Pace University - New York

I have been at Pace for two years. I have gained a lot of understand of what kind of school this is and I have a few pointers on whether or not this should be a school you should spend your (or your parents) hard earned money on.

First off, I would like to say that a lot of people agree with me when I say the first semester/year is great, and it gets worse every semester afterward. This school has a HUGE transfer out rate. Half of the people I met my first year were gone after that. It's hard to keep friends here. People either transfer out, or move out of the dorms, or other reasons.

Another thing, I may be an outlier because I am a typical white guy who likes sports and does typical "dude" things, but if you consider yourself a typical "suburb" kid or grew up in the suburbs, this school isn't for you. There are not a lot of "normal" people at this school. Lets be honest, there's a lot of gays, metrosexual men, foreign students, and high maintenance girls. This school is very cliquey. If you do not belong to one of those groups or "clique's" you're going to have a harder time finding people to be friends with. Not saying anything is wrong with any of those mentioned above, thats just the vast majority of the student body. So much for a "University" this school is far from having a diverse crowd. I would say the overall friendliness of the school from 1-10 from 1 being lowest and 10 being highest is probably around a 4-5. Some students are willing to talk, a lot keep to themselves, there are a good amount who are snobby.

When it comes to outside of the campus activities, I mean cmon its NYC so yes there are going to be a lot of things to do, BUT, you must have money to do them. The city is REALLY expensive. If you're "ballin on a budget" you're not going to have a lot of fun because you will be super limited. If you have a lot of money, then you will have the time of your life. The city is what you make of it.

When it comes to the actual campus, i'm not gonna lie this place is a shit hole. It's a really ugly school, its outdated, the cafeteria is basically a closet, its just not a nice looking campus. The dorms are decent though. Beekman is a brand new building and the John street is relatively new. The area around the main campus and dorms is really nice and super safe. One thing I didn't like about dorming is the lack of opportunities to meet students. There aren't alot of common areas where students can go and hang out and socialize. Besides a gym and a few TV rooms thats about it. Dorms are REALLY small, but have their own bathrooms. Proximity of the dorms to the main campus is really close.

When it comes to the professors at this school, it's kind of hard to comment. I've only been here for two years and took mostly business classes so overall I would say the professors i've had were average to a little higher than average. You will have professors who don't speak english, but that's the majority of colleges. A good amount of professors here also teach at other colleges in the city like Baruch, NYU, and other CUNY schools, so whatever courses you're taking here would probably be equivalent to those other schools.

Overall, the best advice I would give to someone who is considering this school is definitely check it out first. If you are looking for that "college experience' literally dodge this college at all costs. You COULD however, try this campus, and switch to the West Chester campus. They're more of a "traditional college". They're both Pace and the transition is easy as just picking where you want your classes, and choosing your dorming. It's that simple. If you fit the mold of one of the clique's here, you'll love it, if not, its going to be tough for you. The campus is horrible but the surround area definitely makes up for it.

2nd Year Male -- Class 2016

Surrounding City: A+, Campus Aesthetics: F

So much to say...
PRICE: First off... for anyone complaining saying that pace is so expensive, pace is probably the CHEAPEST school you're going to find in manhattan. I, a student with a 2.99 GPA in highdschool and average SATs got $10,400 in grants and another $10,400 from FAFSA. I'm paying half price. My other friend, of whom also got into harvard and NYU is getting a full FREE ride at pace. Another friend of good grades, sats, and a poor background is paying $7,500 a year. PACE IS CHEAP. If you didn't get anything from pace, then just be lucky you got in at all.

DORMING - I dormed at Mariah's tower for the "Freshman Bonding". This was, to say the least, a huge regret. All of the other freshman are very immature, and drink every weekend. I like to drink too, but I don't like getting roofied or puking in a cab on the way home like my fellow dorm mates do, so I tend to have my fun sober. Everybody here was clearly not given any freedom pre-college and hence have the need to go crazy now that they're on their own.

The bathrooms at MH are sickening. People don't flush or pick up after themselves, and I have seen residue of other guys masturbating over the toilets and on benches (GROSS!). I am applying to transfer out of MH asap. If you are new to drinking, and plan on going to clubs and getting overly drunk every single weekend, then MH might be for you.

CLASSES - As a biology major, I have actually found my bio class to be very difficult, which is technically a good thing. All of my other classes are pre-requirements, and are rather easy but still pack a workload. One thing that I have learned, is that Biology is a pre-graduation major, NOT an undergraduate major. That is, if you're not planning on going to grad school... bio is pointless. Plus, most grad schools (such as medical school) would preference students to major in literature or art, not their topic of interest so that they're "well-rounded". This makes bio even more pointless. I'm switching to a nursing major next semester since I can still pursue grad school, and get a job right out of college. Anyways, I find myself not having ANY free time monday-friday. I'm packed with work and classes. Weekends I do have some free time, though.

