If you stroll through Washington Square Park—the heart of Greenwich Village and unofficial
quad of the New York University campus—on any weekday morning, it’s impossible to
miss the hundreds of bright-eyed, energetic college students headed to their first class of the
day. If you squint just a little, it’s almost possible to imagine this busy, urban “quad” to be in
some rural area surrounded by endless miles of cornfields. If you stand on the southeast corner of the park, in the shadow of NYU’s Bobst Library and the Kimmel Center for University
Life, you might just hear a century’s worth of academic ghosts whisper, “This is college.” For a
moment, you think, “This is how I always dreamed college would be.”
But then reality sets in and you realize that the voices you hear do not belong to former
NYU scholars, but to performance artists slamming poetry near the park’s fountain, and the
imagined cornfields have dissolved into an unobstructed view of fabulous Fifth Avenue, with its
impressive buildings and flurry of activity. NYU definitely offers a collegiate experience, but
there is nothing typical about it. And NYU students don’t want it to be. They are happy to
exchange cows and barns for Broadway and Wall Street. Wrought iron and ivy become much less
significant when prospective students learn about all that NYU and New York City have to offer.
NYU is a private research university set in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New
York City. The school was founded in 1831 by a group of citizens attempting to fashion New York
in the likeness of London, the proclaimed cultural epicenter of the time. They knew, even then,
that the way to maintain a steadily evolving modern society was through higher education. NYU
has kept that tradition alive by offering more than 160 innovative and unique programs of study
at its ten different schools, colleges, and programs, which include The College of Arts and
Science, The Global Liberal Studies Program, The Liberal Studies Program, The Stern School
of Business, The Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, The Tisch
School of the Arts, The Gallatin School of Individualized Study, The College of Nursing, The
Silver School of Social Work, and The Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and
Sports Management. Each one offers major courses of study in distinctive subject areas. The
benefit of having such a wide range of programs to choose from is that students are allowed
and encouraged to pursue seemingly disparate interests across the seven colleges.
The strength of each program at NYU attracts very driven and ambitious students to
each discipline, which makes for an interesting and diverse student body. For instance, a few
years ago a business student at Stern and a drama student at Tisch got together and created
the Stern Tisch Entertainment Business Association (STEBA), a thriving NYU club that wants
its members to learn about and make contacts in the entertainment industry. As different as
these two camps of students may appear, they are truly members of a unified, academic community.
NYU students like to recognize the traits they share and are proud of these qualities.
The caliber and the personality of each individual, in addition to the open-minded and proactive
nature of fellow students, makes NYU the amazing place it is and will continue to be.
So the next time you find yourself in Washington Square Park, observe the students who
are on their way to class. They’re probably a bit edgier and may walk with a bit more purpose
than most college students. Just take a look around you to see why this is the case. These people have chosen to attend an institution that has locations in downtown Manhattan and at
NYU’s 10 global centers around the world—they know what they want and know that NYU is
the best place to find it. This time, don’t squint and try to make the school and its neighborhood
look typical. Open your eyes and take in the reality of what NYU is: a fantastic school in a
city often described as the center of the universe. If cows are what you’re looking for, you won’t
find any here, unless there is a bovine exhibit at the Met.
NYU is a private, research university found in Greenwich Village, the heart of New York
City. All its academic programs include a strong liberal arts foundation as well as many areas of
preprofessional specialization. The academic, research, study abroad, and internship possibilities
are endless. The social life is exciting and varied. NYU graduates are extremely successful.
Taken alone, these facts somehow overlook the true essence of what NYU is really about. Is it
important to know that you will receive a top-notch education? Yes. Should you be aware that
your degree will help land you a great job or acceptance into a graduate program? Yes. But there
is so much more to NYU that can only be discovered once you set foot on campus.
NYU and New York City enhance each other, and that is what makes
being here so unique. The friendships and connections I cultivated here were
invaluable to my career, ones I would be hard-pressed to have made elsewhere.
NYU taught me to think critically about our global world in the classroom, then
enabled me to apply those lessons due to the university’s sheer proximity to so
many professional opportunities. Studying in the heart of such a dynamic,
diverse city is nearly unquantifiable in excitement, exposure, and inspiration.
