Stony Brook University

Academics:

The Biology and Chemistry department are especially strong as are most if not all of the major sciences at Stony Brook and if needed you can often get help by going to a professors office hours or just by dropping them an e-mail to schedule an appointment. The Political Science department is also really good at Stony Brook. Apparently our political psychology program is one of the top ranked in the nation. The only real downside I have found in Academics was in the math program. I took two calculus courses where neither of my teacher spoke english too fluently and weren't adequate at explaining the material. Then again, this is in fairly low level math courses to I can't say much of how the department is when you get to more difficult levels. I would assume the better professors are probably teaching higher levels of math. One major plus in regards to math is the math learning center provides a great opportunity to get one on one help from Teacher Assistants to understand the materials.

Facilities

The facilities on campus are fairly decent. I mean there isn't much more to ask for. There is a SINC site (computing center) in each quad of residence halls as well as major ones in the Union building, and libraries. There are also gyms in every quad which are fairly good for a nightly workout. There main gym is in the Student Activities Center but is often crowded.

In regard to the food on campus. After the first two weeks any food gets boring. I mean I've had my fill of Burger King and Taco Bell. There is a "resteraunt" on campus by the name of Jasmine where you can get better quality Indian, Thai, and Chinese food. The only downside is that if you are of one of those races that the food doesn't compare much to actual ethnic food, but most of the students on campus seem to enjoy the food.

As for areas to study the main library, the Frank Melville library is practically a social scene and its pretty easy to get distracted there regardless of in which area you study. There are always people just chatting away on their cellphones or to another person. There are many ways to study well in spite of this. For one you can always use your room or the buidling lounge to study in. I also know that the psychology buildings and humanities building are fairly empty and are a great place to get some work done.

Social Life

So basically this is the part that compelled me to write a review after seeing so many people insult the Stony Brook social life. Though Stony Brook's population is practially half commuters the social life is still pretty strong. The thing is that in order to have a good social life you have to be involved in a group or club, or make your own social life. You can't expect everything to be handed on a platter. My first semester here I partied so much that I almost ruined my gpa which forced me to take a major hiatus from partying the second semester. Besides local house parties and those in dorms there are tons of bars that you can go to just to have fun such as Shamrocks.

All in all though I was considering transferring out after a year or two before I got to Stony Brook I think my experiences to date have made me decide on staying the course of four years. Stony Brook like all other schools is what you make of it. They'll give you the opportunities for great academics and social life, you just have to take advantage of it.