I am a rising junior, and I am looking at summer programs for junior-senior summer. I am considering NYU pre-college simply because it is a school I want to apply to and I can’t think of a better place to spend my summer than New York City. I have gone through the website, and I have a couple of questions:
How many credits is each class worth? I am considering the 4-credit, although I might go with the 8-credit. Does it simply depend on the class? If so, where do I find the credit-number for each class? What is the maximum number of classes you can take?
How long is the program (the 4-credit and 8-credit)?
Do students get much free time to explore New York City, or is it strictly work all the time?
Are students allowed to walk around Greenwich Village by themselves, or do they need to be in a group at all times? (I'm currently doing a summer program in Oxford, and as safe as the city is, we are not allowed to leave accommodations alone)
For people who have done the program before, what was the experience like?
If you can’t answer all the questions, that’s fine. All advice is appreciated. Thank you!
My daughter attended NY U precollege the summer before senior year. She had the best time of her life!
She will be attending NYU this fall as a rising freshman.
From what I can remember…,
Almost every class is worth 4 credits. Residential students were required to take 8 credits, plus a pass/fail writing course. Commuter students could take 4-8 credits.
The program was the same length regardless of how many credit you take. I believe it lasts 6 weeks.
3/4. Students are on the own, but there are also many planned activities. Students do have to sign in by a certain time each night and sign out after a specified time each morning. Other than that, your day is spent however you want to spend it. Majority of the students in pre-college spend time together. You are taking college courses with college students so there is a fair amount of work involved. The expectations are high. But your RA (actually called PA, program assistant) and the precollege staff will plan plenty of outings and depending on your schedule you can attend as many or as few as you want.
@SoBlessed15 Thank you so much! The 8-credit program costs significantly more than the 4-credit, not to mention accommodations and meals. How hard is it to get partial financial aid?
@smartspencer it is not difficult to get financial aid but they might not give you the full amount. Just prepare for that. I did the program last year and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I highly suggest it. Each course is worth 4 credits and if you live on campus, you are required to take a mandatory writing class which isn’t so bad and really helps you prepare for college writing. The writing class is pass/fail and does not give credits. So you take 2 credit bearing classes and then the writing class.
My daughter received financial aid. I agree, they probably will not give the full amount. The benefit of having a pre-college program is for the college to earn money over the summer so don’t expect a full ride. Also beware because my daughter’s financial aid for pre-college was decreased by $1500 right before the start of the program.
I was in the precollege program last summer and absolutely loved it. Honestly, it’s pretty much the least restrictive program you can imagine for a high schooler–you do have to sign out in the morning (you hand your NYU ID to the guard at the dorm) and in at night, but you’re perfectly allowed to go alone and wander the city during the day. I stuck to Manhattan during my time, but I knew plenty of kids that went into the outer boroughs and explored. Plus, the curfew isn’t even that late (I believe it was midnight for weeknights and one am for weekends). I’m not sure about other programs, but I was in Tisch Dramatic Writing, and we had class on a sort of high school schedule–nine to five a day, five days a week–and other than that and homework we had plenty of free time. The school also sponsors a ton of outings; my program and I went to six Broadway shows in a month! I’d especially recommend it if you’re looking to apply to NYU next year. You’ll really get a feeling for the neighborhood and a familiarity with the campus culture and professors. My first few weeks, I actually knew where I was going, which was immensely helpful.
My son took it this past summer, and stayed on-campus. He loved the whole experience. The only thing he didn’t like is one of his classes was a late afternoon class and let out at 7pm, which kept him from being able to participate in many of the group activities, including the end of summer dinner cruise due to a final exam, that the prof wouldn’t consider working with him on to allow him to take it earlier in the day.
He did receive a scholarship which equated to about 50% of the cost. Other than the curfews, the kids are treated like any other student and allowed the freedom to do what they want during the day. On Fridays, there are no classes, so they pretty much have 3 day weekends. The group outings are covered in the cost. You pretty much sign up and if they have more signups than slots, they draw names to see who attends, and who is waitlisted.