New York University

I used this site when I chose NYU, so I wanted to contribute back now that I have graduated.Be open and try your best not to have preconceived notions. DONT worry if the first semester is rough, it takes awhile to get used to things. Have NYU pride, join clubs/greek life, and don't be afraid to break out of your shell. You will find NYU happiness, you will be stressed, you will be so busy you don't know what to do with yourself, but it will be awesome. The NYU Health and Wellness center is fantastic, do NOT be afraid to reach out to them. NYU will make you a better person and teach you life skills both in and out of the classroom. NYU students are some of the smartest most dedicated people in the world. You will absolutely LOVE some and absolutely HATE some of them. You can find literally any kind of person/club/group at NYU. I look back at my experience and I am astounded at all the wonderful/amazing/crazy things I managed to do. IF you DONT like your advisor, ask for a new one. You got to push to get the things you want from this school, whether that means patiently waiting on hold with financial aid, going to your teacher's office hours when you want to do better on the next paper or running for an NYU club exec board position. At NYU the squeaky wheel gets the oil, never forget that. Enjoy NYC, don't freak out too much. Study appropriate, not too little, but DONT LOCK YOURSELF IN BOBST FOR ETERNITY (except during midterms/finals). EXPERIENCE the city/internships/drunch/more.

Alumnus Male -- Class 2000

NYU is a brand name, everyone assumes it is a good school. But truthfully, NYU is not one school; it is many different schools united under one name. Regarding undergraduate programs, their quality is quite different. My recommendations -

If you get into...
Tisch (particularly the dance and theater conservatories): very prestigious, great programs, most students don't plan on going to grad school as they are going into the arts, so I say it is worth it for the connections you make

Stern: very hard to get into, known worldwide for its prestige, you get great connections, probably worth the money because most students get incredible jobs that can pay the loans off, but depending on the type of job you seek you may need grad school so keep that in mind

LSP: not worth it at all, I wouldn't be surprised if this program is removed from the university soon, I have not heard one good thing about it

CAS: in my opinion, not worth it. it's basically a typical liberal arts education you could get at any SUNY school

Gallatin: you better know exactly what you want to do, it's very easy to goof off here. plus, you will most likely need to go to grad school if you go to Gallatin, so unless you can for sure afford it, I would advise against it; this prgram tends to attract extremely wealthy people; the plus of this program is that it's the smallest, so you get a better sense of community than the rest of NYU, and you get to take classes in other schools, so you get to socialize with different types of people. but the higher level Tisch and Stern classes are impossible to get into.

Steinhardt: good school, but be realistic; if you're going into education your salary is probably not going to help you pay off loans; only go if money is no issue whatsoever

Poly: great engineering school, and those are the hot jobs to get right now so you can probably land a good job that will pay off the tuition in good time; but keep in mind this school tends to be isolated from the rest of NYU, some people aren't even aware it's part of the school, so social life might be a challenge. I wouldn't know, I have yet to actually meet a Poly student

Shanghai: New program, so far they only have science and business programs. They're giving out good financial aid right now to attract people to come over there, so if you're planning to to into one of those majors and are okay with going that far from home, go for it

Abu Dhabi: by far the hardest program to get into, but I haven't the slightest idea of anything about itMy advice is, unless you got into Tisch or Stern or are wealthy enough for money not to be a concern, to save NYU for grad school: you will no longer crave that college social life, will have a job, and friends so NYU's open campus will be perfect (it tends to depress undergrads) plus the quality of the grad programs is much higher

1st Year Female -- Class 2017

Surrounding City: A+, Faculty Accessibility: F

You have to make NYU for yourself, the university will not help you do anything. Advising is hardly even a thing and often times in my experience they were just discouraging. That being said, I loved the program I was in with great professors and students, but it is a struggle to find your place.

4th Year Male -- Class 2009

Scholastic Success: A, Individual Value: F