Whatever you want, it’s here waiting to be sought out and made the most of. —Julian Cyr, B.A., 2008
So I took my own advice and set foot on campus. I sat in the unofficial “quad” and tried
to summarize NYU. But to harness all that NYU is and quantify it into something tangible is
impossible, because NYU is not one thing. It’s not simple or usual, and defies definition, which
is the allure of this university. The fact that NYU does not lend itself to categorization is the
exact reason why people want to attend. Those who con sider themselves unconventional refuse
to be defined. They are searching for an institution of higher education as avant-garde and
open-minded as they are. At NYU, people find their passion and their voice, and begin to carve
out a unique space in this world.
New York University
Academics
The academic environment varies widely depending on which school, college, or program
of the university students attend. While this is the case, all NYU students share one common
experience—the work is intense. Whether a student is perfecting moves in a dance studio,
teaching inner-city youth at a public school, or researching the genetic makeup of mutant
worms, they are engaged in a rigorous learning environment for most of their waking hours.
The amazing thing is that NYU students would not have it any other way. These fiercely independent
students crave new ideas and constantly push themselves further. They want to learn
in order to be successful, more informed people who are not afraid to put in the hard work it
takes to achieve their goals.
I think what makes the academic experience so unique at NYU is the
accessibility of culture. Students don’t just sit in class staring at reproductions
of paintings in books, nor are they limited to literary readings at the student
center. They can visit original works of art at the Metropolitan Museum, or drop
by poetry clubs and author readings at bookstores and cafes any night of the
week. Professors seem to share a love for the city, and are creative in the endless
ways they incorporate the city as a learning tool. The experiential education you
receive at NYU is incomparable.
Walk through the Tisch School of the Arts at night, and you’ll find a surprisingly large
number of students tucked away in studios, individually honing their craft. Stand in the atrium
of Bobst Library and you’ll notice twelve stories of students studying. Because their education
means so much more to them than a letter grade ascribed to their work, NYU students are
ambitious scholars, scientists, teachers, and artists of their own accord.
Core Curriculum
Regardless of school, college, or program affiliations, most students at the university
participate in the core curriculum called the Morse Academic Plan (MAP). Each college
within the university uses this core a bit differently, but the structure that it provides
is universal. While the aim of MAP is to provide a strong, liberal arts foundation, it also
allows students the freedom to tailor their program to their individual interests—to experiment
with and investigate what truly fascinates them. Requirements for the MAP program
are broken down into specific subject areas. To fulfill the Expressive Culture requirement,
for instance, students may choose from a variety of classes ranging from courses that deal
with anything from Jewish culture, to political culture, or artistic culture. At NYU, students
are encouraged to explore many different academic pursuits while laying a foundation for
more complicated and specific coursework that accompanies their chosen major.
Internships
Internships play a huge role in the life of an undergraduate at NYU. Although few programs
at the university actually require an internship to graduate, all programs do
encourage and recommend them as an excellent way to preview a variety of professions.
Nearly ninety percent of students hold an average of three distinct internships by the time
they graduate. The Wasserman Center for Career Development manages CareerNet, a database
of more than 8,000 internships available exclusively to NYU students and alumni.
These internships are quality positions that offer real-world work experience, not simply
making copies and getting coffee. Wasserman has forged relationships with major businesses,
theaters, schools, community organizations, museums, and hospitals in order to
make these opportunities accessible to students. Many of these organizations have a long
list of past interns from NYU and they keep coming back for more.
Most Popular Fields of Study
The top 5 fields of study completed at New York University.
Applicants often seek definitive numbers and statistics to quantify an acceptable NYU
student, but no such absolute profile exists. NYU aims to create a holistic application review
process, learning as much as possible about a person from several simple pieces of paper.
That being said, NYU is still a highly competitive institution. Even well-rounded, threedimensional
students must be at the top of their high school class while enrolled in a challenging
curriculum composed of honors, AP, and/or IB courses. Solid performance on the
SAT or ACT is a must for all applicants, and two SAT Subject Tests are required except for
applicants who must submit a portfolio or audition as part of their admissions requirements.
