Hey everyone-
Came here to check in on the Tisch Drama situation- specifically housing and the decision about whether to stay home or be on campus in the fall. I appreciate reading about your situations, and would love any thoughts or info!
My kid currently does not yet have a housing assignment.
On 7/13 I called and the woman at the housing office assured me my kid would get a housing assignment by the end of that day.
Then we learned that all classes would be online for fall. We decided to wait to see how safe the assignment seemed before deciding whether or not to be on campus.
On 7/23 we still had no housing assignment and I called again. I learned that they don’t know when the housing assignment will be made but hopefully soon. Apparently we have until August 1 to cancel our housing contract and we can wait to see the assignment first before cancelling. In terms of housing for spring if you’re not on campus in fall, I learned that they are only giving housing contracts for one semester at a time because they don’t know what will happen or what the governor will say for spring. (I assume that means if you’re in housing you’ll stay in that housing for spring unless everyone is sent home again.) To secure housing for spring if you weren’t on campus in fall, just submit a new housing application and deposit for spring (because the old deposit would either be refunded or applied to tuition.) She also told me that my kid will have priority for housing in spring and will get an assignment if there’s available housing. I think because currently we have priority status for housing (I’m not sure why- frosh?) I’m a little concerned that we still have no housing assignment on 7/24 and you all seem to have your housing assignments already.
At this point, given the need to quarantine for 2 weeks upon arriving in NY, the fact that none of the drama classes will meet in person, nor will they be blended, and the issue of health and safety, we’re thinking our kid will stay home for fall. It’s disappointing, but also I don’t know how fulfilling an experience it will be to be stuck in a dorm room without the ability to interact with others.
If you all have any additional info about housing or thoughts about reasons we should consider sending our kid to NYC in the fall, I’d love to hear them. We’re just weighing options and trying to make a final decision in the next week.
Hi @TenaciousC - I’m so sorry you don’t have that information this close to the deadline! I can only imagine the mess it is on both ends of this. I keep hearing rumors that we should be getting information about quarantine protocols, etc., soon but I have no info on whether the email has come in. My S is out of town for the weekend with his girlfriend and he has a highly Gen Z approach to checking email, lol.
He is heading to NYC this fall. On balance, we decided it would be better for him to go than to stay. I know everybody’s equation is different, but that’s where we landed and it won’t change unless something else changes to force us to reconsider. Currently, he’s better off there among at least some of his peers than stuck in our rural house, online, with no peers around him.
I hope you’ve heard something by now since I see you posted this yesterday!
What a pain @TenaciousC ! Based on info posted in the NYU Parents FB group, you are not the only one with no housing assignment.
I am curious about the semester housing agreement you mentioned. Everyone’s housing agreement is now semester based?
@TenaciousC , we are still waiting for a housing assignment too. If my D gets acceptable housing, she is planning on going. She has been stuck in this house too long and needs to move forward. Also, I’ve been hearing through social media (so not official), that if you refuse housing in the fall you go on the waitlist for spring and housing is not guaranteed. I really want her to spend some time in the dorms freshman year if possible so she can meet people outside of her studio. It’s frustrating to have everything so unsettled, isn’t it? For my older daughter at this point during her freshman year we were planning and shopping and she was getting to know her roommate, but this year, for my younger daughter, we are just waiting.
Thanks for replying. Good to know we aren’t alone! Just got an assignment and now we’re talking about the situation…
@tsamuique Yes! His housing assignment came this morning. I hear you- everyone has to make the best decision they can with the information they have. I wish there were better, more reliable info, but it is what it is.
@yellahamma The woman I spoke with said they are only issuing contracts one semester at a time (to everyone) because they don’t know what the governor will say at any given point and they will follow his guidelines. I don’t think it will have any effect except to ensure that they aren’t guaranteeing housing for spring in case of another pandemic situation where it’s deemed unsafe to live on campus. I believe most schools are writing waivers into housing contracts in case they have to send people home again so that they won’t have to refund any of the costs. That’s my best guess, that they’re taking it one semester at a time and if you’re in housing for fall then you’ll just sign a contract for that same housing for spring absent an order for students to return home.
@BloomingGirl The same housing employee told me that if we cancel housing for fall my kid will still have priority to be assigned housing for spring. It’s true they can’t guarantee that housing space will be available, but she said students with priority will be first to get whatever housing is available. She seemed to think it likely he’d get housing in spring. It’s not a situation where they know there’s no availability and you’d just be hoping something would open up. She seemed to think there would likely be availability and since he will have priority he will likely be assigned housing. The difference is that frosh are guaranteed housing in the fall if they meet the deadline and deposit requirements, but for spring they cannot guarantee it.
@TenaciousC I hope he’s happy with his assignment!
@BloomingGirl Honestly, it’s hard to say. He’s feeling like it’s just not worth the risk at this point given the 100% online classes. We’ll be figuring this out and making a decision soon. Hope your assignment comes soon!
@TenaciousC Thanks! Good luck with your decision. It’s so hard to know the right thing to do. I wish we weren’t all in this situation and we could be talking about bedding and meal plans and stuff and not how big of a risk are we taking by sending our kids in the first place.
I feel so much for all of you with freshmen! It’s far easier for the upperclassmen. My D is leaving for NYC in 2 weeks and can’t wait to be back in the city. The flexible schedule of an upperclassman has meant she can take academic classes that aren’t all remote so she has “reason” to be there plus she already has a acting cadre, many of whom will also be returning so they’ll be able to gather in pairs or very small groups It won’t be the same but it will be good enough. I honestly don’t know what we would choose to do if she was starting freshman year. 
We haven’t made a decision yet, but there seem to be a lot of costs and very few benefits to living on campus in fall for my kid. @CaMom13 - yes, I think it would be different if he were not a frosh. For my kid it’s just a short (if deeply disappointing) delay, but I imagine it would be really tough for someone who’s already experienced life in NYC on their own to stay home. @BloomingGirl I wish we were making plans to meet for coffee after moving our kids into their dorms. Someday! Hopefully soon!
Best of luck to everyone moving in soon! I wish everyone a smooth and safe and happy journey!
@BloomingGirl @TenaciousC @tsamuique best of luck, all I can say re NYU is that we are doing great in NY these days, so I pray that remains and your kids are safe should you choose to come here. I was in NYC the other day for my D last " curly girl haircut" in soho & it was. a beautiful day, people out and all wearing masks…classes started today at BW- prayers for all of us- who would have thought that the auditioning was the " easy " part 
Thanks @NYYFanNowMTdad ! I hope your D has an amazing and safe year!