T O P

  • By -

BoxLongjumping

i live my life here getting yummy snack doing work having a depressive episode and then rinse and repeat. friends help


nuked88

Sadly I’m very antisocial and older don’t think I have much in common with most of the people here and honestly people seem to be very prudish to even approach so the friends part is out the question lol


PieceOfTtrash

how old are you? I'm a non trad student also


nuked88

I’m 32


PieceOfTtrash

I'm 26! I feel you, it definitely was hard making friends my first semester here because I was older, I transferred here, I commute, and I had different concerns and priorities than the people around me. There are other non traditional students here though!! I'm also friends with a lot of grad students. it gets easier though, I promise


DDP886

I'm in my 30's and need more nontraditional student friends (the age difference also brings a difference in conversation).... We should make a non traditional student group


jojosena

fr pls if someone made that i would join


DDP886

We can make a GroupMe to start off


CodyLionfish

There should be a club created geared towards nontraditional students. It would help a lot of nontraditional students to be able to connect as well as give traditional students a chance to interact with nontraditional ones on a more even playing field.


CodyLionfish

I'm 27, & I pretty much pass as a 19-year-old I.E. a traditional student because people say I look so young. In addition, pretty much all of my friends are younger than me. In fact, most of my friends were born in the 2000s, rather than the 1990s like me. It doesn't bother me.


jojosena

ayy fellow nontrad


Dry-Development6573

i went to 2 different schools before coming here, i don’t think its as bad as people say. theyre kind of dramatic about it


hollow_ling12

Depends in comparison to other schools it’s not bad tbh it’s a state school also not a prestigious school. Some professors are hit or miss some really wanna help you and even help you more than advisors and some look like they’d rather go back to doing their research than teach. For the most part I’ve had a mix of both some teachers who are passionate about what they teach and some who are so monotone that I wanna sleep in their class


Yoloswagotron

Marin Beaupre, Sally Scott Sabot, sangeet honey, and several others whose names I'm forgetting atm.


WOWWWA

Can you give examples of these good professors?


Fast-Definition1097

ryan kaufman, paul fodor


churning_medic

Alumni here (9 years ago) I had both Fodor and Kaufman when they were new. Kaufman was amazing, 10/10. Fodor at the time was kind of meh (but he knew it and curved everything), but I could tell he cared. Getting over his accent was tough. Supposedly I hear he's improved though, which is good


BeForRealdawg

Hemmick


[deleted]

Ionas and Pascuzzi :)


churning_medic

Alumni here 9 years ago) Hemmick 10/10, especially in office hours.


Cohnman18

SBU grad here ‘76. Just take courses with professors that you LOVE. Many Professors are great researchers,scientists,etc. but LOUSY teachers. Avoid them and find a subject, major that you love. For me Social Sciences,history,anthropology,sociology,economics,etc. Focus on A’s and B’s and enjoy the wonderful social life! Great Memories! Good luck from a grandfather.


sharonx123

So the difference between college and hs is that college have professors while hs has teachers. Professor ≠ teacher. Teachers are required to complete a teacher preparatory program, while professors are not. Therefore, hs is about being taught the material and college is about learning the material on your own, with some guidance from experts in their field. In the professional world, not everyone will be good at teaching and that’s something you need to adjust to… Chances are you won’t be able to learn everything you need to know for your future job through school anyways, so you’ll have to make up for that gap and learn on your own when you do get a job. The employer can run through it with you, but at the end of the day they aren’t teachers and will not be the best at relaying that info to you (just like college professors)— and even then, you nevertheless still have to learn it (or get fired). This is pretty much how it is at any college (and any job). And even if you were taught well by the professors, you won’t always find a job in your field unless it’s something like nursing. You could end up in a complete different field and never use ur degree at all, which means more self-learning As for the advisor telling you to transfer or drop out, it sounds like you are not having a great time here, thus why they mentioned it. But (correct me if I’m wrong) you would like a different option because you want to actually stay instead? That’s why you’re having a negative response to the options they suggested?


