Getting To Know: Stony Brook University (NY)
Just over ten years ago, I took a trip for Long island to visit Stony Brook University. One of four flagship research campuses of the State University of New York (SUNY), Stony Brook has just under 19,000 undergraduates. That’s about the same as the University of Delaware or UNC Chapel Hill. And, like UNC-Chapel Hill, Stony Brook is one of only 38 public institutions that are members of the Association of American Universities,
Established in 1957 and opened in 1962. this campus, located on Long Island’s North Shore, includes not only academic and residential buildings, but also a medical and dental school school and hospital as well as an 8,300-seat stadium and sports complex. This school has made major investmentso to get beyond its commuter school origins.
I listened to a counselor’s briefing and gathered more information to write an update for you. There’s also a Pinterest page to check out!
Costs make Stony Brook appealing.
The estimated total cost of attendance is just over $34,000 for New York residents and just over $58,000 for non-residents. Two-thirds of the Class of 2028 received need-based scholarships that averaged. $11,600. Thirty percent received merit awards that averaged $2,600. Fifty-five percent of 2024 graduates had no student loan debt. Those who borrowed owed just under $25,000. The maximum that they could have borrowed through the Federal Student Loan Program was $27,000.
Stony Brook attracts about a fifth of its student body from outside New York State.
This really surprised me. Eleven percent of the Class of 2024 came from other states; nine percent came from other countries. This is not a school that aggressively markets school spirit like a Big Ten or Southeastern Conference university. The academics and location appear to be the draw. There’s a train station for the Long Island Railroad close by as well as over 100,000 alumni in the New York metro area.
However Stony Brook is not as close to the Big Apple as one might think.
Stony Brook is the closest public flagship to New York City within New York State. The community is served by the Long island Railroad, though it’s nearly a two-hour ride into Penn Station-New York based on the train schedules I saw. Getting into the Big Apple by train from Rutgers-New Brunswick takes about half the time. Stony brook does not feel as large or as intimidating as Rutgers’ main campus. But Rutgers is an easier place to get a train to the Big Apple or keep a car.
Stony Brook is quite science oriented for a flagship state university.
The Physics department is highly ranked. The College of Engineering and Applied Science has tough to find majors in Biomedical Informatics, Materials Science and Technical Systems Management. Computer Science is situated within the engineering school. The university acquired the marine science facilties of Southampton College, formerly part of Long island University. The School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences is based on this campus. Interestingly, the SUNY system has two campuses where Atmospheric Sciences is available as major, Albany and Stony Brook. The university offers accelerated paths to an MD and a DDS, since the medical and dental school is on the main campus. However, these cohorts are quite small, around ten new students each year.
Over ten percent of the student body majors in Biology,
The next most popular majors are Business (just over 1,600) and Health Sciences (over 1,200 undergrads), followed by Psychology (just under 1,200) and Computer Science (just over 950). Stony Brook handles the business program a bit differently than other schools. Students earn a Bachelor’s in Business Management with one of five concentrations, though an Accounting major was introduced this year. The only business minors are in Real estate and Insurance. Stony Brook also has the only journalism school within the SUNY system and has a competitive creative writing program.
It isn’t easy to get into Stony Brook.
The mean SAT score for the Class of 2029 was a 1400 and academic rigor is expected, especially for preparation in engineering and the sciences. Stony Brook also has exceptionally competitive accelerated programs to an MD and the DDS. These require applicants to submit test scores. The rest of the programs do not. However, students must indicate first and second-choice majors. Some programs in engineering, the sciences, computer and data science and creative writing are capacity constrained. It’s quite possible to be admitted to the university, but not be able to transfer into your first-choice major.
Stony Brook attracted over 64,000 applications for the Class of 2029. That’s up from just under 56,000 the year before. The Classes of 2028 and 2029 are the largest and second-largest in the university’s history with just over and just under 4,000 students respectively. ten years ago, there were 2,800 freshmen.
Sony Brook has retained around 90 percent of a freshman class for the past ten years. The four-year graduation rate first surpassed 60 percent with the Class of 2018. The most rent four-year graduation rate was 63 percent for the Class of 2024.
As with other SUNY campuses, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
All four SUNY flagships, (Albany, Binghampton, Buffalo and Stony Brook) were largely constructed during the 1960s. This was not an era that was a high-water mark for architecture on college campuses across the country. Yet, some of these buildings with red brick or pressed concrete were too large to knock down and start over; the interiors are renovated instead. I dropped a couple of campus photos below. I have visited all four SUNY flagships since I became a college admissions advisor. I’d consider Stony Brook to be the second-most attractive of the four, after Binghamton.
Like Binghamton, Stony Brook tries to house as many students as possible. Over half of the undergraduate student body lives on campus. Thirty percent of the freshmen do not, which suggests that students either live on campus or commute from home. The rental market near campus is more expensive than most around a large state school. There’s no true college town near the campus, no “walk into town” feeling at all. Those who live on campus cannot have cars.
Stony Brook reminded me of my visit to the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC).
Both campuses were constructed around the same time. There’s more emphasis on the science and laboratory spaces than I see at other large state schools. Greek life is not overly important on either campus; neither has fraternity or sorority houses. Neither is D-1 sports. The Seawolves compete in the same athletic conference as UMBC, America East, for all sports, excluding football. lacrosse and women’s tennis. Stony Brook’s football and lacross teams are members of the Coastal Athletic Association. Among all sports the women’s soccer program, has had the most success during the 2020s.
Conclusions
Stony Brook does not have over 35,000 undergrads like the main campuses of Maryland, Penn State or Rutgers. It has about the name number of undergrads as UDel or Miami of Ohio, but has a more “serious” feel than those campuses do. It also seems like a more serious place since Greek life and major college athletics are not weaved into the college experience as they are at the larger state schools.
I won’t question the value for the money for a New Yorker, especially someone from the Big Apple who wants to go to college away from home. This is a very good, reasonably priced school for an exceptionally motivated student. But it didn’t feel like a place I would remember much beyond the academics and the friends I might make.
The Report Card for Stony Brook University
- Four-Year/Six-Year Graduation Rates: A/A
- Freshman Retention: A
- Costs: A
- Comforts: B
- Community: B+
- Curriculum: A
- Connections: A (New York/Northern California)/B (Boston, Washington DC)/C (elsewhere)
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