New York University Top Questions

Professors: I have loved nearly every professor I have had...most are happy to teach and have done interesting research...I often find myself googling my professors and swooning over their accomplishments Favorite Class: Medical Anthropology Study time: every major/school has different amounts of study depending on what you are doing...but in general NYU students are driven and passionate and want to do well-so yes studying happen a lot. Also, students are keenly aware of how much their education is costing them and don't want to waste the money by doing poorly. Most unique class: Art and Sculpture in NY-we don't use a textbook, instead we study art history based on the paintings/sculptures in museums in the city. My department: Anthropology...every professors is unique, wonderfully charismatic and passionate about their own specific research. They all enjoy teaching-I love the anthro department. Ever

Close relationships were developed with all of my professors in the Steinhardt studio art program. I feel i grew as an artist and intellectual in all of the classes as appropriate readings and trips were included in the curriculum. The only thing I was very surprised at was the lack of technical training in a lot of the classes. I transferred from a community college that was very career oriented. Fine tuning technical skills was really emphasized there. I enjoyed the new conceptual trend at NYU, but couldn't help notice there were a lot of people in my advanced classes with great ideas but novice technical skills. Had I not received my foundation at community college I might not have had the knowledge to express my ideas the ways that I do. The professors I had were all knowledgeable in their fields and answered and easily technical questions I asked but it was not part of the curriculum. YES! The students are very competitive and very critical. All I can say is it builds character.

Stern is really, really hard. It requires alot of dedication to get A's in it. The other schools (all of which I have taken classes in) were a piece of cake in comparision. If you want to excel at Stern, be prepared to do nothing but school work. I don't get nearly as good of grades as I did at my first school (I am a transfer from UCSB where I had a 4.0) because, to me, it's not worth giving up everything, my social life, extracurriculars, etc., just to get an A. The professors are incredibly smart and experienced in their field. If you make an effort to talk to them and go to office hours, they will listen but they are not going to seek you out. It's college, not freakn' elementary school people. Handholding is reserved for romantic relationships only here.

Many professors are only adjunct because they are practicing professionals, which adds a very realistic air to your learning. I've had many of my senior seminars in the conference rooms of my professors offices. My favorite classes were those where I got to roam the city -- it was a very hands on experience. Class participation is more common in smaller classes, which are commonly those of upper classmen. Large lectures have small T.A. taught, required classes, where class participation is more common. NYU is an amazing education experience, but alumnis joke that its not helpful in procuring a job. While NYU students have amazing internships, and opportunities and experiences as undergraduates, they become "over qualified," and are passed over for many jobs. Unless you are going to Stern School of Business, or plan on going to graduate school, your successes at NYU don't make it easier to get a job. While most students study (you have to be smart to go to NYU afterall), some study more than others. As a premed student, my best friends were my textbooks. I'd work/study hard, and play hard. My roommate, a jazz composition major, would be "studying" all the time too, by practicing constantly (a different type of study), but my other roommate, a Gallatin Graduate, would rarely study, and rarely had exams or finals...which made me awfully jealous.

One of the best things about NYU and the film department in particular, is the class sizes. Most of my classes have fifteen people or less, which makes for a very comfortable environment where everyone can get to know each other quickly and students feel like their attendance and participation matters. Students here are extremely competitive. Especially in the upper level core production courses, because students must complete for the allotment and for a lot of students, if you don't get an allotment you can't afford to make your film, and if you don't make a senior film you have no calling card when you leave school. As far as I've seen, the film departments goal is to teach students the ins and outs of film making and to make students as prepared as possible for the real world. They want students to learn as much as possible, but also be able to function in the film business.

