Out of State to CUNY?

<p>I kinda agree. I’d also feel better if my kid were in a dorm or similar living situation in NYC. I’m not endorsing nor do I know much about this company, but I did see one of their “dorms” in the Brooklyn Heights area. I think it was apart of the old St. George Hotel. They have other residences throughout NYC.
so just for your info- and to let you know there may be housing options in NYC, you can check out
[Educational</a> Housing Services | It?s How You Want to Live!](<a href=“http://www.studenthousing.org%5DEducational”>http://www.studenthousing.org)</p>

<p>I just saw the building while in the Brooklyn Heights area- I did not go inside to view the rooms</p>

<p>Clearly not being a NYC resident myself I have not much to go on. We were there in January for several days, stayed at the Doubletree in Times Square. We took our
future senior to see NYU and that was a HUGe mistake because she just fell in love! Of course she knows it’s entirely out of our reach financially.</p>

<p>I was impressed though with how safe we felt the entire time sightseeing, using the subways even in Central Park way after dark. Is this indicative of how far NYC has come in the last few years in most places?? We have been to visit Temple U in Philly and I would feel much more comfortable sending my kid to live in NYC than in Philly. And thats from a PA
resident. So I’m hoping if we visit CUNY this summer and she likes it we would have other
options if she cannot get dorm housing, as far as a place thats safe for a young girl.</p>

<p>NYC has come a long way, but you still have to take commonsense precautions. To be able to get dorm space, I would recommend you look at some of the private school options that others have recommended. I would add Drew, which is located in Madison, New Jersey, a short rail ride away from Manhattan. It has a lovely campus, and a family friend of ours is there and loves it. It’s one of those little-known gems of the NYC area. It won’t have the urban feeling of NYU though, of course. I heard Drew is good with merit money, but I don’t have firsthand information about that.</p>

<p>Fordham Lincoln Center would be another option, but I think it’s almost as expensive as NYU.</p>

<p>If she’s serious about engineering, you can look at Cooper Union, but she would need sky-high credentials to get in. And dorm space is so tight that I think only freshmen get rooms.</p>

<p>If I think of any other school that would have the urban feeling of NYU but a smaller price tag and available dorm space, I’ll let you know!</p>

<p>I would suggest that the OP’s D consider Polytechnic Institute of NYU. Another possible option, if she is willing to consider Catholic colleges, is Manhattan College, which is actually located in the Riverdale section of the Bronx–one of the safest areas of NYC. It’s easy to get into Manhattan (the borough) via the subway. This is, of course, in addition to Columbia, NYU, Cooper Union and Fordham. </p>

<p>Personally, I would NOT suggest CUNY for an out of state student coming straight from high school. </p>

<p>I live in New York and I appreciate the opportunities that CUNY affords. However, undergrads have to understand that it doesn’t offer the typical college experience. Hunter doesn’t have a campus. Many–if not most–students come to class via subway and leave immediately after class. A high percentage of Hunter students are “non-traditional” students. Many have full-time jobs. Many of the female students are mothers. Of the younger students, most will be living with their families. Some are illegal aliens who will be wary of making friends with strangers. (Because it’s vitually impossible to qualify for federal financial aid if you are an illegal alien, many illegal aliens attend CUNY. They are often among its best students.) </p>

<p>If you can’t get into a dorm, it will be very difficult to find affordable housing. Double check, but my recollection is that even if you DO get into a dorm, you are allowed to live in it for a maximum of 2 years.</p>

<p>Agree with the others saying this is probably not a good route to go down. It will not be a good college experience. Kids go to CUNY schools mostly because they are affordable for NYC residents who want to work and commute. It will be hard to make friends or have a normal college social life. These schools are not NYU!</p>

<p>Your DD has the rest of her life to live in NYC if that’s what she wants. Some of the suburban schools may work well too.</p>

<p>Now that NYU and Poly have merged, costs at Poly are going up. It’s still a bit cheaper than NYU though:</p>

<p><a href=“Home | NYU Tandon School of Engineering”>Home | NYU Tandon School of Engineering;

