The Northeast urban trio: NYU, BU, GW

College Search & Selection
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So I know this issue has been tackled before, but I wouldn’t mind hearing new thoughts on the battle of the East coast urbans: NYU, BU, and GW, since my daughter (Junior) has all 3 on her list and seems inclined to go the urban route.
I know NYU prob wins the prestige, with BU 2nd and GW 3rd, I think (except for poly sci and IR). Daughter is a good student: UW GPA close to 4.0, weighted around 4.6, SAT 1530 without superscoring, solid but not earthshattering EC’s, and I suspect excellent letters of rec because she is well-liked and respected. She has very little clue about eventual major and career but will likely NOT major in English, History, or a science. Math fields, business fields, psychology, Sociology, Education are all possibilities.

She doesn’t like the cold, which is one reason she likes GW more than BU.
I worry that with her stats she might be underselling herself putting GW ahead of the others- although I suspect this is really not an issue these days as all these schools are full of high achievers and none are sure things for admission.
I want her to have some traditional college experience, and I worry that NYU is the least campus-centric of these urban schools, with little sense of community. I am happy to be proven wrong on this.

Basically just curious to hear from people how these schools compare to each other. I have toured BU twice (with different kids) and I liked it a lot. I have been to GW twice but not on an official tour (my wife and daughter did that and liked it). And none of us have been to NYU yet.

Thoughts?

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My junior has BU and NYU on her list and toured both as well. I think she loves the idea of living in NYC but I was definitely concerned about the lack of campus. Our tour guide also alluded to the fact that kids need to be ready to take on NYC. I preferred the BU campus and the city of Boston as a whole as the school and the city are smaller. I might be biased though since I used to live in Boston and went to BU for grad school. In terms of weather, I grew up in Midwest and Boston isn’t nearly as harsh probably due to it being near the water.

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D21 applied to this same urban trio — actually, Northeastern was in the mix too — and, she chose NYU.

Initially, I was pretty shocked by her urban preferences; I had envisioned her at the more typical college campus. She surprised us.

We didn’t tour any schools during her admissions cycle as all campuses were strictly locked down due to COVID. NYU was D’s top choice, though I wonder if actually touring the schools would have swayed her. We did an outdoor tour at nearby Northeastern and my husband drove D back and forth to NYU to walk around the Washington Square neighborhood.

All in all, D had a great first year at NYU and enjoyed living in NYC so much that she accepted a paid summer internship there. We will see how she survives the oppressive city heat (cold was not a problem for her, however — we’re from New England).

This past year D lived in a suite overlooking Washington Square Park. It was a great location. Students hang out in the park all of the time. D loved the dog park there. However, there is definitely more crime in the area than in the past. Not good after dark.

NYU can be isolating, especially in the beginning. They do a great job at keeping students busy and happy during Orientation week. It was kind of tough for D a short while after classes started. There are no lounges on dorm floors and the students keep their doors closed — the dorms are apartment style. No hanging out and meeting people.

COVID restrictions definitely put a damper on socializing. No visiting other dorms or entertaining in your dorm room. Clubs also met remotely for most of the year. I think it would have been much easier to meet people in a normal year.

Luckily, D became great friends with her roomate, who attends Tisch, and then met more people through her. She has a very solid group of friends now. Socializing takes place in the park, cafes, restaurants, museums and clubs. D also enjoys exploring the city on her own.

Side note - Tisch breaks students into small studio groups. Great for making friends. An advantage that the other NYU schools don’t seem to have. Joining clubs seems to be the other way to meet people.

Happy to try to answer any questions you might have.

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As with most college choices I would value fit over prestige. I know one person who chose BU over NYU because he felt BU had more of a campus feel and that Boston would be a more manageable city. I know another who chose GW over the other two because she liked that it had a smaller undergrad student body. I also know people who attended NYU. All were thrilled with their choice. So I’d encourage your D to think about what she considers to be important over the next four years.

I’d also note that there are many other Northeast urban colleges she may consider (depending on the academic/financial/social fit) including (but NOT limited to): Columbia, Penn, Harvard, MIT, Barnard, Northeastern, Fordham (Lincoln Center Campus), Drexel, Temple, American, Pitt, Johns Hopkins, Carnegie Melon, and Gtown to name a few.

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In 2020 GW offered my S I think $26k/year in merit aid and BU almost nothing, maybe $5k/yr. BU just raised their tuition too. Good luck.

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Has she checked the offerings at each school in each possible subject of interest?

The biggest fit factor besides affordability is suitable academics of interest.

