things i wish i knew as a first year

Colleges and Universities A-Z New York University
1

<p>(i can't technically say i was ever a freshman at NYU, but i was a first year student once.)</p>

<p>there are certain tricks and tips i wish i had known when i was starting at NYU. here are some of them. current NYUers or alums should add to this!</p>

<ul>
<li><p>you do NOT have to cram all of your MAP requirements in the first year. take at least one interesting class a semester. having all MAP courses will slowly kill your soul.</p></li>
<li><p>Writing the Essay is like a rite of passage; you just slog through it and move on.</p></li>
<li><p>eat the darn meal plan and use the dining dollars. YOU PAID FOR IT ALREADY! whether it's for coffee at Starbucks or junk food at Upstein or quesadillas at Kimmel, the money has already been set aside to eat. don't be that person with 200 dining dollars left in may. you WILL lose the money at the end of the academic year. (which is may of the next year)</p></li>
<li><p>the computer labs will always get clogged right before major class times. (10:45 for 11am classes, 12:15 for 12:30 classes, etc.) </p></li>
<li><p>don't fool yourself into thinking you can take that 8am class if you're not a morning person. you will not get up.</p></li>
<li><p>move ALL THE WAY into the subway car, don't just stand near the door. (i knew this already, but it helps to mention it)</p></li>
<li><p>if you don't use the metrocard more than 3 times a day, the monthly isn't worth it.</p></li>
<li><p>go to welcome week events.</p></li>
<li><p>utilize ticket central wisely. </p></li>
<li><p>various free condoms in the student health center!</p></li>
<li><p>wait before buying all of the books for class. sometimes after the first day, the professor says that you don't need all of them.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>this is all i have for now.</p>

2

<p>Thanks for the tips!
I love this one
“+ don’t fool yourself into thinking you can take that 8am class if you’re not a morning person. you will not get up.”</p>

<p>I needed that one XD. I was thinking of taking morning classes but I was never a morning person so that reassured me not to do it.</p>

3

<p>thankyouthankyouthankyou!</p>

4

<p>my roommate is totally not a morning person. i study best in the morning. during finals week, it’s not uncommon for me to sleep at 9 so i can wake up at 3am, hahaha. </p>

<p>i would always have to wake her up at 8:45. “your 9:30 class is in 45 minutes!!” she never, ever, ever woke up on her own. she learned that tip the hard way.</p>

5

<p>another one:</p>

<p>SAFE RIDE SAFE RIDE SAFE RIDE!!!</p>

<p>NYU Safe Ride is an initiative to get NYU students from NYU building to NYU building safely. the number is PRINTED on the back of your ID card. </p>

<p>after a certain time of night until 6am the next morning, you are allowed to call public safety and ask for a “safe ride” van to come get you. studying late at Bobst and now it’s 3am and you need to get back to 12th street? call Safe Ride! it takes a little while for the van to get there, but it’s free, and safe, and they don’t grill you once you’re on board. know it. use it if you want to. i used it a TON when i went partying at water, and my friends used it to get from from lafayette street.</p>

6

<ol>
<li><p>If you want to save money on Metrocards, use the NYU bus system. It might not get you to exactly where you’re going, but chances are it’ll drop you off in the vicinity, and you can walk the rest of the way there. Otherwise, learn to love walking.</p></li>
<li><p>Learn proper Silver etiquette (i.e. move in all the way, know which bank of elevators goes to which floors) and utilize it as soon as possible to make things easier for everyone. Also, unless you’re actually disabled or in extreme pain, don’t take the elevator to the second or third floors. Please, seriously, don’t be that person, because people WILL call you out on it.</p></li>
<li><p>Even if you can’t find books online for a cheaper price than at the NYU bookstore, do some sleuthing and see if getting them at B&N and using a membership card (if you have one) will make them even just a few dollars cheaper.</p></li>
<li><p>I’ll repeat that you shouldn’t take an early morning class if you’re not a morning person. Likewise, if you’re prone to aimlessly wandering around on a warm, sunny day like I am, having a 2-3:15 class might feel like the worst punishment in the world.</p></li>
<li><p>Don’t go to Starbucks if you don’t have an aversion to other types of coffee. The lines at Starbucks on the Square (corner of West 4th and University) are wicked long, and there are many other coffee shops–Moxa, Think, Campus Eatery, Space Market, Dunkin Donuts, men-in-boxes–that have shorter lines, faster service, and cheaper prices.</p></li>
<li><p>Bobst is often very crowded. Don’t get upset if you can’t find your own private carrel to use, and be willing to share a table with someone else. Otherwise, find another place to study, like the lounges in Kimmel, the basements of Tisch Hall, and the basement of 25 West 4th. Don’t even try the law school buildings, though, as we are quite territorial about our study spaces.</p></li>
<li><p>Sit in the park as often as you can. It’s surprisingly serene.</p></li>
<li><p>NYC is a stupidly expensive city, but it’s also a city where one can have a lot of fun on the cheap or even for free. Check out sites like Flavorpill, freenyc, Time Out NY, and myopenbar for cheap/free events, food, and booze. Do some exploring around the internetz to find other fun stuff to do, like walk the newly opened High Line or take a ferry to Governors Island for a bike ride. When a museum has a “suggested donation,” don’t feel obligated to pay the full price; places like the Met get millions of dollars in donations, so you paying just one dollar instead of 20 isn’t going to have a huge impact. Oh, and yes, Ticket Central is a great resource; also find out if any of the places you want to go to offer student discounts.</p></li>
<li><p>Don’t confine yourself to just the area around NYU and your dorm. The city is huge and awesome, so to not explore it is a real shame. Don’t be afraid to venture into the outer boroughs, even if it’s just to take a walk around. </p></li>
<li><p>Learn how to manage your time effectively. The importance of this cannot be overstated.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>…I will also probably eventually think of more.</p>

