I read some reviews on the internet saying NYU isn’t as good as the people say. Many of the reviews mentioned that the school is very antisocial and political. Some people also mentioned it is very depressing too. Now, I know that such problems are in almost every school, but these issues seemed to be mentioned more in NYU. Is there any truth to it?
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No, haven’t really heard that there’s anything particularly antisocial or political about NYU. A friend’s son goes there and is pretty happy.
That’s what I thought, anyways thanks for the answer.
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You’re welcome. Did you have any specific concerns?
Have you already applied or planning to in the future?
Do you have a current student? Are you familiar with the campus? My D22 has applied, but now concerned about the lack of campus feel.
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One of my good friend’s son attends. He’s a current sophomore.
I’ve visited the area several times since I work in NYC. There’s not an actual campus in the traditional sense - rather, it’s integrated into the surrounding city.
So if your daughter is looking for a campus feel it might not be a great fit, but if she would enjoy all the benefits of living in New York City (lots of stuff to do, great social life, food, etc) then she’ll do fine.
My friend’s son falls into the latter category and is enjoying his time there
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Thank you for your input. We’ll definitely have to visit if she’s admitted.
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You’re welcome.
Is your daughter applying to the arts and sciences school or to engineering (Tandon School)? The latter is in Brooklyn, quite a distance from the main Washington Park campus in Manhattan. So that’s something to keep in mind.
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She applied to Stern.
I see. You’re fine then.
And Stern is well reputed.
Adding a couple of comments - my D is currently in her 3rd year at NYU. If you want a traditional campus/sports college, NYU is not that. My D did not want that - she loved the schools (NYU, GWU, BU etc) that are integrated into cities. And she loves living in the heart of Greenwich village.
Not quite sure where the idea of it being “antisocial” comes from - obviously, covid has affected the experience of the past couple of years quite significantly, and for kids arriving at college since fall 2020 it will have been difficult as a result. But it’s my understanding that most of how you meet people on campus at any college is through dorms and in classes, and that has been my D’s experience too. Yes during covid it ended up being largely the people she had already made friends with (she was there for 1.5 semesters before the covid lockdowns/restrictions) - but as restrictions have been relaxed social life is picking up and she’s meeting new people this semester again. If you are worried about the social aspect, definitely stay in a dorm - and importantly, partake of the programming. The dorms try hard to organize events where people can both meet each other and get to know NYC. Kids need to take part in these. All that said, again, if what your kid wants is a traditional campus, this is not it.
Stern is obviously a top business program, and I’m sure you already know it has single digit admit rates but yes - if your D is admitted definitely visit - they have an admitted students weekend in April, hopefully that will be back in person this year. This is the one weekend that kids can tour dorms, and there are various info sessions etc.
As for political - the university is clearly liberal (MLK week, celebrates pride week, etc etc) but again this is not different from many other colleges, and there are certainly students of all paths of life (young republicans, conservative Christian churches etc) represented on campus. You can be as involved as you want, or remain totally uninvolved if you want that.
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Echoing this. (our kids are on the same wavelength, my D was debating between NYU, BU, and GWU. Not into grass quads apparently.) My daughter will graduate in May and while COVID has thrown obvious curveballs, she has had a great experience. You do have to put yourself out there to make connections. The dorms are a good start in non-COVID years, they’ve been really locked down since then. You won’t find big sports or large parties - there’s no space - but if you engage, you’ll be fine.
The dorms are pretty open again to any NYU student, common areas open again etc since the beginning of last week. I understand dorms have already started events since.
My daughter had to choose between those three for grad school, ended picking BU but loves Manhattan as well. Definitely wanted urban.
My oldest is a freshman at NYU this year. We’re from a small town on the coast of CA, and he’s not at all the type to put himself out there and be proactive about meeting people. Even so, and even with the covid restrictions that affected much of life this year, he has had a great time and loves it.
If you’re a person who doesn’t need a well-defined, insular campus environment and enjoys the vibrancy of the city, NYU is really great. My son does have the benefit of being part of one of the acting studios (he’s a Drama student at Tisch), so he’s in a group of about 20 within a larger group of about 40 or so freshman, within a studio of 150 or so, within Tisch, etc., and I think that small-group environment within the large university has been ideal for him. I’m not sure what it’s like within the other schools at NYU, but my guess is that (esp when covid restrictions aren’t in play) some of the same connections and camaraderie can be found through dorm life, clubs, etc.
I’ve been fortunate enough to visit him 3 times this school year and every time I’m amazed at how happy and grown up he seems, and how much he feels at home in the city. Again, for the right type of kid – one not looking for “campus” and big sports, etc. – it can be an incredible experience.
*freshmEn (I hate typos!)
I do not go to NYU but I have heard very mixed things. When I toured, I noticed two main things about the school. One of which is the amazing area that it is in. The part of New York that NYU is in is absolutely beautiful and always seems lively. However, my biggest complaint for this school is that you could hardly tell that there is a college present. From my experience, it seemed like there was virtually no campus, and that the surrounding city was instead the campus. It also seemed like there was a lacking sense of community, given that there is so much other surrounding noise and people. However, I think that this school could be a great experience, for the right person. If you are someone who wants a college campus, a sense of community, and a “typical” college experience, I would highly recommend looking elsewhere. I go to a different school with all of these features, but I would love to go to NYU for graduate school. While I think that NYU would deliver a lackluster undergraduate college experience for me, I think that many of its features that may be looked down upon are actually great for a graduate college experience. However, I know people who love NYU and hate it; it really depends on what you are looking for in a college experience.
I agree. I think that a lot of the features that some people dislike about NYU have only been exacerbated by covid. While many other schools at least had a campus or outside areas where students could try to experience college life during covid, I have heard that some students at NYU felt completely lost, given that the surrounding campus is basically just the city. I also heard that the dorm experience during covid was terrible. However, the magnitude of these problems seems to have stemmed from the pandemic, and I do not think that these issues are as much of a problem anymore, but instead an indicator of how some schools could better adapt to providing students a college experience during covid.