New York University Top Questions

NYU is POWERFUL. And when I say powerful, I mean it. NYU is the largest private real estate holder in NYC. They just buy property all the time. I find that this gives students a feeling of power as well. When people hear I go to NYU, the usual reaction is "WOOOW YOU GO TO NYU?" We're not arrogant, but we know we're in a great school, in the greatest city in the world. I am a New Yorker and I can honestly say that everyday I fall more and more in love with my city. There is never a dull moment in this capital of the world. I can not even imagine what it is like for out of state students to experience the grandiosity and splendor of NYC. This is not a college town. The city is your campus (seriously, we own most of it). I notice that a lot of freshman find it difficult to adapt at first. There is no sense of community as a whole, but each school has its pride. And there are plenty of extracurricular activities that get students involved. But still, in a school and a city so big, it is easy to feel alone. People get through it for the most part. And when they do, they start to enjoy all NYU and NYC has to offer. Many of the classes are small. The science classes are huge though. About 400-800 students per section. This is all made up for with small recitations for almost every class, and office hours from professors. Dining halls are great. Residence halls are for the most part excellent. Probably the only thing I would change is the cost of tuition and the availability of financial aid. Like I said, NYU has power. And this power makes them money hungry. Tuition goes up 2{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} a year. I'm going to love paying off my student loans. But has it been worth it for me? 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}.

NYU does have a campus more than meets the eye. If you make a community for yourself, you will feel connected to the school in a very real way. By joining extra curricular clubs or other tight knit organizations, students make the school feel a whole lot smaller.

If you're reading this and considering coming here, I assume that you already know what it's like, but in case you don't, I shall summarize things. NYU is quite large. Lots of students, and no, there isn't a designated campus, though many consider Washington Square Park (which is located in the center) to be the unofficial "quad", and I don't think that this is inaccurate. It's very expensive to come here, though many can afford it (I am not one of those people) so it is generally brushed aside by most of the student body. The administration and bureaucracy is admittedly awful, but if you can navigate it you're good to go. School pride/community is a joke, though most people come here knowing this/come here to avoid that stereotypical "college lifestyle".

