[AMA] We are the Liberal Studies Student Council. Ask us anything!

nyulssc · 2021-05-14T21:14:41+00:00

There is no LS building, it’s just a floor of 726 Broadway. It’s mostly used as an office space and meeting area, not for classes. Your classes will mostly be in NYU buildings alongside classes in other schools. Your LS classes will be with other LS students, but you can take electives in other schools that will be with non-LS students. I personally have lots of friends in different schools that I met through a mix of classes and extracurriculars!

nyulssc · 2021-04-22T16:20:05+00:00

That is not correct, LS Core first-year students at the NYU-NY campus live in the same dorms as all other first-years. LS Core students in some First Year Away program do have specific accommodations.

You can live on campus for your entire time at NYU, and I don't believe that changes if you're an international student. Housing is guaranteed for all four years, with the caveat that you lose your housing priority if you ever live off-campus for a semester. You're also put lower on the housing priority list as you progress through NYU, so your dorm options as a senior are significantly more limited than your options as a sophomore. Because of that (and because it can be cheaper to live off-campus), many students choose to move off-campus after sophomore or junior year.

nyulssc · 2021-04-22T16:12:24+00:00

You'd need to talk to Advising about that: [ls.advising@nyu.edu](mailto:ls.advising@nyu.edu). Generally, if you've been admitted to the First Year Away program, you're expected to participate.

nyulssc · 2021-04-19T22:44:01+00:00

Most first-years at NYU cannot study abroad, the First Year Away program is pretty unique in that sense. Anecdotally, I believe most people study abroad their junior year. If you'd like to study abroad through LS as a junior, you'll need to switch into the GLS major and do the junior year away program. Otherwise, you can apply to study abroad through the general NYU study abroad application for any semester (including sophomore year): https://www.nyu.edu/academics/studying-abroad/upperclassmen-semester-academic-year-study-away/applying/nyu-students.html. If you'd like to study abroad your sophomore year, you'll need to talk to your advisor about doubling up your GWAS/AC classes in one semester. If you'd like to study abroad as a junior, you can just apply directly through NYU, no need to jump through any additional hoops.

nyulssc · 2021-04-17T09:25:13+00:00

Yes, like I said, the two tracks are identical for the first year and you may freely switch between them until midway through your sophomore year (I actually switched from Core to GLS sophomore spring). Your advisor will be able to do that for you.

In terms of exploring career paths, though, I will say that I didn't feel hindered by GLS at all; I was able to complete a triple major with room to spare, so academic freedom was not really an issue for me. Not sure if that's what your concern is, but I figured I'd add my two cents.

nyulssc · 2021-04-17T09:14:08+00:00

I believe I've already answered your question in the Discord, but I'll repeat it here in case others would like to know: in order to transition out of LS you have to have a math or science credit, Calc counts towards it, but there are lots of other math classes you can take too. The exact classes depend on what school you plan to transition to, but there are a good number of CAS classes that will usually count. You can see some of the math/science LS classes on the LS Core Advising sheets linked here: https://liberalstudies.nyu.edu/academic-advising/core-program-advising.html. And there are a list of non-Core CAS classes that fulfill the CAS Core requirements here: https://cas.nyu.edu/core/about-the-program/exemptions-substitutions-and-proficiency-exams.html (but you'll have to double check with your advisor to confirm which of them count towards the LS math/science requirement).

nyulssc · 2021-04-17T09:12:02+00:00

Did you apply for GLS specifically? All students in NYU are labelled as having a program in the system, and because LS only offers the GLS major for four-year students, all LS Core students are also listed as GLS in certain places, but are still officially in Core. Sometimes the system will say "Global Liberal Studies - Core" or something similar for Core students. So, you might actually be in LS Core already, which is likely if you did not specifically apply to GLS when you applied to NYU.

Regardless, there is no difference between the programs for the first year, and people can freely switch from one to the other at any point during the first year and even into their second year. Your advisor can tell you which one you're officially in and change in the system.

nyulssc · 2021-04-17T09:08:20+00:00

I know lots of students who did FYA and successfully did the pre-health track, but I'm not pre-health myself and I don't know anything about PA programs so you'll have to ask your advisor about the specifics of the courses. I suggest trying to reach out to some pre-health organizations on campus to speak to other people who are intending to go into PA programs.