<p>How about Stevens Institute of Technology? It’s literally right across the river, sitting on the bluffs overlooking the Hudson in Hoboken, NJ, which is a thriving young people mecca in its own right. The PATH train (lite rail) takes you across to NYC in minutes. Stevens is expensive, but I believe gives a lot of merit money.</p>

<p>Rugrat- CUNY was set up to offer a very inexpensive education for the residents of NYC. Therefore it has and will always have a reputation as being commuter campuses with many non-traditional students. (older part time students who work and leave campus after class).
So there may appear a relunctance to wholeheartedly recommend CUNY to OOS kids. Of course there is also a bit of public U bashing on cc- we often get negative comments on CUNY and SUNY on these boards.</p>

<p>but the reality is that campus life at CCNY (or some of the other CUNY’s with dorms) is a relatively new and unknown phenomenom. Until recently- there was NO DORM/ RESIDENCE life on the cuny campuses. In fact the Hunter dorms were original for nursing students only. (I am showing my age).
FYI- the polytech campus of NYU is downtown Brooklyn and not on NYU proper.</p>

<p>I second checking out Cooper Union- and wouldn’t rule out SUNY Stony Brook- (Long island railroad ride into NYC -but probably 90 minute trip)
other specialty engineering programs in NYC area (but please check out as I am not familiar with engineering programs at all)
–maybe SUNY Maritime (throgs neck area of queens- very safe)
Webb Institute on long island too Personally, I would not rule out CCNY- but just realize that the residential life at a cuny may be a bit lacking.
Other than Cooper Union, I do not know if other engineering programs at private U’s in the NYC area are worth the $. There are probably comparable if not better programs in Pa.</p>

<p>You might also want to check out Barnard. Expensive, of course, but pretty good need-based aid. I don’t know if Barnard offers engineering, but cross-registration at Columbia is allowed in general. </p>

<p>And just a small correction:

</p>

<p>Throgs Neck is in the Bronx (and yes, very safe). Right across the water from Queens!</p>

<p>I think Stevens was a great suggestion!</p>

<p>By the way, thinking of Pa.: My daughter attends Pitt and loves it. Of course Pittsburgh is not New York City…but there’s lots for students to do there. And the engineering school, although not as highly ranked as Penn State’s, received a large donation recently. So there is attending being paid to engineering at Pitt.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the typical suburban bubble mindset.</p>

<p>Love,</p>

<p>A Temple student</p>

<p>Oh, and while I personally would not recommend it to a student interested in engineering–it’s a different story for other subjects, e.g., nursing–the name of the college is MOUNT St. Vincent, not just St. Vincent.</p>

<p>No bubble here. Lived just outside Baltimore city most of my young adult life. Leave the
protection of the Temple campus, just two streets, totally different element. Crime statistics speak for themselves. Daughter loved the school, I myself was impressed with
what Temple has to offer. Just wish Philly’s mayor or the Governor would put some stimulus money into cleaning up the area. No excuse for the trash ridden streets. Bad reflection on the school.</p>

<p>West Philly isn’t exactly heaven and it doesn’t hurt Penn. Yeah, they should do something to clean it up, but saying it reflects badly on the school is absurd.</p>

<p>To LurkNess</p>

<p>We have heard great things about PITT. We are going to visit sometime this summer.
My daughter has several friends that have already decided that is where they want to go. A few of them also have siblings enrolled. Must make a good impression for siblings to follow.</p>

<p>Just calling it like we saw it. Heard much of the same from other prospective students
who chose other schools because of the questionable surroundings. Actually it’s a shame because it wouldn’t take that much to remedy the problem.</p>

<p>It is what it is. If having poor black people down the street bothers them so much, I’m glad they’re going elsewhere.</p>

<p>Did not say anything about a race of people or the level of wealth. You can be poor and
of any color and still be proud of your neighborhood. No reason to litter the streets.
It’s a morality and a pride issue, not a race and wealth issue.</p>

<p>3rugrats, if you have any questions about NYC or about Pitt, feel free to private message me!</p>

<p>One very important factor about Cooper Union is that tuition is free for all students! And tuition at CUNY is relatively inexpensive. That could make it much easier to afford an apartment in NYC.</p>