2016-11-7 2017年最好的建筑学专业排名，本科是康奈尔大学第一，雪城大学第三，莱斯大学第四。研究生院是哈佛大学第一，康奈尔和麻省理工并列第二，哥伦比亚第四，耶鲁大学第五，伯克利第六，米之根大学第七，雪城大学第八，莱斯大学第九，油喷第十。 The Top 10 Undergraduate Architecture Programs 1. Cornell University 2. California Polytechnic State University–San Luis Obispo 3. Syracuse University 4. Rice University 5. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 6. University of Texas–Austin 7. Rhode Island School of Design 8. Pratt Institute 9. Auburn University 10. South California Institute of Architecture The Top 10 Graduate Architecture Programs 1. Harvard University 2. (Tie)Cornell University 2. (Tie)Massachusetts Institute of Technology 4. Columbia University 5. Yale University 6. University of California–Berkeley 7. University of Michigan 8. Syracuse University 9. Rice University 10. University of Pennsylvania 本科和研究生院都在前十名的只有三所大学，康奈尔、雪城大学、和莱斯大学。 当然喽，如果研究生院好，本科教育也基本上差不到哪里去，所以按照研究生院的排名去申报，一般都不会出大错。另外在研究生院中，油喷和雪城大学不在2016年的前十之内，取而代之的是华盛顿大学和弗吉尼亚理工大学。考虑到弗吉尼亚理工在历年本科教育中的排名也不低，所以弗吉尼亚理工也是建筑专业一个很不错的选择。 不过考虑到大学的综合排名，一般的学生，除非兴趣和资助上的原因，能去HYMG,自然就去这几所，基础教育不错，资助也都很好，尤其是哈佛耶鲁和MIT。按照兴趣，康奈尔自然是第一选择，尤其是本科。其他学校，如果是免费去读，才可以考虑，否则就甭用去申请了，直接去州大就是了 。
2016-10-10 俗话说，男怕入错行，女怕嫁错郎。在美国高等院校中，麻省理工和康奈尔大学，是学生自杀率最高或曾经最高的大学，油喷、哈佛大学、纽约大学和约翰霍夫金斯大学，也都榜上有名，2004年前后，纽约大学一年内有六名学生自杀。而医学和建筑学，是自杀率高发的专业，而亚裔学生，尤其是男孩子，又是自杀率最高的人群。 康奈尔大学，是美国最有名的自杀大学，因为在常青藤学校中，康内尔是出了名的好进难出，亚历山大， 校园里有一座桥，穿过一条峡谷，连结宿舍区和教学区，秋冬和春冬换季的时候，一些来自世界各地的曾经非常优秀的大学生耐不得青灯古佛，就会接二连三飞蛾赴火般地坠桥自杀，因此 College Magazine把康内尔排在西点军校之前，成为美国压力最大的10所大学之首。尤其是康奈尔的建筑系，盛名之下，必有懦夫，自杀率更是居高不下，学校为此不得不在桥上建立一堵专门的防护网，预防学生自杀。 根据2010年3月16日的一篇文章： Of all the things Cornell University wants to be known for, suicide isn’t among them. And yet, after years of trying to shake the image that it's a “suicide school,” as one official called it Monday, recent deaths have made it difficult not to associate the upstate New York institution with an above-average suicide rate. Cornell became so concerned about this problem that in November 2002 it formed a special mental health-oriented Asian and Asian American Campus Climate Task Force to address the causes behind the high number of suicides and to understand why these students report less satisfaction with their Cornell experience compared with other groups. In addition, in 2004 the Cornell University Council on Mental Health and Welfare was formed to bring broad-based and sustained attention to the mental health of the Cornell community. 再根据2000年2月26日的一篇文章，麻省理工自1964年到2000年之间的36年内，有47名学生自杀，自杀率为10万分之14.6，比全美高校平均10分之6.5-7.5的学生自杀率高一倍， 而麻省理工的本科生更甚，上世纪80年代自杀率高达10万分之21.2，本世纪初仍然高达10万分之12.6。在上世纪80年代，麻省理工学生的自杀率高达10万分之19，而到90年代和2000年代，下降为10万分之10，也仍然高于全国平均水平。可是进入2010年代，自杀率又高达10万分之12.5， 而且仅仅在2014-2015一年，麻省理工就有六位同学自杀，还有一位教授也自杀了。2011年进行的一项调查，包括13所高校，麻省理工学生自杀率第一，哈佛大学自杀率第二，普林斯顿大学，则拒绝提供学生自杀的数据，只说其学生自杀率不高。 MIT has lost 47 students to suicide since 1964, which translates to a rate of 14.6 per 100,000 student years. Over the period examined, MIT’s suicide rate has fallen from well above the national average in the sixties and seventies to below average in the past two decades. MIT’s suicide rate peaked in the 1980s at nearly 19 per 100,000 student years. Throughout the 1990s the rates have been nearly half that of the previous decade at 10 per 100,000 student years. More recently MIT’s suicide rate has been even higher; over the past five years the campus has reported 12.5 suicides per 100,000 students. The increasing rate has been driven by the school’s undergraduate population, whose suicide rate in the past decade has outpaced that of the school’s graduate students — 12.6 to 8.5. 历史上和麻省理工旗鼓相当的哈佛大学、耶鲁大学、加州大学伯克利分校的学生自杀率也居高不下，可是这三所学校缺少1960年以后学生自杀的数据，无法进行横向的比较。由于事涉敏感，家丑不可外扬，主动提供学生自杀数据的高校全美不足15%。大概也都是不得已而为之，例如油喷屁大一点校园仅在2013-2014一年就有四位学生自杀，2013-2016三年中有10位学生自杀，使其快速步入全美学生自杀率最高的大学之列，特别是每年的三月和四月，油喷有自杀高压锅之称，尤其以商学院孔同学的自杀最引人注目： Kong’s death has brought renewed attention to the longstanding issue of mental health at Penn, which has seen10 student suicides since February 2013. 在过去15年内麻省理工的19例自杀学生中，有8例为亚裔，占全部自杀学生的42%, 如果把亚裔学生作为一个整体，过去15年麻省理工亚裔学生自杀率为10万分之29.1，远高于同时期麻省理工全体学生10万分11左右的自杀率，也远高于全美 亚裔学生10万分之12.4的全美高校学生的平均自杀率 。可是这一现象在康奈尔大学更为突出，从1996到2006年的十年间，康奈尔大学共有21名自杀的学生中，亚裔13名，占61%。 Since 2000, the total suicide rate on the MIT campus was 11.2 deaths per 100,000 students.Since 2000, MIT’s suicide rate was 29.1 per 100,000 Asian American students. This is not only nearly four times the overall national average and three times the average for the school, but also more than twice the national average for college-aged Asian Americans (12.4 per 100,000) alone. 