<p>Hello, all. I'm in LSP/CAS, and am willing to answer anyone's questions about NYU to the best of my knowledge.</p>
<p>why do you hate nyu</p>
<p>i would like to know that too. </p>
<p>i applied ED1 for the LSP program. and after reading all your posts, i’m wondering if i made the wrong decision haha</p>
<p>I don’t know if you want to pay 50k a year for the lsp program tbh (unless you can easily afford it), it might be just as easy/cheaper to do well at a state school for two years and then transfer. They do sometimes give great aid to some people depending on their stats, so it might be worth it.</p>
<p>Do you know anyone with a low UW GPA (mine is 3.2) and high SATs (I have a 2070) who got in? Also, is course load demanding/how is scheduling there? I am worried I will be overburdened with sports and academics.</p>
<p>To fdsjaif and childish: I dislike this school for several reasons. First and foremost, the academics are absolutely horrendous. While it’s true that Liberal Studies students are required to take some of the worst classes, I truly believe that NYU in general is academically overrated. My roommate, who is in Tisch, has a coloring book for her Anatomy class. One of my friends’ teachers used to be a bouncer at some club in the city. But, I say that Liberal Studies is much worse in the sense that all we do is read texts from various different religions. While that may sound interesting, these readings have absolutely nothing to do with my major. The way these texts are taught is completely ridiculous. Everything is related to sexuality in my Cultural Foundations class. Every paper has to have a liberal slant to it in order to receive a good grade. For my Writing class, we had to go to the Chelsea art galleries so that we could be “inspired” by bad, sex-related art. These are just a few of the many examples of the true quality of academics here. It’s completely ridiculous, if you ask me. I can’t take any of it seriously. If you come here, you will learn zero lifelong skills that you will be able to apply to your future career.</p>
<p>Another thing I hate about this place is the unhelpful administration and how impersonal everything is. You have to go out of your way to find assistance when you need it (and believe me, there will be A LOT of things you will run into that require assistance). Everything is a hassle here because there are too many people. The security guards treat you like dirt, and nobody ever smiles or treats you like a person. Instead, get used to being treated like a number. Good luck when it comes to scheduling your classes. You will have to go out of your way to schedule a formal, and quite impersonal meeting with your advisor (who doesn’t even know your name) just to have some semblance of a clue as to what classes you should be taking. </p>
<p>The students here are extremely immature and annoying. Most of them are unfriendly, and take up what they feel is the “New York attitude.” I have also found that most of them aren’t very intelligent. It’s very hard to make friends here. My suitemates only hang out with 3 of the people who live across the hall. I hang out with a couple girls from my classes. That’s it. Part of the reason why the social life sucks is because, once again, the student body is too large and there is no sense of community whatsoever. Most of the people you pass by, you’ll never see again. </p>
<p>The costs are also a huge burden. The tuition, fees, housing…everything is sky-high in price. New York is expensive in general. </p>
<p>I have come across many other students who aren’t happy here, to be honest.</p>
<p>By the way, NYU does not give great financial aid. Everyone I know is either very wealthy or swimming in loans…</p>
<p>ionbeam211: To be honest, the workload isn’t very challenging. I feel like I had a more rigorous workload in high school. However, most of the people I know had an unweighted GPA of about 3.6. Your SATs sound good, but if you really want to come here, then I would suggest bringing up your GPA as much as possible.</p>
<p>By the way, scheduling SUCKS after your first semester. The whole process is too competitive amongst students, and classes usually close within minutes once the scheduling process begins. On top of that, everyone always experiences problems with Albert (the Academics/Scheduling tool on your NYU account), which creates mass frustration come time to schedule.</p>
<p>Why are you on this site posting in NYU’s forum? Do you just want to hate on a dream school for a ton of people on here? I just don’t understand why you would spend your time on a blog about NYU when you obviously hate everything about it.</p>
<p>Maybe you shouldn’t have attended LSP if “it doesn’t have to do with your major”. The whole point of LSP is that it doesn’t have to do with any major - because in LSP you cannot major. That’s kind of the whole point.</p>
<p>And while you may not like your departments, some the departments at NYU are phenomenal. The philosophy department at NYU is the best in the world. As is the applied mathematics. English, Psychology and Politics are all top-notch as well. And of course then there’s Stern. And Tisch is the best schools of its type in the country. </p>
<p>If you hate NYU so much, then why don’t you transfer?</p>
<p>Because there are those of us who love NYU, who do make friends, and love the overall experience NYU has.</p>
<p>The security guards are quite nice to me - they let me into buildings should I forget my ID. They remember my face and who I am. As do a number of the counselors in CAS advising. </p>
<p>It seems like you’re experiencing self-fulfilling prophecy more than anything else.</p>
<p>Oh, believe me, I’m transferring out of here next semester. Liberal Studies is a joke. Also, I’m allowed to have my own opinion. I just don’t think NYU is all that it’s hyped up to be. Whether you like it or not, I’m on here to give a different perspective based on my experience. NYU is not a “dream school.” </p>