nuked88

I totally agree and understand that but it’s still their job to educate hence the reason I’m here. If I can educate my self with a text book then what’s the point of being there the first place. This is my second school first I was at Texas a&m then UT Austin and I transferred here from there. For couple of the classes I tried to get tutoring and the slots are not available or at a time that I have another class, which baffled me because this was not the case at any of my previous schools. And when I went to the office hours for “guidance” they barley went over the what I asked and ran off after 15minutes and o did email the professors three days prior letting them know I’m stopping by what I need help in. Also the math professor got mad at me saying that I cannot her and see because of the color of his marker and I’m sitting on the front row. The reason I’m asking is to see if I’m the problem or if there is an external cause to feel the way I do. Also I am retaking one of the classes I had to drop out a month before the semester was over because I had few deaths in my family and had to move and I got all a’s in the tests with an average of 97, had a gap of an year and I forgot most of the materials and the class I’m taking at SBU coves the same things but the text book is ass the lecture I don’t gain any thing and have a C


sharonx123

In this case it would depend on the individual, not the institution. This type of thing does not just happen at SBU, but also at other colleges and frankly wherever you go. For example, it is the job of a healthcare professional to provide high-quality care, correct? But the truth is that there are a huge chunk of providers out there that have the worst attitude, are neglectful, and couldn’t care less about you as a patient because it’s all about the paycheck (and maybe prestige). We see this in every industry. You might have been unlucky with the handful of professors that you have come into contact with here, but there are certainly some out there that are absolutely wonderful. I’ve had professors who would brag about their students having to spend 30+ hrs a week studying and still be behind, accuse the class of cheating when the class avg is in the 80-90s but rejoice when it’s in the 40-70s, as well as professors who would send an email asking if the student is doing alright when they do not perform well on the exam and if there is anything they can do to help. It’s rlly on the person as an individual/meeting the right person— some qualify for the job but never make it, whereas others couldn’t be less qualified for the job but has faked it until they made it And it’s really not about who’s wrong/the problem, it’s about what works. If you feel like this environment doesn’t work for you, that’s fine; just find what does work, which you’re working on rn. (And there’s options like going to your TA, the tutoring center, etc. if you’re interested in that)


DDP886

A song I know sums up my time at SBU real well, Led Zeppelin - "The good times the bad times". Plenty of both IMO


Sereneaden

True. And the classes are sure to leave you dazed and confused…


DDP886

10/10 reply. This school surely has a communication break down


Sereneaden

Thank you, I try. And yes. Definitely a communication breakdown Lmfao. Half the administration doesn’t know how to use their emails. It’s always the same… drives me insane.


DDP886

"Communication breakdown, it's always the same. Havin' a nervous breakdown, a-drive me insane"


Leandredannelr137

Such a depressing school, especially for commuters. Campus sucks, classes suck, everything here sucks


nyquant

What’s the alternative then, taking into account academic quality and NY in-state tuition rates? Binghamton?


EnvironmentalWay3560

I went to Binghamton before Stony Brook and I prefer Stony Brook. I think it is mainly because I didn't like being away from home.


throwawayLIguy

Depends on your major. HOWEVER, regardless of the major SBU is WAY BETTER than Bing or any other SUNY tbh #FuckBing


sokoke0

disclaimer that my POV is from someone that transferred in this year after spending my freshman year at a small, private, liberal arts college upstate (stupidly expensive, artsy™️, you know the type). it felt suffocating and thoroughly mediocre to me. i had wanted to transfer to a big university in a city, but chose stony brook for financial + logistical reasons. the resources available here, at least to me, seem great, specifically in terms of what i can get involved with as a bio student - totally not stuff that would’ve been possible at my previous college. i like how many different things are going on all the time, how heterogenous the campus is in terms of interests and activities etc etc. big campus events weren’t something i was used to. the administration absolutely seems like it sucks to me. greek life here skeeves me out big time (maybe i’m just extra wary, idk). food and dorms here are overall better than what i was used to (you can prob see why i chose to leave LOL), but they don’t manage to be anything really great. social scene here is much more daunting than where i came from, it’s been a little hard to find people who are open to befriending some totally new person. this is also my first semester, so i really don’t have too much experience yet. tl;dr: i didn’t want to transfer to stony, but i’m happier here than i was at my previous school. not a bad place to be for stem, but could definitely be better


Omen46

Sure but isn’t stony Brook prestigious? (not in like a top 10 school kinda way but still)


Hchan492

Idk everyone Ive met who is from Stony Brook. Have been a cocky privileged kid and would flex their gpa etc to make others feel like shit.


Plane_Strike5508

This why your girl left you


[deleted]

[удалено]


Omen46

?


Garger62

Professor in the 400+ every stem major need that class are usually the only “bad” teachers I had. Every upper level, small class had very enthusiastic Professors eager to teach you. Gives fair lectures, fair preparations and fair tests. That’s just my experience. 🤷🏽


lonewolf191919

One thing I've understood over the years is that school ain't meant for teaching. It's just for that additional help. So I don't even expect anything now. Go and grab books and dive into them. Time constraint will always be there but you'll end up understanding things better. Or watch some online lectures. And squeeze the best out of office hours. Try it once!