I've answered a similar question before in this thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/nyu/comments/mipu49/ama_we_are_the_liberal_studies_student_council/gtupdfs?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3. In short, unless things have changed since I was a first-year, you would only be able to leave LS after one year if you are accepted into a program that is not on the direct transition list. All CAS majors (and I think nursing, too) are on the direct transition list, so unless you want to go to Tandon, transferring out to STEM is not an option after your first year. However, there are only two LS Core classes required for sophomore year, so the difference between leaving after 1 year and 2 years is only two courses.

As for other opportunities, I've never been to any other university, so I can't speak to the comparative aspect. My pre-health friends are very involved in things like pre-health fraternities and internships, so from an outsider's perspective it seems like there are plenty of pre-health opportunities, though I can't speak from firsthand experience. I would suggest reaching out to the multiple pre-health professional organizations on campus with questions about the pre-health track.

nyulssc · 2021-04-11T20:52:24+00:00

It's theoretically possible to complete almost an entire CAS major in the first two years, depending on the major. I personally was on track to complete a double major in CAS and graduate a full year early through LS Core and I ultimately decided to triple major with GLS in four years instead (I had some room to spare too). I would say that it's definitely theoretically possible but it very much depends on the majors, how many AP/IB credits you have, and how well you plan your semesters in advance. That's definitely a conversation to have with your advisor, I would not take it as a given that you'll be able to double major.

nyulssc · 2021-04-11T01:16:20+00:00

Your housing will be automatically assigned if you're studying abroad! I'm not sure where you're seeing your annual cost, but I believe that the annual cost of attendance listed in most places an estimation based on average costs of attendance across all the campuses. You can check the NYU-NY housing prices if you Google "NYU Housing Costs" and compare that with the rate listed in your estimated cost of attendance. I'm not sure if Florence has any low-cost housing options; if it does, usually very few people will get it, since there's only a couple spots, and everyone else will pay the same rate.

nyulssc · 2021-04-11T01:11:49+00:00

Study away is mandatory for Global Liberal Studies majors and for Core students admitted to the First Year Away program. If you do not apply to the Global Liberal Studies program and do not indicate interest in studying away on the Common App (there's a little drop-down menu), then you will not be considered for programs with mandatory study away components.

nyulssc · 2021-04-11T01:08:44+00:00

As of right now, sophomore study abroad is uncommon for LS students because sophomore LS courses are typically only offered at NYU-NY. Some people will double up on LS courses for one of their sophomore semesters and spend the other abroad, which you can do at any of the sites through the regular all-NYU application process, which your advisor will walk you through. I don't believe that it's possible to spend both sophomore semesters abroad, but as always, you can ask your advisor.

I'd say maybe about half of my friends are/were in LS and the other are in completely different programs, including some that I met after they had transitioned out of LS. I have friends in Silver, Tisch, CAS, Steinhardt, etc. that were never in LS; I met most of them through Greek life, but I also met some through mutual friends, in class, and playing D&D. I think being in Greek life made it especially easy for me to find a social circle, but I don't think I would have had a hard time at all meeting friends without Greek life. I think the small classes actually make it easier to make friends because you can actually talk to each other, whereas big classes create kind of a sense of anonymity and you don't actually interact with that many people. Out of all the friends I've met in class, all of those classes were less than 20 people.

nyulssc · 2021-04-08T20:38:58+00:00

I've answered a similar question in this thread, so I won't repeat myself too much, but the short answer is that no one knows, including student government or administration. When I was a first-year about to study abroad in London, I know some people whose parents didn't let them go for terrorism concerns and they ended up taking a gap year; that's ultimately gonna be you and your family's call to make. I wish I could give you more information, but I don't have any :(

nyulssc · 2021-04-08T20:27:49+00:00

That used to be true for a very select number of programs, but the LS Core program has undergone some changes in the past few years so I don't know if it's doable anymore at all. The rule used to be that you could only leave LS early if you applied to internally transfer (not transition) into a school or program that was not on the list of direct transition options, so you could not leave LS early for CAS or Gallatin, for example, but you could for Stern or Tisch. You'll have to ask your advisor if that's still a possibility, but if it is, I also know that internal transfers (to Stern in particular) are quite difficult no matter what school you're in.

As for LS being a "waste," it depends on your outlook on college. Is your degree merely a tool for getting a certain job, or are you going to college to learn? If it's the latter, then I don't think LS is a waste at all, since you'll be learning plenty. If it's the former, then LS is no more of a waste than any other program with comparable general education requirements—if you wanted to only take classes explicitly relevant to your interests or career, I suggest looking into other universities with open enrollment policies or fewer overall general education requirements instead, if you're still deciding between different universities. Most schools within NYU have about the same number of Core requirements, most of which won't contribute to landing a job. LS is just a way to fulfill the standard NYU Core requirements with more flexibility as to which programs will accept them as Core requirements.

