<p>Hi, I am a parent of a freshman at NYU. She goes to Tisch. I can give your questions a shot. </p>
<ol>
<li>What has been your experience with the dorms with your son/daughter?
-positives, negatives, food, social scene - </li>
</ol>
<p>My daughter resides in her first choice dorm and likes it. Her life does not revolve around dorm life too much, however. She is not home much to be honest given her rigorous schedule. However, I am aware of various dorm building activities even if she does not opt to participate. Her social life is with friends she has made through her program and not really via the dorm, though she has friends who live in that dorm. There is a dining hall and snack bar in her dorm but she also has access to all the other dining halls. She lives in an apt. style dorm and so eats breakfast in her apt. The dorm is huge but again, there are activities for the floor and for the dorm if you wish to partake. Her dorm has an outdoor courtyard though that is a moot point in winter. There is an RA for the floor. She likes the location of her dorm as it is near Union Square and hopes to live in that area next year. She has to go to her program up on 18th three days per week and then everything else down in Washington Square Park area the rest of the time so her location works well. She has never complained about the food. She prefers a meal plan that has some "dollars" on it that can be used to make purchases at their convenience shops and also at places near campus like Starbucks. </p>
<ol>
<li>What dorm did they stay in? Hayden, Goddard, Weinstein, etc.?</li>
</ol>
<p>My D and her roomie, whom she knew before she got to college, preferred an apartment style dorm. They got their first choice, Third North Residence, which is one of the two apt. style options for freshmen, the other being University Hall. There are two kids in her bedroom and two in another bedroom and they have a common room that comes with a sofa, table, chairs, low shelving unit for TV and other stuff, a full kitchen, and a private bathroom that has two sinks that closes off from the tub/shower and toilet part. My D applied to and got in RD but the kids who get in ED get first dibs on housing and so my D rode on coattails of her roomie who had gotten in ED. The other two girls in the unit, they did not know ahead of time. </p>
<ol>
<li>Do extra long twin sheets fit? Reading the message boards, I see that some parents have purchased egg crates, etc. and some fit, others don't. Anyone know info about this?</li>
</ol>
<p>Ah, the good 'ole bedding and egg crate discussion :D! The regular old time posters on CC will know what I mean as this is a big discussion each year on CC and is indicative of the turning point from parent of applicant to parent of kid about to enroll in college! Yes, you must get extra long sheets and yes, they fit. We did buy an egg crate to put under the mattress pad. The egg crate and mattress pad were also Extra Long. All these items are sold in the summer at places like Bed Bath and Beyond or Linens and Things, where there are major supplies for back to college shopping. </p>
<ol>
<li>After seeing a special on Dateline about bedbugs in colleges in NY (and other places in the US), what have you heard about mice, bugs in NYU dorms this past year?</li>
</ol>
<p>Well, I can speak to this. I have never heard of "bedbugs". However, recently, my D started complaining of mice and cockroaches. She didn't first semester and so perhaps the problem arose more as the year went on. She lives on the second floor of a 14 story dorm and she mentioned that fact as part of the problem (not sure, but that came up in context). She said they have had maintenance guys in to try to help. First, let me say we live in the country and we have mice here too but we also have cats, LOL, who get the mice. My D should be used to seeing a mouse but alas, she has no cats at college and no Daddy to take care of the mice. As far as cockroaches, this is an unpleasant facet of city living. I lived for four years while attending college and graduate school, in Cambridge, MA and we had roaches, big time. I hated it but it was VERY common. After graduate school, when we moved to Vermont, we loaded a moving truck and we sprayed every carton with roach spray before packing it and then when the truck was loaded, we used some kind of "bombs" in the truck for the move to Vermont and I am happy to say that I have never seen a cockroach since then! Back to NYU, I was only there in August for move in and in Oct. for Parent Weekend and saw none then but I guess the problem got worse now. It may not be in all dorms or on all floors but it is a facet of city living. </p>
<ol>
<li>What's the bank that most NYU students use in the area? Citibank? We would need to set up an account for our child.</li>
</ol>
<p>I do not know which bank that MOST NYU students use. There is a brochure and webpages for parents of students that lists the banks in the area. I'm a bad one to ask on this issue because setting up banking for our daughter at college was a major issue. None of the banks in our state have branches in NYC. We had to open a new account for her at a NYC bank. I spoke to a rep at NYU who was very nice and helpful as they have a parent hotline to help with questions. Move in day was a Sunday and we needed to go WITH our D to open a joint account because she is a minor. She was ONLY 16 when she arrived at NYU as she is an early graduate. She is now 17, but still a minor. Only one of the banks in the area was open on a Sunday and it was Commerce Bank. I went to open the account and ran into difficulties. My D has always had an acct. at a bank in our community since she was young and has earned money since she was young. Her acct. at home has my name on it too. The NYC banks, even WITH me opening a joint account with my minor, would not allow it to be a checking account (thus, no check writing) and would NOT allow her to have a debit card either. She can ONLY withdraw from a savings account and use an ATM card. It was a hassle. She now uses that acct. for ATM and we got a Debit card on her VT account and so she is managing two account (let's hope). Be aware that move in day is a Sunday and if you need or want to go with your child to open the account, not all banks are open that day but Commerce Bank is.</p>
<ol>
<li>On move in day in August, how is that done, if you have a car and drive up to the dorm? Are there places to park? The car has to be close so that one can remove and carry heavy items upstairs. I don't think people park a mile away and carry refrigerators that far, do they?</li>
</ol>
<p>I am really smiling reading this question! Move in day at NYU for freshmen was a SCENE TO BEHOLD!!! I had done move in day at Brown with my other freshman the year before and that wasn't anything compared to the scene in NYC. For one thing, we are talking WAY more kids and also each dorm is WAY bigger. ADD to that we are talking city streets without parking lots adjacent to the dorms! OK, so arriving by car, get there EARLY. Ok, EVERYONE else does too. We drove up to the dorm very early and the line to sign in was around the block and a couple hours long to move through. Obviously not every parent can just park by the building and stay. So, they have some spots by the building and cops letting a car pull in and unload everything on the sidewalk and then move the car. I got in line with my D and even ran into her roomie and her mom in the line (they are from our state). The husbands drove the cars round and round the block for a VERY long time while we were in line. Eventually, they got a turn to pull along the curb for unloading. Everything had to be unloaded at once, not in dribs and drabs like at another college. Then he had to go find a place to park the car the rest of the day and found a metered spot not too far away (but too far for the unloading itself). So, what the scene was....all along the sidewalk and in front of the building were enormous piles or gatherings of entire belongings per student. Then I waited with her life on the sidewalk and she stayed in the line. Once she got the keys on her turn, you could get in line to get these wheeled carts (like HUGE laundry carts) and load them up to make trips up to the room in the elevators (also a line). You could rent the cart for like 20 min. or so. That meant move everything from sidewalk to room in a few trips on elevators using carts. She is on second floor and we ran a few things up stairs. As well, back home we had rented a two wheeler and brought that and my husband also used that to load and wheel things in. (having two adults helps on this day with the car and all this schlepping but there are older helping students there as well) THEN, there was the unpacking and setting up. But yes, there were fridges, TVs, and everything else in piles on the sidewalk for each kid. It was a sight to behold. Thankfully, it did not rain. </p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>