<p>I am a junior in HS and I visited NYU for the first time today. For over a year, in my mind I considered NYU one of the schools I would really like to go to. However today when I was there I didn't really get the "feel" of NYU being a place I would like. As in, the other 2 campuses that u visited these few days- I fell in love with them upon first walking on, but I didn't really feel that way for NYU. Is there a way I can "convince"myself to like NYU? Like I kind of felt the whole new-yorky "I don't care about you and will push you around to get what I want" stereotypical vibe. Is that true? What is the environment in terms of the people like there? Also I'm not too much of an artsy type either. (I'll be majoring in a stem field anyway) Will I fit in?
Thanks so much for answering a confused junior :)</p>
<p>NYU was not my first choice, but I approached it with an open attitude and grew to love it. I wanted to a school that combined both city and campus (like UPenn), but NYU didn’t really have that. However, it was the best choice for me because of its optimal location and academics, despite the fact that it’s essentially campus-less. I figured I wouldn’t really care though, as the benefits of great professors, good reputation, New York City, and convenience (I live near NYC) outweighed the negatives of no community and high tuition.</p>
<p>I wasn’t wrong, as the positives do outweigh the negatives for me now, but my first few months were kind of unhappy. I’m not sure if that’s unique to NYU though. Many, if not most, of my friends who went to universities elsewhere also felt out of place and ambivalent about college life until they settled in a few months later after getting there. Anywhere is going to take time to adapt to as you get used to living with a roommate, living in a different town, living on your own, and handling academics and other stresses. Plus it takes a few weeks/months to make CLOSE friends and not just the “friends” and acquaintances that you go out to party with/go to class with/etc. So no matter where you go, you may or may not experience a few weeks of uncertainty, ambivalence, or even unhappiness just because moving to college is such a new and different experience.</p>
<p>Yet NYU is even harder to adjust to for many because it doesn’t have a campus and because there’s a notorious lack of community. If your dorm isn’t social, it’ll be even harder. Out of 30+ people in my freshman dorm (Founders), I knew the names of 6 at the end of a year, and I know that this is typical for many freshmen here because not a lot of people go to hall events, meetings, etc. and prefer to keep with themselves. Instead, you can make friends through clubs, class, and Greek life. Greek life was what really redeemed NYU for me because there’s such a sense of community, school pride, and camaraderie among Greeks that really isn’t present elsewhere at NYU. This is because clubs can be rather small and inconsistent with the frequency with which they meet, and making friends through class limits your friendship circle to people within your major, which is kinda boring and non-diverse (same goes for clubs; all your friends will be homogeneously interested in politics/knitting/food/whatever your club is about).</p>
<p>So the point is - not every NYU student feels this way, but I’d say a significant amount of NYU students find it initially difficult to find a sense of community at NYU. Some people get over this by joining clubs & Greek life, some get over it through other ways, and some never get over it and graduate friendless (I’ve seen this happen one too many times).</p>
<p>It’s not that people will push you around to get what they want as much as people will simply ignore you and make no effort to befriend you. People will usually be friendly if you break the ice and talk to them, but at the same time, it’s rare that people in your dorm/classes will take the initiative and talk to you. So you have to do it. Also, lots of people are artsy, but it really depends on your major. You’ll probably fit in with the other people in your major. NYU is so diverse that you wouldn’t have any difficulty finding non-artsy (or any other type) of people to hang out with.</p>
<p>Overall - if you come here, you’ll have access to great internships, the city, awesome professors, a diverse student population, etc., but it miiight be a little hard to make friends and get used to the city at first. I wouldn’t let that deter you if NYU is the best school for you in terms of academics & job opportunities, though. It’s very possible to make friends anywhere, but it’s not possible to have the NYC experience elsewhere.</p>