NYU: Gallatin - From Someone There

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Do people who apply to Gallatin get placed in GSP? If so, how exactly would that work? I mean, can you really have a Gallatin education in only two years? Or is do you simply receive either an acceptance letter or a rejection letter? I'm a little confused about how a person do the whole individualized studying if they start out in a rigid program like GSP.
Thanks.

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Actually, about a third of Gallatin is made up of transfer students. Gallatin has the highest transfer rate out of all the undergraduate colleges - it seems that a lot of people want to get into it once they discover it. So yes, people can and do get put into LSP (GSP is now the Liberal Studies Program, which is now a four-year program at NYU). If they want to transfer out, they go through the same transfer application as everyone else (and I hear it's ridiculously easy).</p>

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Okay, so...I don't know how to phrase this, but what do they like to see, in terms of applications? You've already said self-motivation. I'm independently studying screenwriting and AP Psych, as well as putting together an art portfolio and working on a novel and a script, but I really don't know how good that is. Academically, I have a bunch of rigorous courses and such, and currently have about a 3.63ish. But, I can't do half the things you've done. I'm at a new school for sophomore year, and it'd be a little hard for me to start any clubs or organizations. And my school doesn't seem to offer much. My basic question is, what can I do? Any advice, suggestions?

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I will tell you that you are not bounded by what your school offers. I used to think that I was for a long time until I really started to get things going for myself. If you take a look at the things I've done, almost anyone can do these things. Write a book? Just sit down and write. It's not hard; it just takes dedication. Start a company? Have a talent you think could sell? Get it started. Submit a few ads in the paper, get a website going (you can even get me to do one for you, I need clients), sell a product! Get yourself involved in things you like to do. This isn't just advice about getting into Gallatin, this is also just general advice in just doing things. You don't need a school to do the things you like, and I think Gallatin is the kind of place that embodies that - it's the school that doesn't need to be a school, but it's there to make everything else so much better.</p>

<p>Ok-</p>

<p>Gallatin sounds great- seems like a perfect fit for me. However, I'm worried about my chances of getting in. I'm at an international High School in Cairo, Egypt, and I am a junior doing the full IB diploma. My GPA isn't that hot, but I'm still taking IB exams and I'm confident I'll do well- do they carry any leverage with Gallatin?</p>

<p>Here's more about me, and please be honest and critical:</p>

<p>GPA 3.48
SAT 1800 (estimated from my PSAT)
ACT 30 (estimated from my plan)
Full IB Diploma candidate:</p>

<p>HL History
HL Business
HL English</p>

<p>SL Physics
SL Math
SL French</p>

<p>MUN President for two years, participant for one. (Traveled to the Hague and Beijing for international conferences) (Best President award)
Student Government for one year.
JV and Varsity Volleyball player for three years.
Track and Field for one year.
Community Service Program for 2 years.
Independent study on Creative Writing and Journalism.
Summer service trip in Thailand.
Business club, National and Regional Economic Forum participation.
Teacher Apprentice program.</p>

<p>I'm reasonably confident I can do well on the essays, writing is my strong point. What do you think? Will the mediocre GPA bring me down, and does the IB diploma have any impact on my chances?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance.</p>

<p>Anybody? …</p>

<p>My sister is at Gallatin. I’m going to Duke. We are VERY different. She is very artsy and a hipster type. She thought Gallatin would be the perfit fit, as she went to a very rigid prep school with little choice. She loved her freshman year. After that, she decided she didn’t really want to be a writer (what she applied for), and has pretty much felt at loose ends because you are so supposed to be so self motivated that she kind of feels just “out there”, on her own, without much guidance, unlike her friends who went to more typical colleges.</p>

<p>She got a bad draw in the dorm so she is in an apartment and has to take the subway to school. It’s not like being in college for her. She doesn’t regret it - she loves NY - but I think she really could have used more support, although she thought she knew exactly what she wanted when she applied.</p>

<p>Her stats were 2200 sats, 3.8 GPA, 800 W, 770 CR, but only 630 math. On the other hand, she has no interest in going further in math. </p>

<p>Her other issue with Gallatin is that there are so few guys in her class. Her boyfriend is a young professional in NY she met outside of NYU.</p>

<p>On the good side, Gallatin students apparently have the highest salaries when they graduate of any school except for Stern, in many years. That shouldn’t be a problem.</p>

<p>I’m curious as to what the social life of a Gallatin student is like, like if it differs from that of the typical NYU student…especially in terms of the people you get to know. How connected are you with the rest of the NYU undergrad body? Are you usually running into fellow Gallatins or do you get to interact with alot of different NYU folks? I wonder, since Gallatin is so small, and different, comparing to NYU’s other schools. Hope my question makes sense</p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

<p>How hard is it to transfer to Gallatin?</p>

<p>“First of all, I have no idea what I want to do. Not because I don’t have an interest in anything - quite the contrary, I have quite a wide range of interests in almost everything.”</p>

