Acceptance Rate
49%
Avg. SAT
1500
75th percentile
“Stony Brook catapults driven STEM strivers from Long Island suburbs into national research spotlights, blending big-university muscle with beachside proximity to New York City.”
Stony Brook, NY
Location
Large Suburb
Campus Setting
You arrive at Stony Brook University, born in 1957 amid the Sputnik panic as a State University of New York outpost designed to pump out scientists for Cold War America, evolving into a research behemoth with a Southampton satellite campus overlooking the Atlantic. This public powerhouse draws students who thrive on intellectual grit and diversity—over 25,000 undergrads from 100+ countries, many first-gen or commuters juggling jobs—but you'll navigate a sprawling, wooded campus where personal attention sometimes yields to scale. The school's personality skews understated and ambitious, fostering hackers and healers over party elites; tradeoffs hit if you crave small-college intimacy or urban buzz, as suburban Stony Brook offers quiet woods, Stony Brook Village shops, and a 60-minute LIRR ride to Manhattan, but winters bite and nightlife clusters in nearby Port Jefferson rather than on-site.
Photo Gallery
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Admissions
Acceptance Rate
Test Policy
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Average GPA
Application Fee
Academics
Student-Faculty Ratio
Programs Offered
Full-Time Faculty
Women Faculty
Research Spending
Degree Levels Offered
In Stony Brook's classrooms, you dive into rigorous STEM havens like physics (where C.N. Yang pioneered parity violation), chemistry, and the Renaissance School of Medicine, which trains doctors in a top-50 program amid a 19:1 student-faculty ratio that means packed intro lectures but seminar-style upper-level seminars. Research pulses everywhere—undergrads co-author papers via Brookhaven National Lab ties or the Simons Institute for Geometry and Physics—creating a culture of collaborative intensity where profs push you toward grad school or industry labs, though humanities and social sciences play solid supporting roles without stealing the spotlight. Compared to peers, it's more research-heavy than 80% of public flagships, but expect self-starters to shine while others flounder in the scale.
Student Body
Total Enrollment
18,263 undergrad • 8,426 grad
Undergraduate
Graduate
International
White
30%
Black / African American
6%
Hispanic / Latino
13%
Asian
28%
Other / Multi-racial
23%
Campus Life
Campus Setting
Stony Brook, NY
Varsity Athletics
NCAA Athletics
A typical week at Stony Brook mixes 8 a.m. lectures across three quads, gym sessions at the Stony Brook Arena, and evenings in themed dorms like the eco-focused Tabler Quad or international Schomburg—home to 60% of undergrads despite the commuter rep. Socially, you'll find 300+ clubs fueling hackathons, K-pop dance crews, and Diwali galas amid a diverse, hardworking vibe where Seawolves basketball unites the campus during upsets over Drexel; traditions like the Wang Center's free symphony series or Spirit of the Brook festival add flair. Challenges include a spread-out layout demanding bikes or buses, chilly Long Island winds curbing outdoor hangs, and a merit-driven scene that can feel competitive rather than cozy.
Housing
On-Campus Housing
Housing Capacity
Meal Plan Available
Average Room & Board
Athletics
Athletic Association
Coastal Athletic Association
ROTC & Veteran Support
Army
Yes
Navy
Yes
Air Force
Yes
Veteran’s Programs Available
Credit for military training
Yes
Dedicated point of contact for veteran support services
Yes
Recognized student veteran organization
Yes
Member of DoD Voluntary Educational Partnership MOU
Yes
Cost & Aid
In-State Tuition
Out-of-State Tuition
Room & Board
Estimated Cost
Financial Aid
Students Receiving Aid
Receiving Pell Grants
Average Grant
Average Federal Loan
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Outcomes & Earnings
Retention Rate
90%
4 Years Graduation Rate
66%
6 Years Graduation Rate
77%
Median 10-Year Earnings
$74,502
90% of first-time, full-time students complete their freshman year at Stony Brook University and return in the fall. 66% of first-time, full-time students graduate in 4 years, and 77% graduate within 6 years.
Graduation Rate
4-year grads
66%
4-5 years
11%
6-8 years
1%
Non-grad
22%
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Key Statistics
Type
Public
Tuition
$7,070
Acceptance
49%
Undergrads
18,263
4-Year Grad Rate
66%
Endowment
$392M
Stony Brook, NY 11794-0701
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