<p>Apartment style housing costs more than traditional dorms. (warning you…ka ching!!) If you go to the website for NYU Housing, it describes every dorm and gives the price for every dorm, as well as its location on a school map.</p>
<p>SDonCC, my D’s experience in NYU dorms wasn’t like my other D’s experience in dorms at her college. At NYU, social life did not seem to revolve around who lived in your dorm. My D didn’t know others on the hallway, etc. Her friends were mostly through Tisch or any other groups she belonged to and some did live in her dorm but they didn’t meet due to living in the dorm. The dining hall in the building aspect wasn’t so much social as a matter of convenience. But after the first year, my D went off the meal plan anyway. Even by second semester of freshmen year, she reduced the size of her meal plan. They are on the go a lot with studios (not near their dorm in many cases) and rehearsals at night and so on. My D also got into healthy eating and preferred to not have a meal plan. This was not the same as for my D who went to another university. My D at the other university was very bonded with the freshmen dorm, but it was a much much smaller dorm than at NYU as well, and it was not apartment style either.</p>
<p>I posted this on another thread here, but will ask here also! Just wondering if it makes any sense for a Tisch theater student (Playwrights) to live on an Exploration theme floor or in Goddard. Do these kids have the time to participate in these dorm functions and trips?</p>
<p>I have a friend who was in Goddard this year and she had no problem fitting in some of the residential college activities.
I’m not sure what it would be like in the 2nd year though, with shows and rehearsals for them, etc.</p>
<p>Oh, and personally I would highly recommend doing explorations or something to make the experience a bit more “well-rounded”. Personally, I think it’s good to have friends outside of Drama or Tisch in general, I think it’s good for you as a performer and as a college student. Theater is an interpretation of life (I believe), it’s kind of hard to do that if you don’t have one lol. And I can tell you for sure that NYU will not be a typical college experience, but it’s nice to have at least some of that, with regards to doing activities together as a floor, participating in school clubs, or maybe even going to an academic lecture at the College of Arts and Science. </p>
<p>I also found that since we are so immersed in our crafts at Tisch and we spend most of our time with people in our studio/Tisch productions, etc (which would make sense due to common interests), it’s hard to even be in contact with non-Tisch people. So the best chance you have to get to know and even become friends with non-artsy people is through the people on your floor. And Explorations is a perfect way for a floor to bond and connect (Although I didn’t do Explorations). </p>
<p>Also, sometimes it simply allows you to put things in perspective. Being involved with theater stuff 24/7 and being around the same kind of people for three full days a week can be exhausting SOMETIMES. I always found it satisfying to be able to hang out with people from other schools and to talk about non-theater related things. I liked temporarily stepping out of my “art student” zone and to simply be a college student. This year I also at times felt like I wasn’t involved or connected to NYU in ways that students from other schools were. Tisch is a very special school that provides so many opportunities and such a great education, but it is also very time-consuming and it is easy to be kind of “shielded” from other things going on at NYU. I think that Explorations will help you feel more connected to NYU as opposed to limiting yourself to just the Tisch world.</p>
<p>My d, now a rising sophomore landed her 4th housing choice of Rubin last August and didn’t know what to expect. </p>
<p>What a wonderfully perfect experience she fell into with her suite-mates , her dorm floor filled with freshman soon to be bff’s from all corners of the world, studying every possible course of study known to NYU’ers… </p>
<p>She has (like so many of your kids) successfully juggled her connections to performing arts kids and high school/neighborhood friends all of her life and wanted to keep all her options open at college, her interests and activities being broad and varied. </p>
<p>What she found to her delight and mine (lol) was a terrific RA, a senior Steinhardt music/business major… who shepherded this interesting cast of characters into a cohesive “family” of friends who could spend time comfortably on their floor, dining together and “hanging out” whenever they were able to…</p>
<p>Tisch BFA freshman have so much “togetherness” within their studio that is required, lending to quick and meaningful friendships, but it is very possible to get to know so many other bright, interesting kids who are involved in other aspects of student life on campus. </p>
<p>As Claydavis above reports, it is an amazing place and a blessing to be living on the NYU campus… take advantage of everything you can, while you are there. Sample it all… after all this is college. Enjoy!</p>
<p>OOthimus, what were your disappointments? The BFA Drama kids tend to love the 3rd N location nestled right in between their studios, Union Square and Washington Sq. area. The apt. style gives them a bit more room than a traditional dorm room.
