I would think Mandarin would be highly marketable in Europe. Think about it. French speakers are a dime a dozen. The ability to speak to Chinese tourists in their own language would be a huge plus. Now, speaking French/German/Italian would probably be more important in the US.
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Smart! My kid spent each summer studying language intensively, and NEVER on an “American” program. I found places for kid to live with native speakers, and language schools catered to ALL nationalities, so only language in common was usually the target language. Kid came out with a marketable skill just in the fact of fluency in the target language.
And yes, although it’s hard to do, the big language to learn now for tourism is Mandarin. So many Chinese now have the disposable income to travel. And in Europe, people working in tourism are expected to have at least some of the languages listed above.
I know the mom is gone but hopefully taking a peek and so to the daughter. You described my daughter to the tee when in high school. Wanted to go theater design in New York. Been there a few times but once she looked at it seriously… No way. Boston is such the place for her to be creative, artsy and cool. The other place would be Chicago but I know she crossed off DePaul. I would relook at that. It’s in a safe part of the city. We have major hotel chains. She can be who she wants to be. I can give suggestions for shuls etc that would be her people. Plus we’re a major tourist city so opportunities hopefully will be back soon as things open up.
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@alldonealldone PM me if you see this. Your profile won’t allow me to PM you.
SPS is not NYU per se. There are only three programs for “traditional freshmen” in SPS, all “vocational” (Hospitality, real estate, or sports management), in relation to the other programs which are for community college transfers and returning adults. It is best for NYC residents who can commute. If you don’t have family in NYC, she’d have to find her own apartment, which could be very difficult to handle on top of everything. If you don’t think she’s ready to be independent, it may not be the best path.
Tried to PM but wasn’t able to.
@alldonealldone
What languages does she speak? In Europe, for an inn-keeper, speaking French and/or Spanish and either German or Dutch, would be pretty important - in addition to English. Adding Chinese would be a plus. (So, having an inn where she can cater to the different needs of different groups, manage clients in their own language, and then managing staff in different languages, would all matter.)
Developing language fluency is crucial because it’s an expectation: European young people on the academic path have 5 to 7 years in one foreign language, 5 in another one, and in some cases 3 years of one more, just to graduate high school; less academic kids would have 5 years of English and 4 years in another foreign language. (Doesn’t mean they’re good at it, just means it’s considered “basic”.) The equivalent of a major in one language (mostly culture based, not literature based) + short intensive programs in 2 other languages would be very important for her goal.
Europe is vast, 26 countries with very different cultures.
Has she considered doing an apprenticeship or a co-op in a European country? She’d need excellent language skills in the country’s language, but it’d give her some advantage. Same thing if she simply tries to do a “year abroad” in a “hospitality” program (France has excellent “chef&hospitality” high school programs. I’m guessing most kids who go through this type of high school abroad programs don’t go to “restaurant” programs but why not ask?)
In any case, study and work abroad should be seriously investigated at all the colleges she got into.
JMU and VT sound like they would deserve a closer look, too, if she won’t look into UMass.
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“It is best for NYC residents who can commute. If you don’t have family in NYC, she’d have to find her own apartment, which could be very difficult to handle on top of everything. If you don’t think she’s ready to be independent, it may not be the best path.”
Not sure the above is accurate. SPS students are not housed with the rest of NYU undergrads?
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It’s my understanding SPS students aren’t housed and are expected to commute.
This family would need to check.
The SPS programs with a lot of traditional undergrads seem to have a lot of International students. They have to find their own apartments but may be fine with that adventure.
I think NYU’s SPS students are housed with other undergraduates. Are the people saying this is not true know that this is the case about NYU?
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Yes, unless someone knows otherwise, full time SDS students seem to be treated the same as other NYU undergrads with regard to housing. In fact, one of the links on the SDS page takes you to another page listing the steps for newly admitted students, one of which is to apply for housing. SDS students “are encouraged to fully participate in all aspects of college and university life.” The only qualifier I can find is full time vs part time. Housing is reserved for full time students.
Having said that, housing is at a premium for all NYU students. Most live off campus. NYU has an office to assist students in finding off campus housing, link with roommates, etc.
