Ask a Current NYU Stern Freshman!

<p>Okay, I have a few questions.

  1. How competitive is Stern? I am interested in doing the exact same thing you are ( either accounting or finance, possibly both) so how hard will this be? How competitive of a school is Stern in comparison to say, Wharton?
  2. How does partying work at NYU? This may sound weird, but I’m from a medium sized town so we/college students here tend to have them in houses. Do people have them in apartments? Are they more like small kick back type things or does it get big?
  3. I’m a little concerned with admissions. Mostly because I have a low ACT score of a 28 but I am a minority student. Do you think the score will shoot my chances? I have good leadership e.c.s so maybe those can compensate for them?<br>
    These may sound weird, but it would be really cool to hear a students view. Thank you!</p>

<p>1) it’s highly competitive. HIGHLY competitive. you gotta make sure you try your best to keep up. i would say its just as competitive as wharton is.
2) partying…well there are parties that take place in dorms but you risk getting broken up by your RA and getting written up. that doesn’t happen that often though. many people go out clubbing (personally i dont that much).
3) no idea, i’m not that good of a judge on admissions. maybe MAP can help you with that.</p>

<p>re: low ACT scores</p>

<p>Look. Standardized test scores won’t get you in, but they can keep you out. See what I’m sayin’? 28, compared to other Stern applicants who will likely have higher test scores, high GPAs and great ECs, isn’t that competitive. Being a minority might be a tipping point factor, but it won’t make up for lack of anything. But that’s just my opinion.</p>

<p>1.It definitely is tough and competitive. You’ll spend most of your week doing hell lot of homework and crying over tough midterms that you couldn’t even do that well in. And it hurts when you have friends at non-Stern NYU who get to spend more of their time on other things like tv shows and central park,broadway, nightclub and random trips (no offence guys, you’re so awesome, but the academics at most of non-Stern NYU is definitely easier). I agree that its as competitive as Wharton, maybe even more ( I have a few friends there at Wharton and they’d probably agree too). However, going around too much on these forums won’t give you the true picture because there will always be these sore losers who aren’t even firstly in Wharton who keep saying that its Wharton on a separate level then only the rest. Our Location makes us a great school but it also makes us narrowly focused towards finance where we’re as good as Wharton (Probably if we’d been elsewhere, we might have an as great reputation too). If you plan on doing finance (an approximate 70% of stern kids take finance as at least one of their majors), expect it to be tough as hell. But then, if you get in, you’re among the best, since a lot of kids here did get into a lot of the ivies and dream schools and turned them down. If you’re among the best, expect it to be competitive. Don’t worry about it - you’ll always have friends with you going through the same thing and you’ll get through fine. If you get admitted in Stern, thats enough to show that you can last the competition (the admissions officers think so and I would too).</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Partying - well you can do a lot of it. It is new york, everything is always open, everything is always exciting. Most of the partying is at clubs. It depends a lot on your RA. I have an awesome RA who doesn’t say much as long as we know our limits. But then while NYC is a party city, Stern isn’t a party school. You’ll definitely have to cut some of your partying for schoolwork, but I think you should be able to go out on most Saturday nights (I do go out though not much, my Stern friends do, and they do it a lot)</p></li>
<li><p>I’m no pro on this, but scores aren’t everything. I hope you understand Stern doesn’t accept only the best test scores. If so, we would be so uninteresting. We have students with wide ranging test scores. My Stern suitemate has a 1960 or something on his SAT, another friend has a 2380. Scores aren’t everything. If you showed that you are unique and would add something wonderful to Stern and NYU (maybe thats your e.c s), then you’ll get in. (On a side note, I saw this years application and your application supplement was tougher than ours, at least for me and a bunch of my friends. I felt you were slightly unlucky)</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Honestly, I think you’re exaggerating the difficulty of Stern by a lot. Stern is a top Business school for sure, but Business is not that difficult of a major in comparison to subjects like Math, Engineering, Comp Sci, Physics, etc. My boyfriend is a Junior Finance major in Stern and I’m a Soph science major in CAS and my workload, not to mention number of hours spent in classes/labs, is a lot more intense in comparison (not that his is easy). Stern is tough (especially for a business school) but I definitely wouldn’t say “academics at non-Stern NYU is easier” because there are several subjects which are more rigorous and demanding.</p>

<p>I said at most of non-Stern NYU for exactly that reason. I know that there are really difficult majors out there other than Stern and totally accept it. Math, Comp Sci might be more tougher but there are many courses that aren’t. Finance at Stern is tough, but it becomes tougher because there are somewhere like 300 ultra competitive kids doing the same classes, and the 50% Asian population and the curving doesn’t help sometimes too. It makes us study more to be as perfect as possible. Thus, for some, it might seem more difficult than it actually is compared to some CAS classes and others (Tisch, Gallatin and the like). Also, it depends on your course load. And I was talking more from a freshman point of view. My friends in CAS have hardly any tough work (they’re freshmen). I’m sorry if I sent out a wrong message - I didn’t mean to.</p>

<p>Ok, i was just clarifying because you said “non stern NYU is easier” when I honestly don’t think that’s true. I think NYU’s most difficult undergrad program is Math because we have the #1 applied math program in the country and Courant is very rigorous, which is why there are very few math majors. Science programs are also very competitive because not only is the subject matter difficult with harsh curves, but the competition for getting into grad/med schools is ridiculous.</p>

<p>I would guess Stern is probably more difficult than 90% of NYU programs but I wouldn’t say it’s the most difficult one at all.</p>

<p>Lol @ “50% asians” killing the curve :] there is literally 1 non-asian in the grad dept of my major and it’s hilarious</p>

<p>Is undergrad math really THAT hard at NYU? I was thinking of double majoring at Stern and Courant for marketing and math…</p>

