Current NYU Student Opinions

Colleges and Universities A-Z New York University
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<p>Hi CC Community! I am a senior about to apply to NYU Early Decision, but I recently looked at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts and I liked it a lot. There's qualities I like about both of them, and although I have physically been on both campuses and have taken the tours, I can't decide whether to pull the trigger and still apply to NYU ED or to wait and apply to both NYU and Emerson RD.</p>

<p>I am looking for a few current/recent grads to tell me what they think would be the right decision based on my priorities. I would also like objective views (no bashing) on NYU to help me make this decision.</p>

<p>A little background on me...I am a very social person who has traveled all over the world. I am not a popular girl at my school, mainly because I am mature beyond my years. But I manage to make friends wherever I go for the most part. I have many international friends, so I would consider myself to be pretty worldly. NYU attracts me because I am N O T looking for the typical college experience. I went to Boston College, got a personal tour, and watched the football game from a box, and I'm just really not looking for that kind of college life. As much as I LOVE football, I don't really like that kind of college culture. I don't want to be incubated in a fenced-in heaven for 4 years and then plopped into the real world. I like NYU because to me it offers a real-world college opportunity that will adequately prepare me for the workplace through internships, study abroad, and classes. I want to note that finances aren't really a problem for me, but I am certainly not going to be handed money on a weekly basis while I'm there. I have been working very hard for college spending money. My parents aren't the types that baby and throw money at me. I have been buying most of my own clothes for almost a year now. My dad told me he'd let me go wherever my heart lies, but by no means is he going to be giving me endless funds to spend. Although Financial Aid isn't a problem, I'd like opinions on spending money. In some ways, I guess I am a small town girl wanting to break free, but in the biggest sense I am looking for an international community far more diverse and different from the white affluent community I've grown up in. I love traveling and learning from all different sorts of people, and that's what I hope to experience at NYU.</p>

<p>Major: Marketing/Communications (PR)</p>

<p>Priorities:</p>

<p>-A good study abroad program (Really interested in the London and Buenos Aires programs...if you've been to either place please tell me about it!!) (Also I'd love more info on the Global Liberal Studies first year experience)
-Some sense of community. I am giving up the typical "college" experience for the city. Willingly so. But I want opportunities to join clubs and have friend groups of all different shapes and sizes.
-Good communications major and internship opportunities. I realize the field is crowded and starting jobs don't pay well so I want good background and a leg up over other applicants.
-Professors that want you to succeed and that are helpful.
-Good dorms/sense of community.
-Decent food.</p>

<p>Interests:</p>

<p>-Music (self-taught in piano and guitar. I also sing at open-mic nights and such)
-Photography/Videography (don't plan to major in this, but I'd like to join clubs!)
-Social Media/YouTube
-This is so beyond random, but I've really wanted to learn how to ballroom dance for awhile. Do they offer classes like that at NYU? I know at a couple of other places I looked at they did.</p>

<p>Any other information would be appreciated about campus life or really anything in general! </p>

<p>Thank you all (:</p>

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<p>-Study abroad: generally pretty good. I studied abroad in London and can answer any more specific questions you have. GLS is a full four year degree program though (you graduate with a degree in global liberal studies), not just a freshman year experience</p>

<p>-Sense of community - NYU is notorious for NOT having any real sense of community. We don’t really have any sports or big events that tie everyone together, so you really have to dig around to build your own mini-community</p>

<p>-The communication program (media, culture, and communications in the Steinhardt school) is a decent program, but it is also big. If you try hard, you can definitely find opportunities and internships though</p>

<p>-Professors invested in your success - This varies wildly. Depending on department, many professors are frankly more interested in their own research than teaching. A lot of professors are adjuncts, which means that they do other things outside of teaching at NYU</p>

<p>-Dorms - again, vary wildly, both in actual dorm quality and in location. Most of the worse dorms have been/will be renovated in the near future, but there’s still a lot of variation. Location also varies quite a bit, from around Washington Square to Chinatown, to Gramercy, to the West Village. Again, community is limited. If you live on an explorations floor, there might be more of a community feel than on other floors/dorms. I will say that after freshman year, people were decidedly not social in dorms with people they didn’t already know</p>

<p>-Food - also varies. I started cooking after freshman year and mostly dropped my meal plan because I couldn’t justify paying meal plan prices for food that was just ok</p>

<p>-Music - every opportunity you can imagine, and then some. You can do pretty much anything in the city, and within the school you can take music lessons, join ensembles, etc</p>

<p>-Photo/AV - no clubs that I know of, but there are some darkrooms, classes, etc open to non-Tisch students, but not many</p>

<p>-Ballroom dance - there is a club, and a competitive team (they can teach you if you’re new)</p>

<p>Despite being in NYC, NYU is still not especially diverse. The vast majority of students are white Americans, with Asian-Americans being second most prevalent. NYU was a great school for me, but many students come in with ideas of all the glitz and glamor of NYC, and are sorely disappointed when they arrive. IMO, if you are not 100% sure, don’t apply ED</p>

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<p>Thank you so so much. You really solidified my decision to apply Early Decision. I didn’t hear much about the clubs so that was really helpful. Thank you for taking the time to answer each bit. It means tons to me :smile: </p>