NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering information

Colleges and Universities A-Z New York University
41

You mean Poly separating from NYU?

To be honest, I doubt it. NYU not having an engineering school in this day and age seems ridiculous. Although they have a lot of pride in their liberal arts program, they are REALLY pushing engineering. They have engineering departments in Abu Dhabi now! Anyways, I wouldn’t worry.

If they do happen to do it, they are shooting themselves in the foot. This is because engineering is one of the most important fields in today’s world, and it will continue as the years come. Either way, Poly has a great reputation and would do equally as fine without NYU.

42

@PolyEngineer‌ Hey there, thank you so much for your time and effort answering the question. Your thread is one of the few that answers my questions regarding the school, since I’m looking more into the school after getting admitted the other day.

I also have 2 more questions:
_How’s the financial aid system at NYU in general and Poly specifically? I received quite an amount of scholarship, and I assume that the scholarship will be with me throughout four years, but will they fluctuate? Is the scholarship amount accounted for inflation?
_How’re internship opportunities? Is it common for freshmen to intern in the summer after their first year? Is the career service office (if any) helpful and student-friendly?

P/S: which engineering major do you pursue? how is your experience with that major at Poly? What do you think is the strongest engineering/cs program at Poly?

Again, I greatly appreciate your time and response! :slight_smile:

43

As far as I know @tranquility145‌, they do not alter your scholarship UNLESS you fall under the minimum GPA requirement. I will be able to confirm this once I have access to my financial aid for the upcoming year. The scholarship is what you get. I don’t believe they account for inflation, but I don’t foresee the US dollar changing drastically so that it may affect you negatively.

As for internships, those are mostly on you. I am currently a freshman, and through the resources at Poly, I was able to land a computer science/cancer research internship at NYU Langone (the hospital/medical school). They provide you with information on potential internships, but it’s up to you to get them. This is highly reliant on your resume and skills.

The Wasserman center (career service office) is plenty of help. I, myself, have never went there, but they constantly email me informing me of all the things they provide (mock interviews, resume revision, etc.)

I am pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering with a Master in Computer Science. It has been fun so far, but I can imagine it is going to be much more difficult next semester.

As for the strongest, I don’t know too much. Every department is pretty strong in their area, and they have plenty of industry professors. Of course every professor isn’t amazing, but that’s evident in every school. It’s all about the effort you are willing to put in to learn. If you devote a reasonable amount of time, you will do well, no matter what anybody else says. A large percentage of the school is Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science.

44

As of now, how would NYU-Poly’s engineering program compare to some of the other ones in New York state (RPI, Cooper Union, Cornell, etc.)? I recently got accepted so I’m doing some more research into it.

I’ve read that the college doesn’t necessarily rank that high up in the top engineering schools, but most, if not all of the articles and threads were from 2011-2014. What I’m really asking is, do you feel that it’s engineering program has been rising in quality?

45

Hi @PolyEngineer‌, first I just wanted to thank you for this thread! It’s very useful and informative.

I have been admitted to NYU Poly for Mechanical Engineering. Though, I changed my mind and I no longer want to pursue engineering. I’m leaning more towards international business at Stern or undeclared. Do you know if it’s it hard to change my major and school from Poly to Stern? Is it even possible? Do I need to wait and enroll in poly and then do an internal transfer or can I get it done right away?

46

@PolyEngineer Thanks for all the information you have provided. My daughter was accepted as a Civil Engineering major. She is wondering if many students transfer out (or fail out) of the engineering program. If a student is struggling with a class, what kind of support or tutoring is available? Do you find that that the professors are accessible and helpful, or not? I think I read that the typical class size is about 30- is that right? She is trying to decide if a smaller program at a state school might be better for her. She has A’s in honors pre-calc and honors physics, but she is worried about the rigor of NYU. Thank you for any insight you can share.

47

@shtonyc‌

I would say it’s comparable. Considering that it’s the second oldest private engineering school, it has quite a bit of history and reputation. One of the major reasons why its not as popular is because of the previous high drop out rate. Kids would either not be able to take the stress of the an engineering school, or they were just not satisfied with the campus/school administration. Employers do respect the school and its students. This is partly why we are number 3 on best return on investment for all universities (we surpass MIT, Harvard, RPI, etc.) This is quite important if you want to consider how much you will make once you graduate. This is only for the bachelor’s degree, however. Not sure about the more advanced degrees. The link for this is here:

http://engineering.nyu.edu/in-media/2013/05/16/25-universities-best-return-investment

Please don’t look at rankings religiously. They’re honestly based on many factors that don’t quite assess the actual curriculum (I’m looking at you U.S. News…)

Nevertheless, I can’t say if it has risen in quality because I am only a freshman. But, it is a great engineering school with industry professors! And now since it is part of NYU, you have access to all of its facilities, opening up research opportunities in many exciting fields! I have just taken part in an computer science/cancer research internship at NYU Langone (the medical school / hospital), so there you go!

48

@seashoremom‌

Aha, Poly is known for its dropout rate! It’s a major reason why the acceptance rate was so high before! They would take in more students to supplement the loss of other students. Nevertheless, I believe the dropout rate has become better because of the merger with NYU.

Engineering is tough in general, no matter what type you partake in. However, if your daughter is willing to put in the effort to learn, she will probably do fine. I don’t want to sound definite because, as with everything in the world, sometimes people just don’t get it! If she excels in science and math, then she has a better chance of succeeding. It’s all about resiliency, which a lot of people lack.

