<p>I graduated from NYU in 2009. I know many of you are stressing over the admissions process, so I thought it might be helpful to offers some insights about the school. I can especially help you with questions about...:</p>
<ol>
<li>HEOP (Higher Education Opportunity Program)</li>
<li>Commuting (I never dormed...sigh)</li>
<li>Anthropology (my major)</li>
<li>Campus jobs (worked all 4 years)</li>
<li>School activities (I was involved & had leadership positions in clubs)</li>
</ol>
<p>And, of course anything else you guys want to know about NYU. I'm here to answer. </p>
<p>@ Cherry1992: It is about 300 students total for the two Opportunity Programs. I’m not sure of the exact number and it probably changes from year to year with funding but around 300 sounds right, as Gorgy125 suggested.</p>
<p>@Gorgy125: Commuting…sucked! haha. Well, there were advantages: dorming is expensive so if you’re living at home it’s cheaper of course. It took me about an hour to get to campus, on two trains. I do not recommend having early classes, like a 9.30 am or earlier. I really preferred starting at 11am, which gave me enough time to wake up and catch a train. Also, buildings like Silver where many of your classes are held have really long waiting lines for the elevator. I mean VERY long. So if your class is on the 8th floor, leave your house even earlier to have some time to get on the elevator or slowly climb up the stairs with a bunch of other people. </p>
<p>Resources: the Student Resource Center (2nd floor of Kimmel) is where the commuter life really happens. There is the Commuter Circle, a club that runs a few activities each week (including a deliciously free lunch every Tuesday at 12ish, at least I hope they still do that). In the back of the Student Resource Center is where many commuter students hang out, play video games or use computers.
There is also the Off Campus Student Council–this is where you can get involved in actually changing things for the better for commuters (like convincing the University/student government that events should start earlier because commuters can’t stay on campus till late or sponsoring a free nyu shuttle that would take students late nights to major subway stations). </p>
<p>I highly recommend attending “Commuter Appreciation Week”…it’s a bunch of events, from Spa day, free massages and all, to Carnival (in door, but still)…its in the Spring. </p>
<p>@milkandsugar: I worked, all 4 years, at Bobst Library. She can go to the 11th floor of it, Human Resources, and they usually leave job announcements on the front desk. The Library has the advantage of being a big place with lots of things to do and thus many opportunities of getting hired. </p>
<p>Another place is her major department. They often need students (I worked at my department as well) during various shifts, including doing some research assisting for professors (I did that for a while–I HIGHLY recommend it). Yet another is Palladium gym (or Coles) because, again, it’s a big place with lots of things to do.</p>
<p>I suppose she already checked out the nyu career services website, etc? That’s how I found my job. I would start with Bobst first (and other libraries, like Courant/math) then check out departments. </p>
<p>Also, about Research Assisting: I recommend it because this kind of job opens the door to making many good connections and usually promises excellent recommendations later on. It probably won’t make a lot of money because it’ll be an on-and-off kind of deal (proofreading a manuscript over the weekend for example) but it’ll offer some sort of money and a better payoff at the end when the professors know you and love you for all your help. (Plus, you get cited in their books !)</p>
<p>I just go into NYU thru HEOP!
How good is HEOP Fin Aid(my sister fin aid from Fordham Heop is Full need with a 2k loan each year)
Is NYU HEOP really good with Fin Aid?</p>
<p>Hey i have another question. I got into nyu through heop, my career choice is related to the science field, but i put down undecided for that part. my question is, would they switch me to cstep? I really dont want to be a part of cstep, i heard their financial aid isnt as good as HEOP’s is. Do you know if this has happened to anyone? thank you in advance!</p>
<p>Breathfire,
How much did you end up paying for NYU? I got into HEOP as well but I haven’t received my fin aid package yet so I’m dying to know. If you were to dorm at NYU how much would it have cost you? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>How bad was commuting? I MIGHT be able to go if I commute but I really don’t want to. Was it hard to make friends? Do you feel like NYU was worth the price?</p>
<p>@ Gorgy: sorry for the delay! From my experience, the fin aid is good. For example, my CAS scholarship (something that’s awarded to non-HEOP students as well) was 7k or 7,500k per semester. However, my non-HEOP classmate’s CAS scholarship was 7k per YEAR. So I think being a HEOP student increases whatever amount of funding NYU can give you. I still needed to take out loans—Sallie Mae/Stafford, I don’t even remember now–but not as much as non-HEOP students. Likewise, if you do study abroad, HEOP will cover the cost of the dorm—which is a very sweet deal because, otherwise, that’s like 4k extra. I think HEOP can also cover the cost of your dorm if you live on Long Island or something and have a really long commute to NYU. </p>
<p>Also, you get the $850 stipend each semester which is great for books and metrocards.</p>
<p>@Cherry–sorry for the delay! I don’t think this will happen to you. You get into HEOP instead of CSTEP because of your financial situation. We HEOPs are poorer Our stipends are bigger…I think CSTEP gets like $250 a semester or something, so you’re right that the fin. aid is not as good. You can major in whatever you want, as long as your financial situation doesn’t change much, you will be HEOP.</p>
<p>@loveu–sorry for the delay! You should call them. I applied early decision so all my stuff came in by mid December…I really don’t know how the mainstream applications are timed. From what I understand, if you got in thru HEOP, you should have financial aid…because HEOP is pretty much all about financial aid. I don’t see how you can get in thru HEOP but have no fin aid package…that’s just…anti…everything. So do call them, maybe there’s just a delay.</p>
Our stipends are bigger…I think CSTEP gets like $250 a semester or something, so you’re right that the fin. aid is not as good. You can major in whatever you want, as long as your financial situation doesn’t change much, you will be HEOP.</p>