New York University

NYU is like any other expensive private school. Many of the kids come from very rich families and are very spoiled. Lots of people do drugs regularly, and a lot of the "partying" involves students getting drunk or high in their rooms with a friend or two. It's very hard to make friends here - most of the kids are from New Jersey or Long Island, and they already know lots of people from their high schools, and go home every weekend. People are very cliquish, and most people don't make new friends after the people they meet the first few weeks that live on their floor. What you wear and how you look is very important. A lot of people try to look WASPy, and lots of the girls dye their hair and starve themselves. The classes are okay, but aren't amazing for the money everyone pays. If you don't like associating with people poorer than you, or with people that didn't go to your high school or have parents that worked with your dad, and want to be sheltered, but still live in New York, NYU is good. If you are poorer, and get a scholarship to come here, don't. You will always feel bad compared to all the rich kids around you.

1st Year Female -- Class 2007

Surrounding City: A+, Individual Value: F

The only think New York University has going for it, I think, is that it is in the best part of NYC, which is something Columbia lacks. The administration can be helpful, but they usually don't care. This is a for-profit univerisity, and the students are thought of as consumers. I, for one, am paying all costs, and my debt after graduation is conservatively projected to be $100,000, which utterly ridiculous when the average debt after graduation is about $20,000. The assistant dean asked me why I came to NYU without any money from the school, and truthfully, after a semester, the only reason was that I had great friends and loved NYC. I am merely paying for a brand name. When I applied, I thought that NYU would be a politcally active school, but because the school is so scattered around Manhattan, it is difficult to form anything too cohesive and meaningful. The student body seems to be radical for the sake of being radical, but one good thing is that you won't find strong Republican/conservative group at NYU. But the administration is way too conservative. It has failed to block attempts of adjunct professors to unionize , and now it is attempting to stop the GAs from unionizing. Last year, the school failed to support the NYU College Democrats on an event that included President Clinton, Chris Tucker, and a bevy of other Democratic politicians. Sadly for the administration, it was one of the biggest event ever held at NYU, but it was put together by students.

1st Year Male -- Class 2005

Surrounding City: A+, Individual Value: F

When I came to NYU I was not expecting a traditional "college experience", but I was expecting to have a social life. The students here are unapproachable and most are unfriendly. There is no social community whatsoever, because the security is ridiculously tight. For example, even though I'm an NYU student living in on-campus housing, I can't get into another dorm without a resident of that dorm to vouch for me. It seems to me that NYU's policies discourage socializing and encourage clique-forming. Add to that the fact that there is no "campus" or even a common room, quad, or community building, and you have all the makings of a depressing experience.

1st Year Male -- Class 2004

Surrounding City: A+, Campus Aesthetics: F