Be Careful What You Wish For

Introduction
NYU is a private univerity located in the neighborhood of Greenwich Village. There is an extremely large undergraduate population. There are several undergraduate schools- the College of Arts and Sciences, Stern (the business school), Gallatin (individualized study), Steinhardt School of Education, and the Tisch school, as well as many graduate schools. There are many clubs and organizations. The most important thing to know about NYU is that you will be living smack dab in the middle of the city- and this will affected your undergraduate experience tremendously. You will not have a "normal" college experience here.

Campus Life and Social Life
There is no campus. There is no social life. The NYU "campus" is a bunch of buildings spread out throughout the city. They are mostly in the Union Square/Greenwich Village area, but some of the dorms are all the way in Chinatown or by Battery Park. There is no gate enclosing the campus; the school is completely immersed in the city. There are long lines to get on elevators in the classroom buildings and many of the buildings are far away from each other, making it hard to get to class on time. Security is very tight, which can be annoying at times. For example, even as an NYU student, I can't go to someone else's room in a different dorm without being signed in by someone who lives there. And you can only sign in 3 people at a time. The lack of unity of the campus causes a lack in social life. There are many clubs/organizations to get involved with, but many people are not interested in them. There is no school spirit. No one goes to sporting events. There is no football team here (kind of diappointing for a girl who went to a Catholic high school which also didn't have a football team). Because there is no on-campus social life, you are forced to create your own. New York has a lot to offer- restaurants, broadway musicals, clubs, bars, ballets, etc. It can be great to take advantage of these things, but keep in mind that it is expensive to do these things all the time. Academics
Personally, I thought the academics would be much harder. This is probably because I am in the General Studies Program, which no one can apply to, but they put you in it once you are accepted. After 2 years I will be able to transfer to the college to which I originally applied, which was the College of Arts and Sciences. This program requires a lot of reading and even more writing. I felt like all I did all year long was read books and write papers. The sciences seemed much more challenging. My roommate was pre-med and she always had more work that I did. I had a few professors I enjoyed, but I was not totally impressed. I can't speak for any of the other schools- Tisch, Stern, etc- I have no idea what the quality of academics is like in these schools. My friends at less prestigious schools also seemed to have significantly more work and more challenging work than me.

Student Body
Entering my freshman year, I was really nervous about meeting people and making friends. People kept telling me not to worry; everyone was going to feel the same way and I would make lots of friends. Not true. By the end of my freshman year, my only true friends were my 2 roommates. I found the people here to be the rudest and unfriendliest people I have ever met in my life. Everyone sticks to their own cliques. No one is interested in making new friends or letting you into their group. NYU boasts about it's diversity, and I do have to say, the students are very diverse, but everyone stays to their own group. No on intermingles. There is a large population of students from New York (especially Long Island), New Jersey, and California. The Jewish community and the gay/lesbian community is huge. The student body is overwhelmingly liberal but this doesn't mean that they are more open or accepting.

In Closing...
Be truly prepared to live in the city. I came to NYU becuase it was the "best" school I got into academically. I wish I'd went to one of the other less prestigious schools I'd gotten into. Living in the city takes a huge adjustment, especially if you are used to a rural or suburban environment. Even though I have had a negative experience here, there are lots of people who come here and absolutely love it. Personally, I would not recommend this school to anyone. As an undergraduate, I feel like I skipped 4 years ahead to graduate school. If you want to have a traditional college experience, this is not the place to go. I do have to say that living in the city has forced me to become more independent, but I am still in no way enjoying my experience at NYU. If you are absolutely certain you can live in the city and don't need the traditional undergraduate experience, then come to NYU. Otherwise, go somewhere else. I wish I had.