URochester or Stony Brook?

EllieMom
Fri, 29 Mar 2019 20:04:24 +0000

Don’t worry about the reputation of URoch vs. Stony Brook…whoever you asked who said Stony Brook was more “academically reputable” is…well…probably not academically reputable, themselves.

If anything, URoch is higher ranked and more recognized on a national and international basis.

Peer institutions with URoch would be Case Western, Brandeis, NYU, Northeastern. It’s in the same athletic conference (University Athletic Association) as UChicago, WUSTL, Carnegie Mellon, Case, Brandeis, Emory and NYU. Known affectionately as the “Egghead Eight.” (So, if “Ivy League” is a meaningful category to you, that might give you an idea of where URoch fits in terms of general reputation for academics.)

Instead of worrying about the relative academic reputations of the two schools, pay attention to their curricula, programs, relative cost, and your own preferences re. campus and culture. And make up your own mind instead of listening to people who probably don’t really know what they’re talking about.

As to why people are unfamiliar with Rochester…probably because those you asked don’t pay much attention to the relative merits of mid-sized private schools and are more familiar to Stony Brook because of its size and proximity to NYC. I don’t think Rochester excels at marketing. Neither do a lot of schools that are very well regarded to people in the know.