Stony Brook University

Date: Feb 28 2010
Major: Computer Science (This Major's Salary over time)
I am a Computer Science and Applied Mathematics major. I have also taken a good deal of Philosophy classes as well.

In terms of academics, there are so much interesting course to choose from in the sciences and engineering departments. It is difficult to complete your degree in due time and take all the course you would want to take. Stony Brook is a good school if you are looking to pursue a graduate degree else where and want to save some money with undergrad. You learn all the foundations you would need to proceed. However, since I came from a very competitive high school, I do not think my peers are motivated enough. So college did not turn out to be the academically challenging experience I hoped for. I will discuss each department that I am familiar with in detail, as follows:

Applied Math - almost every engineering major needs to take tons of classes from this department. By the end almost everyone declares this as their second major since they have unconsciously fulfilled 3/4 of this major's requirements. I feel you do not learn as much in Applied Math as you do with pure Math courses. However, it does a good job at focusing on the part that most students care about that is applications of math. Professors are generally apathetic, since the average class size in this department is too large. There are occasionally some very enthusiastic professors. If you take classes from this department be prepared to decipher Chinese accents.

Philosophy - From what I have experience only the logic professors are interesting. The rest of the department does not do much. If you are looking into doing research in logic definitely look into making connections with this department. The logic grad students and faculty are pretty cool and friendly.

Computer Science - we have professors, who are very difficult to understand (an it is not their accents). They generally have difficulty conveying concepts clearly. If you are not willing to study on your own, avoid taking classes with these guys and trust the reviews at ratemyprofessors.com Occasionally we do have some very social professors who are clear and helpful. In terms of coursework difficulty, try to get into the Honors program or take the honors classes if you can. Otherwise the introductory sequence is three semesters of heartless-weed-out nightmare. The automatic grading system some professors have sucks the creativity and life out of students. Luckily I never had to go through any of that, but I had helped many friends in the regular sequence do their homework and it really was painful. In terms of social factors go. If you are a guy looking to meet girls do not come here. If you are a girl, who is afraid of being in a room full of guys do not come here neither. I had two course last semester where I was the only girl - for me it was pretty cool because it motivated me to work harder. The problem with this department is not only does 99% of the students spend their free time playing games, but also we are all just too shy to talk to each other. And if you try to be social, people get scared of you. Only if you meet the right people, can it be fun to be a CS major.