How Hard is the Actual Work?

<p>I'm just curious and I'd like to have a sense before I go (if I get in), how is the actual work load at NYU? How hard are the actual classes? How is grade inflation/deflation? I know it depends on school, realistically most of my classes would be sports management and a couple in Stern, but this could be helpful for anyone so I won't put any qualifiers on this.</p>

<p>Ok,</p>

<p>I have heard several comments about how NYU students find the quality of education to be higher than they expected. Of course, it can vary depending on the programs, departments, professors and T.A.s involved.</p>

<p>Right now, my son has let me know he cannot get enough sleep with his freshman load of 18 credits and extracurricular activities. It looks like he will drop 4 credits. Currently, he is taking Texts and Ideas, a language course, Honors Seminar, Music, Political Science.</p>

<p>He has been so busy, I cannot nail him down to chat. So, I may be able to report back when I finally get a chance to talk to him this weekend (hopefully).</p>

<p>Same here. My son has been super busy with school work from the moment classes started. I think he expected the teachers to ease into the semester but they hit the ground running! He already has papers due the second week of school and an enormous amount of reading. He does stress however that the teachers are very high quality and the courses are very interesting. He also has had little time to talk to me.</p>

<p>College is higher education so unless you went to an elite high school, college is much more difficult in terms of course load and what is expected from you. The best way to prepare is to see how your syllabus looks like, see what is expected from you, and adjust accordingly and manage your time properly. For some courses, you only meet twice a week but you might be expected to finish a 3-400 page book in 2 weeks. Don’t cram everything at the last minute. That is how you end up killing your grades.</p>

<p>I think it depends on the school. My guess would be that CAS is more like a regular university with comparable workload. My d is in Tisch and was assigned 27 plays to read plus 2 books before classes ever began. Because of her studio commitment, she is in actual classes almost 30 hours a week and there is a LOT of reading and other outside class work. So much for work study…but she has never been happier and LOVES the environment.</p>

<p>writestuff,</p>

<p>I am very glad to read that your daughter is loving her education. It really is nice to read, especially with some of the previous threads about how unhappy students are at NYU.</p>

<p>Likewise, my son is loving NYU. Hehe, I think the freedom is a big factor, but he LOVES NYC. He decided to drop one course (4 credits) with our blessing. We want to make sure he adjusts well without being overwhelmed by the workload. I know he is very social and wants to do a lot of stuff outside of classes, including community service, music, and running for some sort of office. And I believe he can learn things outside of formal classes.</p>

<p>I assured him it is OK to take fewer than 18 credits, especially with his 24 AP/ college credits transferred in. Moreover, I don’t think sonny wants to graduate early because he wants the most he can out of the college experience.</p>

<p>There’s this really good book by Cal Newport called “How to become a Straight A student.” It’s really helped me in different ways.</p>

<p>It’s not too bad, you really really need to stay on track. It’s only the second week and I can feel work piling on but if you remain calm it will be just fine. I am a freshman so I don’t know much but I do know that although there are a lot of stuff to do around campus you just have to find time for yourself and if you spend a couple hours a day to do homework you really should have no problem.</p>