It’s a good thing that she is doing well in precalc! They really stress those skills here because calc is 10% calculus and 90% algebra/precalc. No matter where she goes, it will be difficult, so I can’t recommend her going to a smaller state school because it might be easier.

There are many resources here at NYU. At the School of Engineering campus, there is the PTC (Polytechnic Tutoring Center), which provides tutoring to students in a variety of subjects. Moreover, if she is eligible (depends on fafsa), she can be enrolled into TRIO (you can’t apply, they choose you), which is an amazing program which provides tutoring, academic assistance, workshops, etc. I am currently in it, and I can’t stress how useful it is. They provide so many resources!

To answer your question, yes, there are many resources available. Furthermore, the students here are quite friendly, and offer help (most of the time) if you ask. Of course, I would recommend she would know these students beforehand so it’s not as awkward, haha!

My professors have been nothing but helpful! They always post their office hours and traditional resources just in case you have questions on the course and/or material. I’m sure there are probably some professors that are not as kind, but that is evident among all universities.

The classroom sizes vary on the subject. I am currently a computer engineering major and my largest class filled the auditorium of Poly, but this was a special case. The classes are usually 30 or less, but it depends on how many sections are available for the subject. Typically math class are never more than 30. I have around ~15 students in my math class.

Feel free to ask any more questions!

49

@Ali121‌

Ah, it’s quite difficult to transfer to Stern. I’m not sure if it’s even possible to be honest, but if it is, it’s probably next to impossible to be admitted (though you never know).

You’re going to need to speak with the department at Poly and Stern to get this question answered. Nobody seems to know about the mysterious Stern policies at Poly. Nevertheless, there is a Business Technology Management here at Poly which is quite a valuable program if you’re looking to do business. I have a couple of friends in it, and they say nothing but good things. Compared to Stern (ranking wise), it doesn’t even compare. You can apply for a Business Studies minor at CAS, which sounds like what you’re looking for. I believe you can take some of the classes required for the minor at Stern, so there’s that.

But to be frank, I don’t believe that getting into Poly increased your chances of transferring to Stern.

50

@PolyEngineer‌ thank you so much for your quick reply! I really appreciate. So to put it simply would you say that I’m basically stuck with engineering? lol

Also, in general, do you know what the people who apply as undeclared do? Like do they start off at CAS and then choose a major and go to one of the schools based on their major?

51

@Ali121‌

I wouldn’t say you’re necessarily “stuck.” You can always transfer, I just don’t know how the transfers to Stern work. As I mentioned, nobody really knows so you’re going to have to learn on your own.

No, if you’re undeclared at Poly, you will be in Poly, but will be undeclared. You don’t start off at CAS. This applies to all the NYU schools. If you’re undeclared at CAS, you’re at CAS. If you’re undeclared at Poly, you stay at Poly.

52

@PolyEngineer‌ Hi I’m an admitted student who’s first choice is NYU Poly, and I would like to thank you so much for answering our questions! I just have a few questions so here I go:

I understand that the poly campus is seperated from the main campus, so is it easy to get involved with the students and activity in the main campus?

How’s athletics at NYU? I know it’s not an athletic school, but are there enough number of club sports that I can participate and compete in?

If I have more questions, I will ask them later.

Thanks!

53

@linrubmcq‌

It’s as easy as you make it. It’s all about your effort!

As for athletics, I’m not too sure. My friend is on the fencing team, but that’s all . I’m sure there are plenty of opportunities for you to join a team.

54

@PolyEngineer‌

Thanks for the quick reply.

When I googled NYU Poly Acceptance rate, it says 75% for 2013. Is this still true? If so, why is it so high?

Thanks again!

55

@linrubmcq‌

Nobody really knows what the acceptance rate is to be honest. I stated earlier that it might be in the high 30s, but that was from an unreliable source so I am not going to credit it as valid.

As for why it was so high, people would drop out of the school due to the workload or just disatification with the school in general. As a result, they accepted more people to supplement the loss of students, thus making the acceptance rate that high. I would doubt that it’s that high because a lot more are applying.

56

@PolyEngineer‌

Hi!

I noticed that both Poly and CAS offer Computer Science. Do you know how they’re different? Is one better than the other?

Also, if I want to do Computer Science or something else at CAS, do you know when I can transfer? Can I do it when I’m enrolling or do I need to wait and spend a semester or something at Poly before I do the transfer?

57

@PolyEngineer‌

And also, how are the class sizes at Poly? Do you know if they tend to be smaller than classes at CAS?

58

@PolyEngineer‌
Hi,
I got accepted into Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering because I have an interest in Biomedical engineering however poly does not have that specific major. Do you know if my major or Biomolecular Science is most like Biomedical Engineering? Also do you know if it would be easy to switch majors before the school year begins?
My second question is about other schools in NYU. Is it possible to double major, minor, or take classes in the schools in Manhattan?
Last question, do you know people who rush fraternities at Poly? And if you do, which ones are the best to join?
I appreciate you taking time out to help everyone with their questions, there really isn’t anything similar to your thread out there. Thank You!

59

I checked the course schedule for Chem and Biomolecular engineering. There’s only one bio course in the entire four years( Molecular Bio in Freshman year). The rest is mostly and combination of Chemistry related courses, Math and a bit of Physics. It’s basically Chemical engineering.

60

@persarmy, I’m a Poly alumni and member of the Lambda Chi Alpha chapter there. The chapter house is a brownstone we own in Brooklyn Heights, a 15 minute walk from Poly. If you’re interested, I can put you in touch with the active brothers. Lambda Chi Alpha is one of the oldest and biggest fraternities at Poly and now covers all NYU.