New York University

NYU HAS BASICALLY NO CAMPUS
I cannot stress this enough. The nature of this school is ENORMOUSLY different from most universities.

Now this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but you have to recognize it. NYU is not about school spirit and community, there are only a few lackluster attempts at that (which I am convinced are to keep the Business and Med students from fleeing, as they are there for the program itself, not the location.) The location: downtown Manhattan. There is a lot of stuff to do, which can be exactly the problem. NYU is a school for people who want to take classes at a top university, and live and be free to do their own thing in a great city. Honestly in that sense it is akin to a commuter school (also having 40% commuters helps encourage that feeling.)

That's the reality of the school, that is what it is all about. For a lot of people it is, and NYU is a perfect fit for them. I will say for me it is not, and I plan on transferring after this year. I found out that I really didn't have a huge interest in being in the city, which basically means NYU is a needlessly expensive school lacking a desirable social environment for me. MAKE SURE YOU WANT TO BE IN THE CITY. It cannot be overemphasized, I know a good number of people who gripe about this because it is not a good fit for them. But I also know many people who love it; my advice is if you don't really have a clue, don't risk it...if you find out later you are, you can transfer here (or go to grad school here.)For people who want to apply to one of the programs that is exceptionally strong here (pre-meds and Sternies in particular): one of my roommates is in Stern but he and his Stern friends complain a lot about the lack of regular school things...it is a trade-off to get a good education, so this is probably a very tough decision. If you do go here you will find kindred spirits in other members of your program, so you will not be alone but it is still I think a little lacking. This is just what I have gleaned from spending time around Stern students (pre-med I think is a pretty similar situation, though I don't really know any too well.) Either way it's a tough decision and I wish you luck with it...

1st Year Male -- Class 2007

Surrounding City: A+, Extracurricular Activities: C-

I went to NYU in the 90's - the Tisch School of the Arts for Film, but transferred my junior year. I would have to say that since the university is so large, it really depends on the college you're in - the dept. - in terms of having a great social experience. I made friends with many of the people in my film classes, but that was probably because we had to work so closely together. As far as the location - what better place to be than NY if you're interested in the arts, right? Well, if you're loaded, sure no problem, if not, look out. Even back then the tuition was outrageous, dealing with Financial aid dept. was a headache and the class I took outside of Tisch was lacking - it was a creative writing class and everyone in it thought he or she was the best writer in the class - kind of pretentious. I couldn't put my finger on it then, but what I think I was sensing in the other class was a little rich kid trying to be hippyish-cool vibe. I'm still paying on that flipping student loan for the one year that I attended. Look at the dates potential NYU'ers - it's 2003 now - I was there 10 years ago. Think carefully before choosing this school. If you don't have a lot of money or you're not in love with art/culture and NYC in general, go somewhere else. If you do your homework, you will find that there are plenty of great schools out there that are socially rewarding, academically strong and affordable. I wish I would've done that a long time ago instead of setting my sights on the monolithic NYU.

1st Year Female -- Class 1993

Education Quality: A, Faculty Accessibility: B

NYU is certainly a very unique school for a certain type of person. In high school I was a great athlete, however I did not achieve extremely well academically. But NYU recruited me for track and field and I was admitted to Stern school. In college I decided that I was going to study hard and achieve my academic potential and land a good job afterward. At Stern I worked my tail off, studied for hours a day, partied a little but not much and eventually I graduated with a 3.9 GPA and several job offers. NYU is most definitely a school that builds character because you are thrown into a fast paced New York lifestyle from the moment you step on campus and New York City has an extremely competetive, dog eat dog climate and that is certainly present, especially in Stern. Sure there are numerous losers who just want to chase money and get rich at Stern, but there were many like myself who were genuinely fascinated and interested in finance and the stock market. Stern is like a completely different experience than normal NYU, there are hypercompetitive students and many are backstabbers who will give you BS advice just to keep you down and keep themselves up. I would suggest that Stern school students trust nobody in Stern school and rather go to a professor or a student in either GSP, CAS or Tisch in order for advice, peer editing or any assistance with any type of project or paper. Stern school is fun once you know how to play it like a game, and I consider myself a rigorous competitor, and Stern school certainly provided me with enough to fulfill my competitive drive. The experience was unique and knowing how to dwell in a city, pursue internships persistently and compete for everything you get certainly helped me succeed in the work force. I have been working for Morgan Stanley for the past two years and I started off with a 150,000 a year salary and it was a dream come true. Winning jobs over kids from the Ivy league schools also was a great thrill and I noticed that many kids from Ivy League schools who were used to living on a campus had extreme difficulty adapting to the aggressive city and many had to bail out because of the enormous culture shock that they weren't accustomed to. I felt that I was extremely well prepared because I had already went through the culture shock at the beginning of NYU and by the time I was out I was a street smart, savvy and competitive New Yorker with all the tools to succeed in NYC's Wall Street job market. And let me tell you, if you can succeed here in NYC--then you can succeed anywhere. Just my advice here.

4th Year Male -- Class 2001

Social Life: A, Campus Aesthetics: F