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They’d really need to email Admissions and the SPS point person about it. I thought they didn’t, but that may be because they transitioned these three programs for “first time undergrads” into SPS and treat them differently than the other SPS students. Other SPS students definitely don’t have housing.
Pretty certain SPS students don’t get NYU housing. International SPS students are pointed to off-campus housing resources: International Students | NYU SPS
Thanks so much to everyone for your replies. I am taking a break from CC because my user name was shared with my daughter and her friends and I want to avoid sharing personal information moving forward.
However, I will pass along general information that I have learned because yes, this program at NYU is confusing and this info may be helpful to future seniors.
A lot of confusion arises because the School of Professional Studies (SPS) is home to many different types of programs and students: master degree programs, certificate degree programs, as well as undergraduate programs for non-traditional, returning students (DAUS, or Division of Applied Undergraduate Studies).
However, there are also three traditional undergraduate Bachelor’s degree programs housed in SPS. The Hotel and Tourism Management major at the Johnathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality is one of the traditional, undergraduate programs. The three programs are professionally oriented (Real Estate, Sports Management and HTM). Which explains why they are housed in SPS. But, I think housing traditional undergraduate programs within SPS creates confusion and also a degree of skepticism. Especially when there are parallel certificate and non-traditional programs in the same areas.
The Bachelor’s curriculum and coursework is completely separate from, and there is no overlap with, coursework for non-traditional, certificate or graduate students. But, how would anyone know this?
We really learned a lot more at the NYU admitted student weekend and from hearing from students in the undergraduate HTM program. I also met with a Dean from the HTM program, as well as with Wasserman career center staff.
Students in the SPS traditional bachelor’s degree programs are traditional NYU undergraduates. Unlike non-traditional SPS students, their applications for admission are processed and reviewed by NYU undergraduate admissions. They are welcomed to NYU just like students admitted to every other school. Same welcome letter, packet, etc. They participate in the undergraduate accepted student weekend, orientation, welcome week, etc. Once enrolled, they are regular NYU freshmen. They live in the dorms, participate in student activities and clubs, rush fraternities/sororities, etc. They can choose to cross-minor in any other school at NYU, except for Stern because of course material overlap (actually, it does not look like Stern hosts cross school-minors, but collaborates on several). They are also considered internal transfers should they decide to switch to a major housed in another school at NYU. One more thing — they are charged undergraduate tuition! This is not the same amount that non-traditional part-time or certificate students are paying.
Undergraduate Students at NYU, including traditional HTM undergraduates, complete a “liberal arts core.” The core varies slightly from school to school, but HTM students are in liberal arts classes along with every other NYU undergraduate. The classes are offered through the College of Arts and Sciences and the Liberal Studies program.
Is there a stigma attached to SPS students among fellow undergraduates that SPS is an easy way in to NYU? There may be. I didn’t actually ask for a program specific acceptance rate for HTM - not sure if they would release this info anyway. However, most undergraduates may not even be aware of HTM or even SPS. Hotel and Tourism Management enrolls only 50 students per class, but with the two additional undergraduate program there are about 150 incoming freshman at SPS each year. Tiny in comparison to the other schools.
About 65% of the HTM students are from the US and 35% come from abroad, primarily Southeast Asia. I imagine the number of international students varies across schools and majors, but this is higher than the overall average at NYU. I am not sure if NYU provides housing to international students?
SPS has its own branch of the Wasserman career center, but students also use the larger main Wasserman Center. HTM students historically have a 98-100% employment/enrollment rate within the industry within 6 months of graduation. Their list of employers and starting positions are very impressive across a wide range of hospitality and related-business industries, not just hotels. But, definitely heavily concentrated in the New York City area. Every student in the graduating HTM class of 2021 is either employed or enrolled in grad school at this point.
Overall, there are many positive attributes to the NYU HTM program, including an extensive internship component and strong ties to the NYC hospitality industry. However, like the program at BU, it is not housed within an accredited business school so that might eliminate it right off the bat for many students.
I hope this information is helpful to future potential students. Thanks again to everyone who posted on this thread for your time and input!
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I contacted NYU Office of Residential Life & Housing Services regarding eligibility of full time SPS students for on-campus housing and was told, “Yes, definitely.”
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