman/incoming students posting here.</p>
<p>1) Be proactive. If you want to get to med school, you have to start on the grind from day one. </p>
<p>Go around and start snooping around your proposed department. Don't be a pest of course, but stop in and ask them about the major, the opportunities that are available, what you need to do to be successful, etc. If you wait around till your a junior, forget it, you're done. It's too late. Get involved towards the end of your first year. Allow yourself to initially adjust to college, your environment overall. Then start being proactive about your planned major.</p>
<p>2) Get a time management book. College is very different from high school. High school you were forced to go to class and you were in class for 40 hours a week. In college, nobody makes sure you go to class (although some classes have an electronic attendance system) and you have class 12-15 hours a week. But you get way more homework and you are expected to do a lot more reading on your own. </p>
<p>One history DEC that I took, but really enjoyed, required me to read roughly 50-100 pages a week. It was intense, and this was just a DEC.</p>
<p>Learn how to manage your time. People who cram do not know how to manage time and it's not the best technique for success. Do a sizeable amount of work everyday, or 6 days a week if you give yourself a day off.</p>
<p>A lot of people say 3 hours studying for every 1 hour of class. This is BS. Nobody really studies 45 hours a week. This is how much grad students study, for an 18 year old it is insanity. But you should keep yourself on a consistent study schedule. Maybe 3 hours each day, depending on you and what your goals are.</p>
<p>I'm sure there are other things you guys should know, but that's all I have for now.</p>
<p>Back to the original topic, there are some things I disliked about Stony Brook. But I really enjoyed my time here. I loved dorming, i loved being around different people and I really got to research and work with some amazing professors. All in all, I do not think I could have gotten as good of an experience for the price.</p>
<p>Mendy is the closest dorm to the Library, I find Roth is farther, plus it isn't corridor. I also find Mendy to be the best quad imo. It might be the oldest, but there isn't much flaws there. Good people, a lot of nice people, and it's just a lot of fun where I am. Plus I find the bathrooms are a lot more clean and nicer, at least, in my building.</p>
<p>So does anyone know what a typical Pre - Med/ Biology schedule is like? (if not specific classes, i mean hours of classes per day and ranging from what time of day)</p>
<p>HSSenior:</p>
<p>A suite style - remember you will be sharing the bathroom with six others. They clean the bathroom once a week, as opposed to the corridor style which they clean it more than once a week (i think its daily, but you share it with the entire floor, someone confirm this?). </p>
<p>If you are an early bird, I'm positive that will change. I was used to sleeping early and waking up early but ever since dorming with others, my sleeping pattern changed drastically. My roommates usually came back either from 12AM to 5AM (and waking me up in the process), my suitemates are usually in the common room doing watever. But generally, you suitemates are nice people. However, roommates can go either really good or really bad. Some people hate their roommates, and others get along great. It really depends on alot of factors.</p>
<p>If you want to meet alot of people, I recommend a corridor style. You'll probably get to know your entire floor. </p>
<p>As for tripling, I hated it. The worse part of tripling is sharing the desk. When 3 of you are in the room, one person is bound to have to either go to the library or go into the common room to use their laptop. I found it really frustrating when I really needed to do some studying and the two of them were just browsing the web/gaming. Another thing is that there are only two internet jacks in the room. So either buy SBU's internet splitter, or end up sharing the internet, or just go to the library. I found it a hassle to share things. There are only two dressers and not all of our clothing could fit. My roommate ended up throwing his clothing all over the room because there was no where he can put it.</p>
<p>people should really visit this site **************.com, they have plenty of reviews from people who went to the school</p>
<p>edit i dont know why the hell this site censors this site, whatever PM me for it.</p>
<p>The only way tripling is bad is if you don't communicate with your roommates. You can easily just talk to them and work everything out and everyone should be happy. The desk situation is not bad at all. The person on the bottom bunk is able to work on their bed and can use one of the pedestals to do work on.</p>
<p>Also, don't choose a quad based on how far/close it is to the academic buildings haha. Tabler is great even though it's one of the further ones. It has really nice grounds and it is easy to meet other people just hanging around outside or going to the TAC. Oh yeah and it was renovated last summer.</p>
<p>I am pretty sure that corridor-style is a good way to meet more people, but suite-style is pretty great too! You have more privacy and an area where you are able to hang out or do work with a bunch of friends. You also have the chance to meet some upper classmen that know what they are talking about and can help you along the way as an incoming freshman.</p>
<p>But yeah, if you have any questions you can PM me or something. I am a linguistics major so I don't know too much about premed, but a lot of my friends are so I might be able to find stuff out.</p>
<p>How is their linguistics program? I applied as a linguistics major, but I was slightly worried about going to SBU because it seemed more of a science school. Have any regrets about not going to, for example, Binghamton?</p>
<p>Heh, I'm in linguistics as well (and biology for those of you who are interested in that). I've found the linguistics program here to be fantastic (and I'm about to graduate, so I've had nearly all the professors at some point and know many of them well). We may known for the sciences, but many of our humanities, arts, and social sciences programs are excellent too. Compared to Binghamton's linguistics program... a quick glance at their website shows that Bing considers linguistics a subsidiary of their anthropology department (not a good thing at all in my opinion!), and barely have any professors who aren't cross-appointed with another department. Not to mention no grad programs to speak of. Stony Brook has a lot more resources and would be a much better choice for someone who's serious about linguistics.</p>
<p>With a department like linguistics at SBU, I think you get the best of all possible worlds. Lots of professors, lots of courses, all the resources of the grad programs, but not a huge number of majors in the department so there's a lot of attention to go around. I got to take courses with the PhD students as an undergrad, go to talks by world-renowned linguists (not to mention be taught by some), go to conferences that we were hosting that brought the top of the field from all over the world, and still have small classes and personalized attention. In addition to the linguistics professors in the linguistics department itself, we have a nice number of psychologists interested in psycholinguistics, computer science professors doing work on computational linguistics, and people in all the various language departments who specialize in linguistics. Most of the profs are talented and caring teachers in addition to top-notch researchers, which isn't the case in every department. </p>
<p>I could go on for a while, but you get the gist already. If you have any more specific questions about linguistics at SBU, go ahead :)</p>
<p>Question: If classes are indeed 12-15 hours a week. . .