FOOD - Pace has 3 cafes, and one main one. I give the food a 6/10. First off, as a freshman you are required to get a full meal plan ($1450 a semester) for food. This is fine, but the food is EXTREMELY over priced. A tortilla and turkey wrap is $8. EIGHT dollars for a tortilla, turkey, and lettuce. This is their little scam to get you to pay money. At first it seems like a wide variety of things to choose from, but after your first few months you'll find yourself buying the same things, and it gets very boring... the food quality is better than that of my highschool but still could be better. I remember my dad took me out to a restaurant a while ago and it felt SO good to get real food in me, I totally forgot what a real meal was like.

OTHER - Overall, I don't mind pace. With avoiding Mariah's Tower and buying my own food in NYC, it's livable. Actually, the other dorms pace offers are EXTREMELY nice, I recommend checking out Clark's. I'm more busy than I wish I was with my classes, so I guess the education is good but I lack the time to explore hobbies or to get a job. Also, you're in NYC! There's also food, recreation, and other people to meet. A lot of the guys at Pace at gay, and if you have a problem with this then you shouldn't go to a school in NYC, because from what I've seen every school is like that. I plan on transferring out of Pace my sophomore year because I want to go to a school with a better name, plus I want to still be in NYC but go for a nursing major (pace only offers this as pleasenville).

This is my experience with Pace, although everybody's seems to be different. I know people who love it here, but I also dislike those people for their immaturity and alcoholism. A lot of these reviews posted seem to be from people who aren't that intelligent or the reviews are very biased, but I hope mine gave a little more insight, as I looked at these reviews before I decided to come here.

1st Year Male -- Class 2014

Surrounding City: A+, Social Life: D+

Alright, I'm going to be completely honest in my assessment. I no longer go to the university and I will try to be completely unbiased. I'm not saying don't go to the university, I'm just saying don't get lured in by their lies.

Ok, to be honest, I had a blast my freshmen year at Pace. However, this had NOTHING to do with Pace University beside being there. The friends and exeriences I had were great, especially being in New York City This is the only reason I'm not giving this university a negative rating.

Dorms- Although living in the dorms were fun, they were highly expensive, small, and not that nice. The Freshmen dorm (Maria's Tower) is great to live in. However, it is the worst of the four. If you followany of my advice, follow this one. YOUR FIRST YEAR AT PACE, DORM, AND LIVE IN MARIA'S TOWER. If you don't, I can almost most guarentee you will have 10x harder of a time meeting people. Maria's Tower is fun and worth it, but after your freshmen year, get an apartment. The higher class dorms are way too expensive and not worth it.

Academics/classmates- It's a toss up. Some teachrs will be good, others will be terrible. Some of your classmates will care and be into it, others will do nothing and skateby with low C's. It's all of what you make out of it.

Security- A Joke. Seriously. Yes, they have a guard posted at every entrance. But, the guards are usually old and couldn't stop my 90 year old grandmother. Basically, if someone wants to get in, they will. Also, i'e seen people run past guards without i.d, they don't get up or even call it in. I've seen this on multiple occassions. I myself have gotten in several times this year with my old I.D. from last year. Only once, out of MANY times was I stopped.

Facility- Pace's building is old, it's classrooms are old, and technology is terrible. Their internet connection is the worst i've ever seen. Expect many outages. No campus, just one building. Get out and explore the city on your own. It's the best part of that college, it being in the city.

Other Students- Most ar very friendly. Many are very wealthy and tend to be jerks and arrogant, but mostly everyone at Pace is friendly. It's the second best part of the college beside NYC.

Workers/Services (beside techers)- Terrible! Downright terrble service. Dining facility is terribe. They force you into a meal plan (mandatory), then jack up all the pricesby at least x4. Their cafeteria people must be the most miserable people in the world too. Financia Aid counslers have helped me in the past, but usually not before I jump through a lot of hoops and make a lot of phone calls. OSA is the worst thing possible. They deal with your day to day paperwork and common issues. They are terible. Rude, uncaring, and ignorant. I can't express me extreme unsatsction with them. They never accomplish anything for you and always treat you like you're a bothersome, not a customer. Basically, office's of Pace as a whole is terrible and amount to a huge level of frustration on the students side. So much more I can put in, but it would extend a lot longer. This is my conclusion. I came to this school for New York City. I admit, that was it's main attraction was. I had a blast because of NYC and the people i've met. The school gave me nothing but headaches and frustrations. It is not worth the money, even if you recieve loads of scolarships like I did. My advice: go to NYU. If you do go to Pace, your freshmen year, please live in the dorms (especially Maria's towers). If you commute, then there is no point for yo to go to ths school. You should just go to a CUNY/NYU since you will lack the housing social life. Just be aware that you will face frustrations if you choose this school. Especially due to the costs and hassles they give you. Good luck with your college choice.

1st Year Female -- Class 2009

Surrounding City: A+, Individual Value: F