Let me start off with saying that NYU was a safety school for our son. 760 on both Math and Reading SATS, top 10% of his class and a 4.62 weighted GPA.
We were thrilled to find out he was admitted last week. Upon closer inspection, we realized he was admitted into the Liberal Studies Core Program…When I called to find out what this program was all about and why he was placed into it, I was told that the classes are smaller and he would have the opportunity to travel. After talking with 3 admissions counselors, I am still unclear why this program exists and why my son was placed into it. After reading other posts, It seems as though this program serves as as an “overflow pool” to benefit NYU and by keeping the class size smaller in the College of Arts and Sciences. Otherwise, why wouldn’t they admit everyone into the College of Arts and Sciences? Nobody that I spoke with could answer this question. Many other schools also have ways of managing overflow such as Spring admittance at Middlebury or a first semester abroad at Northeastern. It seems as thought NYU could be more transparent when offering this program to applicants. The name is very confusing as well. I would venture to guess that many students think they have been accepted into the 4 year liberal arts program and may even accept before realizing what it is exactly.
After doing a bit of research, my understanding is that the professors are not at the same level as the professors in the college of Arts and Sciences and they are not tenured.
I found this article very helpful although it is a few years old.
http://nyulocal.com/on-campus/2011/02/07/the-liberal-studies-program-explained/