<p>well stern is difficult and math is difficult so double majoring would probably be hard. I’ve heard marketing is one of the easier majors in stern (people usually say finance is the hardest). math is a difficult major in general and courant is pretty prestigious. I guess it depends on your individual ability, but you’ll have to work harder than the average NYU student if you’re going to be in Stern AND be a math major.</p>

<p>I’ve seen and talked to a decent number of students either pursuing stats and math or finance and math. None in marketing and math (but there should be some there too) Marketing isn’t that easy but not so difficult too. Its the second most popular major at Stern so expect some competition and harsh curving there too. It can be done but it depends on you. The main reason for so less interest in math and stern is because advanced math can be a gpa killer sometimes. At least thats what the kids I talked to told me. Most of them take Calculus1 and linear algebra and stop with that even though they are capable of more. At stern you would find many kids worried about some of their electives because they can be gpa killers and when you sit for an interview with a top company, your gpa should stand out (at least decently). Don’t let that stop you but I would also advise that you decide after you come here and spend some time so you can get a feel of majors. Don’t do math unless you totally love it. Math needs love and huge interest. Stern will get difficult so working on your second major can be tough at times. Don’t think now that Stern is cool, Courant is cool so I’m going to major in amazing things from both of them and be this amazing guy at the end of graduation. Many kids do that and don’t spend time enjoying the present. Worry later. Hope this helps you. I’m only adding on to Alix 2012, who said it perfectly in very few words. </p>

<p>And @ Alix 2012 - I totally agree. I was just talking based on seeing my floormates from other schools having more free time and more fun and still get good grades while i spent my last saturday preparing for so much.</p>

<p>I guess I’ll see once I start, if I go there.
I love math, but it does get frustrating at times.
Thanks for the advice.</p>

<p>Is it possible to join clubs in Stern if you’re in CAS?? I was looking at the Investment Analysis Group to join, but I’m a Mathematics and Economics double major. I didn’t apply to Stern because I couldn’t major in math lol</p>

<p>You can major in math wile at stern? You’re allowed to have a major in stern and one outside in cas. And yes you can join I have some gallatin friends in iag</p>

<p>to nytimes92:</p>

<p>I’m currently a stuy graduate (class of 09) at stern. I would say that there is a sizable amount of people here from stuy- everyone has definitely heard of stuyvesant at stern. In my grade at stern alone, theres at least 10 that i know off the top of my head.</p>

<p>@NuclearPakistan1
@sansri88</p>

<p>I think you can major in math while at Stern. The website says this:</p>

<p>"In addition to the Stern major, you are permitted to declare two other formally recognized areas of specialization in Stern, the College of Arts and Science (CAS), Steinhardt, Tisch, or Wagner. A maximum of three designations on the formal NYU Stern record are permitted. The additional two major(s)/minor(s) may come from the following areas:</p>

<pre><code>* In Stern: either an International Business Co-Major or another functional business area as a secondary major

  • In CAS: a major or 1 or 2 minors (see CAS Web site for requirements and restrictions)
  • In Steinhardt: a minor (see Steinhardt Web site for requirements and restrictions)
  • In Tisch: the Producing minor (see Tisch Web site for requirements and restrictions)
  • In Wagner: the Public Policy and Management Minor or the Social Entrepreneurship Minor"
    </code></pre>

<p>Mathematics is list under CAS although the classes are taught at Courant. I assume it counts as a CAS major since applicants have to apply to CAS to be a math major.</p>

<p>Ohboi is right - to double major in CAS and Stern, you must apply to Stern. You can’t be in CAS and decided to double major in Stern as well. </p>

<p>to clarify, Math is definitely a CAS major. Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences is part of NYU’s CAS; it’s where the Comp Sci, Math, and Atmospheric Sciences departments are located.</p>

<p>@Nuclear… ( I personally don’t like your user name, but then I’m not complaining - It’s your choice) - As for the clubs, you can come in for sure. Not only have I seen students from CAS and Gallatin, but one of the Indian kids told me that recently for a Finance Society event (its a club here - one of the more popular ones), a freshman from Columbia had come all the way to attend (it was something to do with the NYSE). Seems that that kid is crazy about business and subscribes to all of Stern’s clubs from Columbia since he personally thought Stern was better. (I’ve no comments on this because I’m repeating what that brown guy told me though I think Stern is better too thats why I chose it over others) When that can be done, there can be no barrier to entry.</p>

<p>And I’m 100% sure that I’ve heard people introduce themselves as stats and math majors or finance and math majors. I think your sources were wrong. Too late. Stern also offers a joint Math minor called Advanced Mathematical Methods or something with CAS. As far as I know, Stern kids can major in anything in CAS except the ones similar to the Stern majors (economics and comp sci (dead sure about economics not so sure about comp sci) (comp sci for the info systems stern major i think)) and the very very demanding ones in terms of credits and time simply because you just won’t have electives. I think International Relations comes under that category. There might be others as well, but this is what I’ve heard.</p>

<p>IR is an Honors major that’s only available to Politics majors.</p>

<p>This question could go to anyone: Who is your favorite/least favorite professor at Stern? What class did you take with him/her?</p>

<p>Here’s info on Minors and Specializations: [Academic</a> Advising](<a href=“http://w4.stern.nyu.edu/uc/currentstudents/academics.cfm?doc_id=101461]Academic”>http://w4.stern.nyu.edu/uc/currentstudents/academics.cfm?doc_id=101461)</p>

<p>The Advanced Math Methods Minor seem promising. I might do that instead of doubling majoring in Math. Though, isn’t it more credits than just a Math minor from Courant which I think is only 4 courses?</p>

<p>Also, what’s the difference between the EMT specialization and the EMT minor?</p>