Freshman considering a transfer out of NYU

Transfer Students
1

<p>Background info:
I am a current freshman at NYU debating whether it was the right choice. I am considering a transfer, although I don't know where quite yet.
Reasons for transferring:
-NYU is huge. I meet people and then not see them again for three weeks. I find myself eating meals alone a lot, as my floor is not social and I rarely see people I know in the dining halls.
-No campus. When I chose NYU, I didn't think this was a big issue. Now that I am here, however, I feel like it is. Yes, we are in New York with all sorts of things to do and see, but I feel like dedicated NYU events are lacking, as having a campus is a prerequisite for campus life.
-No engineering. I am very interested in the liberal arts, but I am a 'math guy' and feel like I am not utilizing that. Sure, I could be a math major, but I'm more interested in applying math concepts for something like civil engineering.</p>

<p>Bottom line is, I love New York City and I could see myself living much of my future life here. But I feel like I jumped the gun on 'the rest of my life'. I have the rest of my life to live in NYC, but this is the only time I'll ever be a college undergraduate. By being at NYU, I feel like I'm missing out on certain aspects of undergraduate life I will never again get to enjoy (strong campus community, football games, a quad, social floors and residence halls, smaller feel, frat parties, etc.)</p>

<p>As a way of helping me decide whether I should transfer or not (and if so, where to go) I pose this question to you.</p>

<p>As an undergraduate, should I...</p>

<p>A.) Begin what I feel like I am interested in as a career: Urban Design or Planning, Transportation Engineering or some other type of civil engineering? (NYU has "Urban Design and Architecture Studies" and "Metropolitan Studies" but no Engineering or Urban Planning undergraduate. So should I just look to transfer to schools that have engineering or planning programs, or maybe just stay put at NYU as these are good liberal arts programs that could prepare me for grad school for planning or enginnering)</p>

<p>or</p>

<p>B.) Use my undergraduate time to explore the liberal arts and enjoy 'the college experience', as I will almost certainly go to grad school for the very things listed above? (i.e. should I look for a school just based on how much I like it, regardless of programs, etc.)</p>

<p>Any response greatly appreciated. Thank you.</p>

<p>P.S. To prospective NYU freshman and transfers, don't think I'm saying NYU is a bad school. I just don't know if it is right for me. But I know plenty of people here who love it. This is just my opinion.</p>

2

<p>So much of this reminds me of myself a year and a half ago it’s surreal.</p>

<p>Following spring '08 I transferred from NYU to Claremont McKenna College. Truly night and day.</p>

<p>I’m originally from California and had a really rough freshman year so I applied for transfer to several schools, not really expecting to actually be accepted. I was originally content with my decision, but I just actually visited my NYU/Columbia friends over the weekend which was an incredibly mind-blowing experience. Naturally, it made me reflect over my decision to transfer.</p>

<p>In any case, I would carefully consider the reasons why you want to transfer:</p>

<p>“-NYU is huge. I meet people and then not see them again for three weeks. I find myself eating meals alone a lot, as my floor is not social and I rarely see people I know in the dining halls.”</p>

<p>This happened to me. I thought that because I lost touch with a couple of friends over the hecticness of the year that things weren’t really working out. Yet these friends still remembered me after all this time and wanted to see me. I really think its about being proactive in making connections.</p>

<p>“-No campus. When I chose NYU, I didn’t think this was a big issue. Now that I am here, however, I feel like it is. Yes, we are in New York with all sorts of things to do and see, but I feel like dedicated NYU events are lacking, as having a campus is a prerequisite for campus life.”</p>

<p>I don’t really know about this. Having a campus, in my opinion, loses its luster after the first month. I also think that the inability to continually meet new people can really bore some people.</p>

<p>“-No engineering. I am very interested in the liberal arts, but I am a ‘math guy’ and feel like I am not utilizing that. Sure, I could be a math major, but I’m more interested in applying math concepts for something like civil engineering.”</p>

<p>In my opinion, this is your most valid point. But make sure you can’t find what you want at NYU.</p>

<p>The college experience is what you make of it. I know plenty of people that have never had a “college experience”. I say ride the year out and see what happens. You’ll probably change your mind.</p>

<p>Hope this helps.</p>

3

<p>I thought NYU acquired Poly tech. Can you just move there for engineering? Is NYUPoly still separate university? </p>