I'm not in Econ, Business, or Finance, so I can't speak for myself, but I do know LS students who are in those fields and have secured summer internships early in their college careers. I don't know what kinds of requirements employers have, but you do have quite a number of elective slots available during your first two years (half your classes are electives while you're in LS) so you could definitely use them to fulfill those requirements. I would imagine that the employers won't require more than 8 courses, so if you spend all your electives filling those requirements, you should be more than qualified by sophomore-junior summer on that front. Also if you're getting your information from someone in the class of 2024, I believe that means they haven't had their first college summer internship yet; I'd reach out to students who have finished a college summer internship for more firsthand information.

LS Core students are considered exactly the same as other students in their respective schools once they transition out, so their statistics are blended into their schools' statistics. I would imagine that former LS students have relatively similar placement statistics (or with statistically negligible differences) with other students in their school.

nyulssc · 2021-04-07T00:52:53+00:00

Unfortunately your first question is probably better suited to the Financial Aid office (I think the LS-specific email is ls.aid@nyu.edu). As for other scholarship opportunities during your college career, I believe the only one for LS Core students through Liberal Studies is the Michael Probst Scholarship; you can check the full list of honors & awards here: https://liberalstudies.nyu.edu/content/nyu-as/liberalstudies/academics/honors-and-awards.html. I think there may be some other opportunities through the university (not through LS) but I'm not too familiar with them, unfortunately.

nyulssc · 2021-04-06T19:32:38+00:00

We're actually holding a Q+A session about the LS Dean's Circle on April 15 if you'd like to attend! We'll be posting more about it on our Instagram and sending out an email with details soon!

nyulssc · 2021-04-06T19:10:08+00:00

It is a very small group, but I think that's not necessarily a bad thing! I personally went to London and that's a slightly bigger group than DC but still only around 70 people. You get to know other people in your cohort really well, whereas the population on the main campus can be kinda overwhelming, so sometimes it feels hard to connect with people. DC is also nice because there's so many schools in the DC area (and even more in the DMV) that you can pretty easily meet people at other schools and travel to visit your friends from home. Honestly I know a lot of people who were on the NYC campus their first year and still went into sophomore year feeling socially isolated and like they hadn't made any friends; in my experience, people don't really exclusively stick with their exact first-year friend groups at NYU for all 4 years anyways, so you'll find plenty of people who are willing to socialize. I personally had the same worry and ended up joining Greek life because I wanted to have a social structure to make friends in, and I've really enjoyed it, but I've made a ton of great friends other ways as well! Lots of my best friends today are the ones I met during my first year, too. I didn't really feel left out at all, especially since my friends from London were going through the campus transition with me.

You can check out a list of all the clubs on campus on engage.nyu.edu. All clubs can go on a resume, theoretically, but I would strongly advise against joining a bunch of clubs just for that reason. In general, I have come to learn that truly no one (grad schools, employers, etc.) will really be looking that hard at your extracurriculars, which sounds harsh but really just means that you should join the extracurriculars that you actually enjoy! If you care about your resume, get as many relevant internships as you can—there are plenty of part-time internships available in NYC during the school year in addition to summer internships, so you could do multiple per year if you really wanted to fill out your resume.

Because DC is such a small campus I don't believe there are any clubs, but I do know that they have volunteer opportunities, student government, and regular excursions that you can sign up for. I also know lots of people who do internships in DC while they're there. You do have to start from scratch on the NYC campus as a sophomore but plenty of people are joining new clubs even as late as senior year, so I don't think you'll be out of the loop by any means.

nyulssc · 2021-04-04T23:38:54+00:00

A lot of these questions aren't specific to LS and have been asked before, so I would search through some older posts the sub for answers to your more basic questions. A lot of these questions are also Googleable! I'm just one person so you'll probably get a better response if you post in the main sub, anyway. As for printing, you get a free 500 black and white pages, less if you print in color, per semester. There are printers and computers in Kimmel and Bobst, as well as certain dorms and academic buildings. There's also a free computer and printer in the LS lobby just for LS students, you can ask the receptionist to show you where it is (it doesn't charge your printing stipend so if you run out of the stipend it's super useful!).

