Things freshmen at NYU now understand

I think…

It is already the end of March and soon, we will be entering spring weather. And yet, it still feels like yesterday when I felt lost and bewildered in a sea of anxious parents, eager freshmen, and the extremely energetic Welcome Week staff. Despite a few all-nighters and a couple of homesick days, my freshman year at NYU has been unforgettable. Now, as I begin to prepare for my second year at NYU, I reflect on all the things I’ve learned (or had to learn) so far.

Meal plans

With mandatory meal plans for NYU freshmen living on-campus, the Freshman 15 is real guys. At first, you are going to be eating your normal three-meals-a-day routine or for someone like me, only two meals a day. Maybe you will even go out to eat because why not? New York City is filled with good food. But as you continue along the semester, you will eventually realize that you have to eat around 10 meals per day to finish your meal plan. This is when you will be inviting all the friends you know to come and visit you, and you will invite every one of them to eat at dining halls. This is when you will share meals with your fellow international friends or upperclassmen who loves getting free food from desperate freshmen.

Or, worst of all, you decide to spend all of your extra meal swipes on yourself. Basically, this means you drink around 5 cups of Jamba Juice everyday, and knowing how Weinstein operates, you probably won’t be drinking any variety. Prepare yourself for endless Strawberry Whirls. Speaking of food…you want real food? Please go to Palladium. The sushi at Kimmel and Weinstein are not a bit like the real thing. Spicy salmon roll? More like salmon toothpaste rolled in bad seaweed.

Identity crisis

 What do I want to study? What should be my career? What do people think of me? Who am I really? I guarantee you that at least one of these questions are going to go through your head during freshmen year. Do not be alarmed. Do not get stressed. While a lot of your fellow freshmen friends may seem to have their life together, none of that really matters. Freshmen year is about discovery and learning about yourself. You might go into freshmen year believing that you will major in Economics but then find yourself changing to the Pre-Med track. Freshmen year is a complete one-year identity crisis, but that is alright. You can worry about internships and the specifics of your future later on. For now, just relax and find out what you are passionate in.

Writing the Essay

Every NYU students knows the agony and anxiety associated with Writing the Essay, and for Tisch students, it is double the pain. Indeed, this class has been nearly every freshman’s nightmare because it pretty much makes no sense. The prompts are confusing and vague; the papers are long and tedious. However, Writing the Essay was not completely a nightmare. In fact, I learned a lot from it. I was able to read articles by amazing writers such as Adam Gopnik and David Foster Wallace. I was able to think more into what is written rather than taking words at face value.

Writing the Essay has a notorious reputation, but as a freshman who went through with the experience, I would like to argue that the class is not as bad as it is known to be. Of course, I was deliriously happy when the class was finished. And of course, I feel very sympathetic to students who have to take it for two semesters. Nonetheless, I believe that Writing the Essay is an important part of the NYU freshmen experience and it does not necessarily have to be a bad one.  

NYU writing center

Speaking of writing, the NYU Writing Center is another awesome resource. Too awkward and nervous to meet your professor face-to-face? Too insecure about your writing? The NYU Writing Center is the perfect place for you! At the Writing Center, you get to have 45 minutes to work one-on-one with another professor on your essay. Even if you are not done with your final draft, every professor is more than willing to contribute ideas. Appointments fill up quickly so be sure to make an appointment at least a few weeks beforehand. NYU offers a lot of academic resources and personally, the Writing Center really helped me pull through the semester.

Budgeting

Budget, budget, budget! The city is filled with temptations and you are going to find yourself wondering where all that money went. Being independent with money in your bank account, you will feel like you need to buy a whole ton of useless stuff. Be sure to really differentiate between needs and wants. Remember, college is about learning how to survive in the real world. Just like you need to save after college, you should save during college too. You do not want to be the student who has a bank account equal to his/her GPA.

City of Temptations

NYU Transportation

Find yourself a nice, comfortable pair of running shoes because trust me, you will not be using the university’s transportation. The buses may sound like a good idea in the dead of winter but the transportation system is generally unreliable. In fact, it is most likely faster to just walk than take the bus. And thinking about using NYU’s “on-demand” Safe Ride Service? Think again, because there is absolutely nothing on-demand about it; it may be up to a 3-hour wait. In addition, Safe Ride can only pick up students at limited locations. So if you’re planning to go to some party between midnight and 6:30 a.m. in uptown New York, better find your own ride.

How to pronounce Bobst

Bobst with a short “o” or long “o”? Even now, I am not completely sure. Bobst with a long “o” sounds fancier.

Tapingo can save your life (or at least your time)

After class, you are going to feel tired, hungry, and thirsty. You walk by the campus’ Starbucks and you wait nearly 30 minutes or so for just one cup of coffee. Why spend 30 minutes when you could probably just spend two minutes to get that same cup of coffee? Tapingo is an app that allows you to order on your phone. It can be directly connected to your meal plan and dining dollars so that you can order food anywhere, anytime in just a few minutes. Nothing feels more satisfying than walking into that crowded Starbucks to not have to wait and get your food.

Download Tapingo in the App store!

Tourism

Being a New Yorker does not mean you can’t be a tourist. Experience the city! Unlike upperclassmen, freshmen only have to worry about academics. Spend the extra time you have to go explore the city. Leave the campus. Go find every tourist attraction in New York City and do not be afraid to take awkward, double-chin selfies—-because you should. That’s the fun of studying at NYU! However, you can act like a tourist but never, ever look like one. Know where you are going because if you look like a lost child, you might look like an easy target.

Go visit Meow Parlour! It’s cheap and fun…as long as you’re not allergic.

Bobcats or violets

So what are we? Bobcats or Violets? Both? Honestly, I still do not know the exact answer to this question. After intensive research, I believe that NYU is known as both the Bobcats and the Violets. It just goes to show you that NYU doesn’t really care. We still have pride though. It doesn’t matter if we’re the Bobcats or Violets or “the Rich Kids” or “that huge school” or “the students who go to America’s most expensive university” – what matters is that we are at NYU and we’re ready to do great things.

Go Bobcats! Or Violets! Or whatever we are…

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