This past freshman year I went to asu for a computer science bachelor in science. I did amazing and I have a 4.0+ gpa and I applied for transfer as I intended too all along but only got into NYU
At first I got happy but then I realized I was admitted on the main campus of nyu as I intended too but they only have a bachelor in art unless you also go to the Brooklyn campus.
Now I need to make a choice between a BA in computer science at NYU or a BS in computer science at ASU.
Can you guys give me some input and possibly even data?
At NYU, BA is the typical name of the degree unless you do Engineering (or BFA in Tisch).
CAS is considered more desirable than Tandon actually, though this could be related to location
In short, not sure why you’d be concerned or consider that degree “less”. You’re not going to be doing art, “arts” in academic language means “fields of knowledge” (like “liberal arts”, sometimes called “liberal arts& sciences”).
More importantly
Can you afford NYU without parental loans?
Have you looked at and compared the courses you will have to take over the next three years at each school? Does either appeal more to you? I would also look at outcomes form both majors/programs…if that info isn’t on the school websites, contact the career centers and ask.
Does one school cost more than the other for you/are they both affordable?
Agree that the classes you take are more important than if you have a BS or BA.
You can try to contact career services at both colleges for outcome data.
Ask yourself:
–Is NYU comfortably affordsble (minimal loans, no hardship)?
–Do you want the NYU experience – integrated into NYC with no distinct campus. It will be different.
– Are you happy where you are (social life, academics,.etc.)? If so, do you want to start fresh?
The BA at NYU’s main campus is under the Courant Institute, which is usually perceived as significantly more prestigious than Tandon (and many people prefer living on the main campus to Brooklyn). Agree the more important question here is affordability, and fit - NYC is a very different experience to Tempe.
Try to remember your reasons for wanting to transfer: are they still valid?
Are you looking forward to a new part of the country and living in NYC?
Do you have housing or would you have to secure it?
I like the idea of living in New York. I do fear making friends there since it’s not so traditional campus but I am a social person and usually have made many friends wherever I go.
Forgive me for my ignorance but I am a little confused how courant and the college of arts and sciences are connected?
For housing I received on campus but they didn’t tv specify at all where it would be.
CAS is the broad “umbrella” college but within that you will have separate departments for the subjects that fall under it, example departments of psychology, history,English, math and compsci, etc. The Courant Institute is the name for the math and compsci department.
If you are guaranteed housing it will be in one of the upperclassmen dorms. These are mostly (if not all) suite style, where typically you’d share a bedroom with 1 other person (some bedrooms are singles though which tend to be more expensive and a few are triples so you’d share with 2 others, those tend to be cheaper ) in a suite with 2-3 bedrooms and a shared living/kitchen area. Each suite will have its own bathroom. There will be common areas in the dorm building as well of course.
I assume that NYU would be a lot more expensive than ASU. It has a strong reputation, sure, but being top-of-your-class at ASU would bring you great opportunities too.
IMHO, the fact that you need to crowdsource opinions on whether you should transfer to NYU sheds doubt on whether it’s worth the disruption and expense of transferring, unless you genuinely dislike ASU. You’re on a roll in terms of academic achievement, and it sounds as if there were other schools you really hoped to get into as a transfer, more so than NYU. Why not stay the course for another year; with your strong performance at ASU, you might be able to get into your top choice schools as a junior transfer (maybe top CS programs at UC schools, for example, which primarily take junior transfers), and if not, you could keep knocking ASU out of the park and capitalize on being a top performer where you are.
I’ve been working on reaching out to students to hear their experiences at the schools. Here is one review I have from someone below:
“ Hi Alp.
The program is fine. The courses are good in my opinion, but I hear that I have been luckier than most in terms of the professors I got. It’s kind of up to you to take classes you’re interested in, and you can always supplement the undergrad ones with some grad classes. I found the undergrad course selection to be ok, but there could def be a bit more variety.
Check out the cas website if you want to see what’s available.
In terms of recruiting and job opportunities, I don’t find that nyu gives you much of an advantage. Career fairs kinda suck, but the market is also terrible rn so idk if it’s nyu’s fault. It helps that the alumni network is huge so you can always reach out on linkedin.
For academia, there are plenty of great professors to connect with if vou’re interested in that (Oded Regev, Ken Perlin to name a few).”
I feel like I need to make my decision and commit in the next day or two because of how little time there’s left.
I feel torn apart because there’s so many things I consider and this decision has just been constantly hovering over me ever since I’ve been admitted.
What’s your guys advice to lead me to make a decision more confidently.