<p>I wonder what the job prospects are like for someone who has a degree in Philosophy…</p>
<p>@whowantsme: fairy011 isn’t wasting her time. her comments are helping students like me who are wondering whether or not NYU is the right school. of course we’re not going to make our decisions based on her comments but it’s good to know what some people who actually attend NYU think about their school.</p>
<p>So now you’re going to insult philosophy as a degree? Mature. </p>
<p>Take a look at the placement record for PhD students in philosophy from NYU. They all have jobs at places like UCB, NYU, Princeton, Oxbridge, Harvard, etc. And a philosophy undergraduate degree means a lot in things like law school applications or philosophy graduate programs. Philosophy isn’t “a useless degree”, especially not from NYU. Sure, if you don’t go onto graduate school of some type, or do a double major, it won’t help you get a job. Lucky for me, I’m intelligent and doing a double major with a minor in Philosophy, Politics and Psychology, because I know an undergraduate degree in philosophy isn’t highly useful in “the real world”. But it will help you get into grad schools. I.e. I’m applying to some of the world’s top schools, many of which are in the UK, and they take an NYU Philosophy degree quite seriously; In fact, they take NYU overall quite seriously. </p>
<p>You may not like NYU. But the academic reputation of NYU isn’t as “sub-par” as you seem to believe. So please, don’t come on a forum where prospective students looking to go to NYU, who believe it is a dream school, and post about how much you hate NYU and how people shouldn’t “waste their time or money”. If the way you felt was how the majority of how people felt, then NYU wouldn’t be one of the most applied to universities in the US. Nor would it be considered to be a world top university. Check the QS world rankings for example, it’s ranked #44 in the entire world.</p>
<p>If you want to post your experiences at NYU, that’s one thing. Telling people not to “Waste their time or money” is another.</p>
<p>
+1.</p>
<p>I think this really illustrates more than anything the importance of fit.</p>
<p>I can’t speak for LSP. However, I’ve definitely been challenged by the quality of the work being done by my peers, and the standards that the professors demand, at Tisch. I’ve always been pretty academically-minded so CAS classes have never been too difficult for me, but I’ve also found that the professors in my CAS classes have pushed and challenged me when I’ve expressed interest in digging deeper into their subjects. Have I had classes that seemed too easy? Yes. But it’s also not difficult to find a challenge even in those easy classes. You just have to look.</p>
<p>Nothing you’re saying is a real revelation - NYU has bad financial aid? NYU has a large and impersonal bureaucracy? NYU lacks community? Those were the first things that came up when I started doing research into NYU. I knew all that when I applied, and decided it didn’t matter. If you applied without knowing all this, and accepted NYU’s offer without knowing all this, I can’t say I have much sympathy.</p>
<p>I’ve not had problems with my advisor in Tisch or CAS. I’ve found it very useful to have specific questions to ask about how classes relate to each other or to working skills or graduate school, rather than going in without a clear idea of what advising is for (other to get clearance for registration), or just to find out what classes to take next semester. Build a relationship with your advisor - it can be done!</p>
<p>I had to laugh at the “New York attitude” one. Why did you choose to come to school in New York if you didn’t want to see lots of New York attitude? I mean, even if students didn’t pick up New York attitude, all you’d have to do was step out onto the street…</p>
<p>I am not an NYU student but a parent of one. My D is going to graduate in June as a Vocal performance major with a BM degree in music. She has had an incredible experience at NYU and because she is in a small major, the sense of community she has experienced has been unbelievably strong.</p>
<p>Her senior recital was over the weekend and the outpouring of warmth, guidance and support from faculty members and students was touching. Not only was her education valuable in terms of her musical development, but her voice teachers, coaches and other faculty helped her grow and deveop into a confident and accomplished young woman and performer. They know her as a person and have been there to provide guidance along the way. They understood her potential to develop and grow and helped her achieve it.</p>
<p>She has found the academics at NYU to be excellent in almost all the classes she has taken. She will be graduating with 2 minors–one in English and the other in the Business of Entertainment, Media and Technology.</p>
<p>She has been able to learn both the performance and business side of entertainment. She has had great internships in the city and has been able to juggle them as well as take 18+ credits a term. Being in NYC has been invaluable in terms of networking and building a resume.</p>
<p>NYU is certainly not for everyone. But I thought it was important to speak up after reading Fairy011’s very negative experience.</p>
<p>Hi Fairy</p>
