College Success Bulletin Special Report:
Why NYU Sucks
A client who would prefer anonymity referred
me to a recent Village Voice article that painted
an ugly picture that I’ve seen over and over.
Wilma (not her real name – but I told her I’d
come up with a goofy one if she didn’t let
me use her name) has a talented daughter who’s
first choice is NYU.
Despite my repeated snotty, snide comments about
NYU’s lack of generosity over the past months to
Wilma and her daughter, Gertrude (also not her real
name, but it’s fun to picture them rolling their eyes at
this piece), they still had it as Number 1 on their
personal list.
This is understandable – NYU is a cool place.
It’s done a great job marketing itself (last
year a record high 42,242 kids applied for
approximately 5,000 spots.
But how do they pay – and what happens to them
after graduation?
I won’t belabor the answer, because the
Village Voice article is very descriptive.
(Thanks again, Agnes! [Alternative name]).
But here are some highlights, or lowlights,
as the case may be.
* One student profiled in the article will
graduate with about $165,000 in debt.
* The student says that NYU indicated that
her award would increase after the first
semester – but it decreased.
* Tuition increased, however.
* NYU was “busted” by Attorney General
Cuomo for a kickback scheme involving
deceptive marketing practices. The scheme
earned NYU a cool 1.4 Mill over five years.
* NYU has made a choice to use its endowment
funding to expand locally – Brooklyn and
Governors Island – and beyond – Abu Dhabi
and China.
Since I’m on the verge of breaking my promise
NOT to belabor my point, I’ll stop here – and
give you a link to the article so you can
read and judge for yourself.
The bigger picture is that you can protect yourself
- or your son or daughter – from the fate suffered
by “Lyndsey” – the student profiled in the Village
Voice – who apparently isn’t as clever with fake
names as yours truly.
How?
* Research historic generosity of colleges BEFORE
you decide on your Number One choice.
* Apply to a group of colleges that have historically
competed against ONE ANOTHER for your “type” of
student…then play them off against each other
after the admissions offers come.
* Know the rules of financial aid – what assets
count against you more than others, what don’t
count at all. (Example: money in your child’s
name will be PENALIZED more than if it were
in your own name.)
* Beware the pitfalls lurking in the forms to
mess you up. One question asks how much the
student’s parents can afford to pay for college.
Another asks self-employed families to value
their businesses.
Where to you find out this information?
If you’re a do-it-yourselfer, a great resource
is the Common Data Set that each college reports.
This is detailed statistical information that
each college must report to the Department of
Education. For NYU, you’d google ‘NYU Common
Data Set.”
The College Board is also a great resource.
My college finance workshops are another good
overview of all of the above, and they are
currently f.ree of charge (but worth thousands,
thank you very much!).
www.LockwoodCollegeFunding.com
I hope you found this information valuable.
Your Correspondent,
- Andy Lockwood
P.S. I don’t really mean to pick on NYU that
much. It’s not the only college that’s deceptive
about financial aid. Here’s the link to the
Village Voice article – judge for yourself.
Andrew Lockwood, J.D.
Lockwood College Funding
497 South Oyster Bay Road
Plainview, New York 11803
516.882.5464
www.AndyLockwood.com
www.StudentAthleteMagazine.com
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