Review of NYU, New York University

I am currently an incoming junior at New York University. As some of you may know, NYU does not have a campus, per se. In fact, students like to joke that all of New York City is NYU's campus. Through experience, I have determined that such a joke is in fact true. The A, B, C, D, E, F, and V trains may be accessed at West 4^th Street, just a few short blocks away from Washington Square Park. The 2, 3,4, and 5 trains may be accessed at Astor Place, which is approximately five blocks from Washington Square Park. All of New York City is just a subway ride away.

NYU offers numerous courses that vary in levels of difficulty. I was a student of the 2-year General Studies Program (GSP), and am now a student in the College of Arts and Sciences. GSP courses are rumored to be easier than courses offered in the other schools of NYU. However, I feel the pros of the General Studies Program outweigh those of other schools. GSP's classes are much smaller than those of the other schools. Hence, each student gets more individual attention from the professor, and class discussions can easily take place. Additionally, the grade point average of the students of the General Studies Program is higher than that of the College of Arts and Sciences. I personally greatly profited from the smaller class sizes and class discussions. Students cannot apply to the General Studies Program; NYU accepts students into this 2-year program. At the end of the two years, graduates of this program receive an Associate Degree. Graduates are then automatically accepted to the school within NYU to which they originally applied, provided they maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA. Almost all graduates of GPA proceed to enroll in the school to which they originally applied.

I will be double majoring in Political Science and Psychology. I have noticed that the Psychology courses are much easier than the Political Science courses. Several Psychology professors whom I would recommend are Professor Adolph, who teaches Developmental Psychology (dealing with children), and Professor Bauer, who teaches Behavioral Statistics. I would not recommend Professor Nagler for Power and Politics in America under any circumstances. The man's tests are preposterous. They consist of 8 or 9 "short answer questions," each of which requires at least ten sentences to properly answer. The professor expects each student to not only answer the question, but also answer unwritten questions that are still in the professor's head, which he failed to write down. Further, the grading on these tests is ridiculous. The professor thinks up the most ridiculous answers to his questions, and creates a checklist. Very few students get any checks at all. Each of the tests had to be curved because so many students failed. I personally had to sit with the professor, as well as the teaching assistants, and explain to them why my answers properly answered the questions. The graders of the exams were teaching assistants, and it was a matter of luck when it came to who a student was stuck with. Some of the teaching assistants expected precise wording, spelling, grammar, and if anything was not to their wishes, they deducted points. It was a fact that the harder a student studied for one of these exams, the worse he/she would do. In short, I would not recommend this class to anyone.

New York University is a wonderful school for students who are not intimidated by many, many students, and a huge city at their disposal. I highly recommend the school. Should you have any questions that were not addressed here, feel free to send me a message.