<p>this is pretty much my EXACT position. im a high school junior and i know what i want to do, but i don’t want to be limited to it. I want to study media and communications at Steinhardt, but Gallatin looks so perfect for me because i also want to integrate psychology, european history, and art history into my studies, as well as film, music and theoretical studies. I’m into studying subcultures (hipsters, Pro-Ana and gothic lifestyles)
AND i desire to work in fashion first and foremost …
is this possible?</p>

<p>About how many students who apply to Gallatin get LSP’d? And those that do, do they find it hard to adjust to the change from LSP to Gallatin once they start junior year at Gallatin? It seems like the first two years at Gallatin are about letting your interests evolve into a concentration for junior and senior year, so I can imagine not having those two years at Gallatin but at the LSP would make things difficult. </p>

<p>Any replies would be appreciated! Thanks.</p>

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Very few students who apply to Gallatin get LSP’d, the majority are CAS applicants. I doubt you’ll find statistics online, but I guess you can ask Admissions if you’re interested. I don’t think the adjustment is that hard, because LSP is not 2 straight years of courses - you can start taking classes in CAS, Steinhardt, Gallatin, SCPS, or whatever right away in Freshmen year. i believe LSP requires 6-10 classes (it varies depending on the program you’re heading into) so you can spread those out over 2 years while taking classes in Gallatin, or you can finish LSP in 2-3 semesters and then transfer. But liberal studies is more restricting with all those requirements and Gallatin is completely individualized, so 2 very different programs…it would be interesting to do both I guess.</p>

<p>If you are passionate about Gallatin just show it in the writing if that’s your strong point. My GPA in high school was comparable to yours and my test scores were low (Although I am a transfer and had a 4.0 in college). I just got my acceptance letter to Gallatin and I think it was mostly the essays that did it for me.</p>

<p>Gallatin sounds awesome. I was going to apply to CAS but Gallatin sounds a lot better. But I have 1 concern:</p>

<p>What is the acceptance rate at Gallatin compared to CAS? Can I transfer from CAS to Gallatin? State the year of the data if you put any. thanks</p>

<p>Also, you all keep talking about essays. The common app supplement only has 3 500 CHARACTER responses. How are those essays?</p>

<p>Does Gallatin accept transfers? I was recently rejected from Tisch ED but really, I’d rather go to Gallatin. My SATs are low-ish but I’m smart and I have a passion for television production, and I was hoping to mix television classes in Tisch with public relations and business class because I want to be like an executive producer.</p>

<p>Gallatin accepts transfers. 30% acceptance rate for transfers (highest at NYU). 1/3rd of Gallatin are transfers.</p>

<p>dont ignore my question plz =D</p>

<p>Shadowzoid - my son is a first year Gallatin student. When he was completing the supplemental essays he was told that he could submit a much longer essay than the 500 characters for the question about why he was applying to Gallitan. Since they are really interested in a certain type of student that is the place to “sell” yourself as a match to the program. BTW, he loves the program, has an amazing advisor and although writing is not his favorite thing to do he has had a lot of support. After your first year the emphasis is less on writing as you can take more and more courses from the other schools.</p>

<p>@Shadowzoid: I’ve read that before, but when I called recently to ask if it was true the Gallatin rep. said that the transfer acceptance rate was not that different from most other schools. I thought I lucked out since it is my top choice of NYU schools, but I guess it is just as difficult?</p>

<p>NYU isnt difficult for me. I’d say I have about an 80% of getting in CAS. I’m just wondering if Gallatin would lower that percentage. </p>

<p>enpurpose, do you fear that a degree that says “individual studies” sounds a little bs?</p>

<p>enpurpose-- who told your son he could submit a longer essay and how did he go about doing so? I also feel completely constrained by the 500 character limit. I have a 500 word essay written (I originally thought that was the limit) and it’s killing me to try and cut it down.</p>

<p>An admissions officer told my son about submitting a longer essay. Don’t hesitate to call the school and ask questions. If a student answers and they don’t give adequate info ask to speak to an admissions officer directly. He found out about the longer essay on this website. He paniced because his entire application and supporting material had already been submitted and it was passed the deadline. When he called, the officer gave him her direct e-mail address and promised to add the new essay to his other material. She specifically said that because of the nature of Gallitan they are interested in an elaboration on why you think you are a match to the school. </p>

<p>In terms of his diploma, he actually chose Gallitan because we thought it would offer greater opportunties upon graduation then the other NYU programs and other schools in general. He wants to have a career in the “non-acting” end of theatre - stage-managment, production, marketing etc… When we spoke to people in the field about what they look for in a recent graduate all of them said that in this economy the degree doesn’t matter - pick a program where he can get experience. Gallitan stresses independent study classes (where you write your own cirriculum) and internships. That way when you leave you have a resume in hand. During orientation we met many new graduates who were hired by the companies where they had interned. Some of the alumni that spoke were super successful.</p>

<p>Do you know if Gallatin students are roomed with CAS students of if they only room with Gallatins? </p>

<p>Can I request to room with CAS (with my friend)?</p>