<p>but not about "chances" because i can't answer those.</p>
<p>Thanks for this I have a few question that have been on my mind a lot.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>How hard is it to take classes in Stern? I know that there is a 32 credit limit, but I would never hit that. Is it really hard to get into them? Same goes for Tisch.</p></li>
<li><p>Is your adviser really important? </p></li>
<li><p>Where are the Gallatin classes? Are they in the Tisch center?</p></li>
<li><p>Do you feel your Gallatin degree was held to the same level of a normal degree? I LOVE Gallatin, and the way it's set up, but I have to admit this has worried me a little. Did your friends get good jobs/ get into grad school? I am just a worry wort though, and am probably being silly.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>thanks again</p>
<p>hey there, i just got accepted off the gallatin waitlist. i am still trying to decide between NYU and the other school I sent in my deposit to(free tuition), so if you can answer some of my questions it will be much appreciated. how easy is it to get into the classes you want to take, and what would you say are the pros and cons of gallatin and nyu as a whole? thanks so much</p>
<p>Eldercookies,</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I never tried to take classes in Stern or Tisch but I've heard they're very difficult to get into. Since they're specialized schools of course all majors have priority and you'd probably need permission from the prof in some cases. I imagine it's feasible though.</p></li>
<li><p>Yes, I'd say your advisor is important in Gallatin, especially if you're not completely focused and need some guidance (I actually kind of just did whatever I wanted and didn't rely on my advisor at all, but that's just me). If you don't like your advisor you can always switch, as long as the one you want is willing to take you on. I would suggest going through the faculty profiles on the website and try to request someone who specifically shares your interests. I got along with mine but my interests ended up being much closer to a different prof who kind of became my surrogate advisor. </p></li>
<li><p>Classes can theoretically be anywhere, most of mine were in the Gallatin building (which is the other side of the Tisch building) on Broadway. I think I also had a couple in Mercer Street and the Silver Center.</p></li>
<li><p>I'm not entirely sure what you mean "on the same level with a normal degree." In terms of NYU, I would say I got a better education than most NYU students (having transferred from Steinhardt and taken many CAS classes I can compare) because Gallatin classes are small seminars, while most CAS and Steinhardt classes are big lectures where you don't get to really interact with the professor and test out and develop your own ideas. In terms of marketability, I suppose it depends on the field you're interested in, it could work for or against you. I think it's mostly worked to my advantage because you can kind of spin your major in several different ways depending on who's asking, and also the fact that you created a specialized major that didn't exist makes you look extra motivated and passionate, though if you're all over the place it could make you look unfocused. I spent a good two paragraphs of my personal statement explaining my major and got into a top grad school. The Gallatin students I met were the most motivated and intellectually curious people I met at NYU by far, and yeah the few I know are successful now. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>I DO really get sick of explaining my concentration though.</p>
<p>atelierjpn, it depends on which departments you want to take classes in. i took mostly CAS classes (anthropology, sociology, comp lit, philosophy, mideast studies) and never had a problem, though you'd have difficulty with stern or tisch. actually it was harder getting into some of the gallatin seminars i wanted because they are small and popular and would fill up quickly. i would say gallatin beats any other department because you have much more freedom to take whatever you want, and if you aren't sure exactly what you want to do you have time to explore. or if you are focused, you aren't constrained by requirements. but i'd say it depends on what you want to do. </p>
<p>cons...while there are a lot of bright people, postmodernism seems to be all the rage in gallatin and i definitely got sick of that. gallatin seminars are sometimes overly theoretical and abstract, and discussions sometimes get lost in buzz words and phrases that have no meaning, and you get the feeling sometimes people are talking in circles. in other words, gallatin students may be more intellectual on the whole, but there are plenty of psuedo intellectuals as well. </p>
<p>which uni did you get free tuition from? that's certainly something to think about, considering NYU's astronomical tuition.</p>
<p>Why is Gallatin different from the standard "create your own major" program at other schools? I should say that I don't know too much about Gallatin at all.</p>
<p>best place to eat around washinton square</p>
<p>rank em
do school cafe and also private restauruat</p>
<p>yasi, thanks a lot for the info. My free tuition is at Soka University of America. </p>
<p>It is a very new school, and the name is barely known. Soka is a tiny liberal arts college, and it lacks the freedom to take any class you want, as the curriculum is very structured. It doesn't have any communications or marketing classes, and it does not have a very good art department. But the cost is much, much better than NYU, and the people are great there. Basically, I have it down to this question. Is NYU worth the $200,000+, when I would be moderately happy at Soka and leave there with enough money for grad school? Or should I just take NYU's offer and go to a college where I can take classes in all the subjects I want to study. It's a tough decision.</p>