根据2016年7月16日的一项研究报告，建筑设计和工程行业的自杀率在美国行业排名中位列第五，农林渔业排名第一。 Rates for each profession were calculated by the number of suicides per 100,000 population. For architecture and engineering, the rate was 32.2. Farming, fishing, and forestry came top of the list, rating 84.5. Other job sectors ranked above architecture were construction and extraction; installation, maintenance and repair; and production. The group that encompassed arts, design, entertainment, sports and media was seventh, with a rate of 24.3. The lowest rate of suicide, 7.5, was found in the education, training and library occupational group. 调查发现， 去年全美有17%的大学生正在寻求或接受焦虑症的治疗，有13.9%则患有抑郁症， 约有十分之一的医学院学生 受不了压力 想自杀。 在今年五月，南加大一名医学院学生自杀死亡。去年，圣地牙哥加大一名医学院大三学生自杀。两年前，哈佛大学一名医学院学生亦是自己结束生命。 虽然，并没有具体数据说明全美目前就读医学院的八万名学生，每年有多少人自杀，但仍有少数的研究显示这个问题很严重。 尽管如此，根据世界卫生组织2012年的资料，在全世界170个国家和地区中，美国大学学生的平均自杀率还相对不高，低于韩国印度日本俄罗斯，和乌拉圭并列第50名。
2016-9-20 全美共有七十九所大学提供免费奖学金，大概没州都有至少一所以上的大学保证州内优秀子女免费上学。排在美国新闻合世界报道大学排名前五十名之内的大学如下： 1、杜克大学 - The Robertson Scholars Leadership Program The Robertson Scholars Leadership Program’s investment begins with the selection of a diverse community of undergraduate students – generally 18 at Duke and 18 at UNC-Chapel Hill each year – who demonstrate extraordinary potential. This scholarship pays full tuition plus fees, room and board, and also gives funding for up to three domestic summer experiences. The award is given to students who show purposeful leadership, intellectual curiosity, strength of character, and collaborative spirit. It provides these young leaders with exceptional benefits and a distinctive set of shared experiences: Four-year scholarship, including undergraduate tuition, mandatory fees, room and board； Unique access to the academic and extracurricular offerings at both Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill；Three summers of domestic and international experiences；Customized leadership and professional development opportunities；Extensive community of Robertson Scholars, alumni, and staff. 2、范德堡大学 - Ingram Scholarship This scholarship gives full tuition and stipends for summer projects. Students are selected based on commitment to community service, strength of personal character, and leadership potential. The application deadline is December 1st. Ingram Scholars are selected on the basis of commitment to community service, strength of personal character, and leadership potential. In evaluating candidates, the selection committee reviews scholarship application essays and two letters of recommendation. Ingram Scholar Finalists are also required to interview on campus with the selection committee. 3、华盛顿大学 - 有三个奖学金 John B. Ervin’s Scholar Program - This scholarship gives full tuition plus a $2,500 annual stipend. Applicants should excel academically, challenge themselves, demonstrate initiative and leadership in their communities, bring diverse groups together, commit to community service, serve historically underprivileged populations, and/or persevere through challenging circumstances. This nationally pre-eminent program is intended to foster a richly diverse educational atmosphere on campus and to enhance the overall quality and diversity of the Washington University student body. The Ervin Scholars Program is open to all qualified applicants, regardless of race, who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Anika Rodriguez Scholars Program - This scholarship gives full tuition and a $2,500 annual stipend. Awards are based on academic achievement (strong grades and SAT or ACT scores), a commitment to serving historically underprivileged populations, the ability to bring diverse people together, application answers and essay, and recommendations received as part of the admission application. The Rodriguez Scholars Program is open to all applicants. Awards are based on academic achievement (strong grades and SAT or ACT scores), a commitment to serving historically underprivileged populations, the ability to bring diverse people together, application answers and essay, and recommendations received as part of the admission application. To remain eligible for scholarships, finalists will need to come to Washington University March 30 through April 2, 2017, for the interviews and related activities . Danforth Scholars Program - This scholarship covers full tuition. Applicants must be nominated by someone with extensive knowledge of the student. Undergraduates must be nominated to receive consideration. All students admitted to graduate study at Washington University will be automatically considered for a graduate Danforth Scholarship. This is a merit-based program, but need will be considered as part of the award process. Each summer a call for nominations goes out to high school guidance counselors. Nominations are due by November 15, 2016. To be considered for the scholarship, the student must return the application, short answers, essay, and transcript to the committee by 5:00 p.m. Central Time on January 15, 2017 . 