Applicants whose native language is not English must also submit results of the Test of
English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
With just under 37,000 applications for a recent academic year, there certainly
wasn’t a shortage of qualified students. Many applicants are academically talented, so
Admissions Officers must rely on personal characteristics to distinguish students within the
applicant pool. They want to see hard evidence of leadership, commitment, and drive in how
you choose to spend your free time. It does not matter if your preferred activity is ballet or a
part-time job, the committee would like to see applicants who have been seriously involved in
extracurricular activities while in high school. Stellar letters of recommendation, responses to
several short-answer questions, and a thoughtful, personal essay that showcases a meaningful
aspect of the applicant will also help set you apart from the crowd.
Procedure
NYU offers two application processes for prospective students: Early Decision and
Regular Decision. Students who know that NYU is their first choice school may want to
consider Early Decision. It is a binding agreement, which means that if you are admitted to
the university, you will withdraw all other applications and accept NYU’s offer of admission.
Students interested in applying Early Decision must submit all necessary materials to the
Undergraduate Admissions office by November 1 and can expect to hear of their decision
beginning in the middle of December. Regular Decision requires applications to be submitted
by January 1, and notification of acceptance will arrive on or around April 1.
Certain programs at the University have unique components to their admissions
process that other programs may not. Some require the submission of supplementary information,
an essay, a portfolio or even an audition, so please read through your application
instructions carefully. The goal of the admissions process is to succeed in choosing students
who will thrive at NYU. Obviously, the best students start with the best applicants; those who
submit a complete, correct, and intelligent application on time will make a favorable impression
where it counts the most.
Financial Aid
No doubt everyone knows that NYU and New York City are expensive places to live and
study. It should come as no surprise that tuition for one academic year (including room, board,
fees, etc.) is around $50,000. Fortunately, the university understands that spending this amount
of money on higher education is a major financial commitment. Therefore, NYU’s financial
aid policy is quite simple: If students find that NYU is the best institution to meet their educational
needs and interests, the NYU Office of Financial Aid will work with students and their
families to help make NYU an affordable option. In fact, over seventy-four percent of full-time
undergraduates receive some form of financial aid.
Students seeking financial aid from NYU should apply for assistance by submitting one
form: the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Students are encouraged to fill
out the FAFSA via the Internet, which is the fastest and easiest method of applying for financial
aid. With the information you provide on the FAFSA, the U.S. Department of Education
uses a federally mandated formula to assess a family’s financial status and determine the
amount of money the government feels each can contribute to higher education. The NYU
Office of Financial Aid then creates an individual financial aid package based upon the amount
of financial need estimated by the government. Packages can include need- and/or merit-based
scholarships, state and/or federal grants, work-study, and student loans.
NYU gives hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to undergraduates each year. A large percentage
of this aid comes to students in the form of grants and scholarships. All admitted students
are automatically considered for every scholarship they qualify for—there is no separate
application process. NYU participates in a variety of payment plans. They range from interestfree
prepayment plans to extensive loan programs that allow families the option to finance the
cost of an NYU education over many years.
When it comes to financial aid, the bottom line is that NYU really makes a conscious
effort to help individuals and families offset the cost of higher education in any way possible.
The staff at the NYU Office of Financial Aid is friendly, extremely knowledgeable, and always
willing to provide sound financial options.
Student Financial Aid Details
How many students use Financial Aid, and how much do they use?
New York University 552nd for the average student loan amount.
Secrets to getting the best New York scholarships and financial aid
There is always something to do at NYU. This is not an overstatement in the least; in
fact, it may be an understatement. NYU resides in and is part of Greenwich Village, the most
hip, vibrant, young, eclectic, bohemian neighborhood in all of New York City. Being a college
student in this creatively charged neighborhood, in the city that never sleeps, is a win-win
situation. Students at NYU are never bored; they never grapple with the age-old question,
“What should I do tonight?” Instead, they are faced with the challenge of juggling a social life
with schoolwork. The catch phrase here is time management—NYU students choose and create
a social hierarchy, attempting to fulfill their overwhelming number of commitments by the
end of the night.
A Typical College Experience
Students who yearn for the typical college experience can still find it at NYU. There is an
on-campus Greek system that, because of the high premium placed on real estate in the
city, operates from designated floors in NYU residence halls. Greek letters adorn sheets
hung from windows in otherwise innocuous-looking buildings as opposed to being firmly
mounted on the front porch of an Animal House-style frat house.
