Using College Resources to Enhance Your Experience

Academic advisers are our guides throughout college. Therefore, they are a very important college resource. Every single NYU school assigns students in particular programs to a specific adviser who will stick with you throughout your academic experience. An academic adviser’s main role is, you guessed it … advising! The advisers are a great team of professionals who help students curate and plan out their curriculum. The also make sure students fulfill their curriculum requirements. However, NYU is a large urban university with many different offerings, so advisers are able to help point you toward classes that excite you based on your interests.

I’ve never enjoyed math or anything to do with it. However, as part of the core curriculum, I was required to take a single math class. I spoke with my academic adviser and they pointed me toward a probability and game theory class that fulfilled the requirement. I had my doubts, but the class ended up being a great fit. The professor and I would meet during office hours and discuss equations as well as the new Lana Del Rey album. Although math seemed daunting, it was an amazing experience I wouldn’t have found without my adviser’s help.

Office hours are one of the most useful college resources. The ability to speak with your professor, or teaching assistant, allows you to get a better grasp on the curriculum while learning more about your instructor.

During my first two years at NYU, I was an undecided student. However, by taking classes in the media, culture, and communication (MCC) department, I was able to solidify my interest in the field. I frequently used office hours as a way to speak with my MCC professors about their education, opportunities, and experiences. They were able to give me guidance, and they even helped me select classes for future semesters. By going to office hours, I was able to make better decisions about where I wanted my education to take me.

I always say that finding community is the easiest part of being a student. But when I came to NYU, I wasn’t so sure of that. I applied to housing, but I wanted to make sure that I was doing the most I could to find my people at such a large university. After researching the housing program, I discovered so many amazing opportunities such as the Inter-Residence Hall Council, which I participated in the fall of my junior year. I also discovered other programs such as the Residential College, during my sophomore year. However, NYU Residential Life has so many amazing paths for students to pursue, no matter what your interests are.

Exploration Communities are based on various floors of NYU’s residence halls. They are theme-based floors that allow you to meet other students who share the same interests as you. Additionally, these floors allow you to increase involvement in your residence hall and at NYU. During my first year, I lived in Brittany Hall on the “film” floor. Through my experience, I was able to meet amazing filmmakers and artists. I was also able to meet my squad of friends, who lived only four floors above me and became my roommates sophomore year. One of my friends helped expose me to an MCC class, which later blossomed into my academic major.

Through the exploration community, my residential assistant took us to amazing film screenings and showings throughout New York City for free. This was a great perk, because New York City movie tickets can be quite the financial strain at times. Living in an exploration community allowed me to meet amazing people and helped me solidify a future sense of community on campus and in academics.