4、圣母大学 - Stamps Leadership Scholarship This scholarship gives full tuition plus $12,000 in enrichment funds. Winners are also given faculty and professional mentors. Students must be nominated by the admissions office. Selection is based on leadership, perseverance, scholarship, service, and innovation. A maximum of five are awarded each year. 5、埃默里大学 - 埃默里奖学金 Emory University offers partial to full merit-based scholarships as part of the Emory University Scholar Programs. The aim of the campus scholar community is to empower students, through distinct resources and support, to reach their full potential and have a notable impact on the university, Atlanta, and the greater global community. To be guaranteed consideration for the Emory University Scholar selection process students must submit all required application materials by theNovember 15Emory University Scholar Programs deadline. Applicants will need to select one of Emory's three admission decision plans (Early Decision I, Early Decision II, or Regular Decision). Please note students applying Early Decision I (EDI) may apply for the Scholar Programs, but need to meet the EDI November 1 deadline for all application materials. 6、加州大学洛杉矶分校 - The Stamps Family Charitable Foundation Scholarship (SFCF) Program This scholarship gives full tuition, plus an enrichment fund up to $12,000. You have to be nominated by the University for this scholarship based upon such qualities as leadership, scholarship, community service, innovation. A maximum of ten are awarded every year: five nationally, and five for California residents. The nomination deadline is February 1st. 7、南加州大学 - 有三个奖学金 Mork Family Scholarship - This scholarship gives full tuition, plus a $5,000 stipend. The average SAT and ACT scores of recipients are in the top 1 to 2 percent of all students nationwide in addition to such things as academic achievement, talent, perseverance, innovation, involvement, and leadership. A maximum of ten scholarships are awarded each year. The submission deadline is April 1st. Stamps Leadership Scholarship - This scholarship gives full tuition, plus a $5,000 enrichment fund. The average SAT and ACT scores of recipients are in the top 1 to 2 percent of all students nationwide in addition to such things as academic achievement, talent, perseverance, innovation, involvement, and leadership. A maximum of ten scholarships are awarded each year. The submission deadline is April 1st. Trustee Scholarship - This scholarship gives full tuition. The average SAT and ACT scores of recipients are in the top 1 to 2 percent of all students nationwide in addition to such things as academic achievement, talent, perseverance, innovation, involvement, and leadership. A maximum of 100 scholarships are awarded each year. The submission deadline is April 1st. 8、弗吉尼亚大学 - Jefferson Scholars The Jefferson Scholar Stipend in 2016-2017 will exceed: $61,000fornon-Virginian students； $31,000for Virginian students；Jefferson Scholars’ stipend includes tuition, fees, books, supplies, room, board, and personal expenses. No one may apply for a Jefferson Scholarship directly. For the regional competitions, a prospective Jefferson Scholar must be nominated by his/her school (eligible schools may nominate one or two students per year from the senior class). Currently, over 4,200 secondary schools are eligible to nominate in the regional competitions. 9、乔治亚理工大学 - Stamps President’s Scholarship Georgia Tech’s prestigious four-year, full-ride Stamps President’s Scholarship (originally named the President's Scholarship Program), est. 1981, is offered annually to the top one percent of first-year students. Recipients are selected based upon holistic excellence and potential within the program’s four pillars: Scholarship, Leadership, Progress, and Service. Approximately 40 total students will be awarded (20 Georgians and 20 residents of other states)。 