Although Greek life does not dominate at NYU, university clubs and organizations are
hugely popular. The NYU Office of Student Activities boasts a roster of over 400 student-run
clubs ranging from the more serious breed, such as community service organizations, religious clubs, and political activism communities, to the light-hearted and fun, including the yo-yo
club, and the soap opera watchers club.
NYU also has sports. In fact, it has twenty-one intercollegiate teams that compete in
the NCAA Division III. Throughout the year, the NYU Violets compete against other private,
research universities such as Brandeis, Carnegie Mellon, and Emory. Students interested in
sports may join the competitive level for maximum commitment or can choose from more than
275 recreational, intramural, and club sports for some exercise and fun. For a good workout,
NYU students can take advantage of their membership to the Coles Sports Center and the
brand-new Palladium Fitness complex, premier NYU recreation centers.
As well, many students at NYU, not just drama majors at Tisch, are interested in the performing
arts. There are literally hundreds of opportunities for non-drama majors to be involved
in theatrical productions. The College of Arts and Science has CAST, a theater group that is
open to talented students within the college who, in addition to their studies, want to perform
in a production. The Steinhardt School of Culture Education and Human Development invites
students to join their a cappella groups and jazz bands, and there is an all-university gospel
choir. If you want to be involved in something extracurricular, as most NYU students are, there
are plenty of outlets to do so.
An Atypical College Experience
At NYU, you will find many students who enjoy the traditional college experience. They
love to curl up on a couch in the student lounge of their residence hall with a bunch
of other eighteen- to twenty-two-year olds, order pizza, and watch a bad movie. But at the
same time, there is an entire world outside just waiting to be explored. The NYU neighborhood
alone reveals countless treasures: art galleries and cafés, ethnic restaurants and
gourmet food shops, secondhand bookstores and antique shops, specialty music stores, and
art movie houses. Beyond the Village there are new neighborhoods to discover, each offering
their own cultural surprises. You can shop on Fifth Avenue, catch a Broadway show in
Times Square, attend an art gallery opening in SoHo, and see the latest exhibit at the
Guggenheim in the same day. At NYU, all of New York City is at your doorstep; you just have
to walk outside to experience it.
From the very first day of orientation, NYU encourages new students to venture out into
New York City and conquer their fears of the great unknown. Students attend events and outings
that make them feel comfortable in their new home away from home. The university does
everything in its power to ensure that you are safe in your travels on and off campus.
Student Enrollment Demographics
How many students are enrolled at New York University?
NYU graduates are doing some great things out there in the real world. The university’s
Wasserman Center for Career Development reports that typically approximately ninety-five percent
of the class are employed in full-time positions or enrolled in graduate programs upon graduation—a statistic that speaks volumes about the type
of preparation NYU provides to its students.
A large percentage of NYU grads enter medical,
law, or dental school, and with acceptance rates of
eighty percent, they are obviously ready to attend some
of the top schools in the country. Stern School of
Business students often work on Wall Street and
Madison Avenue for Fortune 500 companies. Tisch
School of the Arts is stocking Broadway with many
recent grads and current students who perform in
major roles on the stage. Every year Los Angeles
receives a high influx of film grads working on major
motion pictures or television shows. The Steinhardt
School of Culture, Education, and Human Development
offers New York schools accomplished grammar, high
school, and special education teachers. Hospitals
nationwide are staffed by graduates of the College of
Nursing. These are just some examples of the kinds of futures NYU graduates are pursuing when
they leave the university. No matter what your specific interest is, at NYU you’ll learn what you
want and how to get it.
Attaining these desirable positions and acceptances to top graduate programs are not
simple tasks. For example, the preprofessional advising center in the College of Arts and Science
helps to prepare future lawyers and doctors. Advisors meet with students throughout their four
years at NYU, in order to help them secure positions in their graduate program of choice.
The Wasserman Center lends a helping hand to students interested in pursuing a career
upon graduation. The staff at Wasserman believes that preparation for a career or an advanced
degree does not begin during spring semester senior year, but starts as early as freshman year.
Students get a taste of their field and how it functions in the real world through internships,
which also allows them to network and make important connections with potential employers.
