Before I head back home for the weekend, I figured I would document a few of the lessons I've learned in the past 7 months in NYC @Stern and a few tips to prospies/admitted students who happened to stumble upon this blog. I'll start from the beginning.
Beginning-
[Summer] Goal: sign up for classes
Most freshman in their first semester will take Micro, Calc, CLP, WTE or Com&C, and a MAP class. Some people may choose to take Micro second semester concurrently with Stats but unless you're a strong math/econ person, it might be a heavy workload. Most people go the prior route so that they are on track to take their first Finance class fall or summer Sophomore year (60% of us will end up majoring in finance). I had the misfortune of having classes while course registration came up and it was a huge nightmare, hopefully it'll be a little different this time around (there was a server upgrade but I seriously see no difference). ALSO, make sure you leave Common Hour (12:30-1:30) free! This is the time when many clubs meet!
A few notes:
If you choose the regular route, microeconomics will be your first "Stern" class with the lovely, infamous "Stern Curve". Only +/-35% of the class will receive a grade of A/A- so make sure you don't botch up the midterm/final. Many of the students in the class will have already taken micro and Bowmaker, though he's a good professor, tends to give easy exams. Just for the record, the curve (down) first semester was something like 80-95.5= B+, 95.6-98ish= A-, 98.1+ = A. However, I was told by a sophomore that the year before was a curve up from a D to a B, so it really varies. These are just guestimates based on what I've heard. It may/may not be easier in the second semester. Don't worry too much over this, just do your best when the time comes!
[Summer/Fall] Goal: make some friends
Upon entering Stern you'll find that the majority of students are from the tri-state area and california. If you belong the the prior group, do yourself a favor and don't go home on the weekends for the first month. During orientation bring your alter-ego (or maybe not alter ego) and be super friendly and outgoing even if you're not outgoing or super friendly by nature. A lot of people say that they make their best friends in their Cohort, but don't count on it. I would say 50% is based on luck and the other 50% is all your own hard work. Don't establish yourself as a loner!
[Fall] Goal: explore
Go to club fairs and add your name to all their list servs, they'll probably spam the hell out of you but at least you'll know what going on. Attend club meetings that you find interesting and get involved. This is a great way to learn a broader variety of subjects beyond what is covered in class. There's also a lot of professional development activities/workshops that are fairly helpful for confused freshman. Once you find a club you like, become a regular, get to know the eboard etc!
Some students choose to begin job searching during the Summer (I was one of them) just make sure that you schedule around common hour and can handle the workload. If you aren't sure, try waiting until you get a good feel for things before beginning your hunt. I highly suggest work-study jobs as they are on campus, and have pretty flexible hours. Don't be discouraged if you don't hear back from many of the jobs you apply for on CareerNet, work study jobs generally go to upperclassman and all NYU students (there's a lot of them) can access the listing. I would say, expect ~1/10 of your applications to actually get some response.