<p>atelierjpn, what do you want to study/do? that makes a huge difference. i can tell you the communications department at NYU is kind of a joke anyway (the was initially my major before i switched to gallatin) but if you want a career in PR or marketing then NYC is definitely where you want to be. i'd say if you have the money to pay for NYU, then go. if you want to go to grad school it might be better to go to nyu since it has a bigger name, and you'll get to hone in on your specific academic interests through gallatin. (and there's the location to take into consideration- is the whole "city experience" important to you?). if you do well you won't have to pay for grad school anyway. but if art is your thing, the money might not be worth it. i don't know, it is a tough call. i can tell you my personal experience was great, and even though i'm owe a bunch in student loans now, i feel it was worth it and wouldn't have wanted to go anywhere else.</p>
<p>zoolander...uhhh i don't know. i don't know why anyone would eat at the university when there's plenty of real food around. All About Food is the best because they have everything, it's cheap, and the salad bar is fantastic. La Famiglia has the best pizza in the area (though i think it's all sub-par by nyc standards). Apple has decent vietnamese. Pane e Cioccolato is good italian. i love Spice for thai food. Friendhouse on 3rd ave between 12th and 13th is my favorite chinese place of all time. mmmm friendhouse. talking about washington square, check out the dosa man- he's the guy on the southeast corner of the park selling deliciousssss and cheap vegan indian/sri lankan food. tell him i said hi.</p>
<p>hey yasi, i'm living in apartment next year. i'm debating whether to get the 75flex meal plan or not to get one eat all. my sister said even though it's cheaper and the food's way better when u eat out, i should still get a meal plan because all ur friends are gonna be going to dining halls and that's one way u'll be meeting people. but i'm not sure if that's how it works because she went to upenn and i guess upenn is not as integrated to philly as nyu is integrated to nyc. </p>
<p>do u think not having a meal plan would really "hurt" me trying to meet people or just socialize because i won't be able to go to the dining halls?</p>
<p>berkeley or nyu gallatin?</p>
<p>are you an incoming freshman? if so you might want to get the flex plan because most of your friends will live in freshmen dorms which require mealplans, and will thus be eating in dining halls most of the time. so if you want to eat and socialize with people you'll be meeting your first year, it's a good idea. the food isn't bad and the flex plan gives you more freedom. otherwise it would be silly to get one, since in an apartment you could easily cook or eat at more convenient places with better food, and after freshman year the social utility of dining halls decreases dramatically.</p>
<p>artista, i don't know much about berkeley. what do you want to major or "concentrate" in? where would you rather live?</p>
<p>thanks for ur quick response!</p>
<p>Did you miss mine, yasi?</p>
<p>Hi Yasi-- thanks for taking questions. I'm a prospective junior year transfer for fall 2009, and was wondering what your opinions are on how much NYU (and Gallatin specifically) values leadership positions. I am going to be a freshman R.A. next year at my current university, and my reasons for transfer are mainly academic. I don't know what R.A.s are like at NYU, but at my school it is definately a position of prestige, especially for sophomores. It's considered a "staff" position... I get reimbursed for housing and meal plan, etc. How do you think this would affect my admission to Gallatin?</p>
<p>yasi: Career wise, I would like to mix business with art, either operating and/or art directing an advertising or design firm. I think being in NYC is a huge part of my draw to NYU. I wrote in my application short essay that I want my concentration to be "The importance of visual arts in international communication and marketing" Interestingly enough, I was going to apply to Steinhardt as a communications major before deciding to go Gallatin. I think NYU having a communications department is better than Soka not having one at all, but I would like to know more about why NYUs department is a joke. Also, not paying for grad school sounds great, so if that actually has happened it makes me feel a lot better. Thank you so much, your input is helping me reach a much-needed decision. I am starting to think that NYU really is worth the money too.</p>
<p>yeah sorry busties. i don't really know much about those programs at other schools so i'll just tell you about gallatn. the only requirements are a basic liberal arts core (your choice of any math, social science, and writing) and a certain amount of credits taken in gallatin itself (you choose from interdisciplinary seminars, writing courses, art workshops, community projects, internships, independent studies, etc). other than that you can take classes in any department at NYU. i suppose the interdisciplinary seminars at gallatin are unique, they don't fit it any one discipline (since they draw from many disciplines) and cover a multitude of non-generic subjects. there are classes about violence, hip hop, the body, arabic poetry, everything. they are limited to something like 25 students and they are more discussion than lecture oriented and there is a LOT of writing. also you work very closely with your advisor to construct your concentration. in order to graduate you have to do a colloquium, which is a two hour discussion with three professors of your choosing about your concentration- you have to tie together all the work you did and identify unifying themes throughout your study, and also come up with a book list of 20-25 books from different disciplines and time periods to discuss. my concentration was "Orientalism: The Politics of Identity," and that's probably one of the more straight-forward sounding ones. i'd say the theme of a lot of the seminars (the ones i took anyway) is the social construction of X. reality, identity, etc., etc. </p>
<p>NYU</a> > Gallatin</p>
<p>windylane, i'm not really sure how much your RA position will help you. it certainly can't hurt, but i don't know if i would say it's a "position of prestige" at NYU. people do compete for the position since it includes free housing and mealplans (which i think is standard) but i think NYU will look more at your academic performance than anything else.</p>