its basically 3 hours max a day??
Say you wanna major in Biology. . . whats the typical schedule? Wow, I really thought it'd be somewhere around 9 - 5 or 9-3 or something and then you have to study your ass off just enough to make it to bed . . .but if you have 3 hours of class a day. . . it seems like everything is *possible. . . *</p>
<p>The number of credits a course is worth doesn't always map to how much time it takes. Especially with labs, always plentiful in a biology degree. Intro chem lab? One credit, four hours of class time. Plus a 12-15 credit schedule would be lighter than typical.</p>
<p>You'll have a lot more scheduling options than you did in high school. That means you can spread your classes out all across the day, or pack hours back to back, whatever you want. Some intro sciences you have to take as a bio major will only have one lecture section, so they'll anchor your schedule to an extent--that means you'll pretty much always have class MWF, and will pretty much inevitably start in the morning. Class straight through from 9 to 3 is miserable, trust me. Ten minute breaks scurrying on campus are not enough time to clear your head, let alone grab food, and forget about paying attention toward the end. </p>
<p>Three day a week lectures (MWF) meet in 55 minute blocks. Two day a week lectures (T Th, MF, MW evening/late afternoon) are 1 hour 20 minutes; 1 credit labs are usually 2-4 hours. As a freshman bio major, you likely have 2 lab classes, a couple of courses that are the corresponding lectures to those labs, a couple of lectures with recitations, and maybe one course that's just the 2 or three regular class meetings. So maybe it's three MWF and two TTh... and two or three three-hour blocks to schedule labs, and suddenly it's not so easy to make your schedule work, and the days seem pretty long. And then you try to fit a job and some club meetings and maybe even hanging out with people. Oh, and working on lab reports and problem sets and studying.</p>
<p>SbuDoNotWant, </p>
<p>Wdrmhbs is right. I think that to get along well with anyone or in your case --2 roommates and x# of suitemate-- communication is key.
You say that your primary issues were your roommates coming home late and using the tables when you had to study. Did you talk to them about it? Were they coming home late everyday or only friday's/weekends? As for the table situation, I'd assume that if your roommates was a decent person, he/she would let you let it if you ask.</p>
<p>I'm not saying that this is any of your fault but I attend Stony Brook and happen to have a great time dorming and meeting new people.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Ok guys, I'll try to add in my two cents, since I also attend Stony Brook and I am also a freshman.</p>
<p>1) Well, the admissions was easy, but now it's slightly harder because Stony Brook also uses the common app, which requires to write at least one essay, one short answer, and include your extracurricular activities. So I'm pretty sure Stony Brook is slightly harder to get into right now. Which should imply that the quality of students admitted should be better. And the Honors College was never easy to apply to; when I applied, I had to write a detailed list of my activities, an essay, and include two teacher recommendations. </p>
<p>2) Stony Brook...well the scholarship process differs for everyone. Everyone in the Honors College is guaranteed at least $2000.00 scholarship, but I'm not sure about everyone else. Also, if you're proactive, you can search out the scholarships that Stony Brook University gives out, or the ones that certain departments give out, and apply for those scholarships. Most people aren't proactive, so they don't know about these scholarships.</p>
<p>3) Dorming can be the best experience, or your worst experience, depending on your room mate/ suite mates. My suite mates are knowledgeable, fun and considerate people. And they don't go to sleep before late in the night either, but they'll quiet down if you need to. My room mate goes to sleep the earliest (at 1 AM) and I go to sleep the second earliest (at 1 30 - 2 AM) and I had never had trouble sleeping. I also never had any problems with my suite mates. But the important thing was that I communicated with and told them about my religious/ social needs, and they kind enough to comply I also comply with their needs (I stop singing when they're studying for a big test) and we get along well.</p>
<p>The tripling situation is unfortunate, but the only way to avoid it is be lucky (sometimes, the 3rd room mate never comes, or you're with an upperclassmen) or be part of the honors college (honors college students are never tripled).</p>
<p>4) The food is overpriced. Yup, it's true. If you want to eat healthy it costs more. I don't know how people spend $30.00 a day though...I eat comfortably, not restricting myself, and I spend $20.00 only, and I'm on the Silver plan and I had 200 excess points at the end...so I guess it depends on what you eat and how much you eat. </p>
<p>5) Yup, Stony Brook is somewhat dead on the weekends. The only way to avoid this...hang out with your friends, or use the weekend mornings to study. And, I don't know about other people, but somebody's always having a party Saturday night. So you can party on Saturday nights. I go home on the weekends too....so I contribute to the "deadness." But </p>
