I’m thinking of majoring in journalism, playwriting or music. I really would like to go to college in NYC. What is each school like? Which is better for my majors?
You are a HS freshman. It is too early to be focusing on any two specific schools. When the time comes (junior year) you will first have to determine if you are academically qualified for these schools and if they appear to be affordable. Also leave open the possibility that what you want to study, where you want to attend college may change over the next few years.
Both of these schools are super expensive and don’t give (much) merit…so you need to be super rich or super poor to afford them.
Try to take honors courses in the humanities and then AP classes when you can.
yeah im looking at schools right now because i have two older siblings who are both about to go to college. i was curious about schools so I started looking at them. i really want to live in nyc so I focused on ones there. nyu has been my dream school since i was a kid. i was curious because i saw someone saying that nyu is really just the columbia rejects school and i know nothing about columbia. i know I’m too young, but i was just curious about them
I think you have a lot of research to do. There are a number of other colleges in NYC too, including Fordham, the New School, Parsons, Pace, Yeshiva, CCNYs including Baruch, etc. if you really want to study in NY as your goal over and above anything else, and I hope you have adjusted this thinking by your senior year, I’m sure you’ll find something. Columbia and NYU are totally different schools and I think many more Columbia “rejects” - which is around 93% of applicants by the way - end up at schools outside NYC than at NYU.
I think the above poster mistyped slightly CCNY instead of CUNY. There are several CUNY schools that may interest you. One of them is CCNY or City College. Another is Baruch.
Other schools in or near NYC–
SUNY Purchase
Barnard
Wagner
St. John’s in Queens
Manhattan
Manhattanville
Sarah Lawrence
Vassar – 90 minutes away on the commuter line with strong NYC ties
Bard – 2 hours away on Amtrak
It’s great that you’re interested in colleges this early.
To get a snapshot of what colleges will cost for you, consult the website College Navigator. That site is run by the government. Click on the “net price” tab to get a ballpark estimate for your income bracket. Note however that any state schools (SUNYs and CUNYs) will look very cheap. This is because the site lists the costs for in-state students. If you live in NY then you would qualify for those costs. If you live out of state, the costs would be greater. To get a better estimate, then use the net price calculator for each school.
I wouldn’t characterize NYU as the “Columbia rejects school”. Columbia is more selective, but the two schools’ programs don’t necessarily appeal to the same kind of student. Columbia’s focus is mostly on liberal arts and engineering. NYU’s most popular majors include business and performing arts.
If you can afford both (and get into them), NYU’s programs and setting might suit you better. Or not. You have many other options, and plenty of time.
Columbia does tend to offer more generous need-based aid. For the Ivies in general, most students with family incomes up to $200K/year (or more) should qualify for aid. Run the online net price calculators for any schools that interest you.
Columbia is famous for its "Core"which is intense, rigorous and- for the right students- one of the highlights of the college experience… Only a few other colleges (notably UChicago) have similar programs.
I believe that there are students at NYU who were rejected by Columbia, but most NYU students weren’t interested in Columbia in the first place.