New York University Top Questions

Most of my classes are small because I am in a small school (social work). This is really nice and the people in my classes tend to become very close because of the subject matter we are dealing with all of the time in our classes. A unique class that I'm taking now, which is outside of the School of Social Work, is called the Meaning of Leadership, and it's all about examining leadership styles from Socrates to today and what is most effective. I really like it!

The only professors that knew my name were in the Spanish department. Small classes, easier to connect, just happened that way. Many classes are huge halls, broken into sections taught by a TA, who didn't care to know you anyway. NYU kids are pretty cool. So diverse. Definitely intellectual, although I was surprised by how many dumb/annoying/non-wisdom seeking individuals who got in. I wish i met up with my professors outside of class. I wasn't one to really engage with my professors during office hours and whatnot, unfortunately. NYU education is certainly for learning's sake, but if you want it to be used to get a job, it's easily utilized that way.

Most professors do not know my name. The classes were large and I never stayed after class to chit chat or go to office hours. In small classes, with a maximum of 15 people, the professor knew my name eventually. The academics were fairly rigorous. There are some classes that are really easy, those that are part of the core requirement (MORSE academic plan, but within my majors, chemistry and economics, most classes required a lot of studying and intense individual reading and learning. I've had some wonderful professors and some not so wonderful ones. My least favorite was a professor for linear algebra. He walked in saying that he found out 10 minutes before class that he had to teach this class. NYU's math department is in need of some restructuring. The best professors I have had were in the departments of French and Chemistry and these ended up being my favorite classes. There is competitiveness within some groups, such as Stern and pre-med students but it's important to not let that get to your head. I feel like learning for learning's sake is more satisfying than beating out someone else's score by one point. Unfortunately, a lot of people don't feel this way. I feel that Stern really prepared the students to get internships and jobs throughout the school year, preparing them for work after. However, in other schools the education at NYU didn't really prepare students for a job. You would have to actively seek it out yourself. Class participation is often a requirement mentioned, but I rarely participated and it didnt seem to affect my final grades. Students do have intellectual conversations outside of class, whether regarding the news or what was learned in class.

Many students will complain about the MAP curriculum, which is NYU's core courses. I agree, some of them are not a lot of fun. But I think you will find, especially in the case of the liberal arts core courses, that they help expand your horizons and knowledge base. My best advice is to talk to other students and get their opinion about professors and classes. At NYU it is really important to research your classes before registering. For the first two years most (but not all) of your classes will be large lectures anywhere from 300-70 students with a discussion group that meets once a week (this will also depend on you school and major). The last two years you will have an opportunity to form deeper relationships with your professors and take smaller and more specialized courses. One of the things I love about academics at NYU is that there are so many options. Because it is such a big university you can take almost anything you can imagine, even if it is outside your major. And if the major you want to study doesn't exist, transfer to Gallitin and make your own.

Went to Stern Undergrad for marketing and international business. Perks: -reputable business school -great access to internships at big companies -free food from club meetings (if you’re smart about it you can skip the actual meetings) Blas: -students aren't the most cut-throat but too many only think/talk about business and their careers -Stern degree leaves little room for classes outside of Stern, making it hard to pursue non-business interests Tip: Hang out with some non-Sternies so that Stern doesn't become your life.

One thing I found hilarious was when I was studying abroad in London. The London program partners with a few other schools, so I was studying for an exam with one other NYU student and two students from the University of Virginia. The other NYU student and I kept cracking jokes and couldn't stay on task to save our lives. The UVA students more or less stared in horror at our complete disregard for the material. I think that situation speaks for most of my time at school.

No. My favorite class so far was Drawing. It was a small class so we got individual attention, and I enjoy drawing. I'm also really enjoying Modern South Asian Literature because it's also a fairly small class and there's a lot of discussion and room for students to speak and I like the fact that there's not too much lecturing. My Least favorite classes were Perception (in the psychology department) and Early Modern Architecture. The Perception teacher was unorganized, hard to understand, and just in general didn't teach well, and on Top of that he was a hard grader. The only person who knew what they were doing in that class was the TA and he's the only reason I passed. The early modern architecture teacher was a Terrible teacher. She was boring and didn't explain things well. She was way too old to be teaching, I don't even think she's teaching this semester or anymore after this last semester. She knew her subject but had no idea how to teach it. Any interest I had in the subject was sapped out of me through her teaching. I do think NYU students have some intellectual conversations outside of class. Students are definitely competitive, more so in some departments than others. My department (Urban Design and Architecture- in the Art History Department) is really small and I don't really like it. The biggest pain is that we have a "Fine Arts Library" where you have to go and read some of the homework your teachers assign you, but you can't, check out the books, or photocopy pages and take them out, nothing like that. You have to sit there and read you homework. AND the hours are bad for it too, so if you have a heavy course load then it's really hard to get in there to actually do your homework. Also there's NO DESIGN really involved in my major...it's mostly architectural history...and I'm most interested in the design aspect... so it kind of sucks overall. No, I don't spend time with professors outside of class. NYU's academic requirements are okay, I think it's good to have people try out every field of interest. The only thng I don't like is the fact that we have to take 2 sciences. The education is geared toward getting a job in some schools, but being a CAS student I don't think there's much help there unless you VERY actively seek out help at the career center. Learning for it's own sake doesn't happen unless you pursue your subjects like that.

Professors don't usually know your name, at least in intro courses where there are over 100 students. My favorite class was International Politics. It was taught by a really great professor who was interesting and knew the subject matter really well. He was also very good at conveying it and teaching it so that everyone understood it. My least favorite class was World Cultures: Empires and Political Imagination because the professors were very disorganized and weren't very good at communicating with their TAs, so that the TAs could help us in recitation. They also wrote the course pack and then read it during class, but tried to say that they were different even though they weren't. Students study a lot. It doesn't seem like it when it's not midterm or final seasons, but students do study a lot during those times. Class participation is very common. NYU students have intellectual conversations outside of class. Students are very competitive. The most unique class I've taken is Conversations of the West: Antiquity and the 19th Century. It was an English, history and sociology class all in one. It was an interesting combination that came together very nicely and it was very interesting. My majors are politics and math with pre-law advising. All of these departments are very helpful and really try to connect to the students. I do not spend time with my professors outside of class. Some of NYU's academic requirements are a little ridiculous and not worthwhile, such as Expressive Cultures and the language placement exams are not representative of students' knowledge at all. The education at NYU is geared toward learning and research. However, they are very helpful when it comes to jobs, career planning and internships. There's a whole center just for helping students with that and they have a lot of fairs throughout the year that give students more information about those things.

Yes some do and they can be helpful.

Yes my professors know my name. My favorite class is the Writing The Essay plenary with Pay Hoy because its an interesting class that opened my mind in an artistic sense. Student study really hard, especially the Stern & Tisch people. The most unique class I've taken is Performance Strategies recitation.