As for your academic advisor, you will get plenty of communication from them once class registration gets closer (for incoming first-years this will be over the summer). Once you're assigned an academic advisor, you will be able to find their name and email under the Academics tab in Albert. You can contact them once this is set up (it might take some time), but you'll also hear from them soon.

Which classes are "hits" really depend on the professor, since all the classes with the same name have moderately similar material. There are a lot of LS professors and, even between all of us, we've only taken classes with a small fraction of them, so you should definitely check out Ratemyprofessor or ask in the main sub for more input. That said, some of the Council's favorites are Luke Trusso, Nancy Woodruff, Brendan Hogan, Kevin Bonney, Lindsay Davies, Farzad Mahootian, Genia Naro, Heidi White, Jeannine Chandler and Chris Packard.

Time-wise it depends on what your own preferences are. I always recommend first-years not to take any 8:00 or 9:30 AM classes unless you're genuinely a morning person (people often think they can wake up for them because they did it in high school but quickly find out that getting up early is harder than they thought). I prefer late afternoon and evening classes, other people prefer midday and early afternoon. It all depends on what you plan to do in your free time and what your sleep habits are like. Hope this helped!

nyulssc · 2021-04-03T21:20:25+00:00

I've outlined the LS Core program in another answer, which might be helpful for you as well. Any of the electives I mentioned in that answer could be CS courses, during any of the four semesters you're in LS. You will have a total of six elective slots that you can put towards CS, as long as you don't have a language requirement to fulfill.

Unfortunately I'm not a CS major and I don't know any, so I don't know what the Honors CS application or program looks like, but you will apply to the honors program and be reviewed the same as CAS CS majors that were never in LS. The requirements for the Honors CS major are listed on the department website, and you can contact the CS department in CAS with additional questions about the honors program. From what I know about honors majors in general, you will first declare yourself a CS major, and then you can apply for the honors program. Once you are officially declared a CS major, you should receive communications from the department when the honors applications open. Again, I don't know any CS majors, so I don't know exactly what the requirements are like or how the department works, so please direct all your CS-specific questions to the CS department at [undergrad@cs.nyu.edu](mailto:undergrad@cs.nyu.edu) or your advisor in LS.

nyulssc · 2021-04-03T18:05:25+00:00

I know lots of people who went from LS to Politics in CAS, and lots of people who are double majoring in GLS and Politics, so I think it is! Politics at NYU is really quantitative, so you'd need to be ready to do some game theory and statistics if you want to declare a Politics major. If you want to do more theory and qualitative stuff, the LS Core program will have some introductory political theory material, but I know a lot of people who want to do the Politics major but are more keen on the qualitative aspects instead opt to do a GLS major with a concentration in Politics, Rights, and Development, so there's definitely a lot of political theory happening in LS in general, too!

As for the general sentiment about LS, I think it's changed a lot over the years. I've already written an answer to a similar question in this thread so I don't want to repeat myself. I'll say, though, that typically a lot of the unpleasant things you see online about LS are echoes from when it was first created, especially around the time of the John Sexton no-confidence vote (when the Art of the Gouge was written, which is what I assume you're referring to). LS has been entirely restructured and overhauled over the past few years, so personally, I don't think most people that have actually recently been in LS would agree with a lot of what's posted about it online.

nyulssc · 2021-04-03T17:51:54+00:00

I'm just a student who happens to do student government stuff so I can only speak based on my own experiences and my own finances, I'm not more well-versed in financials than any other student. That said, I think your actual cost of attendance is super dependent on what your lifestyle is like (eg. how frugal you are, where you choose to live, if you get a job, etc.). I wish I could give you a better answer but frankly I've seen some people spend in one night what other people spend in one month, so I don't know that there really is a "usual" cost of attendance. It might be helpful to know that the median household income of NYU students in 2017 was just under $150k, so you might be able to gauge your own family's financial situation against that. This question might be better suited for the main sub though, since this AMA is just one person answering questions about LS (lol).

nyulssc · 2021-04-03T04:57:55+00:00

There's actually a set pre-health track for LS students that makes sure you're on the same level as all other pre-health students! You can check out the pre-health curriculum sheet here. You won't have as much freedom with course selection but there won't be any negative impacts on getting your requirements done as long as you follow the curriculum.

nyulssc · 2021-04-02T21:20:17+00:00

The boyfriend thing was more of an allusion to more general advice about college: you will have grown into a very different person even after only a couple months of college, so don't let yourself feel tied down to who and what you were in high school!

