<p>Stop worrying about prestige and go to the school YOU like better.</p>
<p>I think it’s best to best to do it in person, but you have nothing to lose if you tried it over the phone. I walked in and explain to them about my situation. I had another sibling who also went to NYU and I had a younger brother at home. My parent’s annual household income was barely enough to cover both our tuition. Even though we both received grants and scholarships, I told them we still had to take out loans. In my personal experience, the financial aid office was actually pretty flexible and accommodating. However, that’s only from my experience. </p>
<p>Since you’re studying abroad your freshmen year, I’m assuming you’re going to Florence and you’re not interested in freshmen housing. The best second year housing in my opinion would be Palladium (close to campus, has a gym, has a food court), Uhall (close to palladium and near campus), Carlyle (big space if you get a corner double and close to campus), and Coral (slightly further, but large rooms). </p>
<p>As for libraries and study areas, everyone (other than Sternies) goes to Bobst. It gets extremely crowded on Sundays. Fridays and Saturdays are relatively empty (for obvious reasons). If you can study in your room, I would highly recommend it because the library can get really crowded. You can also study in Stevenson or the third floor of stern. You need to be in Stern to get into the third floor, however. After I realized how crowded Bobst was, I liked to study in my dorm’s study areas. </p>
<p>Hope it helps and good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you for being so generous with this kind of inside information, that it would otherwise take a new student a long time to put together! Everything you cover is really helpful.</p>
<p>By the way, and this is pretty funny, I am making the same choice right now between NYU and UCLA.</p>
<p>Thank you very much, and have a great week.</p>