It isn’t a question of whether or not its worth it. My guess is that there is no way that living on NYU campus is affordable. And unless OP’s parents are willing and able to cosign the loans, NYU isn’t affordable at all. I completely disagree that Hunter is no better than a community college. Hunter is a solid school that provides an excellent four year degree. They place people in med school, and that would not be possible if the degree was not well respected.