New York University

NYU can be the best place in the world, but also the worst. Don't expect to be coddled and have you hand held, but do expect the best in-college opportunities in the nation if you seek them. I had friends doing schoolyear investment banking internships at Merrill, and others working at NBC and networking with celebs at MTV. I graduated with a great GPA, and had no problem finding a finance job that paid me $95,000 my first year out of college--I was a Math major in CAS. I have many friends who did the same.

But on the other hand, I knew many kids who weren't as focused as me and weren't all too happy. Instead of using the city's resources like some of us did they moped about not having a perfectly collegial atmosphere and football games on the weekends. All that said, NYU can open a ton of doors for you that couldn't be opened at any other school in the nation, but at the same time, if you're not so focused and want more of a traditional college environment, NYU may not be for you.

2nd Year Male -- Class 2002

Useful Schoolwork: A+, Individual Value: C+

NYU Stern is a university with a great reputation as one of the best business schools in the country. However, I've talked to my friends studying business in different schools(Fordham & St. Francis) and they are learning the same things I am learning here even though those schools are considered nothing in reputation compared to this school. The only difference between Stern and any other school is who you are competing against. Those who you're competing against here are the best, not the education. Commuting to and from this school from one of the boroughs is a nuisance while dorming with a typical NYU roommate (dirty, pothead, liberal, gay - trust me on this, a roommate will almost definitely have at least one of these characteristics, I'm dorming my second year)is a living hell. NYU has a nice gym at Palladium, pretty good cafeterias, and a sweet ass location right in the middle of a million things to do. But don't let these trivial postives influence your decision to come here, especially the location because Stern students don't have the time to enjoy most of the great things to do in the area (I only got to go out 4 or 5 times in the city all of last semester and I love to party).

1st Year Male -- Class 2006

Surrounding City: A+, Collaboration/Competitive: F

If you want to be a student at NYU you have to be prepared to work on your own. You MUST be independant. You MUST be a self-starter. The school doesn't need to help you so it doesn't. The faculty is great, but you have to ask for what you need. If you are not driven or ambitious, you will fail. If you expect things handed to you on a silver platter this is not the school for you. But if you are these things, it is the best experience that anyone can ever have.

2nd Year Female -- Class 2005

Faculty Accessibility: A+, Individual Value: C-