A full-ride scholarship covering tuition, mandatory fees, housing, meal plan, books, and academic supplies, personal expenses, and a stipend during freshman year for a laptop. $15,000 enrichment funding for pillar-based international experiences, unpaid internships, unpaid research, conferences, etc. This is the early action application deadline for Georgia Tech. You must apply by Oct 15, 2016 to be considered for the Stamps President's Scholarship. 10、约翰霍夫金斯大学 - Charles R. Westgate Scholarship in Engineering The Charles R. Westgate Scholarship in Engineering is made possible through a gift from Kwok-Leung Li, a graduate of the Electrical Engineering Department. Mr. Li achieved great success as an entrepreneur in the communications and network industries. The scholarships are named in honor of Professor Westgate who has dedicated his career to the education of undergraduate students. He has been widely recognized for his excellence in teaching and his interest in helping students in independent research and guided study. These merit-based scholarships provide full tuition per year and a stipend toward living expenses for four years of undergraduate study in engineering. Students in any engineering major may be considered for the scholarships. Up to two scholarships are available for entering students each year. To be considered for this award, students must: 1. Apply for freshman admission to Johns Hopkins University by January 1, and indicate your interest in majoring in Engineering. 2. Present an outstanding high school record and achievements in other areas including leadership, success in science fairs, and evidence of independent research. 11、 Wake Forest University - Nancy Susan Reynolds Scholarship This scholarship gives full tuition and a stipend. Selection is based on scholarship, achievement and personal interviews. The application deadline is December 1st . These special awards cover all expenses associated with attending college, plus stipend; They are based on Scholarship, achievement, and personal interviews. 12、波士顿学院 - 校长奖学金 This scholarship pays full tuition at Boston College. A maximum of 15 awards are given every year. Students must be invited by a selection committee before applying. The application deadline is November 1st .To apply to be a Boston College Presidential Scholar you simply apply through BC's Early Action application process and meet the early action deadline of November 1st. There is no separate Presidential Scholars application form. 13、波士顿大学 - Charles R. Westgate Scholarship in Engineering This scholarship awards full tuition plus fees. There are a maximum of 20 awards given per year. In order to be selected, you will need to have a 4.0 GPA, be intellectually and creatively adventurous, and show that you have viewpoints, experiences, and achievements that are beyond average. The application deadline is December 1st. 14、伊利诺大学 - Stamps Leadership Foundation This scholarship gives full tuition and $12,000 for enrichment activities. A maximum of five are awarded each year .The scholarship covers not only the total estimated cost of attendance, but also includes an Enrichment Fund to support study abroad, undergraduate research, unpaid internships, conferences and other enrichment activities as approved by the Foundation. 15、约翰霍夫金斯大学 - Charles R. Westgate Scholarship in Engineering The Charles R. Westgate Scholarship in Engineering is made possible through a gift from Kwok-Leung Li, a graduate of the Electrical Engineering Department. Mr. Li achieved great success as an entrepreneur in the communications and network industries. The scholarships are named in honor of Professor Westgate who has dedicated his career to the education of undergraduate students. He has been widely recognized for his excellence in teaching and his interest in helping students in independent research and guided study. These merit-based scholarships provide full tuition per year and a stipend toward living expenses for four years of undergraduate study in engineering. Students in any engineering major may be considered for the scholarships. Up to two scholarships are available for entering students each year. To be considered for this award, students must: 1. Apply for freshman admission to Johns Hopkins University by January 1, and indicate your interest in majoring in Engineering. 2. Present an outstanding high school record and achievements in other areas including leadership, success in science fairs, and evidence of independent research. 