Stony Brook University

Yes, SBU is a 4-year college offering degrees at all levels, on-campus and online. As a well-established school, SBU is relatively competitive, accepting just under half of applicants. It has a higher-than-average 76% graduation rate. This information is based on the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data.

Yes, SBU is online and offers 16 degree programs at the bachelor's and master's levels and 11 advanced graduate certificates — most in healthcare — which can be completed entirely remotely. NCES data shows that 7% of undergrads and 22% of graduate students participate in distance-only education. 

Examples of SBU's online programming include online bachelor's degrees in electrical engineering and nursing (BSN). Online master's degrees range from nurse midwifery and nursing education to human resource management and higher education administration.

Yes, SBU is a good school. According to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, it's one of only 146 U.S. colleges and universities receiving R1 classification for very high research activity. The students accepted into their chosen programs are high academic achievers, with average combined SAT scores higher than at least 1300 and ACT scores of at least 29, though SBU is test-optional.

SBU is also institutionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), an agency recgonized by the U.S. Department of Education. This accreditation status signifies that MSCHE finds SBU's financial practices sound and that its academic programming meets federal quality standards. Additionally, SBU is programmatically accredited by 14 other industry-specific agencies in addition to its institutional accreditation. 

To provide the most trustworthy results, OnlineU only includes accredited online institutions on its site. 

According to SBU's website, the school is known as New York's flagship and No. 1 public university — it is also Long Island's only public research university. It has an internationally-recognized research institution and an R1 Carnegie classification rating, a distinction only a handful of U.S. higher education institutions achieve. The research SBU conducts has led to discovering 3D imaging software for 3D colonoscopy, the most primitive fossil bird linking birds to dinosaurs, the first commercially successful bar code reader, and the link between smoking and emphysema — to name just a few.

According to College Scorecard, SBU's bachelor's degrees in computer and information sciences, computer engineering, and registered nursing provide the highest earnings, though only the BSN degree is offered online. Graduates in these fields earn median annual salaries of approximately $121,700, $99,100, and $95,100, respectively.

Additionally, OnlineU's proprietary Salary Score ranks colleges by how much their alumni earn compared to graduates with the same degree nationwide. Out of 100 total points, WSU has a bachelor's degree salary score of 57, 64 for its master's degrees, and 54 for its doctoral degrees. Notably, it has an online master's degree in nutrition available with a very high salary score of 93. 

Yes, getting into SBU is difficult — it's competitive and accepts less than half of applicants. Applicants generally have high GPAs, high entrance exam scores, and high academic standings in their high school graduating classes. 

However, according to College Scorecard data, 90% of students return after their first year. Over 75% of students follow through to graduation, about 27% more than the average for all four-year schools. 

It is unclear exactly what minimum GPA is needed to get into SBU. In general, GPAs are generally above 3.5. However, due to how competitive the school is, the higher the GPA, the greater your chances of being accepted, especially since submitting standardized test scores is optional. 

Although individual degree programs may have additional requirements, SBU's admission requirements for first-year applicants generally include the following:

• An application 
• A $50 application fee
• Official high school transcripts
• Official college transcripts, if transferring credits
• Official military transcripts, if applicable
• At least one letter of recommendation from a high school teacher or counselor, two if enrolling in an honors program
• A college application essay on a topic of your choice

Additionally, submitting SAT/ACT scores is optional.

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