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Speaking of merit …
In the 2020-2021 admissions cycle, NYU changed its financial aid policy to cover 100% of financial need for admitted students. And, NYU no longer offers merit awards to incoming students without demonstrable financial need.

D21 was also offered very generous merit from GW. Nothing from Northeastern and NYU (see above). I can’t comment on BU since D was offered guaranteed admission to BU as a sophomore, but decided not to transfer.

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My daughter had the same choices for grad school (plus northeastern). She’s never toured any, but had been by NYU a lot during trips to the city and loves the area. She took a drive to Boston and fell in love with BU, and as much as she loves NYC she’s heading to Boston next Monday. Her undergrad was at a typical brick and grass college campus so she’s ready for something new.

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Would be good for your daughter to identify her deciding/eliminating criteria, besides temperatures, to better target any recommendations.

In Boston, Northeastern is worth a visit, for some campus feel. In NYC, Columbia University does have a traditional campus (what otherwise would have become streets, are College walks). And their Barnard College has the feel and sprit of a smaller LAC, within the context of the large University. The MoHi neighborhood offers easy access to all that Manhattan opportunities, but the Upper-Upper-Westside location, with the very many student apartments and University owned/rented apartment buildings has a more cohesive feel…

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I don’t think Columbia is a realistic reach for her. Plus I know they have a core curriculum that wouldn’t be her thing. She doesn’t want a small LAC or an all-women school.

She’s not at all afraid of big schools, and probably prefers them.

It seems like most kids who go to N-Eastern have an idea what they want to do in life, unlike my kid. But it’s on her list. I don’t think she would choose it over BU though.

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Northeastern has a dedicated program for the undecided.

https://undergraduate.northeastern.edu/explore/about/

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she’s not a fan of cold weather and she liked BU. There is really no reason for her to add Northeastern to the mix. she actually preferred GW to BU, and the 10 degree or more winter temperature difference might be a factor.

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I can’t comment much on the northeastern urban universities, except to say that I loved the pulse and energy of GW’s Foggy Bottom campus eons ago, but it’s very much a campus that people are drawn toward or repelled from.

@happy1 gave a great list of other northeastern urban universities that could be considered.

But since the one major preference we’ve heard is that your daughter would want warmer weather, has she thought about locations outside of the northeast?

  • U. of Southern California in Los Angeles
  • Tulane (LA) in New Orleans
  • Virginia Commonwealth in Richmond
  • College of Charleston (SC)
  • U. of South Carolina (which also has a very well-reputed honors program, located in the state capital of Columbia)

All of these offer her majors of interest. And even if it’s not financially necessary, she would be likely to win substantial merit at some of these.

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Nothing to “worry” about. She hasn’t been admitted yet to any of them.

Forget about what you think of as prestige. Cost and fit are the most important criteria.

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If BU senses your child is undecided she may be admitted to their College of General Studies program with a January start in London. Students who apply to BU may be accepted for CGS without choosing it. Just one thing to know.

I know you’re not a Northeastern U fan but for anyone reading the thread who might be interested, their Explore Program for undecided students is excellent and unlike some other schools you can choose engineering, business or CS later without having been admitted to those schools.

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Thanks. Absolutely she will be applying to some of those: Tulane and U of SoCal for sure. Unfortunately as we all know Tulane has become very hard to get in unless you ED there.
Possibly College of Charleston as a safety. I don’t think VCU and U of S Carolina will make the cut for various reasons.

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College of Charleston was D21’s “urban” safety as well — they offered her merit as well as the honors college.

I do remember that parents on CC were pretty clear that a student’s experience at CofC could be “night or day” depending on whether they were admitted into the honors college. Many parents said they would advise against attending CofC unless the student attends the honors college.

Interestingly, though she loves NYU, CofC is the only college that D21 still wonders about. In a New England girl’s mind, Charleston is a magical & exotic place.

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As a bit of an aside, I would try to have your D seek out a couple of safety/match schools she likes that have rolling and/or non-binding EA to apply to. Having one or two acceptances in hand by December will take a lot of stress off of the process.

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College of General Studies students start on the BU campus in January. Those students then go study in London over the summer together to make up for the first semester. Just wanted to clarify.

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Just wanted to point out that NYU also has a core curriculum. It varies slightly across the schools. There may be some schools at NYU that opt out, but you’d need to research this.

BU has one as well. Not sure about GW.

Don’t most universities have a core curriculum component for undergrads? Or, is there something specific about the one at Columbia that is not appealing?

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