How to Explore Entertainment in New York City on a Budget

Whether you’re into upbeat musicals or moving plays, the Broadway area is just a short train ride away from NYU! Most shows have rush/lottery policies to get more affordable tickets. However, some have special ticket prices and programs specifically for students! As an NYU student, you also have access to the NYU ScholasTix program, which provides students with free or discounted tickets to Broadway shows!

Sometimes NYU clubs or organizations plan trips to attend Broadway shows too. Last semester, I saw Some Like It Hot on Broadway for free, thanks to my residence hall’s faculty fellow-in-residence. There are also theatre options super close to NYU. The Public Theater, which is less than a 10-minute walk away from NYU, also has discounts for students. NYU also has the largest theatre south of Times Square—the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. There, NYU students can get tickets to shows for just $15! For more information about obtaining affordable theatre tickets, check out this article from a fellow Admissions Ambassador! 

New York City is home to so many different morning, daytime, and late-night talk shows. And the coolest thing about these shows is something many people don’t know… They are all free to attend! During my time at NYU, I have attended tapings of Today, The Drew Barrymore Show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel Live! (every year he does a week of shows in Brooklyn), Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and Saturday Night Live.

I really love going to television tapings, especially because I want to work in the television industry after graduation. I truly recommend checking out a show while in the city. It is so cool to learn how things happen behind the scenes, outside of what you view on TV. My friends at NYU and I regularly go to check out different shows! Pretty much all of the shows I listed have free ticketing pages through 1iota. Saturday Night Live is the only exception. For this show, I usually get a group of friends together and join their standby line, which is such a fun experience that I recommend everyone tries once in their life!

Being in New York City as a sports fan is so amazing because we have so many great teams in the area! As mentioned earlier, the NYU ScholasTix program offers discounted tickets, so you can check out a basketball game, a baseball game, or a hockey game for an affordable price. I also love to point out that, contrary to popular belief, NYU does have athletics! Sporting events take place at the Palladium Athletic Facility and Brooklyn Athletic Facility. For NYU students, games are free to attend! My first year, I attended an NYU Women’s Volleyball game, and it was so much fun. Sports at NYU are definitely a fun way to experience school spirit, even if on a smaller scale in comparison to larger state schools.

There are so many cool museums worth checking out in the city. NYU has a program called Museum Gateway, which provides students free access to places like the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Other museums have their own discounts or affordable pricing as well. The Met, for example, has a pay-what-you-wish policy for students. Sometimes NYU clubs or residence halls plan trips to museums as well, free of charge!

Whether you are into television, theatre, sports, or museums, there is something for every entertainment fan living in New York City! It’s great to know that so many of them provide affordable options for students to take advantage of during their time at NYU. I love getting to explore with my friends, and I recommend that everyone does the same!