16、北卡大学 - 同杜克大学 17、土狼大学 - This scholarship gives full tuition. Selection is based on general achievements and a creative project. A maximum of 75 are awarded each year. The submission deadline is November 15th . 18、迈阿密大学 - George W. Jenkins Scholarship, funded by Publix Super Markets Charities The scholarship is valued at more than $62,000 per year; in total, it is worth more than $250,000 over four years. The award includes tuition and fees, on-campus room and board, a meal plan, University health insurance, and a laptop allowance. Students may also receive a stipend for books, transportation, and personal expenses. The Jenkins Scholarship is one of UM’s distinguished Programs of Academic Excellence. With the support of the Office of Academic Enhancement, Jenkins Scholars take part in exclusive programs, benefit from one-on-one advising, participate in group community service efforts, and are personally referred for additional prestigious academic opportunities.To be considered for the Jenkins Scholarship, candidates must be nominated by their high school counselor. Open only to residents of AL, FL, GA, NC, SC, and TN，and requires additional forms which can be found online at miami.edu/jenkins 。 Completed application for undergraduate admission by December 1.
2016-9-19 Providing National Merit Scholars with university-specific scholarships is no longer the norm at other elite institutions, such as Harvard, Yale and the University of California schools. New York University is the latest to pull out of the program, bringing the total number of schools that no longer participate in the NMSP to nine. There is a reason that schools like Harvard and Yale no longer accept the NMSP: they don’t give any merit-based aid but rather need-based aid only. 1、杜克大学 - 全部花费 Duke is the only university to offer full-ride merit scholarships among those ranked in the top 10 by U.S. News and World Report. In 2013, Duke provided merit scholarships averaging about $56,000 per year to 314 students, nearly 4 percent of the undergraduate body, according to the 2013-14 survey. Duke’s average merit scholarships are amazingly high, but keep in mind that only 3.5% receive. 2、南加州大学 - 每年学费免半 National Merit Finalist Presidential Scholarship: This scholarship is open to incoming freshman students and is a half-tuition scholarship (approximately $26,000/year). The number of awards given varies every year. The scholarship is selected on the basis of PSAT performance and students are considered if they have been designated National Merit Finalists and name USC as their first-choice college with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). USC with 226 merit scholars (181 with USC support)。 3、范德堡大学 - 每年五千美金 For those finalists who also receive one of Vanderbilt's merit scholarships, we guarantee an additional $2,000 in National Merit total scholarship dollars per year from all sources (with Vanderbilt supplementing any smaller corporate or one-time National Merit Corporation awards). Those finalists who do not receive an additional merit scholarship from Vanderbilt will receive a total of $5,000 per year in National Merit scholarship from all sources (with Vanderbilt supplementing any smaller corporate or one-time National Merit Corporation awards).. 4、芝加哥大学 - 每年四千美金 University of Chicago and Washington U. are more typical of merit scholarships for schools with high ranks. Their average merit scholarships are in the $10,000 range and are given to 15% and 14% of their student bodies respectively. Foremost among these in 2015 are the University of Chicago with 294 merit scholars (207 of them with university sponsorship). National Merit Finalists are granted awards from one of three sources: the National Merit Corporation, a sponsoring corporation, or from the University of Chicago. If you are a finalist in this competition, simply report to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation that the University of Chicago is your first-choice school. National merit finalists will receive a minimum award of $4,000 per year renewable for four years from either UChicago or an outside source; in cases where a student receives a National Merit scholarship sponsored by an outside source that is less than $4,000, the University of Chicago will make up the difference between this award and our minimum National Merit award (for example, we would provide an additional $3,000 per year to a student who receives a $1,000 per year National Merit scholarship sponsored by a company or organization). 