One of the great things about GSP is that my professors know my name. I feel comfortable going up to the teacher and asking them questions about why I received this grade on a paper or a test and how I can improve. My favorite class is probably my Writing class. The theme is 'Youth Culture' and we've been watching 80s teen movies, such as "Heathers" and "The Breakfast Club" and analyzing how and why teenagers behave the way they do. I'm sure this isn't true for everyone, but my friends and I have intellectual conversations outside of class. I'm not a fan of NYU's MAP requirements. MAP classes are the core classes that mostly everyone has to take and I have yet to hear anyone say good things about them.

Professors do NOT know your name. My favorite class is my psychology course because the professor is hilarious. He's about 90 years old but so full of life, extremely passionate. You find many of those professors here, and many who are not passionate at all. My least favorite class was an honors seminar taught by an outside professor who was biased and made personal interjections on students' behaviors (social and academic). NYU hires a lot of outside authors and experts to teach these honors seminars but they mostly behave as though they are celebrities and their word is gold. Class participation is nearly non-existent. NYU students are ALWAYS having intellectual conversations outside of the classroom. Students are ridiculously competetive. Most unique course has been my genetics course taught by a genetics researcher specializing on circadian rhythms in mice. He brought together real experience with the course material, allowing for us to choose the syllabus of topics. The neuroscience major is an extremely competetive and difficult one. It's very small, but as a freshman I still don't know much about it. No time with professors outside of class. Academic requirements are rigorous and in some cases pointless (ie Writing the Essay teaching you how to write "on the edge" aka "emo" when I want to be a doctor and will never have to write in that manner). NYU education is sometimes geared towards learning but mostly towards finding a job, especially in the pre-medicine track.

Classes are large in the general level classes; it is hard to get small classes early on, especially if you haven't chosen a major. Even the recitations are larger than I had expected, over 30 people. I have had some really good professors, however, who really care about the students and reach out, sometimes to the point that it is overbearing, but it is nice to know that you can get help. The freshmen honors seminars were hyped up to be the best thing at NYU, but mine was a disappointment, and so were most others. Most of them met for two and a half hours at a time, which is way too long for anybody to be sitting still listening to a professor. The topics probably could have been interesting had they been presented well, but the seminars just did not carry out its original ideals. The environment at NYU isn't quite academic, outside of class. People do know when to study, however. It is a work hard, play hard environment. Outside of class, people don't think much about school; they are mostly focused on doing things - participating in clubs, entertainment, exploring New York neighborhoods, and many other choices. Nobody ever stays still; people go out and enjoy what is available to them. Many students here seem to have their life planned out and most came into college with a major defined. Especially in Stern, the students are focused on getting a high paying job and making it big, although classes seem to be towards learning for its own sake. The classes I have taken so far provide more theoretical and abstract knowledge that I'll have to figure out on my own how to apply to a job, but I prefer it that way instead of a more practical training. NYU's academic requirements consist of a core curriculum called MAP. Some classes in MAP, such as Natural Science, allow you to use AP credits to place out, but there is no way to get around Writing the Essay, Conversations of the West, and World Cultures. These classes are generally torturous and annoying, and provide more work than is necessary. They are very narrow in what they teach, and it is frustrating to have to deal with them when you could be in classes you actually like. The only MAP requirement I like is the language requirement.

Like an other school academics at NYU has been a mix. People tend to make fun of it by I loved the General Studies Program (GSP). Pretty much all my classes for the first two years of school were small seminar classes, where the professors did know my name. I especially had this one amazing professor for Cultural Foundations, who also happened to be my adviser in GSP. When doing my transfer to CAS, there are more lectures involved, which then requires a recitation class. However with my majors, a lot of my classes tend to be seminar style. My Italian classes have all been very small which I think is important in learning a language. In addition, all my Italian professors thus far have been amazing! Though it takes a while for things to get done in the English department, the people I've communicated with have been very friendly. My second major is Italian/Linguistics and those departments are much smaller so I hear back from them quicker. The bad classes at NYU have been this way mainly because of the professor. I've learned that many times that the topic can be great, but if you have a bad professor it doesn't matter in the least.

It really depends what school you're in for this. Huge, impersonal classes are the norm in many.