The NYU campus
is New York City, which as any student will tell you is nothing like a college town. Much like the city’s residents, the school’s undergrads are a mixed bag of personalities and backgrounds, and all have their own reasons for attending NYU. But there is one constant for NYU undergrads: because of their surroundings, students enjoy a completely unique college experience as members of the NYU community. “
You're in the heart of the city, you get to explore great areas and have a college experience unlike (and in my opinion, much better) than [at] any other school,” writes a junior psychology major.
NYU is one of the most talked-about schools in the country, in part because it tends to attract young stars like the Olsen twins, who recently decided to attend for a couple of semesters. But the celebrity gossip continues to fade into the background as the university’s already strong academic grows. The two most popular schools at NYU are arguably the Tisch School of the Arts and the Stern School of Business. Tisch boasts successful alums like Martin Scorsese and Alec Baldwin, while Stern is in the upper tier of American business programs. The schools are so competitive and demanding that it’s said that their students can’t help but develop a bit of a superiority complex. “
The other schools (all of which I have taken classes in) were a piece of cake in comparison,” says one business student.
Of course, undergrads in the other schools also participate in rigorous academic programs. Plus, they’re a notoriously opinionated bunch, which means that intellectual discussions frequently spill out of classrooms and into nearby coffee sharps and park benches. At NYU one can find a balance between those learning “for learning’s sake” and those gearing up to get a job right after graduation, and it seems that the most career-oriented are advised to do all they can to get a leg up on the competition. “
I don't think there's much help there unless you VERY actively seek out help at the career center,” says an urban studies major. Professors are a mix of full-time faculty and adjuncts, and despite the fact that they almost always make themselves available outside of class, students report that only the most self-motivated undergrads go out of their way to seek one-on-one attention. While academics are certainly top-notch, at NYU it is each student’s responsibility to make sure that she receives the best education she can get.
NYU’s student body is certainly diverse – as at many other private schools, quite a few hail from the Northeast, but due to the city’s endless appeal, students from all over the world are drawn to the university. “
I love that everyone is from everywhere. Freshman year, my neighbors were two Lebanese twins from Jersey. Sophomore year, they were two girls from Holland and Switzerland,” says a recent alum. The dress code at NYU is an expression of students’ varied personalities and backgrounds: there are those who feel compelled to dress to the nines, others who choose comfort over appearance, and still more who fall everywhere in between. With the institution’s ever-increasing price tag, it’s no surprise that NYU students have a reputation for coming from money. There are of course many exceptions, but some report that they have felt these financial discrepancies keenly. “
I still sometimes feel like I can’t relate to some of my peers because I have bills and am taking out so many student loans,” explains a junior. “I have friends here who have literally never worked in their lives, while I’m holding down three jobs this semester just to make ends meet.”
Those attending NYU have the opportunity to find whatever they’re looking for in New York City. Bars, nightclubs, museums, concerts, and theaters are readily available to all who have the time (and in some cases, the money) to enjoy them. The city tends to open up to students as their tenure at NYU continues, and most find that they are continually making new discoveries. “
The beginning of freshman year, it was a lot of Macdougal Street. Then came Lotus, Cain, the Meatpacking District, and now, 29th St., East Village/LES has taken over,” says an alum with a business degree. The substantial size of the student body, coupled with the city’s limitless entertainment options, tend to cause groups to fragment into smaller niches, each using a different hangout as a base for its social activities.
Partially owing to its lack of an integrated campus, there is little unity among students, but the administration is doing its part to attempt to remedy that deficiency, with mixed results. “
NYU is trying to promote team sports by doing what they call ‘Tear It Up.’ This consists of free food and things like shirts if you go to see a team,” says a junior. While there are Greeks on campus, they don’t have anywhere near the social influence as at many other universities. Some take pot-shots at fraternities and sororities for even existing at NYU – one freshman reports that “
Greek life is unimportant and looked down upon in some ways.” This comes as no surprise to those who have attended the university. With its diverse student body and even more eclectic surroundings, NYU is not your typical college.
