Stony Brook University

Date: Oct 27 2009
Major: Undecided (This Major's Salary over time)
After applying to at least 12 different Universities, most of them out of New York State, ( and after getting into all of them) it came down to which one my parents would feel worthy of their money. After much arguing about where I wanted to go for MY college experience, I had the choice of Stony Brook, the community college where I spent my senior year of high school because I hate my HS, or not going to school at all and getting a job full time. Now of course I picked the best option…or so I thought

I understand that the academics are quite good, but I feel like all the other issues this University has makes it not worth your time. For example, since I arrived at the end of August, and by the way I live in the wonderfully decrepit Roosevelt Quad, we had two early morning fire alarms, One at 5:20am in the pouring rain, another at 7:30am while I was in the shower getting ready for work. Both on a saturday too. The power has gone out twice already, requiring the school to bring in a huge generator the size of a trailer right outside my window which is so loud I can't hear myself think. When we first arrived, it was 85 degrees in my room even with the windows open and three fans going. I'm not kidding. There are three people in a double room, which I understand is common now a days but the de tripling process is slow and arduous.

Everything else that people say is true. Roosevelt Quad looks like something reminiscent of communist China with mounds of hideous concrete everywhere. There is construction as well which only adds to the amount of ugly. It does take 20 minutes to get anywhere, and the food is over priced. A box of Oreos which you could get at CVS for $4 is almost twice that here. The social life does suck. I'm lucky at least that my job transferred me to the smith haven mall down here where I can get off campus for a few hours every weekend. The county busses don't run sundays, holidays, or leave the mall after 7pm, so you will most likely have to take a cab.

In short, you can't have a car your first two years, the bus service is lacking, over half the student body goes home on the weekends leaving the place a deserted wasteland, things are too far away, no real college "town", too ugly and I know this has nothing to do with the school, but being from New York this is just another one of my peeves, the weather sucks as well. Cold and rainy.

If you can afford not to, don't go here. I'm already trying to find ways to leave and its not even november yet.

Basi