I am an NYU student reading the above and typing this comment inside Steinhardt at NYU, and I agree with every point commenter Dennis Pons has made - particularly point 3. 

If you're not wealthy and you attend school here, you're finished, really.  I've been suicidal the entire time here, and losing my dorm to bureaucracy a few weeks ago is pretty much about to finish me.  The stress of having to bunk up with crazed strangers not attending your college, and being exploited by them, along with classes, is too much for me.

All NYU students should be assured a dorm space from start to finish of matriculation.  Period.  NYU can afford it, and New York City is not a place where housing is to be approached casually.  It is a life and death matter that will raise life and death-level stresses.  We do NOT need the distraction, horror and danger of this city while studying at one of the most difficult universities in the nation.  NYU's ignorance of this made me post on Craigslist to buy a gun two weeks ago to kill myself.  The campus came down on me fast to save my life, but the housing problem that sparked my stress level remains unaddressed, unheard, and unsolved.

Lots of college kids off themselves, we are just hearing about NYU students here. Do people REALLY kill themselves because they are merely spoiled and bored?

How NYU disenfranchises you:

1) As a freshman in the dorms, some were mixed with upperclassmen and some were placed far from campus. I was not in a freshman only dorm despite request. This was odd, and since most people I know were primarily friends with people they met freshman year, this stacks the deck against somebody from day 1. They have yet to truly fix the housing debacle.

2) It's just a cold, bureaucratic university. Every decision just seems to be bad when you hear it, and all the good plans they have never materialize. Kimmel was supposed to be a student center. It's just a cafeteria and a place where they put TA classes. They really just don't have enough public spaces to "relax"

3)If you don't really establish things early on, or if what you establish early on falls apart, you're done. This is why some of the loneliest people there are transfer students. I would say people only entertain the idea of actively making friends during their first year and abroad.

4)Idealists come to nyu, but basically I came to the city and discovered how much I disliked people from Long Island and Jerz. No wonder people kill themselves.

I think the negativity of NYU just snowballs in ways that it wouldn't elsewhere. Though to be honest, most of the kids I knew just turned to drugs...

And where is that big dorm room? I was in a coffin for two where I could hear my roomie breathe from any point in the room at NYU. Damn housing!

Besides the student ambassador who is entitled to his opinion I agree with the rest of the commenters. NYU obviously has a majority of students who were rejected from Ivies or Berkeley and that a fact listed in tons of surveys but I don't think that's a big deal.

A very small proportion of NYU students are residential. We have as much faculty residential space as student residential space! so when we are talking about campus suicides, yes these are overwhelming numbers. A Korean student killed herself on campus last December making that the third in three semesters. And in case someone forgot, a kid also killed themselves the year earlier. And this is with the entire campus being locked up like a mental ward. And preceding that six kids in a year. They are making movies about NYU suicides for a reason. That is a big deal.

NYU is an enormous-sized, scattered, decentralized, community-less school. And as opposed to CUNY, many of the people are from out of town. The bureaucracy is rated worst in the nation by it's own students as is the financial aid, so there is some stress for you. As someone already cited, the graduation rate and giving rate are abysmal. It has the lowest rate of per pupil spending for student activities of a USNWR top tier school. Of course this really doesn't matter as much for most graduate students and professional part timers.

The majority of people will overcome these things and find a way to get the most out of the experience. That shouldn't an indictment of those who don't. Tuition is way too expensive for a "make do" educational experience.

Perhaps a lot people who thought NYU and New York would be a place they would "finally" fit in. NYU does sell an image and gloss over the bad but I guess that is what schools do. You also have to "blame" some of the false expectations on people wanting to believe an image. New York isn't hippie-ville and this isn't 1960. It is the most expensive city in the nation. Around NYU there is pretentious SoHo on one side, the wealthy middle aged gay community on another, thirty and forty-somethings who find college students annoying and rich Fifth Ave and Village residents. There is fun to be found and plenty of people to take your money but that isn't a substitute for a university community.

