Would you send your student to Stony Brook?

[Anonymous]

Stressed out mom here. Chasing merit aid.

DD got offered significant merit aid at Stony Brook. We haven’t visited the campus.

Tonight she was accepted to Purdue and although she was accepted to the honors college she wasn’t offered any merit aid. She visited the campus last fall and loved it.

Astrophysics major.

Please share your thoughts on these two schools.

Before anyone tells me how mediocre these schools are, DD was accepted to two “top 10” schools but they are not affordable for us. No merit aid and very little financial aid.

[Anonymous]

It really depends on how much debt she is willing to take on.

[Anonymous]

If you are not getting aid, you can probably afford it. I’d would not pick it for a smart kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stressed out mom here. Chasing merit aid.

DD got offered significant merit aid at Stony Brook. We haven’t visited the campus.

Tonight she was accepted to Purdue and although she was accepted to the honors college she wasn’t offered any merit aid. She visited the campus last fall and loved it.

Astrophysics major.

Please share your thoughts on these two schools.

Before anyone tells me how mediocre these schools are, DD was accepted to two “top 10” schools but they are not affordable for us. No merit aid and very little financial aid.

Stonybrook. The physics ranking is higher than Purdue's, 21 versus 38.
Stonybrook has a good reputation in science, while Purdue has a better reputation in engineering. Given the significant merit aid, I would choose Stonybrook.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are not getting aid, you can probably afford it. I’d would not pick it for a smart kid.

Agree. She definitely can afford it, but just don’t want to spend the money on her kid.

[Anonymous]

These schools place adjacent to each other in this site, with Stony Brook rated as slightly more selective:

College & University Rankings in 2026 https://share.google/KRTnC0nvwMumzUCK3

[Anonymous]

Purdue.

[Anonymous]

Visit them both. Do an honest assessment of your finances and how much you are willing to spend. I would advise not cheaping out on your child's education, but if she is relatively indifferent, no need to throw away money either.

Both great options, especially for science. The price is right for Stony Brook. Though it has improved a ton, it still has a lot of commuters, so it will be less of a traditional college experience than Purdue. But does she care?

Congratulations - nice problem to have. Anyone who hates on these schools should be ignored.

[Anonymous]

I can't believe people are saying bad things about Purdue. I had a boss who sent her older son to Johns Hopkins (don't remember major) and younger son to Purdue for business. She said her younger son had a better time in school and was able to relax. And it was less expensive. Both kids have similarly lucrative careers. Older son is an actuary, younger is a corporate marketing/finance manager.

I don't know about Stony Brook but I've heard good things about sister campus Binghamton. And my dad's physics grad students from Buffalo are probably making the most money of anyone we know who doesn't have generational wealth. They went into quant finance in the NYC/CT area. Their daughter just graduated from an HYPS.

With a major as specialized as astrophysics, you should look at the bios of relevant professors, breadth of electives in that major offered each term, number of grads in that major, internship info, employer connections, etc. If these are minimal, I'd look elsewhere. You need a cohort of professors and people majoring in a subject to support a quality program. It's not about the ranking of the school overall. It's about the ability to complete the degree and get internships and jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stressed out mom here. Chasing merit aid.

DD got offered significant merit aid at Stony Brook. We haven’t visited the campus.

Tonight she was accepted to Purdue and although she was accepted to the honors college she wasn’t offered any merit aid. She visited the campus last fall and loved it.

Astrophysics major.

Please share your thoughts on these two schools.

Before anyone tells me how mediocre these schools are, DD was accepted to two “top 10” schools but they are not affordable for us. No merit aid and very little financial aid.

Stonybrook. The physics ranking is higher than Purdue's, 21 versus 38.
Stonybrook has a good reputation in science, while Purdue has a better reputation in engineering. Given the significant merit aid, I would choose Stonybrook.

Sb's reputation is at the graduate level. At the undergrad level, I would choose Purdue. SB is also a pretty miserable college environment - it's a bit of a commuter school.

[Anonymous]

Purdue

[Anonymous]

I'd disregard graduate school rankings.

While SBU may be a "suitcase school" (from which some students go home on weekends), it’s not a commuter school.

As a general opinion, physics tends to be the more comprehensive major for a student interested in astrophysics. A minor in astronomy/astrophysics can complement this approach.

[Anonymous]

Sure

[Anonymous]

Go to the highest ranked school with full scholarship.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stressed out mom here. Chasing merit aid.

DD got offered significant merit aid at Stony Brook. We haven’t visited the campus.

Tonight she was accepted to Purdue and although she was accepted to the honors college she wasn’t offered any merit aid. She visited the campus last fall and loved it.

Astrophysics major.

Please share your thoughts on these two schools.

Before anyone tells me how mediocre these schools are, DD was accepted to two “top 10” schools but they are not affordable for us. No merit aid and very little financial aid.

Stonybrook. The physics ranking is higher than Purdue's, 21 versus 38.
Stonybrook has a good reputation in science, while Purdue has a better reputation in engineering. Given the significant merit aid, I would choose Stonybrook.

Sb's reputation is at the graduate level. At the undergrad level, I would choose Purdue. SB is also a pretty miserable college environment - it's a bit of a commuter school.

A greater percentage of students live on campus at SBU (52%) than at Purdue (42%).