This week, Murilo (from Team LP Brazil) is traveling all over the East Coast, touring and learning all about some of the best universities from New York to Boston. Follow him here for his insights into the various colleges -- what they're like and what it takes to get in!
First stop: NYU
College Advisor Julia accompanied Murilo on his journey around NYU!
Ready for a college tour!
Why is this school awesome?
Murilo: Before I arrived here, I thought that NYU would be the New York University in New York, but its a lot more than that -- it's a global network with campuses in different sites: NYC, Abu Dhabi, Shanghai, and offices in 11 countries. Being in NYC makes it vibrant and intense by definition and the Gallatin School is really something unique and special.
Julia: At first you think NYU is "a school in and of the city of New York" but it's really "a school in and of the world." NYU is asking students to be advocates for their ideas in the context of a global conversation, which is pretty awesome. There's also a 10:1 student faculty ratio! And you are guaranteed housing for all 4 years, which is a pretty big deal in NYC.
Favorite spot on campus?
Murilo: Gould Plaza, the heart of NYU's Stern School campus, and Washington Square Park.
Hanging out in Washington Square Park
Gould Plaza
The "typical student" is...
Murilo: Diverse
Julia: There is no typical student!
International perspective?
Murilo: NYU provides you with a genuinely globalized education, the confidence to live anywhere in the world you choose, and the ability to apply to a job in any country you'd like. NYU also offers an extremely international student body and will give you the confidence, skills, know-how, and network to have what it takes to be a "globalized citizen."
Brand recognition is excellent. People see NYU as a school that delivers high quality education. They like the idea that it's in New York, but they miss the fact that it's a lot more than that. This is what I was most surprised by today.
Julia: NYU Shanghai is 50% Chinese national students and you graduate from NYU Shanghai with two degrees-- an NYU degree and degree recognized by the Chinese government. There are also 11 Global Academic Centers (Accra, Florence, Paris, Tel Aviv, Berlin, London, Prague, DC, Buenos Aires, Madrid, & Sydney) and your financial aid package travels with you!
Special programs/offerings applicants should consider?
Murilo: Be sure to check out: Gallatin, Stern, Tandon, Tisch
Julia: Leslie Entrepreneurship Lab (A new building/institute on campus that offers lecture series to students on entrepreneurship, as well as resources such as 3D printers, production labs for filmmakers, and counselors to whom you can present your business pitches for feedback and who can help advise you on the process of seeking investors)
In front of Tisch Hall
Tips for the application process?
Murilo: The essay is a very important place to stand out. Know what you want, choose correctly, and let yourself pick the school that's right for you.
Pay the school a visit -- it's really worth coming here. It's not what people typically envision an American college experience. It's decentralized; you need to see it to know what it's like. The bottom line is that a university is not a place or a building -- it's an idea. And I loved the idea of NYU.
Julia: When writing your Why NYU? essay, think beyond the city location- everyone says that! Be sure to talk about the professors, research, extracurriculars and schools you're excited about.
Fun facts?
Murilo: The wifi sucks but the tour guides have awesome track jackets
Julia: They have a Cheese Club and free yoga classes in the Global Center for Academic and Spiritual Life.
NYU's main Library, Bobst.
Murilo & Julia's tour guide named Goodness, who is majoring in the Stern School of Business, but also pursuing minors in Music within the Tisch School of the Arts and French. Goodness was born in Nigeria but spent most of his youth growing up in Ontario, Canada and plays on an intramural bowling team.