I'm starting to second guess my choice...

Colleges and Universities A-Z New York University
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<p>So I got into NYU Steinhardt and at first I was thrilled, it's an amazing school smack dab in the middle of the city, where possibilities are endless. I would have access to amazing food, culture, concerts, internships, landmarks, etc. But then I started thinking about all the things I would be missing...</p>

<p>I always wanted a traditional college experience: a beautiful campus with a quad, sports teams, school spirit, parties, sororities, guys, and a warmer climate. And every school I applied to held these qualities, except NYU. NYU was initially my 3rd choice, and it's the best school I got into. NYU is the complete opposite of what I thought of as my perfect college experience, however. There is no campus, barely any sports, I hear there's no school spirit, barely any parties (I would possibly have to get a fake ID in order to party at clubs/bars), no greek life, most of the guys are gay, and it gets pretty freezing. From what I've read, it is hard to make friends, as things are very cliqueish, and most feel as though they aren't going to college, they are just living in the city taking classes at some random buildings. I want to have fun in college and look back on those years fondly, remembering all the amazing friends I met and the great times I had. I'm afraid that at NYU, I'll be one of the miserable ones. </p>

<p>I feel terrible for saying these things, as I know many people would kill to go to NYU, but it's in the back of my head and I'm wondering if I'm making the wrong choice. I was also accepted to: UM, UF, Tulane and UC Santa Barbara (and I already informed UM, Tulane, and UCSB that I wouldn't be attending). </p>

<p>And I received most of my information from online students-rating websites, and I read about 25 reviews of NYU by students there that made me shudder, they are all miserable and are trying to transfer out of what they call a 'hell hole.'</p>

<p>I don't know what to do, am I making the wrong choice?</p>

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<p>It sounds like this whole post is about how you want to go to a school that’s exactly the opposite of what NYU is… so don’t go to NYU! It doesn’t matter if it’s more prestigious than other ones, because if it’s not the right school for YOU then it doesn’t make a difference. I think you should try to visit, though (if that’s feasible for you), to really get a feel for the campus and see if you could imagine yourself living in the city. it sounds like you don’t want to be there, though, so go with the school you really like</p>

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<p>I had a somewhat similar feeling to you (although maybe not so extreme) and really the best thing I did was to choose another school to go to, because it’s what your heart/mind (I don’t want to sound cheesy) wants, it doesn’t matter how much prestige it has, if you don’t feel like it’s the best choice then it probably isn’t for you.</p>

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<p>It seems you already made up your mind not to attend nyu. Dont read a few negatives post and think this is what everyone at NYU feels. Everyones experiences are going to be different. If it doesnt feel right then NYU is not right for you. My son visited and knew instantly this was the school for him . He will be attending this fall and couldnt imagine going anywhere else.</p>

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<p>Hey, want to trade? I would have loved to go to NYU. I love it for all the reasons you don’t like it. I’ll be going to Colgate and that will provide you with the college experience you want :)</p>

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<p>I would call all three schools you told you were not coming and tell them you changed your mind and would like to attend. I would do it one at a time and go to the one that says “OK’” first, if any do. It would be just unethical to ask them to take you again and then turn them down again. So decide which one you think you want the most, and try them first. Tulane I know has a counselor in admissions specifically for your region, so that is who you should call. They are closed Monday though.</p>

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<p>you can always live in New York and do all those wonderful things after college, but you can only go undergrad once to a campus school…</p>

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<p>wow…I AM FEELING exactly as you do…haha its like if you were describing the way i am feeling…i dont know if nyu will be the best fit for me… :(</p>

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<p>I’m just confused, I visited NYU back in December and I liked it, but I don’t think I’ll be able to know what it’s truly like there until I’m living there. Visiting NYU is visiting NYC, I can love NYC and not necessarily end up loving NYU once I’m going to school there. I think that if I go to NYU I’ll have to grow up really fast and will end up losing that college experience that I will only have once. I don’t know what to do, I’m not in love with any of the schools I’ve gotten into.</p>

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<p>This is my advice, and I’m pretty sure it works… From what I see you don’t want to go to NYU because of the lack of typical college experience, but the other schools don’t get you attention much either, but would fit the idea of what you want from school. So what you need to do is pick one of the schools that have a campus (the one you like most, even if you’re not in love with it) and start doing research about it, and I don’t just mean academics and stuff, but actual student life… read comments written by students, etc. To get a feel of what life is there and start picturing yourself there, having all the fun that you are reading people have there and how great it is… start investigating about where you would live (what dorms… what’s the atmosphere like there, etc.) and I’m almost certain (at least it happened to me and other friends) that you will start falling in love with the school just by imaging yourself there. There has to be something in each school that you will love, but maybe you just haven’t found it yet, so try picturing yourself already there, as if the decision is already made :)</p>

<p>hope that helps, that’s what happened to me unconsciously with USC and what happened to another friend who sort of had to love the other school because they offered more aid, and it turned out great for her.</p>

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<p>A lot of the guys in NYU are gay, but it’s also located in NY, which has any type of guy you want, basically. A lot of the other reasons you listed makes it seem like you are not really fit for NYU. Fraternities are nonexistent (I think primarily because there is not a campus and who wants to go to a frat party when theres parties everywhere in NY. I also heard that the few frat parties there are around the area are extremely lame). There are sports teams at NYU (my friend plays for their lacrosse team).</p>