<p>I totally understand your unhappiness. What happens is sometimes we think that we will adapt and adjust but our mindset and attitude does not permit us to do so. All the negative things that you point out about NYU the bad financial aid, the impersonal environment, being a huge student body , the liberal arts curriculum, I think all these are something you knew about NYU before you applied. It is not as if these were created as you stepped into it’s portals. Students applying from all over the world were aware of these realities and decided to apply and all of them were confident that it will require a lot of initiative and effort from each of these individuals. I am sure it applies to you too. But unfortunately things do not alwys fall in place as planned. Fair enough. And that is why in the US one has the option to transfer. Fair again. What worries me the attitude, just because it did not work for you does not mean it is a bad place or not a “dream” school for anyone else. I think the more gracious thing would be to say “It is not for me” and move on. Because if you do not move on with a positive attitude a change will not do miracles, your attitude to the change will. The attitude which says no matter what I am going to make it. So a change in school will also require a change in attitude. Trust me people are people and if you could not find your bearing in a crowd of 20000, I seriously doubt the possibility of you finding in another place unless “you” want to.</p>
<p>And I totally empathise with your situation and perspective. All I am saying is I hope you find what you are looking for and be happy. As a parent it breaks my heart to read your post but if it were my D I would tell her the same thing. Be the change that you want to see in others. I did not say that, those are Mahatama Gandhi’s words for you. And by that he means be more open, loving, caring, forgiving, gracious, accepting and positive and all other things you find wanting in others around you.</p>
<p>I wish you the very best in life and hope in another semester we will find a happy post from you on this forum from wherever you are then. Bless you and take care fairy.</p>
<p>you are just a sb</p>
<p>Warning: Anger and bluntness ahead.</p>
<p>You really should know better if you enter a school knowing what it’s like. Once you look at the first page of NYU prospective students page it’s all right there in front of you, the pros and cons. If you toured the school, the tour guide would have told you about the administration and the community. If you went to the Liberal Studies Orientation when they sent out a notice for it, all the speakers REPEATED what you should have known already. If you actually did your research and realistically thought over what you were getting into, you should realize now that you don’t have much room to complain and be taken seriously for it.</p>
<p>The Liberal Studies Program is certainly NOT a waste of time if you actually look into what it’s about and choose your professors well (there was a motion recently rejected by the board to put professor evaluations on Albert, but there is still ratemyprofessor.com). I can assure all prospective students here that almost all professors are overqualified for their work. I kept my Social Foundations professor for all three semesters, she wrote a paper on Kafka’s “Metamorphosis” and presented it at a conference in Turkey. She is also currently writing a book about logic.</p>
<p>My last Cultural Studies professor is fluent in German because he lived in Berlin for five years. He had a PhD in Literature. Most amazing course I’ve probably taken so far. The Cultural Studies professor before that one had a conference in France where I believe she spoke about a huge thesis regarding Medieval lit. maybe? My first professor wasn’t so enthralling (so I took responsibility for my mistake and didn’t return to her), but she was a specialist in art history and an active professional in her field.</p>
<p>I can’t say what achievements my Writing professors made besides my second one (Carley Moore, one of the most lovely people at NYU) getting her first book published. She is amazing. I believe they both had MFAs. </p>
<p>I highly, HIGHLY doubt the OP’s bouncer professor only had that as his work history. That makes no sense whatsoever. MANY of the LSP professors are PhDs even though it’s not required.</p>
<p>If you research Liberal Studies, any college who is based around it (including NYU) will tell you it requires a lot of reading. It also requires a lot of paper writing. This forces you to learn how to analyze, critique, and write better. People with liberal arts backgrounds are known to be more skilled with these important areas than, say, people with business degrees. That’s probably why NYU has recently made Stern take on a liberal arts-focused Gen. Ed. program.</p>
<p>Don’t believe me? Here are links on the benefits of a LS&A education:</p>
<p>[Study:</a> Liberal Arts Graduates Will Get Better Jobs - ABC News](<a href=“Study: Liberal Arts Graduates Will Get Better Jobs - ABC News”>Study: Liberal Arts Graduates Will Get Better Jobs - ABC News)
[Liberal</a> Arts College Graduates Feel Better Prepared for Life’s Challenges, Study Finds | College News](<a href=“http://collegenews.org/news/2011/liberal-arts-college-graduates-feel-better-prepared-for-lifes-challenges-study-finds.html]Liberal”>http://collegenews.org/news/2011/liberal-arts-college-graduates-feel-better-prepared-for-lifes-challenges-study-finds.html)</p>
<p>I am sick and tired of people thinking of my program as lesser; real life translates it into something else entirely. Anyone who hates LSP is either ignorant about its high quality or vulnerable to the condescending thoughts of the freshman who directly got into the “regular” schools. </p>
<p>But, like your college experience as a whole, LSP is what you make it. i’m sorry the OP’s negative attitude has made her ruin her own first year of college, too bad no one told her the #1 rule that your attitude immediately translates to your experience.</p>
<p>No, NYU was never going to hold your hand and you knew it. This is a jump straight from high school to adulthood in some ways. If you took advantage of the opportunity of the school accepting you, then you need to take responsibility for your choice. Do your research, make an effort, etc.</p>
<p>Hey Fairy, thanks for your comments. It’s actually nice to hear your opinions on NYU. I’m curious though–what made you choose to go to NYU in the first place over other colleges? I want to make sure I’m not making a mistake since I’m deciding if I want to go to a city college like NYU, or a traditional college.</p>