More access to other option dining hall and the gym are at Palladium, just nearby; as is Trader Joes for healthy, easy, inexpensive food. </p>
<p>It’s typically a first choice for many freshman, so I’m surprised by your post but would like to hear more about your specific frustrations. </p>
<p>Oothimus, I would also like to hear your feedback on Third North. My son had it as his first choice, until he was convinced to go with Founders Hall instead. He got into a suite with three other boys, and he seems very pleased. However, he was expecting a sort of living space (no kitchen) in addition to the two rooms and bath. That, he did not get. Still, the building is pretty darn nice and the rooms extremely spacious and clean. Good views. As my hubby said when dropping him off, I want to live in Founders! There is no dining hall. He assured me he would be using Third North’s dining hall a lot. (Founders is on 12th.) The boy is over the moon right now with Tisch/NYU orientation. He’s in the New Studio. Should be interesting …</p>
<p>Oothimus, is your daughter in the South Tower? From what I hear, it hasn’t been renovated yet, so it’ll probably be more “rundown” than the other towers.</p>
<p>It is a 4 person suite with two bedrooms and each bedroom has two people in it. They are marked “A” and “B”. A, which was not my daughter’s room, had two individual beds with dresser drawers attached under the beds. There were two closets and two desks with shelves attached to them. I would say that this room, as configured, was adequate. Room B, my daughter’s, was noticeably smaller, had bunk beds, desks, one larger dresser, one smaller dresser, and two closet areas. My daughter’s room mate wept upon seeing it. Of course, though told I could not, I immediately busted the beds apart… but we had to put my daughter’s smaller dresser in her closet area which left about 4 inches of hanging space… the other dresser was partially in the other young lady’s closet space… it took forever to get that room to function at all. That is the meat of my complaint. There is a common area… and a kitchen-ette… and a bathroom with a shower that basically dribbles… </p>
<p>I expected more for the amount of money paid. This is my third child through college… and her board is 60% higher than her siblings… I have one at Lafayette… her room is four seasons compared to this… and a fraction of the price…</p>
<p>Not an NYU dorm… but in 1995 I lived in a Manhattan 150 sq. foot studio apartment (including the bathroom) with no closets, no counters, a mini fridge, two burners, and a sink. In 1995 that studio apartment cost $780 per month plus water, phone, and cable… which I did not pay for… pre-internet too (at least for me… so that was another expense I did not incur. Ironically this rent was exactly the same dollar amount as my three bedroom townhouse with a backyard in VA in 2007. I think that now that same studio apartment in NYC is close to $1400 per month, if not more. YIKES!</p>
<p>Manhattan real estate is VERY expensive. NYU has to pay Manhattan real estate costs. However, I an see that it is difficult when all four roommates are paying the same amount per semester, and one of the rooms is significantly better than the other. </p>
<p>Generally, when people get apartments together they split the rent equally based on the quality of the accommodation in the apartment. Does NYU allow for this within the confines of one suite, or are you paying for the building and the number of roommates, with all in the suite paying the same rooming cost, regardless of actual accommodations?</p>
<p>NYC living can take some SERIOUS getting used to… the cost per sq. foot is astronomical compared to many other large cities and certainly to smaller cities and towns. The good news is that there is so much to do in NYC that most do not spend as much time in their apartments as happens in other places. Hopefully you D and her roommate will be able to adjust to the limited space (particularly for the cost) and throw themselves into NYU and NYC.</p>
<p>This has always been a complaint about NYU housing, although NYU isn’t unique in that regard. There are differences in the dorms, and within the dorms there are differences in the rooms. The costs, however, don’t always reflect this and it can be frustrating. Some dorms don’t have the variance in size/configuration of rooms. It seems that it’s most prevalent in those buildings which were not built originally as college dorms. With a dorm such as Weinstein, where my D lived in freshman year, the rooms were all pretty similar. In buildings such as Hayden or Brittany or Rubin, there were distinct differences. I’m not sure that there’s a good solution for this. I’ve seen this same issue at other colleges, especially if there are older dorms where it seems more likely for different sized rooms. I’m not aware of any that have established separate per room pricing. </p>
<p>Kat makes two good points - NYC real estate costs are crazy and students usually adapt to their housing assignment just fine. :)</p>
<p>Keep in mind, however, that even if your bedroom is tiny in Third North, you have the living/dining room (and kitchen and private bath) which a traditional dorm room would not have and so it sorta makes up for the small bedroom.</p>
<p>She is in east tower. It is along 12th street and view is the courtyard. I have lived in the city, my son lives in Murray Hill (nyc, not jersey), my niece is in Chelsey… so I do understand the premiums for NYC living… </p>
<p>And, my daughter is quite happy. She is zipping around the city loving every minute. It was her room mate that was very upset. But, that was not the point. My son graduated from Haverford and my other daughter is second year at Lafayette. Haverford (Philadelphia) this year and for three years there he had a two person apartment with each of them having their own room, a true common area… I’d say 10 by 12, a real kitchen, etc… My daughter at Lafayette has a traditional room with a room mate, but that one room is about the size of both bedrooms at nyu.</p>
<p>NYU board is about the same cost as my son and other daughter;s combined. Regarding housing, I was hoping for more. Bottom line: My daughter is loving the city and adjusting to the housing.</p>
<p>Yes, there is. But it is a common area… we discussed this… her room mate’s mom wanted to do it… put the dressers in the common area… but it seemed awkward… do you want your personal stuff out there where a bunch of folks might be hanging out … we opted for sticking it in her little closet space…</p>
<p>I would not have moved the dressers into the common room either. I was just saying that while the bedroom is tiny, it can be for sleeping & studying but at least they have the living room for sitting/visiting/eating. And having a kitchen and private bath is so nice and m many college kids don’t get that.</p>