Stony Brook University has a more diverse undergraduate population than SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Binghamton and the total SUNY undergraduate student population, according to SUNY Common Data Sets. The least represented races on SUNY campuses are African Americans and Hispanics, each making up 10.1 percent of the total SUNY undergraduate population. In comparison, African Americans and Hispanics represent 17.5 percent and 18.2 percent, respectively, of the population of New York State, according to the 2012 Census.

As a percentage of total population, Stony Brook has a much larger Asian population than Suffolk County. Suffolk County’s white population is nearly twice as large as the University’s as a percentage of total population.

Nationally, the racial gap in high school graduates who attend college has narrowed. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 70 percent of white students continue on to college, compared to 65 percent of black students. Black students are still less likely to graduate with a degree. According to Department of Education data, of students who entered college in 2005, 62 percent of whites graduated with degrees in six years versus 40 percent of blacks and 51 percent of Hispanics.