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As a Greenwich Village native and recent graduate of nearby Cooper Union I can tell you without a doubt that most New Yorkers hate NYU. In fact, I can't recall a single student from my high schools graduating class going on to attend NYU. The Schools expansion has forced a lot of people out of the neighborhood and just generally compromised the vibe(corny but true).
I graduated NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in the 1980s. Here's some of the stuff I'd heard back then, reputation wise, about NYU.
* NYU is for Jews who are too dumb to get into Columbia.
* Queens College is for Jews who are too dumb to get into NYU.
* I'd also heard non-Jews refer to NYU as "NY Jew."
So I guess NYU had a large Jewish population in the 1980s, and a reputation for attracting Jews.
NYU also had a reputation for being inferior to Columbia. But superior to CUNY and SUNY.
Actually, NYU did have a definite "Columbia fixation" while I was there. A professor or administrator once discussed Columbia with us students. He said that NYU was "easily as good as Columbia" (although we students never raised the issue), and that NYU deserved to be in the Ivy League. He added that NYU had applied for Ivy League membership before, and was currently "working on it."
I heard periodic rumors, while I was at NYU, that NYU might soon be accepted into the Ivy League.
While I NYU, I also got to know (though an internship) two Jewish women who were Columbia grads. They felt most proud to be Columbia grads. They often dropped references to Columbia. They never put me down for being in NYU, but I got the sense that they certainly felt superior going to Columbia rather than to NYU.
Some other reputations I'd heard:
* NYU is a catch-all university. The default choice. A huge place with seats for many students of average means and intelligence. Where many middle-class kids go when they can't get into an elite college, or when they just can't decide where to go.
* NYU is anonymous. A commuter college with no strong identity or personality. You can spend four years there and not get to know anyone. Nor will anyone remember you.
I spoke with NYU alumni in the 1990s, and we both had the above sense of anonymity.
I vividly recall my high school days -- the students, the teachers. But I recall very little about NYU. It may partially be because I lived at home with my parents in Queens, not at the dorms. I took the subway to school. On weekends I hung out with my high school buddies. For me, NYU was just a place to commute to, like a job.
NYU was cheap in the 1980s. Only $4,000 a year tuition. And I lived at home, so no dorm expenses.
NYU didn't have much of a reputation in the 1980s. It was considered a good school, but not great, not Ivy League (except in the minds of some NYU teachers/administrators). A huge, anonymous place, with room for anyone and everyone of decent background. You had to be reasonably intelligent, but not brilliant. If you were good enough, you got in, you showed up for class, then you got out and good-bye to you.
PS: I was wait-listed for Columbia, but didn't get in. So I am proof that NYU will take what Columbia rejects.
NYU was more than $4,000 in most of the 1980s. Heck St. Johns charged $4,000 a year in 1984
I don't think about NYU students (or most college students) unless they are blocking my way. I still attend events on the NYU campus and I think that NYU students are just like any other college students- nothing special about them.
I was accepted to NYU, but ended up choosing Fordham. I still spent a lot of time there as my high school buddy attended. This was in the mid 80s.
The student body then was....Trendy. Think early MTV, Flock of Seagulls, etc. None of them ever rubbed me the wrong way. It was just a stark fashion contrast to Fordham which was very preppy at the time.
Since there is little in the way of a central campus, it tended to be very cliquey. My friend said most people made a few friends and that was their social life for 4 years. Not a bad place to do that as you cannot beat the location. But there is was little in traditional school/rah-rah culture and activities.
Since then, NYU has built scores of new dorms, so I imagine their footprint and presence is much more profound.
The university that ate Greenwich Village. You know, in CA if you want to go to the library and look at the books, you're welcome. Not at N Y Ewwwwwwwwwwwww. They want money.
Rich kids living the dream of a starving artist. I remember going to McSorly's last year and an NYU student was reading voltaire at the bar. There are other ways to pretend to be intelligent then being so obvious and pretentious.
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