<p>sachmoney - I came from a very sheltered household, and went to a private high school, where there were a lot of cliques. I never really felt I fit in, because my family was not very wealthy and so I never seemed to wear “the right clothes”, or have “the right stuff”. </p>
<p>When I came to NYU nothing mattered; I could be myself, pick my own friends. Nobody was watching if I was in “such and such sorority” or belonged to “such and such club” in order to “be somebody”. It was at NYU were I learned that I was actually a pretty interesting person, just being me. I met people just like me, who did not wanted to be pressured into being somebody they did not want to be. Those people became “my community”.</p>
<p>At NYU you find all sorts of people, artsy, independent, arrogant, wealthy, and the not so well off; because the study body is so large, it would be tough to not find people you can connect with. </p>
<p>I loved having New York City as my backyard, the resources were phenomenal (easy transportation, libraries, museums everywhere, hard to beat doing your homework in Central Park), the internships are within armslength. Every time I would drive across a bridge into the city, I would feel this incredible rush. I really felt that NYU prepared me better for life than any other college I attended (I have multiple degrees from different places, primarily in Europe). If you can keep up with the pace in NYC, it is easy to keep up anywhere.</p>
<p>I think that people who are used to being part of a close knit community in high school may have a tougher time at NYU, because you definitely need to have an independent mindset and be self motivated. You can not rely on an RA or “buddy” taking you by the hand. You also need to be at a point where you are able to focus as being in New York City can easily become a distraction. Some people will call it that you need to “be mature” and “have a sense of responsibility”, but you will find that most of your friends think they are and yet, they are actually not ready for being on their own in NYC. </p>
<p>Just some food for thought :), hope this helps!</p>