<p>No matter where you go you’re going to end up making friends. It’s not like you go to NYU and thats it, you’ll never have a friend again.</p>

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<p>There are plenty of parties. While there are more gay guys than most schools, the majority of men here are straight. It’s not like there aren’t more than enough straight guys…even excluding the city’s population or nearby schools. There is greek life. Things are not cliquish at least not from my experience. I also do not see how a warmer climate is a traditional college experience lol. Of course, researching opinions on nearly any topic online will result in typically more negative posts, simply because of customer behavior. </p>

<p>The way I see it, your entire post narrows down to what you said “I want to have fun in college and look back on those years fondly, remembering all the amazing friends I met and the great times I had. I’m afraid that at NYU, I’ll be one of the miserable ones.”</p>

<p>Make friends and the rest will come.</p>

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<p>@rlg: I feel EXACTLY the same way you do. I always imagined myself going to that type of college, but when I was denied from my top two choices, it came down to NYU, UCSD, BU, and UCSB. I’m honestly not too hot about any of these colleges and like you, NYU is the best school I got into. I started researching all the schools and decided I might like NYU instead (although I haven’t firmly decided yet). I reasoned with myself: sure NYU doesn’t have a campus or campus life, but it has NYC. I have always lived in suburbs close to cities (simulating the college town experience) but never in an urban environment. Every time I would go to the city however, I loved it. This appealed to me about NYU… it’s something different. Sure, NYU doesn’t have Greek life in the large scale per se, but I’m still going Greek and still going to rage hard with my brothers and sisters. There’s still gonna be “traditional” parties (but without the house), but there will also be so many more bars and clubs (get a fake). Not all the guys that go there are gay (I’m not along with more than half the school), but it’s also in NYC which is definitely not a gay population. Then I thought to myself, would I rather go to UCSB and rage 24/7, engage in the traditional college experience I wanted, probably get an STD, have low grades because of partying too much, and then have trouble finding a job after graduation? OR would I rather go to NYU and still rage 24/7, explore a new city and new environment where the possibilities are endless, get the prestige of going to NYU, and start making around 50 to 60 thousand directly out of graduation? I ultimately chose the latter. The mind tends to think of only the good times (though few and spaced out) when looking in retrospect. Everyone looks fondly back to their college experiences but the whole picture is missed. I’m sure that if you put yourself out there and take advantage of everything NYU and NYC has to offer, you will get any kind of experience you want, making for just as good of memories if not better. It is ultimately your decision (and it’s hard, trust me) but that has just been my reasoning so far.</p>

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<p>hey! i need help! so i have never lived in the city, the complete opposite, and have west coast. ive been to pennsivlania once (city) but it wasnt that exciting, my problem is that ive never gone to nyc, and have to make my decision on if i want to apply to nyu!!! i wont be able to visit by may 1 and this is really scary, should i go there even though i dont know if i like the city? also, do u still feel like u get a “college experience”? for those of u who attend. like i know its not frats but like is it still fun, good socializing and events? also how hard is it to get a really good fake in ny? and how strict are they about it? like is it as strict as las vegas or not</p>

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<p>hey RLG327 i think itsrichardd its right…
i have thought about it a lot and i think i will take the risk…who knows the chances that you wil love could be pretty high :slight_smile:
i think i will choose nyu…i just dont want to think in a future…“what would have been like to study there” and i really dont want to make such an important decision based on fear</p>

<p>hope you figure it out soon!!</p>

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<p>@ikiro0 : I highly suggest you visit NYU, if you’re planning to apply there but don’t know if you like the city. Honestly, don’t worry about a fake ID your first year. There are many 18 and over clubs(hopefully you’re 18!) and I think you really only need a fake-ID your 2nd year. I never bothered to get one, but I have a few friends in NY who got one fairly quickly to get into clubs (like a few hours before they went), so it can’t be that hard…but they are fairly expensive, and if you know NYC life - it’s expensive.</p>

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<p>Thanks everyone for your input! This has helped a lot. I know it’ll be an incredible experience and a NYU degree will mean a lot more to potential employers than a UCSB one or a UF one. I guess it’s just hard to part with my image of the perfect college, NYU is the least ‘collegey-college’ as my friend puts it, that exists. I guess those reviews just got to me because they seemed to confirm all of my fears. I’m still not sure what I’m going to do, but I think I’ll end up going to NYU.</p>

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<p>RLG: I was in the same situation several years back. I always thought I wanted to go to a school with a pretty campus with lawns, quads and frisbee etc. Despite this, NYU was a top choice of mine and after rejection from my first choice, I chose to matriculate. Now I laugh at my past self for ever having wanted to attend a typical college. The traditional experience may be fun and in some ways a rite of passage into the adult world, but it is hardly as life-changing as being in the heart of NYC is. The NYU college experience is criticized from all angles, but if you go in with an open mind and without regrets you’ll surely get more out of it than you could anywhere else.</p>

<p>As you said, there’s no way to tell if NYU’s for you or not until you actually live there. You’re fortunate enough to have to opportunity to attend, so you might as well give it a shot. You wouldn’t have applied if it didn’t somehow appeal to you, right?</p>

<p>It’s natural to have a bit of buyer’s remorse after making such a big decision in your life; it doesn’t mean you’ve made the wrong choice though. </p>

<p>And if you do attend and realize it’s not for you (which does happen a good deal at NYU), you can always transfer. </p>

<p>Good luck</p>