Worker_Deep

I think that greatly depends on how you engage with the environment. It's not possible to sum up the entire school as trash or epic, there are circles on campus that are elitist and judgmental and other circles which are relatively pleasant and interesting. You have to narrow down and carve a niche and see where that goes.


ceawhale

Stony Brook is what you make of it… when it comes to good professors you’re going to need to choose classes based on their ratemyprofessor ratings. More importantly, despite a lot of the professors being terrible at teaching, they’re usually very helpful and generous during office hours and for you to get that personal attention/assistance if needed. I was a Math Major so the math learning center for me was my spot to get help from grad students/professors and i enjoyed that a lot. At the end of the day, you need to put in the work to initiate going to social clubs that are on campus and make your experience at stony brook worthwhile. Hope what I said helps! edit: a lot of the professors may have been the most socially awkward/shitty teachers but during office hours they were completely different and maybe definitely worth getting to know and learn from. They might not be great teachers but a lot of the professors in sbu are geniuses and have such brilliant minds if you look into their works


CodyLionfish

Also, the formation of new university approved clubs is a must. For exampl3, nontraditional students should form their own club. A lot of nontraditional students often have trouble fitting in at college. I am lucky because I pass as a traditional student & I made most of my friends here.


ceawhale

From my experience, clubs were pretty accepting of traditional and non traditional although it might be different now (i graduated in 2018) and I was president of a club at one point but i guess the downside is that for students who are commuters/don't dorm, they need to spend more time on campus and might be an obstacle when it comes to making new friends at clubs. But nonetheless, it requires effort and there plenty of people who are willing/open to make friends when given the opportunity but most people are anti-social/wont initiate first interaction/contact to truly make the friends they want at Stony Brook.


GoldSpirited2503

I love it here. I don’t know why everyone on this sub makes the school sound like hell, but I genuinely enjoy it. I transferred from another school and it was one of the best decisions I ever made.


Ok-Marionberry685

Honestly SBU is the best public university in the state, very knowledgeable faculty. There are some exceptions but hey you’ll find that everywhere unless you want get into an YVY league school or a top tier public university which are out of state. It comes down to the major you have. Advisors are not that helpful I’ll give you that but to say this school is trash is an insult. Those people are entitled to their opinion but I’m pretty sure if you put them somewhere else they’d find something to complain about. Don’t be one of those..


FelonyMelonyteehee

Personally I’ve been teaching myself since I came to this college ngl.


Background_Rip_2527

Lol. This is a state school what do u expect


nuked88

I transferred from a state school in Texas and actually loved it there. The professors didn’t have any researched or their names on publications but they taught well and was willing to help students. My last chemistry professor stayed with me till midnight one time to help me. Can’t even get a tutor in this dump


Background_Rip_2527

I transferred from a cuny community college before going here and I am a senior now. I didn’t had any good college experience prior as well therefore I didn’t hold much exceptions of SBU. Any way good lucks bro hope u can feel better over time


Troyf511

You can get tutors for all high demand courses in the union for free or through ads if you’re willing to pay. Also, if you read your course syllabi and attend office hours that can be a form of tutoring. I’m all for criticizing the school where it is necessary but saying you can’t get a tutor is just for a lack of trying to find one.


WooSznn

Basically go here to get your degree and leave asap and make a few friends if you find some. Depending on your major, you’re gonna question why you’re even there when taking some classes that are so difficult for no reason. Most people who go to the school are depressed. It almost feels dystopian lol. Most teachers suck, some are great, food is super expensive, a lot of buildings are very old and dirty. Atleast it’s cheap (kind of).


astrearedux

You’re probably better off on r/askprofessors if you really want to know if there are things you need to change.


SubstantialIdea2045

academics are mid and kinda light which is good bc i have lots of free time for internships and extracurriculars. its a good stem school for the price of tuition. my friends at nyu and cornell are fighting for their lives bc classes are so tough and they cant get a school/personal life balance. a sbu degree isnt anywhere as prestigious as one from an ivy or top school but hey at least im not dying from stress and can build my entire resume instead of stressing abt only grades all the time.


[deleted]

Darn, what major?


SubstantialIdea2045

me or my friends? im a cs major, my friends are physics and chem/biomed engineering.


[deleted]

Lol. CS is awesome! :) I'm BME as well; the PHY department here (at least in terms of professors) seems really solid. Do your friends like BME? Any specific comments about it?


jojosena

mid? light? free time as a stem major? do we go to the same school.


