is NYU worth the money?

<p>I'm very confused by my financial aid, personally. I got 9,290 in a Provost's Grant, 20,000 in a Tisch Scholarship, 11,000 in a J. Eckhouse Scholarship, 750 in an ACG grant, 2,981 in Pell Grant, then 4,000 work-study and the rest Perkins and Stafford loans. </p>

<p>But this is all an estimate, right? What is guaranteed and what can change? Are the scholarships and the Provost Grant things I can count on? What is the likelihood that they take away my work-study? Should I start a new topic for this?</p>

<p>You got good money! :) It'll stay that way if you file your fafsa exactly as you filed the NYU finaid form. Everything's pretty much guaranteed.</p>

<p>Do I have to apply for financial aid to be considered for a merit scholarship? Does NYU even give merit scholarships if you don't qualify for financial aid?</p>

<p>if you want to be considered for any kind of aid, including merit, you do need to apply for financial. Some merit is given not based on need, but it is my understanding that NYU gives merit but mostly need based.</p>

<p>True merit money from NYU (or any other school for that matter) is money that is given to students who have no financial need at all. In other words, their EFC (expected family contribution) is higher than the cost of NYU. Or because their EC is so high, they just don't apply for any financial aid, knowing they are ineligible.</p>

<p>When people get merit aid as part of their financial aid package it is not true merit aid. They are getting the money because there is financial need (as well as talent or academics) but if they did not have need, they would not receive it.</p>

<p>NYU gives very little true merit aid. Steinhardt gives out some money for talent. I understand that Tisch does, as well. Stern doesn't give merit aid and I dont think CAS does any longer. Many of the schools at NYU formerly gave more merit money for scholars programs, academics and talent. NYU announced last year that they planned to do away with most merit aid within the next few years.</p>

<p>I’m not sure how all this scholarship things work. I mean, do you apply for scholarship when you apply to the school or something? Or is it just people and organizations offering it to you because they think you’re really awesome :D?</p>

<p>I’m in Tisch and on scholarship, and have gone to NYU for two years. I would say that it is absolutely not worth the money-- it’s way overpriced. It’s weird to think that if I broke it down into how much I paid per class, I paid thousands for classes that were hardly better than what I had taken in a CC or in HS. Some of the classes are fantastic, however, and maybe even worth more than their price tag. Few of these classes have been in Tisch, but still… It’s worth going to NYU as a school. The environment helps you grow as a student and a person. But you can go to colleges similar enough to NYU for so much less that I’d have to say it’s not worth the money… you’ll just have to deal with the hefty tuition fees if you want the experience. Make sure you at least have a minor, if not a double major. Many of them can be done in four years if you plan it out right. That’s one thing I can say NYU is good for, for all that money: there’s only been one class I wanted to take that I couldn’t get into because of space, and only a couple that I couldn’t manage to work around my schedule. They have a lot of classes.</p>

<p>It’s worth it if you have the money and REALLY want to be here. If you don’t really want to be here, don’t waste your money. It is a unique environment, very different even from CUNYs, Fordham or Columbia. </p>

<p>Someone said it’s only worth it for Stern or Tisch - that’s ridiculous. Some of my Tisch friends are paying $210k to study performing arts - they’re really talented and ambitious, but the blunt fact is most Tisch majors are not lucrative at all, so taking out huge loans for a Studio Art degree isn’t the brightest idea. Of course, Tisch is also amazing for the Arts and draws lots of talented people so it’s worth it assuming you can afford it (with loans/FA). If you’re talented like Bimachris, you might get a bunch of scholarships so that’s nice.</p>

<p>As for Stern, a Finance degree from there will pay for itself so it’s not as risky taking out major loans. To a lesser extent, this is true of many CAS/Steinhardt students, since they also have many of NYU’s top programs. Even if NYU isn’t oustanding in your majors, it’s a well regarded school so most students see it as a good investment.</p>

<p>tho NYU is bad about financial aid, you can search for outside scholarships (if u can get them, it’s better than loans and debt!). Nyu is worth it, in m y mind, and if you want to go there.</p>

<p>There are thousands to choose from, and it’s easy to eliminate ones you don’t qualify for and find the ones for which you do.
searching is a pain, but the money is worth it. Just search and don’t be lazy about it.
It’s better safe than sorry</p>

<p>Heard from a niece who is attending the College of Arts and Science that she was shifted from one advisor to three others in succession during her first semester as a freshman. This says much about how NYU is administered, if students’ interests aren’t taken into account, particularly in the first year. This was disappointing to hear, when you compare her experience to the image presented by NYU’s president in a recent Bill Moyer’s Journal program. He sounded like quite an interesting fellow, but probably really out of touch with the nuts and bolts of university administration.</p>

<p>I think you are always going to have situations like you describe, unfortunate as they are.</p>

<p>D’s experience is the opposite. She has close personal relationships with many of her advisors and professors. But she is in a small program (vocal performance) and everyone seems to know one another and are a real community.</p>

<p>I am sure that many students have differing experiences…but I would not make a blanket statement about the school based on just one student’s experience.</p>