<p>Hi, I got accepted into NYU as a Junior Transfer after attending UMass Amherst for 2 years (and living in massachusetts all my life) and would really love if you could answer any/some/all of the questions below! Thanks!</p>
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<li><p>How's the dining commons food? I've heard mixed reviews, but mostly that students almost always go out to eat. Are there convenient/healthy alternatives if the dining commons are not that good?</p></li>
<li><p>How's the social life compared to what people would call a generic college experience? Do people go out to party/club a lot more? I honestly like to spend time and make friends in the dorms, enjoying downtime since I bet the city will be overwhelming at times. I do like the option of going out, but don't do it too often (usually because I'm busy)</p></li>
<li><p>Do the events/resources/venues in the city make up for the lack of a "campus feel" or "campus life"? I do hope there are ways at making friends because, as a transfer student, I feel like it might be hard for me to make friends if everyone just goes out into the city and does their own thing. Maybe I'll meet other transfers/freshmen who are also new!</p></li>
<li><p>How hard is it to become an RA? Is it overwhelming work to be an RA in a city school? I want to save money by becoming one!</p></li>
<li><p>How are the state of student organizations on campus? Is student government very active? I took a pretty big role in student government, and I'm sure it'd be a great way to get familiarized with things at NYU if I had a hand in organizing student life!</p></li>
<li><p>What dorms should I look to live in? I haven't completed my housing application, but can you describe some of the dorm buildings & what I should know about them?</p></li>
<li><p>How "open" is the community? I know this is different based on different people, but (on average) do NYU students close their doors a lot? I would really love a warm environment and, as I said, I know this is a very different depending on people, but I'd like to hear what you think.</p></li>
<li><p>Is there anything else you think I should know?</p></li>
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<p>This is all the questions I've been able to come up with! Thanks if you can answer any of them!</p>
<p>Hey, I transferred into NYU as a Junior as well, so hopefully I can help answer some of your questions.</p>
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<li><p>Personally, I actually like the food at the dining halls. There are at least 8 and they are all run by different people, so there’s a pretty good verity. However, know that unless you eat almost every meal at the dining halls, in which case it costs about $6 a meal, the meal plans a rip-offs, costing around $11 or so a meal.</p></li>
<li><p>As a transfer from a small liberal arts college, I can tell you that social life is definitely different at NYU. Unlike my old school, where you’d just randomly run into people, you actually have to plan to meet people. The dorms are are spread out pretty far across the city. Sometimes people have small gathering in their rooms, but in some dorms the RAs are pretty harsh. I’m not that big on going out to clubs, but a lot of people definitely do.</p></li>
<li><p>Keep in mind that at NYU, there are hundreds of transfers every year. As a transfer, you’ll have to go to Welcome Week, an entire week of events for freshmen and transfers, where I’m sure you’ll meet plenty of transfers.</p></li>
<li><p>As a transfer, you’ll have the last pick of housing, so it’s likely that you won’t have too much of a choice in the matter. I was put into Lafayette, the largest dorm at NYU, which houses about 1000 students. The rooms were nice and there were a bunch of other transfers there. However, it’s over a mile south of the main NYU campus. Also, know that housing costs at NYU vary anywhere between around $9,000 a year to $18,000 depending on the dorm.</p></li>
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<p>Hope that this answers some of you questions.</p>
<p>Hey kz, I also transferred to NYU as a Junior!</p>
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<li>I did not have a meal plan. On average, a meal plan averages out to around $13 a meal, and I knew I could feed myself for way less than that. You will eat in a dining hall (namely Kimmel) every so often, but not often enough to actually want a meal plan. Plus, why would you when you’re surrounded by an infinite number of choices offered by the thousands of surrounding restaurants? </li>
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<p>In terms of healthy alternatives, you’ll make better choices when you’re shopping on your own. If I’m in a cafeteria-style dining hall, you can bet your ass I’m going to eat my weight in cookies and get my money’s worth.</p>
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<li><p>It’s not your typical college experience. Sometimes I think I’m missing out on the partying that my friends get to do in their college town. HOWEVER, you’re in Manhattan! I’m personally not into the bar/club scene, but I made a ton of friends in my dorm, which is where we did most of our drinking.</p></li>
<li><p>This will be my greatest piece of advice to you: Attend as many Welcome Week events as possible! I made so many new friends during the walking tours, and met a LOT of other transfers that I am still friends with. I’m assuming there’s a transfer group on Facebook for your year, join it! I met up with someone and we snowballed other transfers into our group. It was awesome.</p></li>
<li><p>From what I have heard, the process is long and tedious, but totally worth the work. That’s all I really know about it.</p></li>
<li><p>I haven’t heard anything about any type of student government other than residential hall councils, which I would HIGHLY recommend joining. Being a part of Hall Council helped me meet people in my building, events and opportunities at NYU, and learn about the city.</p></li>
<li><p>[Guide</a> To NYU Dorms 2011 · NYU Local](<a href=“NYU Local”>http://nyulocal.com/tag/guide-to-nyu-dorms-2011/)
This guide really helped me rank what dorms I wanted.</p></li>
<li><p>You’re in New York City. You’re not going to find a more tolerant community, but it doesn’t exactly have that small town atmosphere. One of the first things I noticed was that no one really makes eye contact on the street, which is really weird to me despite being from a huge city myself. In terms of students, there are thousands of them and you’re guaranteed to find the ones you’re looking for.</p></li>
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