Is NYU the worst school cost-wise?

Paying for College
61

<p>NYU was one of the schools that marketed most aggressively to my midwestern son–University of Chicago being the other. But while U of C focused on its “life of the mind” positioning, NYU did exactly what this Atlantic Monthly article describes:</p>

<p>

</p>

<p><a href=“The Expensive Romance of NYU - The Atlantic”>The Expensive Romance of NYU - The Atlantic;

<p>Applications to NYU have tripled in the past 15 years or so. A small part of this increase is the opening of the new campuses overseas, and the Poly campus in Brooklyn. But a lot of it is bombarding impressionable kids from outside the region with glamorous mailings about life in the big city. It seems at best disingenuous that they are mailing so extensively and not being more up front about the costs and their inability to offer most kids the kind of aid they might get elsewhere.</p>

62

<p>So what the school is romanticizing what it is to live in NYC?? The reality is that part of washington square park has been closed off for a number of years due to contraction/repairs; they haven’t had a graduation at the park for almost a good 5 years now (the school wide graduation is now at Yankee Stadium). I don’t think that any one sends out more marketing and promotional materials than Wash U. Yes, they may market toward the starry eyed 17 year old, but the parent,should now that it cost ~ 60k real dollars to attend. The problem is impressionable young kids can’t borrow more than 5.5k, 6.5k or 7.5k a year to go to NYU. </p>

<p>Lindsay and her family knew what their financial situation was when she signed for all of those loans. I am also quite sure that Lindsay kid her share of whining and crying about how this is her dream school and how she would pay back the loans if her mother signed for them. Mom caved because she felt that she was giving her daughter a once in a lifetime opportunity when she needed to say NO, is an answer, we cannot afford this.</p>

<p>Pick up almost any magazine and you will see them romanticizing the notion that the you staying at some hotel, flying an airline or visiting las Vegas, any other tourist destination in the world. </p>

<p>I get starry eyed everyday that I walk down 57th street; it does not mean that I am going in to Dior, Burberry, Cartier or name you any other retailer of choice on 57th between 5th and park to spend money that I don’t have and I am certainly not going into debt.</p>

63

<p>We get a lot of mail from NYU also. D doesn’t like it - no defined campus thing - but she knows she wouldn’t get enough money to attend anyway so we glance at the mailings and chuck 'em.</p>

64

<p>NYU is a great school if you want to live in Manhattan, enjoy NYC. Not deceptive advertising at all. The location is absolutely tops for those who want to come to the Big Apple The name has panache, it IS a good school, good programs, you will be with a lot of smart kids, and likely to get a great education. A lot of people dream of living, going to NYC. Absolutely, it is part of the appeal. Like Sybbie, I get starry eyed walking down the streets of Manhattan Find it hard to believe I am in this life. And that’s coming back from my endodontist! If this is the dream, and for many it is, NYU absolutely is the Holy Grail school for many. One doesn’t romanticise living in Baltimore or most any city as one does NYC.</p>

<p>There is a category of families for whom I have a lot of sympathy. There are parents who truly have no idea about colleges, loans, how things work. Not the family in the Village Voice, but there are parents who speak no English, and rely entirely on their children for information and for what to do. I would have been such a child to my mother who never learned English beyond a rough pidgin to this day, and who would have signed anything for me, for my brothers, she trusted us so. She never wrote a check, used a charge card, did not drive, and was totally dependent on my father until he got sick and died; then we, children, took care of her. I am sure there are parents, student, in that situation, but I’ve yet to see any of them featured. The young woman, Lindsay, in the Village Voice article did not garner my sympathies one bit. Her parents were certainly in the position that they should have known the scoop, my guess is that they did.</p>

<p>I have written on this forum a number of times that an old friend, close friend, and her daughter are in ruinous straits due to student loans the young woman took out with mom co signing, and mom taking PLUS. Both women are wonderful, delightful people. Young woman was a talented, hard working student, the pride and joy of her family, and her mother wanted to it all for her, give her anything and everything. Which the family was pretty much able to do through her childhood. And they continued by taking out loans making an unaffordable college experience possible. She juiced every bit of joy and experience from her years at the college, and graduated with honors, double major, in philosophy and poli sci. No job to be found for a long time, other than part time work that did not pay a living wage. I begged my friend not to sign those loans, go to the instate school that was FREE tuition for the DD and within commutable distance, but nope, only the best for DD, and whatever she wanted.<br>
I guarantee you that the mom and daughter absolutely knew the risks, the pitfalls, etc of their decision, because I personally spelled it out for them. Did no good at all. And now the tune is quite different, and the blame is put on the school, the fin aid office and quotes are attributed that I never heard when all of this was happening, and I did get the earful. So don’t believe all the tales told by some of those now saddled with the loans. Stories have changed in some cases. I know because I was there is some cases. (The school is not NYU, by the way, in my example. NYU is not the only school with this situation).</p>

65

<p>

</p>

<p>I sure hope you are kidding. </p>

<p>And if you plan to be a business major, you need to learn about return on investment. </p>