4、西北大学 - 每年2000美金 Northwestern with 206 scholars (146 with school support）。 The NU National Merit Scholarship is $2,000 annually. Renewal: The NMSC sends out scholarship renewal applications to recipients of renewable corporate or Northwestern sponsored scholarships. Scholars must submit their renewal applications directly to NMSC by the appropriate deadline date. and Vanderbilt with 206 scholars (138 with university support). 5、艾默里大学 - 两千美金 Entering National Merit finalists who notify National Merit Scholarship Corporation that Emory is their first choice college will receive a National Merit Scholarship of $2000 sponsored by Emory. If the National Merit Scholarship recipient has been awarded institutional grant funding, the grant award will not be reduced by the amount of the scholarship.
The Expensive Romance of NYU Tuition rose $18,000 during outgoing president John Sexton's tenure. But who's really to blame for the school's high cost? JAKE FLANAGINAUG 21 2013, 2:37 PM ET http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/08/the-expensive-romance-of-nyu/278904/ John Sexton, president of New York University, announced last Wednesday he would step down at the end of his term in 2016. Although the Board of Trustees “unanimously and strongly supports President John Sexton,” as written in a March memo from Chairman Martin Lipton, many students and members of faculty have been calling for his resignation for months. In March, 82 percent of faculty at the College of Arts and Science, NYU’s largest undergraduate school, passed a motion of no confidence against Sexton. In the following months, four out of five undergraduate schools would pass similar motions, in addition to a number of graduate programs. Sexton’s critics have a range of grievances against him, but they all boil down to one thing: money. Sexton oversaw the Campaign for NYU, which ended in 2008 and raised $3 billion--the most lucrative fundraising campaign in the history of higher education. One would think such a flush of cash might encourage administrators to lower, if not at least stagnate tuition. Instead, though, the money is going to expensive expansion programs, both in New York’s Greenwich Village and overseas. And over the course of Sexton’s presidency (2002 to the present) tuition has increased by more than $18,000. For the upcoming school year, the cost of tuition plus room and board is more than $64,000. According to a Village Voice cover story, NYU created more student debt than any other American university in 2011, excluding for-profit institutions. As tuition has been increased in the two consecutive years since, the NYU degree has become one of the most expensive in the world--an immense cost only compounded by the school’s location in America’s most expensive city. And while 90 percent of the class of 2010 reported being either employed full-time or enrolled in a professional certification or graduate study program within a year of graduating, they were also saddled with a collective debt of $659 million --the largest sum owed by a single class in the history of non-profit academia. Some things have improved during Sexton’s tenure, of course. Between 2002 and 2012, NYU rose in the U.S. News and World Report ranking of national universities from 35 to 32. Average SAT scores of admitted students have risen by 40 points. Undergraduate applications have almost doubled, and intake has grown as well. The high cost of attending NYU is hardly breaking news. The school has been known for charging exorbitant tuition for years, and its track record for providing financial aid isn't great: As CBS reported earlier this summer, only three percent of NYU students get their full financial needs met by the school. (Compare that to Columbia University, also in Manhattan, which meets the full financial needs of all its students.) Comparatively speaking, New York has always been an expensive city. The high composite cost of an education at NYU is almost common knowledge. And the decision to finance such a costly education, whether personally or with loans, is a choice. A choice I certainly made. So it raises the question: Who’s responsible for the debt? Though I graduated from the school this past spring with a BA in literature, I am not an apologist for NYU. I think the funneling of tuition dollars into loans for vacation homes is a gross betrayal of student