Often, these internships lead to full-time positions after graduation. Wasserman also offers
résumé building and interviewing workshops and hosts massive recruitment fairs on campus
twice a year. They also maintain CareerNet, a database of more than 10,000 available on- and
off-campus jobs. Wasserman really does as much as it can to prepare students for whatever path
they may choose after graduation. It is common for NYU students to drop by Wasserman and ask a counselor for help to secure a political position in Washington D.C. or a seat in the entering
class of NYU School of Law. Without hesitation, students always receive valuable words of
advice and a “let’s do it” attitude.
Prominent Grads
Carol Bellamy, Former executive
director, UNICEF
Hon. Doris Ling-Cohan, Justice,
Supreme Court of the State of New York
Clive Davis, Founder and director,
Arista Records
Alec Baldwin, Actor
Maria Bartiromo, Business news
anchor, interviewer, and columnist
Alan Greenspan, Former chairman of
the Federal Reserve Board
Spike Lee, Emmy-winning and Oscarnominated
filmmaker
Dr. Jonas E. Salk, Late scientist,
discover of the polio vaccine, and
AIDS researcher
Cynthia Ozick, Author and literary critic
Alan Menken, Broadway and Academy
Faculty
Primarily a research university, NYU attracts many prominent scholars and researchers
in any given academic pursuit. Among them you’ll find CEOs and Fulbright Scholars, as
well as Nobel and Pulitzer Prize recipients and Oscar and Emmy Award winners. They are
revolutionary scholars, experts, and working professionals who are very much immersed in
their fields. These are the leaders who teach NYU’s undergraduates. All faculty members
teach at least one undergraduate course per year—even the current NYU president and former
dean of the NYU School of Law John Sexton teaches a Freshman Honors Seminar. The
NYU faculty enjoys and takes pride in teaching and advising its undergraduate students.
In the classroom, it’s easy to recognize the faculty’s commitment to their individual
fields. They are enthusiastic while introducing new material and show a genuine interest in fostering
class dialogue. They want to learn from their undergraduates and will often cite their
students as a source of inspiration for a new article or project. It is not uncommon to hear a
professor say, “I had never thought of it that way” during a round-table discussion with his
students. Together, students and professors engage in the material very seriously, which always
makes class a worthwhile, and sometimes breathtaking, experience. While there may be lectures
that students must take at the introductory level, the preferred method of instruction at
NYU is the seminar, where a small group of students and a faculty member exchange thoughtfful
discourse.
Students are also members of NYU’s distinctive global network, giving them unparalleled
opportunities to study abroad. They can choose to study at on or more of the university’s
ten international academic centers—in Accra, Ghana; Berlin, Germany; Buenos Aires,
Argentina; Florence, Italy; London, England; Madrid, Spain; Paris, France; Prague, Czech
Republic; Shanghai, China; and Tel Aviv, Israel or in any of the many exchange programs the
university has established with outstanding urban research universities around the world.
Each international program provides a rich curriculum in which students—who have access
to portable financial aid—can complete some of their general degree requirements and, in
many fields, take courses in their own major. In fact, a number of NYU’s schools, colleges, and
programs offer specific curricula and majors with an international focus. Additionally, NYU
soon will open NYU Abu Dhabi, a highly selective and complete liberal arts college that is fully
integrated into a major research university. NYU Abu Dhabi will be the first such campus operated
by an American university outside the United States. In short, taking advantage of any one
of these international programs gives students the kind of cultural awareness and independence
that only studying abroad can make possible.
Undergraduate Research
NYU has so many faculty members doing postgraduate research right on campus that
undergraduates wanted in on the action. For example, the College of Arts and Science
created the Dean’s Undergraduate Research Fund (DURF), a program that lets undergraduates
pitch research ideas to the DURF committee, and if the proposal is considered worthwhile,
receive funding for the project. Research projects may be individual or done in
conjunction with a faculty member. CAS students’ research projects really run the gamut—
they range from studying Irish Literature in Belfast or tracing neurons of rat amygdala, to
an analysis of the stained glass art of John La Farge or the development of contour detection
and how it affects our visual world. Students who are granted funding must write a
paper on their findings, present it at the annual research symposium held on campus each
spring, and publish their abstracts in Inquiry, the NYU research journal.
Demographics – Main Campus and Surrounding Areas
Reported area around or near New York, NY 10012-1091
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bearden ((at)) pacbell dot net
BRAVO NYU! If Berkeley had taken your approach 40 years ago, we would be living in a better world today.