New York University

I just finished up my first year at nyu and i absolutley LOVE it. I would never dream of going anywhere else. Granted, as many others have said, this school is not for everyone. Dont even bother applying to nyu if you have a small town mentality or dream of sprawling quads and football games.

Thats exactly what makes nyu so great--its different atmosphere and totally atypical college experience. Who needs a patch of grass and a stupid quad to have fun?!? I dont know what anyone is talking about when they say there isnt a social life here--there is SO much to do its mind bottling. While most college kids are sitting in their dorms "partying" or sitting around a dirty frat house with a keg, us NYU-ers are hitting the bars, clubs, pubs, hookah lounges, everything! We DO also have house/dorm parties on occasion though, and there are a few frats that throw pretty sick parties. NYC has EVERYTHING imaginable. Anyone who claims theres no social life here isnt trying, period. You just have to be outgoing and look for things to do! obvoiusly if you sit around your room and mope all day you'll have a crappy social life.

There is so much diversity here, its so refreshing. No one here is a carbon copy of the next, everyone is completley unique. You just have to find your niche and with 17,000 undergrads you're bound to find it.

Of coarse there are a fair share of obnoxious trust fund, filthy rich people but they're easy to ignore.In terms of the academics? they're great! I've never learned so much or enjoyed so many of my classes although the requirements can get annoying. NYU has fabulous professors and a degree from NYU can and will get you far in the job market. Not to mention you will have an EXTREME advantage on others when you graduate due to the amazing oppertunities nyc offers.

1st Year Female -- Class 2011

Social Life: A+, Faculty Accessibility: B

NYU is what you make of it. You could party every night or you could throw yourself into your studies. You could take easy classes or you could challenge yourself. I personally loved it and wouldn't have gone anywhere else. There's nothing like the city.

4th Year Female -- Class 2007

Social Life: A+, Individual Value: C

I am a physics major at NYU. I am in my third year. My opinion of the school and my experience have changed significantly since being a freshman. At first, I didn't feel very comfortable or grounded, but that changed as I got to know my fellow physics majors. They are all very intelligent and a few are some of the smartest people I have ever met. Everyone in the program is extremely friendly and helpful. We all work together on homework sets and study together for exams. It is not competitive. The work can definitely be intimidating at times, but you might be surprised to see what happens when you stick with it. It is a challenging, interesting, and rewarding path to take at NYU. Some teachers are better than others, but overall I feel they are quite good and quite helpful. One of my few criticisms of the program is that there are not the many electives offered at any one time. There seems to be a shortage of classes from which to choose sometimes. I haven't compared NYU's number of offered physics electives to that of other schools, though.

As for the rest of NYU, I am pretty neutral. The core requirements were mostly not that great, but a couple of them were very interesting. It can be somewhat irritating to deal with these courses when you just want to focus on your major, but I imagine this is the cases at many schools.

I grew up in Brooklyn and I love New York. It's a great place to be.
NYU is probably a better place for outgoing kids. If you make the effort to talk to people and are not skiddish when it comes to hanging out with people you don't know that well, it could probably be really great, socially, right from the beginning. As I said, it took me kind of a while to find a group of people, and occasionally it has been pretty depressing.

There are so many experiences at NYU. I have a feeling mine is pretty unique. My description may be drastically different from that of most people. I can say that I have had a pretty positive experience with the physics department, though.

3rd Year Male -- Class 2009

Surrounding City: A+, Faculty Accessibility: B+