trust. The list of objections goes on: I think plans for expansion in Greenwich Village are invasive, the satellite campuses in Abu Dhabi and Shanghai are unnecessary extravagances, and institutional bureaucracy borders on comical cliché. But as Zac Bissonnette, author of Debt-Free U, wrote in 2011: “NYU students have a legitimate concern--the amount of money that they’re borrowing is insane--and the way that they should handle it is to vote with their feet. Transfer to another school. Deprive NYU of its source of revenue and save yourself in the process.” So am I, as an alum of NYU, in some way culpable for the corporatization of the university? By staying through graduation, am I complicit in the out-of-control rise in tuition, the school’s ascendancy as the number-one producer of student debt? “I don’t think the school holds all the accountability,” says a recent graduate of NYU’s music business program. “My mom took out all of my loans in both of our names, but we never discussed how much I was going to owe until now. So it’s parents who are at fault, too. And high schools need to offer some sort of tuition counseling before the fact.” I asked her if, looking back, she thinks her 18-year-old self was mature enough to be making such definitive financial decisions. “Absolutely not,” she said with a laugh. “But at the same time, if someone had told me I would owe as much as I do, I don’t think it would have changed my mind. I was a senior in high school. Everything at that age is so dramatic and romanticized. You’re thinking, ‘I can’t put a price tag on my future.’” That feeling, she says, bleeds into the first few years of college. “When you’re in that culture, freshman and sophomore year, everyone’s just excited to be there. You don’t think it’s ever going to end, but then it’s senior year. You hit that quarter-life crisis, and you realize you actually have to pay for it all.” This is the insidious romance of NYU. The university offers to take a romantic idea (being young in New York), and makes it a reality. The product is the degree; the glamour of Greenwich Village is the marketing scheme. And like all good marketing schemes, it works very well. Images of Greenwich Village and Manhattan are splashed across recruitment literature. Prospective students are taken on tours that focus on the picturesque Washington Square Park, which is actually property of the City of New York. It’s a tactic that greatly influenced my own decision to attend. Sitting on a park bench in the summer of 2008, with a jazz quartet serenading passersby under the Fifth Avenue Arch, I thought I had stumbled into a Woody Allen movie. The tour guides brag about internship opportunities “you won’t find anywhere else”; the Broadway shows, the book signings and gallery openings; falafel stands, banh mi trucks, and coffee shops--it’s all understandably attractive. But of course they don’t tell you how much it all costs, and to be fair, no one really asks. Hollywood plays its part in accentuating the allure. NYU is a constant pop culture fixture. The glamorous kids on Gossip Girl went there. Paparazzi snapped photos of Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen pouting at the Starbucks on Washington Square East, Dakota Fanning skulking around the Gallatin School. The school is so mythologized it even inspires its own breed of quasi-fan fiction. NYU consistently ranks among Princeton Review’s “Top 10 Dream Schools,” punching well above its academic weight in the category of romance. That dream draws students from far and wide. Although New Yorkers and New Jerseyites form the two largest geographic contingencies, faraway states like California, Florida, Texas, and Illinois are all well represented in each incoming undergraduate class. This is a drastic change from NYU’s early days as quiet, Tri-State commuter school. But as much as NYU’s behemoth marketing campaign seduces prospective students, it also creates casualties: promising young men and women forced to withdraw when financial aid packages revealed to be lackluster, or banks declined to extend credit. They’re $64,000 or $128,000 in the hole with no diploma to show for it. Those who are able to secure loans must scrape by, balancing studies with part-time jobs to afford even the simplest of pleasures, all while padding their résumés with (usually unpaid) internships. What results is class after class of outgoing graduates, world-weary before their time. I spent my last