Life in the big city

Introduction
If you don't know what you want to do, go to NYU. Chances are, NYU offers your major or course of study. However, it's a pain to transfer between schools at NYU, so be careful of that. If you're looking for a school where you'll have small classes, meet with professors outside of class, and develop good relationships with your advisors, choose another school.

Campus Life and Social Life
If you drink, smoke, and do drugs, there will be no shortage of friends for you here. There is virtually no campus life, and most people can't be bothered to participate in sports or clubs. Except for freshman dorms, there's no partying on campus, since it's fairly easy to gain access to a club or bar. You may find that many of your friends go home on weekends, since there are still a lot of NJ/NY people here. Academics
Expect to have large, 100 or more person lectures with a professor, and a 25 person recitation with a TA for each class you take. Basically, any small class you take will be led by a TA. You will be forced to take a couple of MAP classes, which is basically the "core" curriculum, depending on which school you're in. These classes generally suck and are usually super easy. Depending on your major, you'll have a lot of work - premeds, Sternies, any math/science major - they'll have the brunt of the work, but don't expect all departments to be easy, either.

Student Body
Exceptionally rich, pretentious, drug-addled - describes maybe half of the student body. Of course, there are normal people here, and once you find some people like yourself, you'll be fine. It's a huge school, so there's going to be at least a few people you will click with. Most of the students here are from NY, NJ, and California, but there's someone from just about everywhere here.

In Closing...
NYU is a good school, but it's unlike any other college. If you're looking for a "traditional" experience with a quad, football team, or real frat scene, look elsewhere.