NYU vs. Brown vs. Cornell

Colleges and Universities A-Z New York University
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<p>Some thoughts on this decision that I have to make. I'm currently on the Harvard waitlist (slim chance there I know), and I understand that I can ethically only send a deposit to one place of the above 3....its really more between NYU and Brown, I didn't really like Cornell that much. </p>

<p>I applied to CAS at NYU, and plan to be an economics and or math major.</p>

<p>Pros of NYU: Both economics and math departments in CAS are very strong, and I can see myself having a pretty fun time in nyc (I've visited friends from high school at NYU before).</p>

<p>Cons of NYU: I have 2 major concerns: NYU's large size and the undergraduate focus of profs.</p>

<p>Advice would be nice. Thanks.</p>

2

<p>As far as the undergraduate professors are concerned at NYU, they are phenomenal. You will never get a TA teaching your class etc., and they are very dedicated aka not concerned about research opportunities for themselves etc. NYU has an online Course Evaluation guide: <a href="http://www.nyu.edu/cas/studentcouncil/ceg.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nyu.edu/cas/studentcouncil/ceg.html&lt;/a> that you can even look up professors and see how they are before you register. </p>

<p>I can't speak for Brown or Cornell, but I know many of the Ivy undergrad professors at Yale/Harvard are the complete opposite of the above.</p>

3

<p>Birch,</p>

<p>On average, classes at NYU aren't very large at all, esepcially the upper level ones you take after declaring a major. In fact, most classes at NYU are pretty small, only a handful (intro stuff, pre-med stuff, some MAP requirements) are over 50 students. CAS also has many seminar style courses in all subject areas, including freshmen seminars which are taught by some of NYU's top profs., among them the president of NYU (I somehow doubt the president of Cornell or most other universities of NYU's size and calibre teach freshmen in a small class setting).</p>

<p>Freshmen seminars in CAS:
<a href="http://www.nyu.edu/cas/Academic/Hon...rsSeminars.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nyu.edu/cas/Academic/Hon...rsSeminars.html&lt;/a> </p>

<p>There are also seminars like this for upper classmen, so its not just a freshmen thing. </p>

<p>Also, if you're worried about undergrad focus-DO NOT WORRY. I can assure you undergrads at NYU recived plenty of attention.</p>

<p>Consider this:
a) the same profs teach both undergrad and grad.</p>

<p>b) undergraduates CAN take graduate classes at NYU with an advisors permission; also in the particular fields you're interested in (math and economics), CAS undergrads can also get graduate degrees from NYU at less cost, less time, and without the taking the GRE and going through the grad. school admissions process.</p>

<p>BA/MA program in CAS:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.nyu.edu/cas/Academic/Pro...ma_brochure.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nyu.edu/cas/Academic/Pro...ma_brochure.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Basically, at NYU you'll get plenty of undergrad. attention and large class size is not a big issue at all. </p>

<p>All 3 of your schools are great choices that you really can't go wrong in. </p>

<p>Good luck with the decision!</p>

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<p>Thanks a lot for the info!</p>

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<p>ABirch III, there is no question that Cornell and Brown are superior to NYU for any social science. In addition, Brown's class sizes will be far smaller and more intimate than NYU's, plus, there is greater focus on undergrads. Unless you really really have to be in New York City, remember Cornell isn't that far away, go to either Brown or Cornell.</p>

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<p>"there is no question that Cornell and Brown are superior to NYU for any social science"</p>

<p>Thats false...the OP wants to major in econ. and math, both of these NYU departments are either as good or better than Brown's and Cornell's. In fact, NYU is tied to #1 in applied math with MIT.</p>

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<p>cornell is ****, i know of so many kids in my school who got into cornell and rejected from nyu. My friend got into cornell with a friggn 1120.</p>

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<p>I vote Brown. But that's only because I'm a rankings whore. Other things you might want to consider are finaid. Unless you don't need it, my guess is that Brown and Cornell offer more than NYU. But then, NYC is a pretty awesome city, whereas Providence is um...okay, to be put politely, but that all depends on where you prioritize. For now, I would say do overnights at all three colleges and if you still can't decide...flip a coin.</p>

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<p>I ended up picking NYU. Brown had the ivy name, but NYU is strong in my departments (math and economics), has NYC, and gave me a $15K merit scholarship. I didn't apply for financial aid, so money wasn't a big issue, but being at NYU while saving $60,000 over 4 years is hard to pass up, I can buy a BMW with that.</p>

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<p>I'm with you.. i chose NYU over 4 top 25 schools.</p>

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<p>ME too...i am a senior this year and i am going to nyu over cornell, brown, georgetown and berkeley! woo hoo! NYU class of 2009. I got into the presidential scholars program so that really made me love nyu. nyu seems to be getting more and more competitive over the years and though im going to major in english, it does have the best math program.</p>

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<p>Yea, I mean $60K over 4 years is a nice car or down payment on a Manhattan loft.</p>

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<p>hi, do you mind sharing your experience at NYU? my daughter is interested in NYU for math and computer science. thanks.</p>

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<p>My daughter is a sophomore who is majoring in math and computer science. She absolutely loves NYU and feels it is a very good fit for her!</p>

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<p>Thanks for the feedback. Is it possible to ask more questions about the program?
Like class size and participation? research and internship opporutnities?</p>

<p>feng</p>

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<p>Class sizes for Math and CS are both quite small (I only took up to advanced and intermediate levels though, respectively). I can only guess they get even smaller as you move up. No clue on research or internships.</p>

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<p>My daughter said that her classes are a manageable size. This year she will be an e-tutor for one of her freshman year computer science professors. She will also be involved in a project with a different professor helping to design some learning games. I am hoping this leads to a summer internship. Why not contact one of the CS or math professors and ask for an interview to pose these questions in person? Will you be visiting NYU soon? We did this during the spring of my daughter’s junior year in high school. </p>

<p>Regarding the math: If your son/daughter is taking AP classes and thinks he/she would like to take Calculus III as a freshman, make sure to have him/her take the NYU placement test either during freshman orientation or during Welcome Week. My daughter got a 5 on the AP BC Calculus exam (equivalent to Calc. II), but was given the wrong advice by her freshman year advisor at NYU and was told she wouldn’t be able to take Calculus III as a first semester freshman, since the courses would likely be full by the time she took the placement test. This turned out to be incorrect. If you want to get into the high level classes, take the placement tests ASAP. Courses may well be open at that level, even to first semester freshmen. Live and learn.</p>