Hi! I’ve already been posting and answering people’s questions, but I figured I should make a separate discussion thread.
I’m a current Liberal Studies Core Program freshman. I was accepted RD last year with a 4.17 weighted GPA, 32 ACT, and a 2040 SAT. I applied to CAS as my first choice with LS as my back up and was accepted to the Core, spending my first year in New York.
I was placed in the Core Program because of my success in the IB Programme at my school (small classes, focus on writing) and my global experience. Being placed in LS doesn’t mean you are less than or not good enough; that stigma doesn’t exist once you actually get to NYU. I haven’t come across it, my friends in the program haven’t come across it, and my friends who have transferred out of the program haven’t come across it.
I’m more than happy to answer any questions about LS, living in NYC, and NYU in general. Feel free to message me if you want a more personal conversation!
MODERATOR’S NOTE: Anyone is free to ask or answer questions in this thread.
Hi! Hope all is well. Thanks for your help the other day, but now I have more questions! Do you happen to know the demographics of students in the program such as the male-to-female ratio? Also, do you know the average scores for accepted students? Lastly, what is your experience with merit scholarships for this program?
@aznboi4981 Hi! I don’t know the demographics of the program, nor do I know the average scores for accepted students. NYU doesn’t make those facts public. The only scholarship I got from LS was a $1,000 scholarship but I believe my financial aid package was based more on my family’s high income bracket rather than merit, so I don’t have any experience with merit scholarships from the program.
@seeniebeenie Well from your experience, is there a fair amount of males in the program? And wow okay. I got about ~10.5k in scholarship money… And since my dad was laid off from his job last year, I got quite a bit in grants… Still have about $40k-45k in loans which does seem like a lot to me…
@seeniebeenie Will AP credits or SAT scores get me out of certain classes? I know for some schools if you get a 4/5 on AP Lang/Lit or a certain CR/W SAT score, you can get out of English classes… I’m concerned cause I really don’t want to take 2 writing classes
@aznboi4981 The general split here at NYU as a whole is 60/40 and I’d say that holds true for LS as well. There’s an appeal process for financial aid that you can go through each semester to try to get more money, but I don’t know of anyone who’s actually done it. There’s also a merit scholarship you can apply for during your second semester of freshman year but you need a GPA of at least 3.85 from your first semester to be eligible. I’m fortunate enough to not have to take out any loans unless I want to build my credit up, so I can’t really help you there. However, it’s important to think of financial aid in terms of the school. With NYU being $72k a year, you have just under half in scholarships and grants from a school that is notoriously strange with their finanical aid.
@MiniCHAMP Yes, you can use AP credits or SAT scores to get credit for classes, but you can’t use them for the required core classes. You can use AP credits to fulfil math, science, or foreign language requirements. Everyone at NYU has to take some sort of required writing course –– all the other schools have a one semester course called “Writing the Essay” that is apparently confusing and completely useless, we have Writing I and Writing II which are similar to WTE but actually useful. You don’t just sit and learn about MLA format or basic sentence structure, don’t worry. My Writing courses have been my favorite courses so far.
@seeniebeenie I am going to join the LS core program soon and from what I’ve been reading about NYU, it seems like it is a really difficult place to make friends. What was your experience in making friends and getting to know people? Note that I am not much of a party/ alcohol person.
@scaredfreshie98 It can be hard to make friends here. I’ve personally made friends through the Class of 2019 Facebook group –– during the summer, someone made a post saying something to the effect of “hey, just wondering, but does anyone like X band” and a bunch of people responded, so a huge groupchat was made. I was one of the most active people along with about five other girls, so those have become my best friends because of how much we talked. I also decided to go through sorority recruitment in the fall and have met over 150 amazing women at this school because of it. Greek life isn’t for everyone and the Greek life here is small, but it’s worthwhile if you want to make friends while making a difference. That being said, other ways of making friends here are pretty common: keep your door open during the first few weeks, talk to people on your floor, join clubs, talk to the people in your classes, etc. You definitely don’t have to be a big partier to make friends and have a good time; I don’t do it that often and I’m doing just fine.
@aznboi4981 It’s something about the fact that we’re in NYC and on a very open campus with everyone rushing around that can make it hard to make new friends.
Do u think that coming from the IB program helped u in the core program? Also, are there lots of other IB graduates in LS? I’m an IB diploma candidate and am just wondering about this.
Hi, My daughter got into the GLS program. It was her first choice. Is there a stigma to this program? Her AP credits are for English/History. Are those not accepted? Thank you!!
@balimarpy I definitely think that IB helped me! Being an IB student taught me time management, better writing skills, and how to BS a paper at 2 in the morning and still get an A on it. I haven’t met any other IB kids, but I believe there’s a good amount.