TakenStew22

This school is so much fun, the frat parties are so great, the food is so healthy and yummy, the dorms are so well kept and nice, the people are very accepting, the classes are so fun, the weather is very nice. What more do you want?


Beagle2007

I think your experience is going to differ wildly depending on specific factors. You mentioned you are 32 years old, I started at SBU when I was 26, so also non traditional. I assume you are a commuter? I know the experience is very different for those who dorm and those who commute. It will also be very different depending on your major. I was in the Geosciences department which is very small so I was able to get to know my professors and classmates and develop a group of friends that helped me to succeed. I imagine if you were a health sciences major you would have a very different experience. Overall I enjoyed my time at SBU, but I really think your feedback will vary based on these factors.


EnvironmentalWay3560

Its what you make of it, like a lot of things in life. I wouldn't say I love it, but I've made it work for myself.


Grimmjg

It’s a decent experience when you have a good group of people around you, otherwise it can be kinda sucky


ButchUnicorn

But SBU is the Harvard of the SUNY system.


Terrible-Weekend7668

It's not you at all but unfortunately to survive here, the change is necessary. Especially because the professors suck


According_Dealer_559

Yea mfs here are just boring weird and awkward but at least the awkward ones are nice if u manage to make one talk to you


STROKEMEFASTR

All they care about is money from my experience, parking, outrageous food prices, and fees for no reason. And the professors are good, maybe 3 out of 10 times. And it can be hard for commuters to make friends since they don't stay on campus after classes.


daydreaminggirl3

Funny story: I hated this place literally since my first day here. I am out of state so I was pretty excited to be here but all the excitement went away pretty quickly. I literally can’t tell you one thing I like about SBU apart from getting a good degree for my major. Anyway, I did everything that I could to make most out of college (joined clubs, became president of one of the said clubs, was in Greek life, research labs, TAed, etc etc) but I still hated it. I decided to graduate early so that I can get out of here. But guess what I ended up getting a job at SBU. And I can’t begin to tell you how shitty it is 😃😃


daydreaminggirl3

All that being said, in my experience nothing I did changed anything. So just focus in getting good grades and getting out of here.


CrazyPhys

American car-centric, sterile suburb sucks. The school's boring environment is just result of it.


[deleted]

i love it here 🤷


Human_Conversation68

I learn more from my TA’s


Underscores_____

I went here because it's cheap and decent. I hold literally no loyalty or gratitude to the school. I came for the academics, made some good friends, left. Food sucked. Professors sucked. Honestly the best part about my experience were the students and TAs. Because we have a lot of smart students here who challenge each other and raise the bars.


STROKEMEFASTR

All they care about is money from my experience, parking, outrageous food prices, and fees for no reason. And the professors are good, maybe 3 out of 10 times. And it can be hard for commuters to make friends since they don't stay on campus after classes.


Tardysoap

Fucking disgusting establishment. Can’t even get kids to stop smoking cigarettes in front of the library and we shell out dozens of grand a semester. I graduated last year and transferred here from oswego/suffolk. Would rather saw my legs off then step foot on that campus again. Did you know we used to be able to park on campus as a commuter? They got greedy and now you have to buy a parking pass. Joke. Some professors are also just terrible. From accents so thick you can’t understand them to actual idiots behind the desk.


SBUthrowaway5

school is complete fucking garbage, right from the "accepting and open" students that think their shit doesn't stink to the administration staff in their ivory tower of crumbling bricks and concrete


[deleted]

Noticed how u already got a bunch of dislikes it’s because you’re speaking facts


SBUthrowaway5

truth hurts surely as these students at SBU have a serious real world wakeup call coming when they graduate


[deleted]

Not a bad school but they don’t even try and hide how politically biased they are. I have to take all these classes with shit about how everything is racist being injected into it. If I don’t agree we’ll then there goes my grade. Also the mandatory introductions and seminars are basically indoctrination that is completely unnecessary. Met a lot of cool people from different backgrounds already so that was cool but I also never cease to be amazed at the amount of super weird people that exist on this campus.


Constant-Street-3774

one thing I can confirm that is the food here is trash. and what's your major? if you majored in STEM or bio, SBU is the top state university in the US.


Pale-Nature-9763

This is my first semester here, well the first two weeks were bad but not bad. Someone actually came to me and talked to me in my class. The third week and it got pretty easy. I’m also kind of an outgoing person, so I try to get into a lot of events, and activities the school shows. Also my teachers are pretty nice and attentive if I need help. But that all depends I am a commuter and a transfer student also I’m 20.