The best thing about NYU is the connections you make-no contest. Most of my professors in the music department are composing works and conducting major ensembles. My choir conductor teaches at Juilliard. Believe me, when you come here, you are most certainly going to get people who are the best in the business. However, the one thing I would change about this is that I wish the professors were more personable and less adamant about their graduate work. Hell, half of my professors don't seem to care, mainly because there are nearly 40 people in one class. I would say that, yeah, this school is way too big. NYU always complains about how they are "the best of the best" and that they should be higher in the ranking. Well maybe because you accept anyone with a 3.6 GPA and a composite 2000 SAT score. Seriously, I ask myself why certain people are allowed to come here. When I tell people that I go to NYU, I usually get a look of awe or someone asking me if I've met anyone famous. However, it depends on who you tell. If you tell someone in New York, you'll get a shrug at best. If you want to go to best school in New York, go to Columbia. That is what will get you the attention you want. Yet people from back home tend to think I'm a genius of some sort because I got in. I don't necessarily think that way at all. NYU may be a tough school to get into for some, but if you are a consistent student in high school with some extracurriculars, you'll have no problem getting in. Since I am a commuter student, I tend to spend more time at the Kimmel Center For Student Life or Bobst Library. Kimmel pretty much has it all in one building-practice rooms, lounges, computers, a dining hall. It has served me well as my base of operations. Meanwhile, Bobst is probably the most expansive library I've ever been in. Granted, I've toured some colleges and I've seen some pretty big libraries, but NYU is definitely ranking up there in terms of sheer volume. There are lounges downstairs, along with some conference rooms. There is also the Avery Fisher Center For Music And Media, which is a great place is you want to catch a film or listen to some new, avant-garde music. When it comes to college towns and NYU, people usually say "well, that's what I came here for". But really researched the city and really get a feel for it. I thought I liked New York when I would come visit some friends or go see a Broadway show. But there's a difference between visiting and living in New York. Within six months, you will grow bored of the city. That's just a plain fact. It doesn't matter how many museum exhibits you go to or how many baseball games you attend, New York may seem expansive, but you'll soon see how much you wish there was more to do once you've lived there for a while. And it is expensive as well. All the clubs, the restaurants, everything you've wanted to do in the city will not come cheap. Granted, there are special "city dives", such as Pizza Mercato where two slices of pizza is $3.00, but when you add up all the money spent for tuition, books and room and board, you ask yourself if it's ethical to ask your parents for more money just so you can hang out. The NYU administration is horrible. Probably next to Rutgers for worst college administration. I've had classes dropped for no reason. To get a practice room, I need to fill out a form and wait a day before it becomes open. If you're having problems in terms of adjusting, they'll tell you to go read a book. This school does not care about its students. It only cares about the money and making itself even grander and bigger. But it doesn't matter how much money the school pours into itself: until they learn to treat their students like individuals that matter, they will never see above number 30 on the US News and Report rankings list. Probably the biggest controversy on campus is the Take Back NYU group and the acts they pull off so they can get everyone against NYU. You see, the students, being curious as always, would like to know what their money is going towards, such as salaries, projects, etc. But NYU, being a private university, refuses to show a budget and what it is going towards. While colleges like Northwestern and Brown happily show their budgets on their website. But that gives no reason for kids to take over a dining hall for four hours and heap a bunch of bad publicity on the school. Seriously, you ask yourself who is dumber at this school-the administration or the students. There is absolutely no school pride. In fact, it is not out of the ordinary to hear your friends talk about transfering. Hell, I may be transfering next semester. The fact is, kids like knowing that they are at NYU their senior year. But as soon as they show up to cash in on what their parents are paying, they become ornery and "past" the fact that they are at NYU. I would not be transfering if NYU had more school pride. Considering they refuse to endorse the athletics or anything great done by the undergraduate body, it seems you will not be cheering for anything about NYU any time soon. The most unusual thing about NYU is that despite being located in the middle of Greenwich Village, it is not New York. NYU and NYC are two completely separate entities. Sure, you may feel like you're in the city, but the truth is-NYU is totally different from actually living in New York. You'll understand once you visit the campus...it'll hit you that you're no longer in Midtown anymore.

I enjoyed my time at NYU but honestly it was that the school provided a forum for me to live in New York City. NYU itself was an afterthought. That being said, I can't imagine being very happy anywhere else. The great thing about this city is that you realize once you get here that you're not under a microscope anymore. Nobody really cares what your grades are (unless you connect with a professor, which does happen...occasionally), nobody minds if you eat alone, nobody cares if you walk up and down Broadway in PJ pants and slippers. For me, having that was really freeing. For other people though, it is lonely, scary, and sad. I think the kids who killed themselves were responding to that.

In a very cosmopolitan campus students are used to fast-pace life

There is no school spirit at NYU. There is no sense of community. It is incredibly easy to become detached from NYU, since no effort is made to integrate students into the City. Overall, it's a depressing place with no campus where students can only feel alone despite the thousands of people surrounding them.

If it wasn't split into different schools, NYU would be too big. However, since everyone is in a smaller school within NYU, I think it's just right. People impressed when I tell them I go to NYU. I spend most of my time in classrooms or the library. It is not a college town. NYU's administration seems to be ok, our president is awesome. Biggest recent controversy: the only one I can think of was last year when the college Republicans played some game that wanted to point out the illegal immigrants and then there was a protest. I don't feel like there is a lot of school pride. NYU is unusual because we don't have a campus per se, which is weird to many people. I'll always remember when I went to see the premier of Reign Over Me and all of the stars were there (Adam Sandler, Don CHeadle, Liv Tyler, Jada and Will Smith, etc.) at the Skirball Center (FOR FREE) at NYU. THe most frequent student complaints are that there isn't enough financial aid and that there isn't much community here.

LOVE living in NYC as opposed to a traditional campus -24/7 energy

NYU is perfect if you love excitement, new things, and the city. You meet new people everyday. There are tons of good food places and music scenes. We're not that into sports, hence no football team.