<ul>
<li><p>Never play chess for money with the homeless in the park (I learned from experience)</p></li>
<li><p>The Bobst library floor looks like spikes when you’re looking down from above. There’s a reason for that: Bobst makes students feel suicidal. Try to find other places to study!</p></li>
<li><p>Weinstein Study Center is a lifesaver.</p></li>
<li><p>Oktoberfest is amazing.</p></li>
<li><p>Lasertag with your floormates is also amazing.</p></li>
<li><p>Take advantage of free food / t-shirt events.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Actually, the reason the floor of the Bobst lobby looks like spikes is because the library’s architect other notable contribution to architectural design was…prisons.</p>
<p>…and that is your fun NYU fact for the day.</p>
<p>all that architectural stuff designed in the 1970s looks bad/depressing.</p>
<p>I thank God every day that NYU ran out of money and only managed to re-do Bobst and Tisch Hall. To think, the ENTIRE CAMPUS could have looked like those two.</p>
<p>don’t forget about the psych/physics building…</p>
<p>Oh, right, I always forget about Meyer Hall (says the politics and history major who blocked out her statistics class).</p>
<p>And then NYU tried to do the same thing with Kimmel as its model and again ran out of money. And now, guess what? They want to “revitalize” the campus yet again. I am curious to see how long this effort will last.</p>
<p>the front of Stern is absolutely gutted right now. it looks atrocious.</p>
<p>yeah. any idea when that’s going to be finished? the lobby of greenwich is all wacked out too.</p>
<p>Are the homeless people that awesome at chess?</p>
<p>they’re not all homeless (some of them are regular working joes, some of them are pot dealers) but they’re all really good at chess.</p>
<p>below WSP (i forget which street. . . not laguardia, but in that area) there are lots of tiny chess shops. they sell the craziest chess sets and there are lots of chess players hanging around the park.</p>
<p>The stern concourse project was originally supposed to be finished this month. Now I heard 2010…sigh…</p>
<p>Ongoing, never-ending construction is a fact of life in NYC. And once one set of scaffolding goes down, another goes up. Granted, considering how rainy it’s been lately, I’m not complaining.</p>
<p>Oh, I know…my dad works in construction in the city. </p>
<p>I wonder, are they going to have Gould Plaza all cleared out by move in?</p>
<p>Yeah, my dad is in construction in the city as well. That explains why the sound of jackhammers actually lulls me to sleep.</p>
<p>I doubt anything will be cleared out. I took a year off, and when I came back, they were still doing the same work on the Courant building as when I had left. Then again, considering how long any construction job takes in the city, I really shouldn’t be surprised.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Utilize the College Learning Center in Weinstein- free tutoring! … did I mention FREE? Some tutors are better than others, so if you get a good one, ask for their schedule (they’ll be flattered) and come in on those days. Most people who end up going there are either really dumb or ridiculously smart, but its great if you’re pre-health (med, dent, etc.) and have to those huge science courses at NYU with 500+ other students, because other crazy ambitious pre-meds tend to hang out there before finals or lab days. They’re particularly chatty and will most likely help you out.</p></li>
<li><p>I third the sentiment about no 8 AM classes: don’t even schedule 8 AM recitations, because recitations actually are more important than lectures for some classes since TAs do most of the grading. </p></li>
<li><p>Don’t schedule 1:45 PM classes at all if you can help it, but if you must, try to have at least a few days with that time slot open. Not many classes are held during that time, so most of your classmates will meet for lunch then. Doesn’t seem important but it really sucks when you’re the only one who can’t make it.</p></li>
<li><p>GO TO WELCOME WEEK ACTIVITIES. I didn’t, and I wish I had. I think once that small window of time passes during the beginning of freshman year, it gets harder to make friends (unless you’re that type of person).</p></li>
<li><p>Check ratemyprofessors.com for every class you schedule. Get recommendations from upperclassmen if you can. Remember- this is not high school. It really doesn’t matter what course you take- all that matters is who is teaching it.</p></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Getting your own apartment in the city is harder than you think. And contrary to what most people say about how “their friend” found an apartment that is huge and underpriced and right next to campus, chances are, you’re not going to get one like that. Brokers typically charge you a rip off of 15% of a year’s rent, you have to be able to commit on the spot, you’ll need a guarantor who makes a lot of money, you’ll need to get all your paper work in order, you’ll need to set up/maintain your own cable and electric, etc. A lot of times, its easier to stay in the dorms, if only for the fact that its extremely convenient. Think hard about moving out before you do, because once you’re out, you’re out for good (can’t participate in housing lottery anymore).</li>
</ul>
<p>Wow! Thanks for all of the advice. This is a good thread. I’m really taking it all to heart.</p>
<p>to add to peach:</p>
<p>it IS possible to get back into Housing, but don’t count on it. you’ll be put onto a waitlist and very few people get off it because Housing is packed as it is.</p>
<p>Seriously. I got out of housing after freshman year, then I got back into housing junior year because the apartment I rented suddenly wanted me to sign a two year lease rather than one year and my roommate decided to study abroad. Waitlist… you don’t get to choose your roommate (ever), you don’t get to choose where you live, and you don’t know if you’ll even get a room; the anticipation sucks. You just hope that you get in somewhere, anywhere. I finally got in a week before school started. I was stuck in the farthest dorm from campus which was known for its amazing views and larger bedrooms, but I was put on the 2nd floor, my window was facing a really really noisy parking lot, and I got a studio (the smallest apartments in that dorm building) that I had to share with a random girl (who actually turned out to be really nice). </p>
<p>Annnyway, just remember all this before you get all proud of your grown-up self and move out of housing. Just because you can find and rent your own apartment, doesn’t mean you should. I actually have friends right now who’re regretting really badly that ever wanted their own apartment. It’s just a big hassle that you don’t need.</p>