@PolyEngineer Hey, I was recently admitted to NYU Poly for Mechanical Engineering. I was just wondering, since Poly is located in Brooklyn and since most freshman engineering students are located/living there too, do the engineering students feel like they are missing out on the action going on in the main campus/Washington square?
Hey @Kuria12336 , I was in your shoes exactly this time last year. I was admitted to NYU Poly for ME and ended up deciding to attend Poly. It’s been an awesome year so far. Brooklyn definitely has its perk. If you’re into a close-knit smaller college community in a calm environment, then Tandon (aka Poly) is the place for you. But I have to say that you do miss out on most of the NYU student life. The student population, environment, and nearly everything is quite different at Poly compared to Washington Square. It is definitely not as lively or active over in Brooklyn and there is less of a college-feel. That’s why mainly why I’m thinking of transferring to the Washington Square campus to study another major next year. But that’s just my personal perspective, and you might end up enjoying it over here. If you’ve never visited, make sure that you do, because it’s crucial for you to really get a feel of both campuses. Good luck!
@Ali121 thanks so much for your advice 
Would you advise trying to find a dorm on the main campus or dorming in Brooklyn? Is the commute between Manhattan and Brooklyn everyday worth it?
@Kuria12336 no problem at all! Well, for your first year, you must dorm in Brooklyn and it’s honestly not that bad. It lets you focus on your academics and there are less distractions facing you, compared to Manhattan. But after your first year, you can dorm anywhere else. That’s what I’m doing. The commute isn’t that bad. It’s a 20 minute trip with the subway, but it can get troublesome sometimes. If you value the “college experience”, clubs, and just interacting with the Manhattan NYU peeps, then it’s definitely worth it
btw, @Ali121 , how is ME at Tandon? Is it a really good program? Are the Professors approachable and is there alot of research going on that you participate in? Is the program really rigorous? Have you done any internships? Are they easy to get? Is there alot of mingling between students of the different schools?
@Kuria12336 I switched majors actually. I’m studying business and technology management right now which is offered through the school of engineering. But I have many friends in ME, CS, etc. and from my own experience and their experience, I can bluntly tell you that professors here are not really that great. That’s one of the reasons I don’t like this campus that much. You see, NYU itself has great faculty and it has an amazing reputation which is very valid. While the engineering has always had a great reputation in the community, it’s not as good as NYU. When NYU bought and merged with the Polytechnic University (now Tandon) all the previous professors stayed. There were almost no changes/additions to the faculty, so the professors are okay tbh. courses here are still definitely very rigorous but not as much as you would expect. So to simply put it, there isn’t a really good engineering program over here (except CS). If you like the city life and you’re in love with NYC, then Tandon is the perfect choice but if you’re more of a hardcore engineer, looking to learn and gain key engineering skills, NYU isnt the best school for that. What are your other options?
@PolyEngineer @Ali121 Any of you guys know how the CS program is at Tandon compared to schools like Purdue, penn state, and UIUC? Would you say Tandon is in a more rough or ghetto area than the other NYU schools? Also, any idea how difficult it would be transfer from CS @ Tandon to CS + Econ at CAS?
@TheRealTalq I haven’t gone to NYU yet bro, but I have done a lot of research on it since I’ve been offered admission there. From what I’ve read, while NYU’s other engineering programs ain’t that good, its CS program is world class. As to your question regarding its location, Tandon and the adjoining dorms are located in Brooklyn Heights, which is the kind of high end/posh area of Brooklyn. Anyone currently going to NYU please correct me if I’m wrong
@Ali121 My other options are UMass Amherst (at $15000 a year, the same as NYU) and UW Madison (provided that I get a reasonable amount of financial aid; their aid hasn’t been released yet). Quality of education, student life, research, meeting different people are all things that matter to me. UW Madison is my first choice actually, but I don’t think i’ll get that much aid since I’m out of state.
@TheRealTalq Compared to the rest of NYU, tandon is in a more rough or “ghetto” neighborhood. Brooklyn heights dorm is good but a 10-15 min walk from the campus. Great area. The other one is honestly pretty great too. The area is not that bad but you’re right on campus and 2 minutes away from classes and the library so that’s really convinient. There isn’t that much college life around here tho as I said. the CS program is definitely good but it’s necessarily amazing. I would really really recommend the CS+Econ major though. It’s a fantastic combo. The Econ department here is world renowned and pretty dam good (And with that major you will be in Manhattan).
@Kuria12336 I would really recommend just physically going to every school and visiting the school and the environment. NYU is unlike any other college. That I can say for sure. So some people hate it and some fall in love with it. Really do your research before you pick!
@Ali121 As much as I would like to see each campus, I can’t. I’m a US citizen living in India so visiting is kind of out of the question. But insights like yours on NYU life are extremely valuable and are helping me make a decision. If you know anyone else on College Confidential who goes to NYU Tandon or even UMass Amherst please ask them to post comments on my thread or this thread on how NYU/Umass is like. Thanks so much for your help. If you got any other things you think will help me make my decision, please share.
@Kuria12336 No problem! I completely understand how you might feel right now. Just a tip, if you’re still not 100% sure that you want to go into engineering, go for NYU, just because you will have A TON of different opportunities to explore your interests. I would say checkout the facebook groups for the schools that you got into to. Those were really helpful to me. Also, if you want to learn more about NYU Tandon specifically, a student put together an FAQs at this following link. So feel free to check it out! http://sergey.smirnov.wiki/doku.php?id=school%3Anyu%3Afreshmanguide
Good luck!
Hi there, I have a few questions, Firstly with regards to social life and the social experience at Tandon, is there any. Do people actually like to go out and have fun, or does everyone just spend their time studying.
Are the students in Tandon very detached from the main campus, i.e students at Tandon dont go out to NYU to relax and chill?
Secondly, how much exactly is the work load, im thinking of doing Computer Science, would you say its a constant face in book scenario, and What exactly makes the students so busy, is it just revising over topics learnt in class, or is it homework, coursework, etc. @PolyEngineer
Hi there, I have a few questions, Firstly with regards to social life and the social experience at Tandon, is there any. Do people actually like to go out and have fun, or does everyone just spend their time studying.
Are the students in Tandon very detached from the main campus, i.e students at Tandon dont go out to NYU to relax and chill?
Secondly, how much exactly is the work load, im thinking of doing Computer Science, would you say its a constant face in book scenario, and What exactly makes the students so busy, is it just revising over topics learnt in class, or is it homework, coursework, etc. @PolyEngineer