Hofstra University

Date: Jan 23 2015
Major: Perfomance Arts (This Major's Salary over time)
All I can say is don't Hofstra seems appealing with it being so close to NYC, but that's really the only good thing. I majored in drama, and half the professors were educated at Hofstra! No one in any department knew what they were talking about and they told us if anyone came up to ask why the tuition was so high we should avoid the question. The so called "BFA" program is a scam, and without it you're basically paying 60k for no major. The kids who had gotten in came out with no connections, about the same education that AMDA could give you (except 50k cheaper) and a school that looks the other way when you ask why you don't have a job. It says a lot when someone transfers to a community college just to get out of the trap that is Hofstra. The food is awful and the amount of times people found bugs in their food was too many to count. Hofstra is located in the lovely town of Hempstead, known for its gangs and high crime rate. My first year I got three emails a week telling us to travel in groups because there had been students mugged walking back from parties. The school totes their proximity to NYC as a feature yet sets a time limit on the shuttle that takes you to the nearest train station, saying that after a certain time it's too dangerous for them to come, and if you find yourself stuck there then you better know someone with a car. Even the attendance policy, which varies per major, is insane. If you find yourself in the hospital, or just sick, then you better show up to class with an IV because if you're absent more than 2 times they drop your grade and recommend you drop the class. If I could give this school 0 stars I would. If you're even thinking of attending simply because you didn't get in anywhere else (like the majority of people who go to Hofstra, it's a 'well I didn't get into my top choice but this will do' school), I implore you to look elsewhere. I didn't do well my first semester of freshman year due to my family moving and it being a new environment. As a result I lost my scholarship, but when I tried to explain that I was simply getting used to being alone and not having any family close they told me that it didn't matter and that I could appeal again next year. They rope you in by showing you the gym, which is about the only thing they'll spend money on, and have the student guides, who are paid to lie (I know because I went to the training to be one, but when I was told about the questions to avoid: tuition, do people drink/ do drugs). The dorms are small and packed (they have 4 people to a room the size of a normal dorm, they call it a quad). There's so much to say about why this school is terrible, but I'll leave it at a simple DON'T. Don't go, no matter how appealing it sounds, it's not.