Farmingdale State College — Local services in Town of Babylon

This is worst school ever. You are better off going to community college than this state college. The financial aid office are liars, and do not help you. I came all the way from Charlotte, NC and had to stay at a friends house nearby for over 2/3 months till they fixed my financial aid. While I was there in person to fix my financial aid, each time I went into the office they told me something else I needed that I didn’t need before. Before I came down they said I had everything I needed and my balance was zero, meaning I go all my financial aid to be covered. After I came down I had to go to nyc to get my immune papers and all other paper work needed to be done. if I was told I needed to get all these things done I would of just contacted them by mail before I left The state. So here’s the worst part of all... right before the deadline of signing up for the following semister I got expelled for FINDING an iPod in the women’s bathroom. (Yes, I was young & carless) Not suspended but expelled. The police on campus threaten that if I did not return the iPod they was going to arrest me and send me to jail, so of corse I gave it to them. They also searched my bag and pockets without a warrant. Due to the fact i took something that was not mine, instead of suspending me I got expelled and I had to immediately withdraw from my classes the following semester. After I left school about 3/4 months later I received a bill from Suny Farmingdale for $1800 for the following semester that I did not attend and that I withdrew from. I called the school to find out more and they said I needed to show proof of this paper in order to discharge the fees. As typical as most people I would think, I did not save a piece of paper that said withdrawal from class. In 2017, 3 years later I received a SUMMINGS to appear in court or pay $2400 for the spring semester that I withdrew from that I did not attend. These fees included of fee intercollegiate athletic, administrative fee, room rent, health service, student activity, and technology fee plus daily interest. This debt collection never called me, never attempted to send me a collection to my new address, nothing. I called to hire an attorney but they Said it would cost more money to have someone to represent me on my behalf for a small amount, and having them to go upstate NY rather than for me to pay the fee, plus not being able to show this piece of paper. I even called FASFA (financial aid) and they don’t even have any fees taking out or any additional funds that was taking out after my first semester or any balance remaning. I also called Suny Farmingdale Financial aid to provide me any information and said they could not because my account was turned over into collections. If I did not pay this amount in certain amount of time, I would have a judgment on my name. I paid the full balance off, and they send me another bill to pay for the delivery of the Summings notice. (That I did not pay because that was not included in my invoice and the person who delivered the mail was not an attorney, an officer, or sheriff.) This school was the worst experience I’ve EVERRR had in my whole life. To top it off the teachers are the worst and the cafeteria serves the same food every week, and they close very early I think 6/7 pm ! I believe %90 of kids here starved several nights or begged someone to feed them if they had class and couldn’t make it to the cafeteria...

Came to Farmingdale as a non-traditional/adult student in my late 20's as a career changer, pursuing the Health Sciences Certificate (on the path to Nursing school). With the exception of 2 or so professors over the 16 months I took courses at the college, most professors I had in the Biology department were very caring, and offered office hours to help students succeed in their courses (Take Dr. Huang if you decide to take chemistry courses here, he's wonderful!). Compared to a larger state school like Stony Brook, you get more of a personal touch at Farmingdale (with the courses being a little bit easier if you're a serious student, in my opinion).

Campus is actually pretty nice for a SUNY institution, though parking can be a pain in the butt, during the Fall & Spring Semesters. There is a new business school building, and the Campus Center is a nice little hang out spot for students (even though it's essentially a commuter school). Food is mediocre for the most part, but there are occasionally some good offerings at Pop's Dining. Financial Aid & Student Accounts can sometimes be annoying to deal with, but it's pretty tolerable if you keep on top of everything.

I would say Farmingdale is best known for their Aviation, Bioscience, Dental Hygiene, and Nursing programs. Even though the school has grown quite a bit in the past couple of years, I had to downgrade my rating a little bit due to the quality of students. A lot of students still see the college as a "4-year Nassau/Suffolk Community College," and are just looking to coast to get a college degree. It tends to really show in certain classes. However, I will say that I enjoyed interacting with the few students who took their studies seriously and dreamed of grad school.

As a regional 4-year public school, Farmingdale is essentially what you make of it. If you're motivated and take advantage of the resources provided, you can get a high quality education at a very low cost. I would recommend their Health Sciences Certificate program, especially if you are looking to go to...

Do NOT waste your time going to this school for visual communications. The entire curriculum is a complete joke and waste of time. For starters, the computer lab is only open during limited hours, so if you work full time, you'll have to figure out doing homework without the use of the school's computers or printers. Second, most of the classes have very little to do with teaching you how to actually make it as a graphic designer. You would think a class called industry prep would teach you about how to start your own business, but instead the entire class was about how to make a resume and go work for someone else, which is fine for some people, but not every person going to school for graphic design wants to work for Vice or Buzzfeed. Another class, 3D design, which sounds like it would teach you about the world of 3D art, was really just an origami class. I'm not even joking, that entire class is spent learning how to make shapes out of paper. Additionally, most of the department's professors are adjunct professors, and therefore barely on the campus to offer extra help or office hours. While attending and unhappy with the school, I attempted to discuss my issues with the head of the department, Donna Proper, because I'm not really a quitter. Professor Proper pretty much made me feel stupid for being unhappy. She barely listened to what I had to say, told me there wasn't much she could even do to help, and then did zero to follow up with me. After I stopped attending Farmingdale, I took private photography lessons instead of finishing school, and within one class, I learned more than I did in a year and a half at Farmingdale. If you want to learn about running a business, running a photo studio, or running a design studio, you're better off just studying under someone who's already actively doing those things, like an apprentice. Don't waste your money on a school like this, it'll just lead to frustration and the opposite of being educated or enlightened. If I could give zero...