I go to NYU, and like some of the above commenters, I have to disagree with the idea that there is a "typical" wealthy, embittered, non-social NYU student. I'm not wealthy, and neither are my friends; most of us chose NYU as our first-choice college (in fact, I turned down an Ivy); the majority of us knew exactly what sort of non-traditional environment we were getting into; and the majority of us feel a sense of attachment to each other and to our university. My circle of NYU friends includes some recent alumni who live in the city and still orient their lives around Washington Square Park. It's our perpetual meeting place, the part of the city to which we feel most attached -- and my friends who have graduated speak of genuinely missing the experience of seeing friends around every corner and having lunch in the Kimmel Center and living in the residence halls. My alumni friends do not cite a lack of attachment to NYU as their reason for not giving money. They're just up to their ears in student loans, and not ready to give. They would also like more inclusive alumni benefits, instead of benefits which must be paid for in donations.

Of course NYU has some problems with community. It's a big university in a big city, and one of its greatest strengths -- a diversity of interests -- can also make it difficult for people to find their niche. Making friends at NYU -- or, for that matter, in the city at large -- can certainly happen, but it's not an immediate process. It requires you to first get to know yourself, to figure out who and what you are personally comfortable with and how you want to spend your time, and to decide where you do fit in and where you want to fit in. It's not a simple matter of going to a football game with everybody else. Furthermore, the Princeton Review "#1 dream school" thing is skewing the view that incoming freshmen have of the university. It is supposed to be a place to escape from Middle America and be a sophisticated, artistic intellectual with a brilliant future and mature friends -- but no one gets warned about the fact that it is, in fact, full of college students, and smack in the middle of a very, very expensive city. To be happy at NYU requires a readjustment -- not a lowering -- of expectations and standards. You don't have to become cynical and lose sight of your goals and your ideal of happiness, but you do have to make them more realistic. I love NYU because it has made me more realistic, more independent, and more pro-active with both my social life and my career planning. But it took an adjustment on my part.

So now let's put things in perspective: 1,100 college students, across America, commit suicide on campus every year. This year, there have been two of these suicides at NYU, and for the past several years there have been none. There are more suicides to come, on campuses all across the nation. We hear a lot about suicides at NYU -- we are living in a major media center, after all -- but we don't hear about the suicides at the Ivies and at the other "New Ivies" and at state colleges and private liberal arts schools. And that figure does not even include off-campus deaths by suicide, or, for that matter, suicides among college-aged young people who do not attend college. Suicide is the second leading killer of people between the ages of 18 and 24. This is not just an epidemic at NYU. This is a nationwide epidemic.

NYU requires a big adjustment. College in general requires a big adjustment. So does leaving home at 18 and joining the workforce. Maybe the problem is not with NYU in particular. Maybe the problem is a general failure of people my age to adjust when life doesn't go according to plan. Maybe the reality of adult life contrasts too sharply with the "You can be anything you want to be" lie that we were all told in kindergarten. Whatever the reason, we've got to recognize this as a problem with an entire generation, and not just with the hipster from Ohio who goes to New York in hopes of finally fitting in...and then doesn't. For every NYU kid in that situation, there's another student from a small town in Nebraska who goes to college in a small town in Ohio in hopes of fitting in...and then doesn't. Their chances of committing suicide are just as great as if they had come to NYU.

it's sad enough that someone died, but now NYU is going to crack down even harder on us and get super involved in our lives...

although i have to admit i'm glad that i didn't get a mass e-mail from good ol' J. Sexton about this.

freddyhere, what's with your disdain for Asian women?

I recently graduated from NYU, and a 'lack of school spirit' was never an issue for me. I'm guessing, from experience, that the majority of NYU students couldn't care less about 'school spirit' or sporting events or what have you. we had that in high school, and that's probably not why most kids decide to come to new york city for college. if prospective students have done any of their homework at all on NYU, they know this going into it.

that being said, I agree with what others have already said...college in general is a huge adjustment; add on top of that adjusting to living in new york city as opposed to upper middle class suburbia (which is pretty much the same everywhere), then it's not a huge surprise that there have been so many suicides.

NYU IS OVERPOPULATED. Silver Center, the biggest classroom building, is packed like sardines every day. class sizes are too big for the kind of money we pay. it took my advisor 3 years to really remember my name. and there is nowhere near enough dorm space. yes, NYU is overpriced and the bureaucracy leaves a lot to be desired...but the overall experience, to me, was worth it. most people can handle it. and some, sadly, cannot. but i would not say that it is the fault of the university. someone that decides to take their own life had much deeper issues than a 'lack of school spirit.'

