The following is North alumnus Michael Miller’s response to our questions about his college decision process, the student life and culture at New York University, and more.

Miller graduated from North in 2019. He is a part of NYU’s class of 2023.

I first became sure that I wanted to attend NYU after reviewing my application to the school; the program in which I was accepted, Liberal Studies, focused a lot on Art History which I fell in love with through a class taught by Scott Samuels at North. Also, unlike other schools that I was considering, NYU is strong in the two majors that I want to study, Politics and Spanish, whereas other schools were ranked highly in one topic but sidetracked the other.

In all honesty it was a very pragmatic decision rather than something I knew deep down in my heart, or something sentimental like that. It all came down to what seemed like the best fit.

I am happy with my choice because, although there are moments when debt and doubt naturally come up, I cannot think of a university that better fits who I am so perfectly.

I am only an hour and a half—sometimes only an hour—train ride away so I can visit my family pretty easily. Even though I do not always visit, it’s nice to have that option, and therefore homesickness isn’t too much of a problem. The two things I do miss about WW-P, however, tend to be bagels and my dog. 

Photo Credit: thehill.com

One of my favorite things about NYU is that nearly all the classes are incredibly interesting as a lot of the subjects taught come from unexpected angles. I just signed up to study abroad at NYU’s Buenos Aires location for next spring and all of the classes there are especially exciting; two classes for example are Terrismo y Cultura and Queer Cultures and Democracy. 

One of the hardest parts of NYU is that time acts strangely in the city; it does not function correctly and as a result can be draining. Because so much happens in a day, each day can be split up into two, but at the same since so much happens, each week feels as fast as a day. It’s hard to understand at first but everyone I’ve talked to about it feels the effects.

Culture at NYU is misleading. A lot of people say that there is no culture because of the large student body and the lack of a campus, but I would say that this is not entirely the case. The school finds community and culture not as one whole united front, but through relatable sub-categories such as the university’s specific schools: Tisch, Gallatin, and Stern, for example. The same applies for dorms. Also, as big as the university is, I often bump into people I know throughout the area or I discover that a friend and I know the same person; everyone seems oddly interconnected.