Hey guys! I will be studying in the liberal arts area of NYU. I live in NYC and I’ve always wanted the typical college experience (Sporting events, campus life, grassy fields, school pride, college town? etc. NYU is known for not having most of these. I’m going to dorm my first year at NYU to see how it goes, but I most likely will be unable to afford dorming the other three years. I’ll end up commuting or sharing rent with friends (if I make any).
Does anyone know any schools with equal prestige as NYU, great financial aid and acceptance rate for Transfer students, typical college experience (college town?), super diverse, and preferably on the east coast? I was thinking about Boston University or USC (even tho this is in Cali).
Thank you!!
Honestly - there are many such schools but I have to ask - why are you even starting freshman year at a school that isn’t what you want? Once you matriculate at a college and start earning credits you won’t be a freshman - most good financial aid is reserved for freshman applicants. Transfers get what’s left over. Think long and hard before spending freshman year at NYU - you want to traditional college experience and that’s not what NYU has to offer. Why did you even apply to a school that is so unlike what your dream college is like when there are so many excellent colleges with traditional campuses? I think you should consider taking a gap year, do a better narrowing down of colleges before re-applying and start your college life out in a place where you really want to stay. It seems like you’re setting yourself up for unhappiness as it stands.
Boston University does not meet most of your criteria either.
Thank you for replying! I applied to many schools that I did want to go to, but I was rejected, or the financial aid they gave was not the best. NYU is my best option financially and I hope that I learn to love it my freshman year. Also, this school has soooo many opportunities that I love (ex: studying abroad, internships, etc), but I am just not a fan of the environment, or proximity. I’m not interested in taking a gap year because I would like to try out NYU and see if I begin to like it more. I don’t want to miss out on trying it out.
You want “super diverse”. In general, the schools with the highest levels of ethnic and economic diversity tend to be public universities in big cities. However, you also want “equal prestige as NYU” and “great financial aid”. You are probably not going to get all three of those factors at a public university, either in-state or out-of-state.
For example, as an NYC resident, you could go to a local public like CUNY City College. You’ll get more diversity at lower cost than at NYU. But you won’t get the same prestige.
Or you could go to a public school in a big city located out-of-state, for example UC Berkeley or UCLA. Those schools are great for both diversity and prestige. But as an out-of-stater, you won’t get financial aid. They would probably cost more than NYU.
So your best bet is probably an urban private school, although the higher tuition costs mean that you will have to sacrifice some ethnic and economic diversity. BU is a possibility, but as noted above it has many of the same drawbacks as NYU (don’t expect grassy fields or a football team, for example).
Relatively diverse and highly-ranked urban private schools that do offer a more traditional college environment (like football games) might include USC, Rice, and U of Miami (in Florida, not Miami U in Ohio).
Of course, there are also lots of private schools with traditional college environments outside of the big urban areas. But they may not be “super diverse”.