Anonymous
09/05/2025 17:24
Subject: NYU
Anonymous wrote:I grew up in NYC and went to NYU for grad school - Stern - so I was often around the undergrads.
I guess kids enjoy it but it seemed like a miserable college experience to me. No campus, nowhere to just hang out that isn’t a coffee shop or bar where you have to pay, and no cohesion.
Also, Central Park is not 15 minutes by train.
I just did Google Maps. From 8th Street/NYU to 57 and 7 it is roughly 18 minutes. From West 4th to Columbus Circle it is 12 minutes. I love all of the self-professed experts here.
Anonymous
09/05/2025 17:16
Subject: NYU
Anonymous wrote:If your DC decides to apply to NYU ED, I recommend that they look at the 2024-2025 NYU Common Data Set for what the university prioritizes for admission. It is a little different from other schools:
https://www.nyu.edu/employees/resources-and-services/administrative-services/institutional-research/self-service-reporting-resources/factbook.html
I believe that the emphasis upon Character/personal qualities (NYU considers them "Very Important") references the importance of an applicant's fit for a socioeconomically diverse, international school. Consistent with this, LORs and essays are also considered "Very Important", as they can speak to this. All 3 are more important than test scores, if submitted ("Important"), ECs (merely "Considered") and Class Rank ("Not Considered").
Note also that NYU is not really TO, as it requires the substitution of 3 AP test scores for the SAT/ACT, one from science/math, one from humanities/social science and one of the applicant's choice.
To that point the AD has said they really look for kids who now what they are getting into with an urban environment, so if it isn't obvious based on where you live, you would want your essay to talk about how much you loved living in [bit city] for a summer independently and riding [public transportation], or something like that, etc.
Also know that the School of Liberal Studies (SLS) is a bit easier to get into (25% of the Freshman class, but they don't include those stats in the CDS apparently; I've seen admit rates as high as 30%), and a great option for undecided students, and you transfer into a major for junior year (but not all of NYU schools are a transfer option, only CAS is guaranteed).
Anonymous
09/05/2025 16:54
Subject: NYU
I grew up in NYC and went to NYU for grad school - Stern - so I was often around the undergrads.
I guess kids enjoy it but it seemed like a miserable college experience to me. No campus, nowhere to just hang out that isn’t a coffee shop or bar where you have to pay, and no cohesion.
Also, Central Park is not 15 minutes by train.
I guess kids enjoy it but it seemed like a miserable college experience to me. No campus, nowhere to just hang out that isn’t a coffee shop or bar where you have to pay, and no cohesion.
Also, Central Park is not 15 minutes by train.
Anonymous
09/05/2025 16:45
Subject: NYU
Anonymous wrote:Family friends regret sending their two kids to NYU. The first wanted Columbia but felt she might not get in so "toured" NYU that afternoon and "feel in love" but parents think it was a protective mechanism against the possibility of not getting into NYU. Then, their younger son, having seen his sister at NYU< naturally wanted to go there. It's expensive at $91,138, but what bothered the parents the most was that the hidden costs were so extreme. You know the obvious ones: food, drink, cabs, travel, groceries, etc. However, the really expensive add-ons arose when one of the children had to stay in the area to retake a course she hadn't done well in (or couldn't get into the first round of selection) and needed to take a summer course. That meant trying to locate a very expensive sublet on the private market. Plus all the other regular expenses of living in Manhattan. They would not do it again.
Sounds like a disaster of their own making.
My DS stayed at NYU dorms one summer when he did an internship in NYC. It was reasonably priced, good location, and certainly a better deal than subletting.
Anonymous
09/05/2025 15:42
Subject: NYU
Family friends regret sending their two kids to NYU. The first wanted Columbia but felt she might not get in so "toured" NYU that afternoon and "feel in love" but parents think it was a protective mechanism against the possibility of not getting into NYU. Then, their younger son, having seen his sister at NYU< naturally wanted to go there. It's expensive at $91,138, but what bothered the parents the most was that the hidden costs were so extreme. You know the obvious ones: food, drink, cabs, travel, groceries, etc. However, the really expensive add-ons arose when one of the children had to stay in the area to retake a course she hadn't done well in (or couldn't get into the first round of selection) and needed to take a summer course. That meant trying to locate a very expensive sublet on the private market. Plus all the other regular expenses of living in Manhattan. They would not do it again.
Anonymous
09/05/2025 15:35
Subject: NYU
Anonymous wrote:There is this incredible space, it is called Central Park. It is 2.5 miles long and .5 mile wide. Its a total of 843 acres.
GREEN SPACE.
Ummm... Central Park is 3 miles from NYU. Obviously walkable but not a fast one with traffic. There is always the subway but hardly simple access.
NYU is a great school. My sister went there. And Manhattan has lots of beautiful parks besides Central Park: Fort Tryon, etc. but the campus is definitely urban.
