I am a rising senior from Florida and I would love to go to a school in or around NYC. From my research Hofstra matches is the easier school for me to get into and to pay for. I would like to know how close Hofstra truly is from the city and how student life is on campus (not saying I’m a partier but would like to know how frequent they are on campus). How big is greek life? Is Hofstra worth it?
It takes nearly an hour by Long Island Railroad to get into Manhattan. The round-trip fare is between $18-$24 depending on time of day. The surrounding area is not too great. You are very close to a part of Hempstead with a lot of crime, gangs, and drugs. Long Island is a pretty car-dependent place to live. Public transportation isn’t very good.
I can’t really comment on the school’s social life but as a person who has lived on LI for 20 years and worked in Hempstead for a number of years, I would say the location is a big drawback.
As another Long Islander: Hofstra does have a lot going for it though.
In terms of location: 20 minutes to the beaches. Next door to the new Nassau Colliseum, with sports events and concerts. (Not to mention the concerts at the Jones Beach Theater, 20 minutes away) 5 minutes from Roosevelt Field, a huge mall.
Lots of stores and restaurants not too far away-- everything from Wendys, McDonalds and Sonic on Hempstead Turnpike to Buffalo Wild Wings, Cheesecake Factory, Chilis, Joe’s Crab Shack–pretty much anything you could ask for. Yes, a car makes all that so much easier!!
I work very close to Hofstra. I’m not sure that I see the neighborhood encroaching on the campus.
Another local school that you might want to look at is Adelphi. Most of the same pros, but in a better neighborhood. Better yet, come up and look at both.
My son is on his way back from an interview at Hofstra. We toured the school in August and really liked everything about it - but I am concerned about the safety of the area. Do you know of safety problems at the school and is the crime bad around that area? Would you know if that part of Hempstead has been a problem for Hofstra? We live not far from Temple University in Phila and while the university is better than ever with tons of security - the reason is the surrounding neighborhood is bad and continues to be bad.