<p>Just curious.</p>

4

<p>Let’s trade places. You can have Northwestern, and I’ll go to NYU. :D</p>

5

<p>I’m a soph at NYU considering transfer as well, but for some different (mostly academic) reasons (and I’m still not sure whether I want to leave). I’d have to say my sophomore year at NYU is markedly different than my first year, and I think I’m beginning to find my place here. Try to get involved with some things before ultimately deciding to leave (I’m doing theater & community service right now, which is definitely improving my experience). Putting yourself out there is how you find your niche at NYU. </p>

<p>However, the lack of the engineering program is definitely a valid point! I do think the school acquired PolyTech recently, though I’m not sure if you can just go there/take classes without a transfer. Either way, certainly a downside to this school.</p>

<p>Anyway, what I’m trying to say is think it through. NYU grows on you. :)</p>

6

<p>I guess I am on the other end of the spectrum ( trying to transfer into NYU for spring '10 ).
However I must say I am quite surprised that the price issue hasn’t come up! I guess if you are planning to transfer to another private sschool there may not be much of a difference other than the fact that other schools might give more finaid.</p>

<p>I honestly think you should look into doing the major you will be most happy with, and if you arent happy with NYU in general there really is no point in staying.</p>

<p>To the person who said they want the college experience by attending NYU-
From everything I have heard is that it is NOT the traditional college experience which would make sense. No frat row, no football team, HUGE, no campus and so on.</p>

<p>I dont know, maybe my view point on it will change once I get there but from what I saw when I lived in NYC for six months, it really looks like an alright place to get an education!</p>

7

<p>This guy I know transferred from NYU and is a senior at Duke (where I am) right now.</p>

<p>Consider Duke (I’m telling this to everyone, though…haha)!</p>

<ul>
<li>We have a campus. We actually have three. -_-;;</li>
<li>Great people, and it’s easy to meet new ones.</li>
<li>Pratt engineering?</li>
</ul>

8

<p>It’s ironic. I’m on the exact opposite spectrum of the OP. </p>

<p>I was actually just in manhattan again today, the usual day in midtown/downtown with a few friends from high school. Every time I go (I try to make it weekly), there’s always something new. New places to eat. New people. New experiences. </p>

<p>I go to school about 250 miles due west of the city. In arguably the most “campusey” school on earth. Think 110k+ people for football games. Cows abound. Blue and white. Yea you get the idea. Long story short. It’s not for me. </p>

<p>I personally think the “college experience” is overrated. Or maybe it’s the ‘want-what-we-don’t-have’ syndrome. In any case. I’ll take NYU over PSU anyday.</p>

9

<p>I’m a freshman (girl) at NYU and I think I want to transfer. NYU was my dream school all of high school and I applied early because I thought this was what I really wanted. Now that I’m here and living it, I’m not so sure. I’m not a fan of the pretentious artsy kids nor the lack of straight guys. On the weekends, all I do is go out for drinks with a small group of friends. I feel like I’m already a 35 year old and definitely wish I could be having more of the typical college experience. I have no idea where else I would apply because in high school all I wanted was NYU. </p>

<p>I’m currently in Gallatin and am applying to transfer to Stern, hopefully to meet more normal people, and for other academic reasons. However, it’s very hard to transfer into Stern so if I don’t get in, I want a backup plan. </p>

<p>I was thinking about applying to Duke. It sticks out in my mind as having the total college experience package with the sports/tailgating/sense of community, while still having the same academic prestige as NYU. Also, in the same category, is USC. Both of those are attractive options but have much different “settings” than NYU. I feel like transferring could be the best or worst decision of my life, fearing I may come to miss the city once I leave it.</p>

<p>Has anyone been through this? Any advice/feedback is appreciated!</p>

10

<p>The212Kid: If you really want all this stuff, then throw in an application to Cooper Union and the Fu Foundation School at Columbia. Both have or are really great engineering programs, and would let you stay in New York. The only things you’d need to consider are: 1-Cooper Union, though not as spread out as NYU and much smaller, doesn’t exactly have a campus; 2- Both are competitive so you’d need a really good GPA, SAT I, and good recs from math science professors. If you meet those criterion, then you might have a shot. Cooper is particularly interesting since it’s completely free. For the same reasons, you might also want to look at MIT, U Minnesota Twin Cities, Carnegie Mellon, Olin, Northwestern, Chicago, UCLA, Berkeley, Caltech, and USC. All of those have pretty good engineering programs, are in urban places, and have fairly nice campuses. Olin is also free, like Cooper Union. Th only thing you should be aware of is that a lot of places’ deadlines for transfer apps is March 1, so you’ve got to get right on it.</p>