Anonymous
09/05/2025 13:05
Subject: NYU
If your DC decides to apply to NYU ED, I recommend that they look at the 2024-2025 NYU Common Data Set for what the university prioritizes for admission. It is a little different from other schools:
https://www.nyu.edu/employees/resources-and-services/administrative-services/institutional-research/self-service-reporting-resources/factbook.html
I believe that the emphasis upon Character/personal qualities (NYU considers them "Very Important") references the importance of an applicant's fit for a socioeconomically diverse, international school. Consistent with this, LORs and essays are also considered "Very Important", as they can speak to this. All 3 are more important than test scores, if submitted ("Important"), ECs (merely "Considered") and Class Rank ("Not Considered").
Note also that NYU is not really TO, as it requires the substitution of 3 AP test scores for the SAT/ACT, one from science/math, one from humanities/social science and one of the applicant's choice.
https://www.nyu.edu/employees/resources-and-services/administrative-services/institutional-research/self-service-reporting-resources/factbook.html
I believe that the emphasis upon Character/personal qualities (NYU considers them "Very Important") references the importance of an applicant's fit for a socioeconomically diverse, international school. Consistent with this, LORs and essays are also considered "Very Important", as they can speak to this. All 3 are more important than test scores, if submitted ("Important"), ECs (merely "Considered") and Class Rank ("Not Considered").
Note also that NYU is not really TO, as it requires the substitution of 3 AP test scores for the SAT/ACT, one from science/math, one from humanities/social science and one of the applicant's choice.
Anonymous
09/05/2025 12:38
Subject: NYU
I live a few minutes from the NYU campus and Washington Square Park is basically the quad, and it's quite green! As other people have mentioned, Central Park is a pretty quick train ride. Manhattan as a whole has a lot more green spaces than people think, there are parks and dedicated green spaces everywhere. I would say that in this competitive internship and job market, NYU offers better access to increasingly limited internship and networking opportunities.
Anonymous
09/05/2025 11:36
Subject: NYU
went there around the same time as prior poster. It's not for everyone, but if you love New York, it can be a great fit. I always say that the school itself is hard to navigate, but once you are in smaller schools/programs, it is amazing. Having an international roommate was tough. But there is always something to do - theater, sports, ice skating, lots of NYU sponsored clubs and events and classes. I would go to Central Park when I needed some green/open space and walk a lot. internships were a big part of my program, but were plentiful and overall good experiences. having access to a train or bus for a quick trip home was also a plus.
Anonymous
09/05/2025 10:02
Subject: NYU
Not my kid, but my friend's daughter. She went to NYU freshman year, transferred to Vanderbilt sophomore year. Just wanted a campus and more of a college experience.
Other friends' daughter is happy there, but she grew up in the Bronx and so is used to an urban environment, and likes being close to home. She's also a nursing student and so has excellent training opportunities in NYC.
Other friends' daughter is happy there, but she grew up in the Bronx and so is used to an urban environment, and likes being close to home. She's also a nursing student and so has excellent training opportunities in NYC.
Anonymous
09/05/2025 09:36
Subject: NYU
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:There is this incredible space, it is called Central Park. It is 2.5 miles long and .5 mile wide. Its a total of 843 acres.
GREEN SPACE.
NYU/Greenwich Village is not really close to Central Park. It’s an 35-45 min on the train.
You're right that greenwich village isn't that close to Central Park, but it's not 45 minutes on the train. more like 15-20. The high line isn't too far west, but not part of the "campus." Wash Sq Park belongs to nyu students, the dog regulars, and the pigeon guy
Anonymous
09/05/2025 09:29
Subject: NYU
this is a good overview. I used to work in NYC in Finance, and we would frequently seek out and hire NYU interns & grads from many different backgrounds. Of course there were a few dingbats, but overall smart and hard working.
Anonymous
09/05/2025 07:26
Subject: NYU
Anonymous wrote:I went to NYU although it was in the early 2000s. College of Arts and Science.
Was easier to get into then, but not a cakewalk by any means. Very smart kids. Much harder now to get in from what I can tell. But even then, there were kids there who were accepted and could have gone to Ivy League but who chose NYU because they wanted to live in NYC and specifically downtown NYC. Sorry, Morningside Heights.
It's not for everyone - it's a highly urban school, large administration/bureaucracy that you often have to fight against to get things done, very little greek life, not a huge Sports school (ie there are plenty of sports but social life does not revolve around going to a DIII game) etc. I knew a bunch of people who transferred out after Freshman/Sophomore year as they decided they really did want a more typical college experience.
The school leans left, as you might expect, which may not be everyone's cup of tea.
BUT - you are in one of the best cities in the world. Almost anything you want, you have access to it. You go to class, and you then you sort of all dissolve off into NYC and you can do your own thing. There is something for everyone but you have to find your niche/crowd.
Large classes in freshman year for some of the required curriculum, but class sizes got much smaller once I drilled deeper into my major. Can only recall one or two occasions where I had difficulty getting access to professors.
Amazing internship access. By the time I graduated I had done 3 or 4 different jobs, and had multiple FT job offers to choose from. It makes a huge difference in interviews.
Lots of international students. Most of them are loaded. However I think at any top school in the USA you will find pockets of obscene wealth, inc plenty of it from Americans.
Great study abroad programs around the world. My junior year abroad was life changing and has shaped my professional/life trajectory.
Not cheap. Cost of living in NYC is no joke.
Overall it's a great school, not for everyone, but you have to want to live in NYC and hustle a little bit to get what you want
100+