<p>I simply can't decide. GW offered me an academic scholarship of $10,000/year, which brings the cost of tuition + room and board to $43,000 per year. NYU didn't offer me any scholarships, but they're cost is still comparable to GW even with the scholarship ($47,000). My dad believes that I should go to GW because of it's location in our nation's capital, and because I want to go on to law school. But NYU has a better philosophy department which is what I really want to study and I've wanted to live in NYC for as long as I can remember. I lived in the tristate area for 14 years until I moved to Florida (hate it by the way) and I'm very familiar with the area. I can't say that I've fallen in love with D.C. In the end, I know (however) that it's going to come down to academics. That said, which school do you think would be most conducive for a student that want's to study law in graduate school? Also, do you think it's worth wasting my time to appeal NYU's decision to not offer a scholarship? I had a 2140 SAT and a 4.15 weighted GPA (3.6 unweighted). I have very solid EC's (avid debater throught high school, community service at hospital, etc.). Please give me feed back.</p>
<p>Personally, it seems like NYU is really where you would prefer to be, and even though they did not offer you a scholarship, it really doesn't cost that much more (I had no clue that GW was soooo expensive...). I don't think that one school will offer you a much better chance at Law School than the other--your grades and test scores will be the big deal for law school, and I would consider NYU and GW to be on very similar standing academic reputation-wise. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, I don't think that you will be able to appeal your lack of scholarship at NYU. They are notoriously ungenerous with their money, and while your stats put you towards the top of their pool, I don't know that they are quite in the top 10% numbers-wise that they seem to offer scholarships to. Never hurts to mention that you might go to a competitor like GW if you don't get more money, though.</p>
<p>You should definitely appeal. Stress how much you want to attend NYU and that some financial assistance is necessary. Stress that you want to study philosophy and go to law school and point out how strong NYU is in both these areas. Do not mention anything about going to competitors. They understand that. (Sorry, "advantagious", I disagree with you on that point). I wish you the best of luck.</p>
<p>Disclaimer - I am a graduate of NYU and have been on the faculty of both NYU and GWU.</p>
<p>Consider the fact that GWU is the most expensive college in the nation and will increase its tuition over the four years. Also realize that the scholarship may not always be there, unless it is renewable. In my opinion, GWU isn't even comparable to NYU, both in terms of location and prestige. NYU also seems to be pretty good at getting its students into its law school, which is leagues ahead of GWU's.</p>
<p>GWU has fixed tuition, so rising tuition is not an issue. Scholarships are renewable for up to ten semesters as long as you maintain a B average or better.</p>
<p>Edit: A 3.0 GPA is "recommended" for scholarship renewal.</p>
<p>NYU is either #1 or #2 for philosophy, isn't it?</p>
<p>I am surprised that you got no $$ from NYU. If you are in the top 3% of the students in such a large school, and an award winning debater....</p>
<p>Kids in our school with your stats routinely get $10,000 to $17,000 in merit money from NYU. I don't believe that you can actually appeal a merit scholarship like you can a financial need one, but nothing to lose, so you should make some phonecalls.</p>
<p>NYU has the #1 philosophy department; keep in mind the ranking you refer to is of graduate programs. There are undoubtedly better schools for undergrad phil simply due to their size and attention given to students, but you will have access to some amazing people at NYU.</p>
<p>Thank you all for responding. In my tussle with my father I've decided that I'm going to take summer courses at FAU (a local college) to help reduce the total tuition cost at NYU. The debate, however, continues. I will post my final decision on this thread when it's finalized.</p>
<p>I understand why you might not want to mention GW by name in your appeal, but I have read in advice books that it is perfectly fine to say "I really really want to go to NYU but if I don't get any more money I might be forced to attend another school." Good luck with making your way to NYU.</p>
<p>i'm very surprised that you didn't get scholarship money from NYU as well; you scored 70 points higher on the SAT than me, though my UW GPA is a little higher at 3.96. i'm thinking it has to be the college you applied to. My scholarship was for CAS and it was ~$11,000.
as for your dilemma, i definitely wouldn't base the decision on money since a few thousand extra isn't going to make or break the bank. just go with what will make you the happiest (that's what my mom always says), especially since both GW and NYU have great academic programs to offer.</p>
<p>NYU's scholarships are based on merit AND need. I got a 15,000 a year renewable from Gallatin and my stats are nowhere near yours (31 ACT, 3.4 GPA, Great EC's, Great Essay, etc., but still not at your level GPA wise.) I'd definitely go to NYU though, as it seems to be your top choice and isn't THAT much more expensive. Good luck with your decision!</p>
<p>Thank you all for responding to my plight. Since my last post, may parents have agreed that it would be in our best interests for me to go to NYU. I am very pleased with their decision and absolutely cannot wait until the fall. Thank you all once again and goodluck in making your final decision.</p>