college spring break in Bloomington, Indiana, home of Indiana University. To most, it’s not the most exotic locale. But to a second-semester senior at NYU, it was adventure tourism. There are obvious differences between the two schools, despite the fact that they boast student bodies of nearly the same size (roughly 43,000 including graduate programs). Location is the most evident. The 43,000 students at NYU exist in the context of New York City’s 8.3 million residents, and on a campus that quietly weaves in and out of a vast stretch of lower Manhattan. IU’s 43,000 students compose more than half of Bloomington’s total population. Another significant fraction consists of university staff and faculty. And on game days, no matter where you work, or if and where you went to college, everyone in Bloomington is a die-hard Hoosier. Bloomington is IU, IU is Bloomington. Most “game days” at NYU go by totally unnoticed. The Hoosiers I know in the class of 2013 were not necessarily looking forward to graduation. The same goes for Wolverines, Badgers, Fighting Illini, Hawkeyes, and Nittany Lions. The sentiment had nothing to do with job prospects--many secured employment long before my friends at NYU. Instead, they were sad to leave. It was a bittersweet realization that college life was coming to a close. Graduation day would be one-part celebration, one-part funeral. “We only have seven weekends left before graduation!” A friend and Indiana alumna recalls her roommates chanting this whenever she felt like spending a quiet Friday night at home. IU grads are not prematurely world-weary. They’re satiated by a well-rounded college experience; no frills, but no delusions. I returned to New York with a heavy souvenir: regret. NYU doesn’t a foster a community of spirit like IU. For the most part, people don't stop to chat between classes. We kept our eyes averted as we buffeted between buildings on Washington Square. We maintained small pockets of friends that met mostly off-campus, usually too cash-strapped or busy to cultivate any real memories. And now I wonder if Indiana, which accepted me in 2009 and offered a scholarship, would have been a better choice. An Indiana education would have been substantially cheaper. Rent, transportation, even a morning coffee in Bloomington are a fraction of Manhattan prices. Sure, I might have forfeited the fantastic internship opportunities NYU’s urban location affords, but IU has a great journalism program, an on-campus NPR affiliate, and an award-winning student paper that actually pays its contributors. I would have been well equipped to take on adulthood and media job market, but with the added bonus of a few choice college memories. I can’t say I feel cheated out of a more affordable, more memorable college experience, though. “Cheated” suggests I was forced or tricked into doing something against my will. I was persuaded, but not tricked. Nor can I say with any empiricism that I would have been happier at a school like IU. For all I know, my experience there could have been horrible. I bought into the romance of NYU. I bought into the romance of the self-sufficient urbanite. It was expertly marketed to me in no different a fashion than a car or a vacation. But this raises a second question: If a college education can be marketed like a vehicle, why don’t more young people approach it with the same financial pragmatism? Why do so many of us allow ourselves to be clouded by emotion at the expense of personal happiness, or future credit scores? Answer: “You can’t put a price tag on your future.” Or, as UCLA Chancellor Gene D. Block wrote, “You can’t put a price tag on a good education.” It may be the most effective copy ever written. But ultimately, it’s just that: copy. The decision to buy the product still lies with the consumer, no matter how seductive the advertising is. Perhaps some form of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should exist for incoming college freshmen. Perhaps parents should be more involved in helping their offspring make financially prudent school selections. Perhaps higher education should be completely free for everyone. I’m not sure what the precise solution is, but I know the problem is systemic. And blaming one party, or one man (John Sexton) isn’t the answer. For now, instead of shaking a fist at high tuitions while signing a loan agreement with the other hand, do what any smart consumer does: Take your business elsewhere.
标签: 美国大学
