NYU courses are stimulating and taught by inspiring professors, for the most part. Students are expected to apply to a specific college and program of study (College of Arts and Sciences freshmen, for example, can apply "undecided" but must declare within two years), but hundreds transfer internally every year. In any case, all students take a core curriculum under the school-wide Morse Academic Plan (MAP). So everyone gets a good grounding in the natural and social sciences and the liberal arts, no matter how specialized their college or major.

Socially, NYU can be difficult for students who crave classic school spirit, with football teams and the rest. The student body is diverse and spread way out among on- and off-campus communities. School events ranging from the annual Strawberry Festival to the All-University Games do, however, help foster a closer community. Then again, most NYU students prefer to get their entertainment from the city itself, relying on local nightlife and art galleries that are in turn fairly receptive to what NYU students have to offer.