11

<p>I’m also a freshman at NYU applying to transfer out.</p>

<p>I was wondering if any of you decided to really apply to other schools.</p>

<p>I’m only applying to USC, so I’m hoping for a positive answer. But I think that either way I’ll try to make the best of it.</p>

12

<p>NYConfused - I’m a freshman (girl) transferring out of Stern, and I feel like switching Stern for Gallatin won’t change very much. Stern probably does have a bit more community than other schools at NYU, because of the Cohort Leadership Program and the fact that we’re all taking the same classes, but I wouldn’t necessarily say people are more “normal” in Stern, or that your social life would be any different. But, then again, I can be very introverted and other Stern students seem to be very happy with it, so I might be an exception.</p>

<p>If you have any questions about Stern though, I’d be happy to answer :)</p>

13

<p>@The212Kid:</p>

<p>I don’t know if you’ve decided to transfer yet, but if you do, then consider applying to Vanderbilt. It has all of the “college experience” elements that you said you would like, and an engineering school to boot. Plus, it’s a pretty transfer friendly school.</p>

14

<p>I am leaving nyu (im in CAS)</p>

15

<p>im a senior in HS n i got in 2 Stony Brook Uni…i have a GPa of 3.9 SAt score of 1640 n im fairly good in the area of extrcurriculam activities…but im think if transferring 2 NYU cuz i wanna aim higher…is it a gud idea n if yes wht are the requirements?..do i have 2 retake my SAts?</p>

16

<p>you should do want you want. if you enjoy the college life with football games/ strong campus community/ frats you should transfer. Try University of Maryland. A lot of college spirit. partying. crazy basketball fans. its in a college town.</p>

17

<p>Realized I should update this thread, now that my transfer saga is over. </p>

<p>I successfully transferred to Tufts! I’m about two months in so far and loving it. It’s a lot smaller (5,000) so I run into people a lot more on the quad (we have 2), at parties, in the dining hall, etc. My sophomore dorm is more social than my freshman dorm at NYU. We even have a real live football team! Tufts is pretty transfer friendly - and out of the 24 total transfers this year, there were 3 others from NYU… interesting. All in all, I miss NYC dearly but I couldn’t be happier with my decision to transfer, and my decision to come to Tufts.</p>

18

<p>But my reason is strictly tuition issues: I can’t afford the 50 grand, so I might just go to a cheaper school… I’m originally from CA, so I’ll probably go back, but I’m not sure if I can make it. I want to transfer into a UC (maybe UC San Diego) but I don’t know what my chances are…</p>

19

<p>I’m currently an NYU freshman in CAS. For most of the year I’ve hated it here and decided to transfer practically since day one. The lack of community really makes a depressing college experience, with a very lame (and expen$ive) party scene. This is only hindered by the size of the student body, especially since there is such wide range of students. I’m from Houston, so I applied to Rice since I felt it would give me the college experience I’m looking for, and let me be close to home. And, though NYU is great academically in my opinion, Rice does have a bit more prestige, which is a definite plus. But also, I want a less rigid administration system, which will let me dabble between the arts and regular subjects (like English). I’m really interested in film, but I don’t want to have to transfer to the film school to study it, especially since I haven’t taken any film courses yet, so I don’t know if I really want to entirely dedicate myself to it yet. Also, I don’t even know if I’ll be accepted since I would have to apply next semester, and even if I do get it, i’ll have to take multiple summer sessions to catch up. Up until a few weeks ago, my desire to leave was unwavering, but I joined a sorority a couple months back, and now that I’ve made more friends I’m starting to feel more comfortable. Though I still dislike the same aspects of NYU, I’m starting to wonder if I shouldn’t mess with a good thing. Also, since I’m interested in film, it seems like I’d be shooting myself in the foot by transferring AWAY from one of the best film schools in the country or the world for that matter. Then again, there’s always graduate school.</p>

<p>Also, I can only see any semblance of community dwindling in the years to come, since people move more and more off campus to areas as far away as Brooklyn or Queens. Some people even commute from New Jersey. And there’s already so much division in the student body, Tisch and Stern kids and basically every minority sticks together.</p>

<p>Also, if I transferred to Rice, I wouldn’t feel bad that I was only there for 3 years, since I grew up in Houston (heck, I lived in West University for 11 years, the surrounding neighborhood) and I know a lot of people who go there already (an added plus since it gives me some friends). I would probably still do study abroad even.</p>

<p>btw, @ 212 kid, I also applied to Tufts but haven’t heard back yet!</p>

20

<p>you do know you your posting on a thread from like two years ago</p>