@Smitty:

Dude, I think Mensch was complimenting you. Relax! Gothamistt-ettes have their panties in a bunch, sheesh.

@Lauraishorrible

I agree completely. I went to NYU to escape a small, private high school where the community, school-spirit vibe was very much in effect. If you're looking for good times on the quad, NYU is not your school. That said, during my time at NYU, I felt more involved than I ever did at my high school, and I did feel the sense of community. I made a point of getting involved with at least some school activities so that I wouldn't be too lonely, but I never had any difficulties making friends while at NYU. And there were the dorms, the dining halls, the gyms, and Washington Square Park, if you wanted a more typical collegiate experience for awhile.

If anything, I think it is NYU's rise in the rankings that is attracting a more competitive, unhappier type of student.

It's really too bad that these kids can't see a way out. Sad.

describe "wealthy"

I'd venture to say most students in a majority of Private universities are certainly not "dirt poor".

I think that was even mentioned in the US news and world report list. how homogeneous many university student bodies are.

I like lauraishoribles post, they still play hacky sack?

I'm sure per capita isn't the correct term for this, but I'd be interested in comparing rates at NYU to large state (or private) schools across the country. I think it would help discern whether or not the suicides have anything to do with location, or whether it might be a phenomenon of the age demographic. That's not to say that NYU's layout and potential for isolation has nothing to do with it, but I think it would make for an interesting stat to look at.

I had student loans, AND worked at a part-time job throughout college, AND volunteered. I don't know if I should mock you for being so cold-hearted. Helping people makes you feel good, and helps society. What a novel idea.

@smitty

Wait...you're not wealthy, but go to a private college that cost roughly $40k (w/room and board) a yr full time x 4yr = $160,000. So instead of working at a part time job to pay off that massive bill during college you do a lot of volunteer work? Wow, I don't know if I should hold you to high esteem for being so altruistic or mock you for being so foolish. Of course I don't know if you're a lawyer charging $400/hr.

A lot of people who go to NYU aren't spoiled and bored. I went there several years ago and most of the people I know, believe it or not, weren't rich. In fact, of my 20 or so roommates during NYU, only three that I can think of were very wealthy.

A lot of students who aren't wealthy work for Teach For America to make ends meet, and a lot do volunteer (as I did during college).

To smh: I am also a recent graduate of NYU and I take issue with your response, mostly because I went to NYU (which was the only school to which I applied) for precisely the reasons you give for people having a bad experience there, namely, the lack of a campus and a conventional college experience. If I wanted to go watch shaggy-haired boys play hackey-sack in a courtyard while flanked by others badly strumming Dave Matthews Band on acoustic guitars, or if I wanted to go get date raped at a frat house, there were options. I never met one person who came to NYU because they didn't get into an Ivy League school, even Columbia, which is surprising. If you were the kind of person who'd be upset by a lack of school spirit or a lack of traditions or sporting events, you'd be an idiot to go to NYU. There are plenty of almost-ivies--plenty of much cheaper almost-ivies--that are available for people who want those things. I came to NYU to avoid people who wanted those things. I mostly succeeded, especially since the people who came to NYU wanting those things have eventually killed themselves.

When you're spoiled and bored, life doesn't seem that interesting. Add to that teenage angst and NYC glamour/drama. These kids should try volunteering or giving to those with less than them. Sounds like rich people problems....empty lives with not enough purpose and spirit.

angry pickle, I respectfully disagree...I am the father of a college sophomore and a high school senior. I have pored over a variety of online and print insider guides with my kids for precisely the purpose of avoiding surprises. So, when my son headed off for a school that was #58 on the US News top 100 list (that's not saying I am in any way impressed by that list...colleges market themselves to gain a foothold on that list), we did some online research and found that it was also #3 on the top 10 "stoner" school list. Thus, he was not surprised when he moved into his dorm room and found his roommate had several dozen medical marijuana vials from herbal pharmacies in California.

Many students know older kids who go to schools they might be interested in and turn to them for insider views. Still others spend an overnight or weekend at their top choice schools.

The point is, you really don't have to look very hard for some insight into the real atmosphere at most schools...you just can't believe what admissions officials and student tour guides tell you.

Those guides, printed and online, give a realistic picture of exactly what students will find when they arrive.

No they don't. They're like the Zagat guides ... you have to really read between the lines. Negative aspects of a university are SO deemphasized in those books.