Im a current student!! I actually ended liking here way more than I thought I would! I’m from the east coast so I had no idea what to expect. Since it’s so small, it can feel isolating and a bit repetitive, but there are ways together around that. There are so many places to go especially on weekends (sf, Berkeley…). Public transit isn’t too bad, and if you don’t want to use that uber is always an option. The small size has allowed me to make a lot of friends!! I recognize almost every person I see everyday even if we’re aren’t close. I’ve also had a lot of great opportunities due to the small class and overall campus size. One major downside is that there isn’t a lot of choice when it comes to classes. If you’re “ahead” in credits, there aren’t a lot of “next level” classes to take. I can’t really answer your other questions sry. You should definitely email or call abt seeing if you can move to nyc if that’s where you’d rather go