@brand1 The stigma that you encounter on College Confidential towards the LS programs are nonexistent in real life. I’ve yet to come across someone who actually believes that I’m less than them because I’m in LS. From what I can remember and have Googled, you can only use AP credits for non-core classes such as Math or Biology, etc.
I’m trying to choose which residence hall to live in. I’ve read up on a lot of pros and cons of each hall, but still can’t seem to get a grasp of where I want to go. A bit about myself, if that helps with choosing where to go:
I’m really not a party person, so I’d rather avoid places known for having frequent parties or just being loud in general. I’d also rather be in a good location (access to reasonably-priced restaurants, close to subway stations, etc) but won’t mind a 15 minute walk or something. My choices are also somehow influenced by the price, since the tuition is already so expensive and I have two siblings going to private schools (5k/year tuition for them) and I don’t want to burden my family any more than I have to with NYU’s outrageous tuition. I guess I want to know which hall has the best room for their price (like, I know that Rubin is the cheapest but has no air conditioning, and that Uhall has really nice rooms but is expensive as f***)?
@seeniebeenie my daughter just got accepted to the LS program as well and based on what you said as to why they place kids in the program makes sense, at least I hope it does. She has a lot of AP English/writing classes along with several college program she has done over the summers at BU, Stony Brook University and the NY State Summer School of the Arts program for digital photography. I’be been reading the thread and most everything seems great. I am concerned about the “making friends” issue, but I guess that all depends on the student themselves. Her first choice was CAS but got placed in LS instead. Do you know anyone who has finished their LS program and has gone on to another school at NYU? She wants Journalism/Communications/Photography. As far as the work load, is it manageable? They offered her a work study program along with her scholarship/financial aid package. I just hope she’s able to manage it that way. You seem to very positive about the program which is comforting to me as her mom. Do you recommend one dorm over another? She isn’t a partier/drinker…
@sungjong I would recommend avoiding Third North and possible Hayden, then. I recommend my res hall, Goddard, to everyone I can because it’s honestly the hidden gem. People think that because you have to write essays to get in it’s weird or whatever, but it’s a great location and the Residential College program is amazing. Rubin is the cheapest in terms of money and quality; I’ve heard stories of cockroaches in people’s rooms.
@talsmom It makes sense to me as to why the admissions committee placed her in LS. The making friends issue is really up to each student; the RAs do their best to create fun programs for their residents to go to and enjoy, but NYU definitely doesn’t hold our hands while we try to make friends. For the freshmen welcome ceremony at Madison Square Garden, my RA handed us MetroCards and a little map with a direct route from MSG back to our hall, took us on the subway there, and told us to pay attention because we’d be finding our own way back. It sounds frightening, but now I take the subway on my own all the time. As a matter of fact, I do know people who’ve completed LS. Some of the girls in my sorority have transferred into their desired school/program and are working on their major. The work load is definitely manageable. Your daughter will be in class for five hours a week and can expect to study at least that same amount of time a week, which definitely leaves time for a work study and friends and clubs. I personally recommend my residence hall, Goddard, to everyone. You have to write essays to get in, but it’s a great location and it’s quiet. There’s about 200 students in Goddard, so you can get close with people if you want to.
@seeniebeenie thank you so much for you info, I’m confident she’ll be ok I was just surprised to hear someone mention the friend thing but it’s all up to the student like you said. I’m glad to hear that students who completed LS are continuing on with the major! She’s been on her own a couple of times already and has traveled on the T in Boston while she was at BU and has been out of the country. I will have her look up that residence hall, she was looking at Brittany? Is that one of the options? Again, you’ve been very helpful! Thank you
@talsmom No problem! Yes, Brittany is one of the options. Three of my friends live there and they like it very much, so that’s definitely an option for her. Don’t rush to apply for housing because the housing application isn’t due until May 1st. Take your time and explore what you all feel would be the best option for your daughter and what would be the best option for your finances.
@seeniebeenie I’m sorry one more thing, how do you know the difference cost in regards to the dorms? Do I go through housing? B/c I’m assuming it gives a general number under tuition and fees?
@talsmom The 2016-2017 Housing Rates are frozen at the same rates they are currently for the 2015-2016 academic year, and you can find them [url=<a href=“https://www.nyu.edu/content/dam/nyu/resLifeHousServ/documents/ApplicationsandAssignments/2015-2016AYRates.pdf%5Dhere%5B/url”>https://www.nyu.edu/content/dam/nyu/resLifeHousServ/documents/ApplicationsandAssignments/2015-2016AYRates.pdf]here[/url].