Below is also my pros and cons list I made:
NYU
Pros:
Prestigious School
New York Area grants proximity to top companies (according to some anecdotal stuff nyu does poorly with job fairs and such)
Housing on campus guaranteed (not that big of a point)
Keeps the option of investment banking open if I were to change my mind on pursuing Artificial intelligence and machine learning especially with my mother as a connection in the industry and people she knows in Wall Street
Would make me grow as a person with the new York struggle and in general the higher intensity in school (could give me a situation where i either sink or float too)
Could attend in order to transfer but my college experience would be in shambles, could create a bad look on my resume and then would need to consider whether I’m okay with staying at NYU and graduating (Don"t really see too much of an issue with graduating but who knows how I’ll react when it comes down to it and i have to stay on my path)
Cons:
Expensive and cs department isn’t 2 times better than asu since youre paying twice the price
Would probably take a beating on my gpa if I attended
Will need to work harder to become a go getter type person (Effortful but would probably be very beneficial for my character and set me up well for work)
Further from my family (I got homesick at ASU but would the same happen at NYU? … probably bound to happen anywhere)
If I go there just for name sake and transferring, would have a terrible college experience with nowhere I can exactly call my college
My experience with their systems and structure so far has been messy and unorganized
Curriculum has been said online to not prepare you for work force
On contrary to that people said that the person saying that probably didn’t take enough self initiative and now they’re blaming their own incompetency on the system rather than facing the facts.
ASU
Pros:
Known quantity (I’ve seen my performance there)
Can keep my gpa high and have done it before
Already have a network
My network isn’t exactly a positive one due to my poor choices in some friends but I can meet new people to have a diverse group of connections. Phoenix is also one of the fastest growing cities so industries may expand to give me an advantage.
Steps I need to take for success are clearer since I already know a decent amount of programs and services due to already gained knowledge about the dynamics
Substantially Cheaper but parents are willing to pay for either
Cons:
party school(but I do enjoy that on occasion being a young person)
would I be okay with graduating from ASU? I feel like I already was content with graduating from there but then again I can never know what I genuinely subconsciously think as I am usually a confident person and do think that I can get in transfers this upcoming year.(Would it be even harder to leave asu as my connections grow stronger at asu?)
Would need to make more new friends with more of my career in mind rather than simply who I enjoy being around
I would stay put. The arguments for NYU are not convincing, especially at such a high price.
If you finish your degree at ASU, the money saved could pay for a masters from a more “elite” school if you end up feeling that you need it.
If there are transfer schools you’re more excited about than NYU, you can still apply next year, and probably be a stronger candidate than you were this year since you’ve done so well in the meantime.
I can’t really say whether transferring at all is something you should be pursuing. But this particular transfer option just doesn’t seem that compelling, and it’s not your last chance to transfer, so why overspend and disrupt the good momentum you have for something that you aren’t 100% sold on? JMHO but it doesn’t seem like a win to me.
I didn’t say NYU was better! Did you compare the courses you would be taking at each school? IMO your pros/cons make a lot of sense and agree with aquapt that your reasons for transfer aren’t all that compelling. I will also note that you can get to IB from ASU should you want to make a change from AI…have you looked into IBIS at all? (although you may have missed the window to get into that program) Investment Banking Industry Scholars | ASU W. P. Carey
Ultimately you need to feel that you’re getting value for money (which is subjective), and it doesn’t seem you think NYU offers that.
I would note two things:
not sure why you seem convinced your GPA would take a beating. If that’s because you expect the courses to be significantly more rigorous, that in itself tells you something
re job fairs, they require work on the part of the student too. That’s true anywhere. And the job market is tough at the moment. Don’t know where it will be in a few years. The stats NYU posts are:
95% of Class of 2023 graduates were employed or in graduate school within 6 months of graduation
$76,034 mean starting salary for 2024 NYU graduates
70% Class of 2023 students held an internship during their undergraduate career
You maybe want to compare those to ASU as perhaps a little more objective than some anecdotes on the net. Bear in mind that the average is probably reasonable because where as some grads probably get quite high salaries (Stern), others (such as Tisch and Steinhardt) are probably relatively low. You could expect to earn more than humanities, theatre and social work graduates for example.
But again, ultimately you need to feel it’s worth it. And it seems to me that apart from that, the way you’ve listed things.. you don’t really want to go there and you’re mainly still in it for the name? Fit is always more important than rankings.
It’s clear the “huge public flagship with LOTS of choices” vs. “elite NYC” experiences are going to be different. Which one do you want?
It’s common to apply for a transfer to have an “out” “just in case”, and then, when offered the possibility, to realize you don’t want to go elsewhere. So, did you find you actually wanted to stay at ASU or are you still looking for something else?
Your real “pros” for NYU are personal growth and NYC opportunities. There’s no reason you wouldn’t be able to succeed or that your college experience would “be in shambles” since you’d be living in the dorms with other students.
Your real “cons” are worrying about homesickness and cost. The CS Dept doesn’t have to be “twice better” (how would you estimate that) BUT the courses&professors need to offer something different from what you have at ASU in addition to the differences in culture and setting. That difference needs to be meaningful to you and make it “worth it”. Your cons sound like made-up fears, so are you scared/excited or scared/freaked out?
Staying at ASU means you’re comfortable and aren’t paying much. If you’re tired of being in AZ, you can study abroad as much as you wish since it won’t break the bank - you can go on Barrett-only Spring or Summer programs, join EPICS, spend a semester at National University Singapore (lots of CS courses) and have an internship there; or you can ask “ASU in DC” if you could get a CS internship in DC. Things are good for you at ASU so either you want the different culture and experience you’d get at NYU and in NYC.. or you’re good where you are.