<p>6) The people who work at different places, like the registrar or bursar...well it depends on your luck. Some people are kind and helpful, some do seem annoyed to talk to you. Well, the world is somewhat like that, you will meet both helpful and non-helpful people. But not everyone is a jerk. I've personally run into more kind members of the administration than unkind ones.</p>
<p>7) Before you take a class, look at r a t e m y p r o f e s s o r s .c o m or ask upperclassmen. Then you'll be able to scope out which professors are good, interesting and care about their students and which ones are...not-so-good and more focused on their research. </p>
<p>If it turns out a certain DEC class you're taking is not taught by a good professor, take another class in that DEC. Don't take classes in college for subject matter alone (unless it's for your major or you love that subject). Also make sure the professors are great. A good professor should be able to make almost any subject wonderful.</p>
<p>And if it turns out a class that is required for your major is taught by a professor you don't like, take another section of it with a different professor. Or take it another semester. Or if you need to take it at a certain time, slug through with it. We've all had harsh/bad teachers in high school, and we've made it through.</p>
<p>Ok, I might add more later, but for now, I have to go.</p>
<p>And I'm sorry, SBUDoNotWant, that you had such a miserable experience at Stony Brook. Perhaps the school is not a good fit for you, and you should transfer to somewhere where you'll be happier.</p>
<p>But incoming freshman/prospective students should be aware that not everyone has a bad time at Stony Brook.</p>
<p>To Rbasu91:</p>
<p>Most people take 12-15 credits, especially in their freshman year. How those credits are spread throughout the week differs of course. Some people have their Mondays overloaded, like 6 hours of class. Also, labs are only 1 credit, but it takes 2-3 hours usually. And if you are taking multiple labs, you start to get the picture.</p>
<p>I think a major like bio, you will probably have class, I mean real time hours 17-22 hours a week? Others can chime in, but I'm including lab time as well recitations and class. I think bio majors usually take 2 or 3 classes with a lab most semesters.</p>
<p>Some days can be a 9-5, others you might only have 1 class. That's the great thing about college, it's up to you how you make your schedule and manage your time.</p>
<p>I really want to chime in on the OP's comments. While I agreed with him on the food, the tripling situation and students leaving on the weekends, I do not think that you should avoid SBU. What you should do is research it a bit more. Visit the school, talk to other students, as most of you are doing on CC, etc. See if it's a good fit.</p>
<p>Stony Brook is a relatively large school, so tripling is not out of the question. For the money, the academic opportunity is awesome. I really enjoyed my time here dorming and what not. I didn't like the food, but that's just me.</p>
<p>It also seems that more disgruntled students complain than satisfied students praise SBU. I think this is because they go to SBU and they expect it to be like a huge school, or a college they saw on TV or in the movies. Again, you have to see if it's a good fit for YOU. The school really isn't going to change. A lot of freshman get tripled, the food kinda sucks (but even this is probably a universal complaint among campuses) and people leave on the weekends.</p>
<p>Bottom line, make sure what SBU offers and what you want line up before attending. And again, a lot of this differs from person to person. While I did not like the food, I never really complained about it, that was just my personal taste. The food might not suck for you.</p>
<p>I love this thread.
What turned out to be a bashing extravaganza just made me like the school more . .</p>
<p>Well you should listen carefully to the complaints. They aren't fabricated, these are complaints that some students do have and some of the complaints are legitimate. The question is, would these be your complaints? Does the school fit you? I didn't like the food, but I'm not going to make a big deal about it. That's not going to be enough for me to complain about a school.</p>
<p>Where's the OP now?</p>
<p>Wow the OP really discouraged me from choosing Stony Brook from Buffalo.
I have visited SBU twice and both times, the campus seemed deserted and the students seemed bored. I didn't get a sense of community or campus life. I was hungry and paid like 7 bucks for a tuna sandwich that didn't taste all that great.</p>
<p>The bus driver was also very rude!</p>
<p>I haven't visited UB yet so I am reserving judgement before I make my deposit</p>
<p>I visited UB and personally I didnt like it all that much better. But if I wanted to choose a school because of its campus, Id be going to the university of colorado at boulder (its beautiful there!), but since I decided that tuition cost and a good education are more important, I decided on Stony Brook
I also got into Buffalo but ranking wise it seems like Stony Brook is the wiser decision, even if you arent considering doing anything science related.</p>