Pace University - New York

Date: Oct 06 2007
Major: Computer Science (This Major's Salary over time)
I graduated then became a grad student. Looking back, I feel as though the university met my expectations and, in many cases, exceeded them. The good things about Pace are: It's academics, housing choices, diversity, and it's financial aid packages. Nothing is perfect, so here are the bad: Bureaucratic red tape, slow to carry out changes, and they hype upcoming projects but ultimately accomplish about half of what they said they would do.

RESIDENCE LIFE - I would say that there is an abundance of choices. These range from apartment-like rooms complete with private baths and kitchens, to your standard double occupancy shoebox dorm room. However, housing likes to change things at the last minute (such as eliminating the very nice Clark Hall (marble and brass everywhere!) to get the much smaller (room wise) and not as nice, but priced the same 55 John St. dorms (it's like living in a small warehouse) in Manhattan) and occasionally institutes rules and procedures that favor them as opposed to the residents. For the most part, the residence staff and facilities are very good and generally try to help whenever they can.

ACADEMICS - Good and bad. Like all universities, you can get some good and some bad professors. Usually, they are knowledgeable and enjoy teaching. There are no teaching assistants teaching class, you get a full professor every time. The fact that Pace likes to keep class sizes small helps learning.

ATHLETICS - Go to the Pleasantville campus if you want this. NYC has no teams.

FACILITIES - Pace finally got around to getting a new cafeteria for NYC. It's more like a restaurant than a college cafe. The computer labs are numerous and the machines are new. You are almost always guaranteed one. The libraries are also very good but good luck finding a quiet space to work. There are places to just hang-out at the NYC campus, but it's best to use the city instead.

STUDENTS - Pace is known as the school of NYU and Columbia rejects. This often means that there are often very bright students that either couldn't afford fifty-grand a semester or don't have a rich family member to "donate" to the college. This leads to students that are occasionally bitter or arrogant. However, many are pleasant and genuinely want to learn. Of course, there are your normal students who simply want to get decent grades and have a good time. There are a few other types of students at Pace who often fall into a few categories: The kid who has his parents pay $500-$1000 a week on "school supplies" and often becomes upset when their claims of status fall on deaf ears. The suburbanites who think they are gangsta but have no credibility whatsoever. The out-of-towner who looks a little dazed by the city. The hard working financial aid student who works tirelessly to maintain good grades or be kicked out. The professional, who sees going to college as a privilege and a necessity for their career. Never forget that this is an expensive private university and although they have generous aid packages, many of the students are affluent.