New York University

Date: May 27 2014
Major: Neuroscience/Cognitive Science (This Major's Salary over time)
Coming from a small, homogenous suburb outside of Boston, I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I decided to go to NYC for college. Of course, I had visited NYU a couple of times to make sure that I was making the right decision, but you don't really know a school's experience until you've lived it.

Going to NYU feels like you live in New York and your day job is being a student. No closed-off campus or gates separate you from the surrounding city, for better or for worse, and it's up to you to determine your level of success both academically and socially. This school certainly does not hold your hand in any endeavor, and while I found this to be mildly terrifying at first (as most students do), I now could not imagine being at a school that coddles you and guides you through your college experience. I've changed more in my past year here than in my four years of high school, and a lot of my friends that went to more 'traditional' schools have largely remained the same. Going to NYU forces you to find yourself and to grow up, and no other school prepares you better for the real world.

There are two main complaints I hear about this school - its lack of social scene and the cost. I get that NYU is expensive. Its cost is not a secret, and to be blunt, if you can't or don't want to pay for it, there are ten other kids that would love your spot. NYC has one of the highest costs of living of anywhere in the US, and it's a personal choice as to whether or not it's worth it. Nowhere else can you network, gain real life experience, and get ahead of the game as you can in New York, so it's worth it to me. As for the social scene, it is what you make of it. I've found a bunch of great friends by joining Greek life, as well as in my classes and in clubs. If you're a halfway social person, you should be fine so long as you seek out what you're interested in. I would recommend getting a fake ID, as they make socializing and going out easier and it's not hard to find someone who has a connection. Most freshmen are in dorms their first year, and this is another great place to meet people. Study abroad is also an excellent option. Meeting people isn't hard, you just have to put in the effort to make friends. The kids here aren't unfriendly, they're just busy, but everyone wants to make new friends. People that complain about this school either couldn't find a way to finance it (which is fair) or couldn't get out of their comfort zone enough to meet people and have awesome experiences, and that's mostly their fault. NYU is real life, and it is what you make of it.

As far as academics go, my experience has been pretty good. The intro classes have a lot of busy work as they're mostly weed-out classes, especially in the sciences. Get past these and you'll be golden - more advanced classes are interesting and the professors here are all very smart people that have awesome connections. I haven't encountered a professor that didn't want their students to succeed; the faculty here generally wants the students to succeed and holds enough office hours for their kids. I will say that doing well academically here requires you to study and do your work, but I've learned a lot in my past year here and I've also received pretty great grades.

Coming to NYU means giving up a traditional college experience. Many of my friends in college, as well as older people, have said that the college experience is overrated and that I'm not missing much - fine. Here, a nice, manicured, grassy campus is traded in for one of the greatest cities in the world. You'll learn how to live as an adult, how to have fun as an adult, and how to become an individual. It's a lot at first, so give it a full year before you decide on transferring. I'll be the first to admit that I hated my first semester here, but my second semester was the best three months of my life because I finally understood how to function in New York. I can't wait for my next three years here.