7

<p>i know i’m going to sound like your mothers, but i’m going to say it:</p>

<p>don’t force yourself to go to class if you’re actually sick! one missed class will not ruin your GPA in that class. if you’re really sick, the student health center will write you a note saying you went to the health center instead of class. </p>

<p>the only reason i say this is because in my graduate level seminar, SOMEONE came in sick and now i am in Paris, with the flu, with less than a week left, because someone just HAD to drag themselves in for a two hour lecture. i mean, really?</p>

8

<p>

</p>

<p>I definitely won’t lol, but I was totally been guilty of that when I took dual enrollment courses during my senior year. You could tell by the look in thier eyes they were pi*ssed haha</p>

9

<p>lol i skipped half of the sessions for one course and still got an A!</p>

10

<p>yeah, there are classes like that. i had a politics class like that too.</p>

11

<p>can someone elaborate on safety issues? I’ve lived in a VERY safe country all my life and I just heard my friend who went to visit a guy in New York got mugged 40 dollars by bunch of black guys… </p>

<p>what is “street smart” anyway?</p>

12

<p>ilee09- Well, things happen sometimes, and I am sorry to hear that about your friend. As long as you don’t go out alone at night at like 2 AM I don’t think there is going to be a problem. Always try and go with a group or another person, and nothing is going to happen to you. I was raised in Brooklyn, and I have always been told NEVER to take the subway if it gets late, and to just call a taxi and have it come to your door. This way you stay safe.</p>

13

<p>Just don’t do things when you’re out that will attract negative attention to yourself, such as flashing your money around and stuff. and always stay alert; don’t have you ipod cranked up so loud that you don’t notice the things going on around you. also, know when you need to get out of a potentially dangerous situation…not to mention, not putting yourself in these kinds of situations in the first place.</p>

<p>…and not saying that you are, but don’t stereotype black guys because of that incident because just about anyone could do that in the city.</p>

14

<p>a bunch of guys can ruin an entire city. i’m in Paris, and my friends think Paris is an awful city because one of them had her passport stolen in Paris by some guy.</p>

<p>any city is going to have it’s share of riff-raff messing stuff up for the rest of the good, hard working people.</p>

15

<p>not to stereotype people or anything but this is getting me even more worried :(</p>

<p>[New</a> York City Homicides Map - The New York Times](<a href=“New York City Homicides Map - The New York Times”>New York City Homicides Map - The New York Times)</p>

16

<p>But there are several things you should notice about those maps.

  • The village is relative very safe compared to the more densely violent area
  • A vast majority of these crimes occurred late at night
  • In the village, the crimes that appear there generally had a significant time span between them
  • NYU appears safer than Columbia, and definitely safer than Fordham
  • Most of those homicides occurred because of drugs, a dispute, or a robbery (so just don’t put yourself in those situations)</p>

<p>My advice to you is: know where there dangerous areas are and stay out of them at night or by yourself (and don’t go to the really bad areas at all), always be aware, and let someone know where you are going.</p>

<p>NYU help you be safe too because you can always call an NYU police officer, call safe ride, can go to one of those NYU safe haven or w/e their called, etc.</p>

17

<p>I have lived in or around the city my whole life (I am a parent). As a New Yorker, I don’t google maps to find the number of homocides per year. You have to enjoy all the best the city has to offer and do your best to keep yourself safe by making smart decisions. You have to look for the good in the city if you are going to enjoy it and feel secure here. Otherwise, NYU is not the school for you.</p>

18

<p>THOUSANDS of people live, work, play, fall in love, go to school, go grocery shopping, take the subway, go clubbing and otherwise thrive in Manhattan and in NYC every. single. day. </p>

<p>there’s really no other way to say that NYC is just as safe, if not safer than other major US cities. there’s definitely an increased police presence since 9/11.</p>

19

<p>That recent rash of homicides has been chronicled in the media, and nearly every single one was the result of an altercation based on some previous dispute. I believe only one was a random attack, and that occurred as someone was drunk and stumbling home at 4 a.m.</p>

<p>Honestly, I feel safer in NYC than I have anywhere else I’ve ever been, and I travel a LOT. As long as you’re not an idiot or put yourself in dangerous situations, you’ll be fine. If you’re really worried, always keep cash on hand to take a cab if you need to, be aware of open businesses that you can duck into if you suspect someone is following you, stay in well-lighted areas, don’t flash your money or credit cards, keep your valuables in secure locations (i.e. don’t leave your iPod on the subway seat next to you), and just be smart. And DO NOT stereotype. The few incredibly scary fights I have seen in the area have all been between white guys, who were, admittedly, drunk out of their minds.</p>

20

<p>adding to this:</p>

<p>you seriously don’t need half the stuff you think you do. it’s soooooo tempting to go on a spree in BB&B but honestly, you can get by without a lot of it.</p>

<p>i went looking at dorm stuff today and you could tell which kids were freshmen and which were upperclassmen by all the stuff they had. ha.</p>