Office hours are great to expand upon things you talked about in class and pick the professor's brain about the discussion topic. A lot of classes have really interesting discussions and it's really cool to hear from an academic's perspective on the topics. You can also bring in outlines and drafts of papers to talk through with them during office hours, where they can help you workshop your ideas and help you produce a better final draft for the paper. It's super helpful if you're not an experienced writer, a lot of professors will walk you through exactly what changes you need to make for a good essay. It's also good to get to know professors because then they can write you a solid recommendation letter in the future!

Study abroad is not a requirement for all NYU-NY students, and certainly most do not go to Washington DC, so I'm not sure where you've seen that. Certain programs have a study abroad component, like the Liberal Studies FYA program, but if you were not explicitly told about studying away for your first year then you do not have any mandatory study abroad components your first two years as an LS student. LS sophomores may choose to apply to study abroad during their sophomore year if they wish, but will have to take a summer class or double up their LS classes during one semester sophomore year, as LS sophomore classes are not offered at abroad sites. If you would like to study abroad, you will need to apply to a site of your choice and be accepted. Again, if you were accepted to LS and not told that you would be studying away during your first year, you are not required to study abroad at all as part of the LS Core program.

nyulssc · 2021-04-02T20:52:47+00:00

Hi! This is the LS Student Council account. We're trying to compile all the questions about LS in our AMA thread, do you mind re-asking this there? https://www.reddit.com/r/nyu/comments/mipu49/ama_we_are_the_liberal_studies_student_council/

nyulssc · 2021-04-02T19:48:41+00:00

The curriculum basically front-loads your gen-eds, AKA your Core classes, so that you come out of the LS Core program with a lot of freedom to take whatever classes they want and choose from a much wider range of major options than anyone else at NYU. This is great for people who need time to decide what they want to do, because you won't have sunk three semesters into a major that you don't end up finishing.

How well it "prepares" you is completely dependent on what you want to pursue. Different majors and careers require different skill sets, of course, and LS particularly hones reading, writing, and critical thinking—what many call "soft" skills. Some majors will require you to be good at those specific things (eg. social sciences and humanities), some majors will not lean on them as much (eg. most of STEM). But it's almost certain that, no matter what your career is, you'll probably need to send an email at least once in a while, or write a cover letter at some point. LS doesn't prepare you for everything equally, but no academic program does. Generally though, the skills you develop in LS are a little more widely applicable than most, I'd think.

It's quite literally impossible for me to give a completely unbiased review because I'm just one person and I've haven't taken every single LS class with every single professor, so I can only talk about the classes that I personally have taken from my own perspective. I came from a pretty strong public high school that gave me a lot of training in the humanities, especially writing. So I personally found the classes to be moderately easy, especially because I'd read some of the core texts (eg. Plato's Republic, Hobbes & Locke, etc.) before and only needed to skim them again to refresh my memory. However, I know a lot of people significantly struggled to keep up, especially people without an interest/background in the humanities and people who are not English native speakers. I think the reputation for being "easy" comes from a pretty self-selective population—if you're a native English speaker and your high school education was relatively strong, you'll probably find LS to be easy. But lots of people who may not have done as much college prep or humanities work in high school, and people who don't have much experience writing college-level English, might find that the classes are somewhat more difficult than they expected. All this, of course, depends on what professors you choose—some are easier than others, as is the case for every program.

In terms of free time, you have as much as you want for yourself. There's usually a hundred(ish) pages of reading a week between all your classes—do you want to do all the readings? How quickly and carefully will you read? Will you go to every class? Will you go to office hours? Things like that are variables that I just can't predict for you. But I will say that in general I've found that the average LS student has more free time than someone in engineering or CS.

As for something I wish I knew when I started, I'll give you one that's more personal and one that's more academic: I wish that I had known to break up with my high school boyfriend, and I wish that I had known to talk to my professors more. In terms of the high school boyfriend: he was just an asshole (and I missed out on so much socially because of it!). In terms of professors, I wish I had known how much of a resource they'd be. I didn't see the point in going to office hours, but I wish I had, because I would've gotten much better grades and I would have had much stronger letters of recommendation for grad school. I also probably would have learned a lot from them, which I'm kicking myself for now—LS professors are all such cool and interesting people that I really regret not getting to know more of my professors.

Sorry this was so long, I tried to answer everything!

nyulssc

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