The following reviews are the views of students or alumni at this school and are unrelated to the school data and other editorial content on usnews.com. These reviews neither reflect nor impact a school's position within the Best Colleges rankings.
There is no school spirit at NYU. There is no sense of community. It is incredibly easy to become detached from NYU, since no effort is made to integrate students into the City. Overall, it's a depressing place with no campus where students can only feel alone despite the thousands of people surrounding them.
Mike Freshman
The greatest thing about NYU is the location! Where else can I see Mario Bertolli walking up and down 5th Ave. in his orange crocs? Or see Robert DeNiro pushing his kids in a stroller? Everything is so convenient, and I feel like I am being a good person because I walk everywhere instead of driving. One thing I would change is the cost! It's mad expensive here- not just attending, but living in the city, period. It's the perfect size for me. I know it's really like, what, 40,000 students or something? But I don't see them all- I have some really big classes, and then I have recitations and classes with like, 15 people. It's nice. People's eyes get big when I tell them I go to NYU. They ask me if I go into the city all the time...and I say yes. Because the school is in the city. As a matter of fact, NYU IS THE CITY, pretty much. I spend most of my time either in Weinstein (the residence hall with 2 dining options) or in my dorm studying, or at Kimmel where all of the student activities stuff happens. This isn't a college town by traditional definition. To me, college towns mean that the entire city knows when there is a football game, and all the kids grow up knowing everything about the university and wanting to go there all of their lives. Here, NYU just owns most of the property in the city, so it takes up a lot of space, but there is no sports team that all the families rally around. We're not really known for our sports, but we do all right. Administration I am skeptical of, since some people are friendly but many are not. Also, they don't like it when you point out their mistakes- especially financial aid! The biggest recent controversy? Well, there was the time that the politics department caught all these students cheating on a midterm, resulting in the "destruction" of over 250 student's tests. I don't know if there were other controversies, though. Maybe. There isn't much NYU pride as a whole, but that is because most people are busy cheering for their own "schools" within NYU. The business school is the most fanatic, but that is because they are all competing for jobs and such.
KaseyMarie Freshman
My first three semesters at NYU were difficult. I didn't feel like I had found a place for myself or a group of friends that I really connected with. NYC is a huge city and it is overwhelming at first. It may take longer to get settled at NYU than at what NYU students fondly refer to as "campus colleges", but once you do you can't imagine going to school anywhere else. The residences are mostly converted from apartment buildings so you have your own kitchen, common room and bathroom. There is the option to do all your own grocery shopping and cooking or eat in the dining halls. Security personnel are friendly and courteous. NYU does an impeccable job of keeping its students safe. As a student at NYU you will feel like you are a true resident of New York City. Its were you will eat and socialize and walk everyday. I wouldn't say that there is as much of a school pride at NYU as there is a NYC pride.
Madeleine Junior
The best thing about NYU is that it's in New York City. You have every opportunity at your fingertips. The trouble with NYU is that you have to do everything on your own. It is extremely impersonal if you are in one of the larger majors. I had two internships, both of which I found on my own. The departments designed to help with those kinds of things aren't very effective. People generally react positively when I say I went to NYU. Often they respond with something like, "Wow, that's a really good school; you must be really smart," which always makes me uncomfortable, because how do you respond to that without coming off totally arrogant? "Why, yes, it IS a really good school and I AM a genius. Thank you for reminding me."
Spanky McGee Alum
The academics. The professors are really knowledgeable about their subject and it's so awesome to get to learn from them. I would get rid of the General Studies Program. It's for students who need to go to community college for two years first. NYU is too large. People are always impressed when I tell them I go to NYU. I spend most of my time in my room or exploring the city. What college town? NYU's administration is awful. It's too decentralized so it's difficult to know who to complain to about something. Then, when you find who to contact, there's no one above them to contact if they aren't helpful or if you want to complain about that department. The biggest controversy was liberal professors giving conservative students a hard time for being conservative, however, it's only been about two professors who have done that, so it's not as big of a deal as it was made out to be. There isn't a lot of school pride. A lot of people resent NYU for not being as much of a dream school as it seems to be before anyone gets there, but I think it's just different from what it's portrayed as, but I still love it. NYU holds some classes in the classroom inside Starbucks. There are people begging for money on your way to class. It's really big on "Going Green". It is always working on building more international campuses as well as buying other schools, such as Polytechnic University. One experience I'll always remember is when Barack Obama came to speak at Washington Square park, which is at the heart of NYU. The most frequent student complaints are that NYU isn't the dream school that everyone thought it was. It's too big. You never see the same people on your way to class. The lines for the elevators when going to class are ridiculous. Housing is too expensive for what you get.
Sara Sophomore
The best thing about NYU is the wide range of experience it allows. If you want it, it's out there. I think that they might be trying to make it too large though with new mergers and acquisitions. Yes, buying property all over the place is great, but that don't leave much left for the people already at NYU. I get a mix reaction when people hear I'm from NYU. The main two responses would have to be though, did you sell an organ to get there and have you seen the Olsen twins yet? My dorm is far from campus now, but I do have breaks in between, I would saw that I'm generally at a place with couches, like Kimmel's second floor or the downstairs of Bobst. Of course during warm weather, and before the days of construction, I loved Washington Sq. Park. The latest controversy from NYU would probably have to be that graduation is taking place at a stadium now and not Washington Sq. park. I would be pretty sad not to take that symbolic walk through the arch.
Svetlana Junior
Reviews provided by: UnigoVisit Unigo to see 64 other reviews and videos on New York University.
