New York University

You should not take out loans to go to NYU. It isn't worth it. You will get an ok education there. But you could get the same education at a decent state school. If you need to be in NYC and are interested in working in the industries that dominate NYC (banking, finance, real estate, medecine, the arts) and have some money, NYU is a good choice. The academics on the undergraduate level are okay at best. It isn't a nurturing environment at all. Not at all. I heard the term "proactive" everyday from the staff. It's about you taking and getting what you want. If you are exploring or developing yourself etc. go to a different school. This school is for international wealth, alpha types and partiers. For the "dead poets" experience there are better schools in NYC. From what I've seen there, it would be a top choice for graduate school or professional school, JUST NOT UNDERGRADUATE.

4th Year Male -- Class 2003

Surrounding City: A, Collaboration/Competitive: F

Academically, NYU is great, but the competitiveness depends on your major and your school. For example, pre-med and Stern business students are really hardcore. The social scene is hard when you're under 21. There is no real unification within the student body and everyone goes out into the NYC nightlife, getting in where they can with fake IDs. The social scene gets harder as you become an upperclassman under 21 because everyone starts moving into apartments which further spreads students out throughout the city

3rd Year Female -- Class 2012

Campus Maintenance: A+, Collaboration/Competitive: D-

Be sure you know what you're doing when you decide to come to this school. Make sure that you like the city; not just to visit, but to LIVE. And get here when everyone else gets here. I got here a week later than everyone else and they already had bunches of little cliques, so I felt pretty isolated for most of the time. And don't come into this school expecting anything to be easy. Everyone says the "Columbia rejects" come here, and that may be true in some cases, but for the most part, people here are very bright and quite competitive.

1st Year Female -- Class 2009

Surrounding City: A+, Individual Value: D