<p>I am in high school trying to decide on a college. I really like NYU but I'm not sure if I should go. Is it a good school? I want to know if the academics are good, not if the nightlife is good. Is it too expensive for a student to pay their way through themselves? Also, any recommendations for other colleges? I don't know what I would be going for yet so just colleges in general would be nice.</p>
<p>The academics at NYU are excellent, but they’re pretty notorious for giving poor financial aid. And yes, it would be too expensive for you to pay your way through - the tuition is over $30K per year, not to mention living expenses.</p>
<p>What kind of schools are you looking for? Do you want others in urban areas like NYU, or do you want large schools like NYU? One that comes to mind is UMiami, as it is similar in some ways to NYU (but has better financial aid).</p>
<p>College (even public colleges) is too expensive for you to afford on your own.
You can, however, earn scholarships.
These exist in two varieties:
- need-based = your parents make under $75,000 a year or under $150,000 (or even, at HYPSM, under $180,000) = you get money based on how much you can afford.
Note that only a handful of schools promise to cover your “financial need” and all are very selective. Some of these schools even cover need without loans if your family makes less than $60-75,000.
[100%</a> Meet Need Colleges | CollegeGreenlight](<a href=“Colleges with Need-Blind Admission for U.S. Students”>Colleges with Need-Blind Admission for U.S. Students)
The other private schools only “meet need” for the students they want and the others, well, have to find another solution.
The in-state public schools have a special rate for in-state residents.
The out-of-state publics use OOS students as cash cows so not only do you pay high OOS fees but you don’t get any financial aid.</p>
<p>The second variety is merit. Merit is awarded regardless of need. You could be poor or a millionaire’s child, it makes no difference. Some merit aid is awarded based on stats (GPA+SAT/ACT score - typically 1400 or 32), they’re called “automatic”, and the best-known is UAlabama’s presidential scholarship that covers full tuition. Most merit aid is awarded after a competition. Typically, the deadline for merit aid is December 1, regardless of “regular” application deadline.</p>
<p>NYU is notorious for poor financial aid, to the point they started a huge fund-raising campaign to provide scholarships for some applicants because they’re losing so many gifted students due to lack of funds.</p>
<p>I think NYU is better for graduate school. You can only live on a campus once and have the typical college experience. The nightlife of NYC isn’t going anywhere.</p>
<p>^Excellent point, Timetodecide.</p>