<p>NYU is one of a gazzillion private universities with $60,000 price tags which do NOT guarantee to meet full need for all accepted students. I will give my opinion and say that any student considering NYU can find a less expensive and suitable college (unless they are a Tisch accepted student). </p>

<p>There are many well respected business schools in this country that cost FAR less than NYU. </p>

<p>And there are also many equally expensive colleges in this country. It’s only the “worst school cost-wise” if you choose to attend and your parents need to fund close to your full cost of attending with Plus Loans.</p>

66

<p>Tisch is no exception to the rule. Many, many, many, Tisch grads with loans in trouble. Lots of links to such articles on the Performing Arts forums of this board where those in the arts saddled are saddled with loans impossible for them to repay. IT’s one thing being a poor starving artist, but being a poor starving artist with 6 figures in debt to be able to say you are an artist, a Tisch grad artist? Not smart at all.</p>

67

<p>I’m not advocating going into debt for a Tisch education…but I do think it’s one of the very top programs in its field. And it certainly has location location location for it. </p>

68

<p>@thumper1:</p>

<p>To be sure Stern is certainly in the top tier of undergrad b-schools. Not all schools are Wall Street targets. And whether you find an undergrad b-school as good that is cheaper depends on how much fin aid and merit aid you get as well as where you get in.</p>

<p>BTW, Tisch is renown in the arts, but it isn’t so much better (or better, even) than other schools that there are no better options. Being a theatre major at Northwestern with fin aid is MUCH better than being at Tisch with no aid, for example.</p>

69

<p>Being at most schools with aid is better than being at a $60,000 plus school with no aid. BUT NYU isn’t the on,y expensive school out there that doesn’t meet full need! </p>

70

<p>^ which is the whole point of what a number of us is saying.</p>

<p>NYU has a number of top departments. I have no vendetta against NYU. I can’t afford to pay for NYU for my kids, but fully admit it is a great school. No sour grapes here. And on the other hand, I’m no fan or cheerleader for NYU either. Anyone qualified to get into Stern, Tisch or any of the fine, selective programs of NYU, can find a more affordable alternative and do very well. I see a certain irony in those putting themselves and their parents in such debt to go to those schools. To go to Tisch to become a poor starving artist??? To go to Stern and OWE all that money when it should be a very obvious business point that it’s not good move, bad ROI, not a good investment. I guess that’s why I’m not so sympathetic to those who find themselves in so much debt going to NYU. These are not mentally challenged individuals. They are those with the finest minds in the country, and do deliberately make such a decision. It’s like buying a Mercedes when the budget is Honda.</p>

71

<p>I was planning to be done here, but I must respond to @sonybd. I happen to be a long time poster and I am not flooding the thread with my comments. I have the right to disagree with others and to post about my/my family members experiences without being told that my comments are irrational. You also have the right to disagree with me, but you can do so in a manner that does not include ridiculous statements referring to my walking my dog (???). I also happen to know what I remember. </p>

<p>Others here have disagreed with me. Sally is one of them, but her comments are not disrespectful or offensive.</p>

72

<p>I am on my second D at NYU. My first graduated in 2012 as a Vocal Performance major through Steinhardt with a BM degree. She chose NYU because it was the best match for her and the offer of acceptance was sweetened by an $11K talent merit award. I can honestly say that I believe that there is no other school that could have offered her the combination of voice instruction, high level academics (minors in English lit and the Business of Entertainment, Media and Technology), as well as access to year-round internships (Sony, Scott Rudin, DreamWorks, to name a few.) D’s networking is extensive due to people she met at NYU and contacts made in internships while at school in NYC. She turned down acceptances at Binghamton, Muhlenberg (19K in merit), GW (15K in merit), American (22K in merit), Brandeis (15K in merit) and Barnard.</p>

<p>So yes, there were less expensive options for her to take. But we decided to go with NYU knowing what the expenses would be. And we made it work. Of course we were in a good financial position to be able to pay for school without loans (and I am grateful that we were in a position to have some savings and to be able to put my salary towards tuition.) But that doesn’t change the fact that NYU delivered exactly what we had hoped for and then some.</p>

<p>Younger D is at NYU now for studio art. Again, an excellent program that matches D’s needs with a combination of outstanding art classes taught by successful working artists and strong academic expectations. Her exposure to art in NYC is unparalleled. We would not have gone back for a second round (ED )if we didn’t believe NYU would deliver. D was accepted EA at Pratt with $14K in merit, but turned it down because she wanted a university setting and the academic breadth that NYU provides. She is a singer/ performer, too, and NYU has introduced her to a community of musicians, artists and filmmakers that all collaborate with one another. She can take high level voice lessons for credit. </p>

<p>So, yes, this post is anecdotal–but it is in response to some of the posts that seem to profile students who chose NYU as either star-struck or sucked in by a propaganda machine.</p>

73

<p>@thumper1‌
That is absolutely true. Other schools that come into mind are Tulane, Rose-Hulman, and RPI.</p>