(via ululationsofthenewzeitgeist)

It’s been a while since I updated the blog portion of this site, but I wanted my 100th post (!) to be about me. Rest assured that I will get to every question that you guys have asked me. I have about 50 in my inbox right now. Thanks to everybody for spreading the word about my tumblr! Time to update y’all on my life:

Although I was a full time student, most of my fall semester was eaten up by my editorial internship at Vanity Fair magazine.  I did 30 hours a week unpaid. As you might guess, that made it incredibly hard to find time to do homework or concentrate on, well, anything else. The internship was just as prestigious as you’d think but I spent most of my time making copies or delivering things around the city. I love the Vanity Fair staff- really, I do. especially my supervisor Alex- but I’d say that you shouldn’t try to intern there unless you’re training to be an administrative assistant.
I’m interning at a law firm in the spring, mostly because my Metropolitan Studies major requires it. Oh yeah, I narrowed down my concentration from Social and Cultural Analysis to Metropolitan Studies.

I also got involved with a new group based out of the NYU Student Resource Center. I am now the proud treasurer of the Transfer and Transitioning Student Association! Google us. The TTSA doesn’t have a budget because we’re so new so I’m not exactly sure what being the treasurer will entail. I do strongly encourage new NYU transfers to join if you’re apprehensive about meeting people. We’ll help you get involved right away!

I live in Palladium at the moment. I get along well with all my suitemates but I’m pretty sure that this will be my last semester in the dorms. It’s time to me to strike out on my own in the big city! I’m 21 now and I don’t really need an RA checking up on me, plus I hate the NYU guest policies. I do suggest that you live in the dorms for at least your first year at NYU, though.

Anybody know of any good online magazines, newspapers, or journals I can write for this spring? This will be my first semester without a writing class in a long time and I don’t want to get rusty!

-Ilana

Anonymous asked: Hello!!! So I really want to transfer into NYU CAS for the fall of 2013(after my first year). I'm currently attending Skidmore College in upstate NY. I wanted to know how hard it is to get in if I am a transfer and how difficult it is to meet people in CAS as a transfer?

Getting in as a transfer all depends on how you did in highschool and your freshman year of college. It’s difficult but by no means impossible (they accept around 30 percent of transfer applicants).

Meeting people is always a little hard at NYU, especially as a transfer. My advice to you is to get involved in the transfer activities! I’m part of a new group called the Transfer and Transitioning Student Association, so if you come to our meetings/events you’ll meet me and other transfer students who are looking to get involved.

stathlife asked: I am a student at UNO, a state university in Nebraska. I have a GPA that will be above a 3.5 by the end of this semester (Fall 2012) and I am looking to transfer to NYU for Fall 2013. What did you do to boost your application and ensure your admission to NYU? Also, my Dad is an alum. How do I incorporate that into my application? Thanks!

I can’t think of anything I did to boost my application except for play the numbers game well. My highschool GPA was a 4.7/5 (and my first college didn’t use a GPA system) and my SAT score was a 2080. Admission to NYU as a transfer student, as far as I can tell, is mostly based on the numbers.

NYU states that your legacy status will be “considered”, but I think that unless your dad has been donating serious money, it won’t matter all that much. Incorporate it into your application during the essays. You can say something like “My father has been telling me stories of his time at NYU since I was a child, so I know it’s the college for me.”

notprovenandnotguilty asked: Syracuse University-Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, current freshman, looking to apply to NYU's CAS for Political Science for the Fall of 2013. Applied to NYU's Silver School of Social Work for the Fall of 2012 ED- rejected. High school GPA of a 3.2. College GPA of a 3.438. Threw in that I'm in Maxwell because it's the number one public affairs school in the nation. I made the Dean's List this semester. Active in two clubs very well known on campus and I'm running out of spac..

I assume you’re asking about your chances? The average highschool GPA of admitted freshmen is 3.58. They don’t give out a similar statistic for transfer students, but a smaller percentage of hopeful transfers are admitted than freshmen (30% vs roughly 33%).
What I’m trying to say is that your recs and test scores better be above average or else your chances may be slim. 

zodiac-shift asked: (2/2) but I'm not sure how likely it is that I will get into my dream school. This is my last chance to transfer because I will be a junior come fall 2013 so I'm not sure what I can do to strengthen my application now. My HS grades were just average, my Uconn grades were good, and my Fordham grades were bad (although now they might be ok) I participate in a couple clubs. how likely is it that i'll actually get in? and what do you suggest I do to strengthen my application? any advice you can give

I hate to say this, but with a 2.5 it’s very unlikely that you’ll get into NYU. Clubs don’t really matter all that much.
I hope you have stellar SAT scores and recommendations, and if you do you should submit them, but I think NYU admissions is mostly a numbers have so that GPA might keep you out :(

Anonymous asked: Hi there! I am looking to transfer to Gallatin as a junior this fall. I have 4.0 at my state school. I've taken more than 30 hours, so i won't submit my test scores. I think I have good extra curricular stuff (work, clubs, professional theater too) I'm also studying abroad this spring. I still worry about my chances and making sure i'm a strong applicant. Any advice? Thanks!

It seems like you’ve covered most of your bases, so I would just advise you to get great recommendations from professors and make it clear in your essays that you can thrive in a city.

Other than that, since you’re applying to Gallatin, I would figure out a way to demonstrate that you’ve thought a lot about your course of study.

This.

(via elsilvero)

sentientstream-deactivated20130 asked: Oh, and I was wait listed twice last year before being rejected a week before summer ended.

sentientstream-deactivated20130 asked: I'm planning on applying to transfer to NYU for the Fall 2013, after a year at a smallish Maryland state school. I know that the actually application has to be in by April 1st, but would it be a good idea for me to have it in earlier, like by the middle of January? Also, with a high school GPA of 3.6, an SAT of 2100, an ACT of 30, and most likely a first semester GPA of 3.8, do you guys think I have a good chance? Thanks!

NYU doesn’t have rolling admissions so it shouldn’t matter when you submit your application. The entire pool of transfer applicants is considered at the same time. I would at least wait until your first semester grades are out before sending your transcript.

Your SAT/ACT scores are very solid but not amazing— they’re almost identical to mine, actually— and a 3.8 would give you a pretty good chance of getting in. Not a guarantee (especially since you say that you were waitlisted as a freshman, and a smaller percentage of transfers are admitted) but you definitely have a good shot!