It was late March and almost exactly two years ago when it happened. I was sitting in the backseat of my friend’s car as we made our way to Chipotle for our lunch break. As we lurched over the parking lot speed bumps, I clutched my phone tightly. I was almost too scared to refresh my Gmail inbox. I knew that others had heard about their acceptances, and I really didn’t want to hear my fate. My friend glanced at me through the rearview mirror.

“Amanda, just check it!”

“Ah! Okay, fine I’ll refresh it. I’ll refresh it.”

I held my thumb over my screen and swiped down, sending a small prayer to whomever was willing to listen. Peeking down at the screen, I saw the email in my inbox and opened it.

“I got in!”

My friend cheered and hugged me over her seat as she resumed navigating the student driver-ridden parking lot. I looked back down and continued reading the email: "Liberal Studies Core Program." What’s that? Didn’t I apply to be in Journalism at CAS? What does this mean?

My grin wasn’t completely wiped off of my face, but the words Core Program lingered in my mind for the rest of the school day. The first thing I did when I got home was Google "What’s the Liberal Studies Core Program at NYU." The only post out there that wasn’t from NYU website was this blog post from a person who labeled Liberal Studies to be a ploy for NYU to rake in more money and a place for subpar students to be grouped in. It might’ve been a bad idea for me to Google Liberal Studies as it is equally as bad to Google health symptoms and end up on WebMD. However, I sat back from my laptop screen that night feeling really worried. Yes, NYU was one of my dream schools, but would it be worth it for a program that seemed to be shrouded in mystery and a lack of approval.

Out of all of the schools at NYU, few know about Liberal Studies, a two-year program that still leaves current and prospective New York University students with mixed feelings. Even though the school has been around for 44 years, students are still confused about the purpose, requisites, and effectiveness of the Liberal Studies Core Program. Some students hail it to be the best academic path at NYU and others are angry that it even exists.

As defined on NYU’s Liberal Studies website, “The Core Program is a two-year liberal arts foundation program distinguished by small classes and close faculty-student interaction.” For the first year in the program, students take similar classes that fulfill elective credits and general requirements. Aside from fulfilling science credits, writing credits, and math credits, students must take Cultural Foundations for three semesters and Social Foundations for three semesters, which are classes that cover ancient to contemporary art, readings, and teachings.

After two years in the Core Program, juniors transition to one of NYU’s undergraduate degree programs. Liberal Studies courses fulfill general requirements that are necessary for all students and are needed for completed study in other schools at NYU. The site also emphasizes maintaining a global focus, highlighting the possibility for students to study away at sites such as London, Paris, Florence, or Washington, DC. According to the dean, It just so happens that only last year did NYU grant all of their prospective students with their first study-away choice.

Each year, NYU admits approximately 5,500 incoming freshman and around 1,200 of them will be placed in Liberal Studies. This group of students will be the second largest under the estimated 1,350 College of Arts and Science students. However, despite Liberal Studies students being the second biggest group of incoming undergraduate students, the program continuously raises questions among its students regarding its legitimacy.

“The NYU Core Program was actually my first choice. I chose it simply because it perfectly matched my personality: diverse, global, and prepared to accept any challenges,” said Anta Fily Gaye, a prospective Liberal Studies student from Dakar. While Gaye is excited about Liberal Studies, she still has a lot of unanswered questions even after visiting the NYU Core Program website. “I visited some nonaffiliated websites and I have to admit I was really frustrated. They basically described Liberal Studies as NYU for dumb kids.”

The longstanding stereotype that Liberal Studies students are less qualified than students in other undergraduate schools of study still plagues the program. It’s easy for students and outsiders to think of Liberal Studies as a rejection pile because of the way in which students are mainly filtered into the program. Only a quarter of Liberal Studies students apply to the program directly, according to the NYU’s Liberal Studies website. The rest are assigned to it, regardless of if they elected the program as a second, third, or fourth choice. Having a program comprised of around 75 percent students who did not choose to be in Liberal Studies as their first choice has fostered a negative sentiment about how candidates for the program are even selected in the first place.

I sat down with Liberal Studies Dean Fredric Schwarzbach, a soft spoken man who has led the program since its creation in 1972. I wanted answers, and I decided that the only way to get something a little less vague than what’s presented on the NYU websites would be to go the head honcho himself. The moment I sat down with him, I opened my laptop. Earlier that afternoon, I had posted something in the NYU Liberal Studies 2018 page. On it, I told my classmates that I would be interviewing the Dean about Liberal Studies and that no questions would be rejected. In just a mere 15 minutes, a bunch of LS kids responded with questions ranging from NYU creating LS for more money to how the admissions officers really pick candidates for the two-year program.

While I am grateful that Schwarzbach agreed to a sit-down, on-the-record interview, I felt that a lot of the things he explained to me were just scrambled up responses taken from the NYU website itself. Nonetheless, he did have some insightful points and answers to our questions.

When asked about candidates are picked for LS, he revealed that undergraduate admissions consider Liberal Studies candidates based on whether or not they would benefit from smaller class sizes and by how clear of an academic path they have as well.

“One thing we’re looking for is a student that’s really going to thrive in that environment with small classes and intensive advising and close contact with faculty,” said Schwarzbach. The dean explained how undergraduate admissions tend to choose students from small rural high schools or international students because they believe these groups would benefit from being in small classes. Schwarzbach also noted that students lacking a definitive direction in what they want to pursue are often put into Liberal Studies so that they can explore their options for their first two years at NYU. “If you’re interested in lots of things, there are great opportunities in Liberal Studies to explore lots of things and then choose your major as a sophomore instead of from the get-go.”

Schwarzbach response was mirrored by what is already available on NYU’s Liberal Studies website and while his answer stays true to what is easily accessible online: students are still being placed in the program with no real answers to why they were deemed a good fit.

“As I am transitioning out of LS, I am not sad to see the end come,” said Emily Harris, a sophomore at NYU hoping to pursue a double major in journalism and politics. Harris was excited upon being accepted to her dream school, but had to take a step back when she read the fine print. Harris doesn’t understand how admissions officers can tell if a student would do better in a small classroom environment solely from his or her application. “I came from a huge high school. I had double the number of students in a classroom in New Jersey than I have here in my Cultural Foundations class.” Now, the disgruntled sophomore is glad to be leaving the program after serving her two years. “People at LS say that this program gives students more time to figure out what they want to study. I disagree with that. I came into college knowing what I wanted to study and the courses in LS did not influence me at all.”

While Harris’s placement into Liberal Studies isn’t easily explained or justified, other students have mixed feelings about Liberal Studies being a good fit. Besides, how does going to a small or big high school reveal whether or not a student really likes being in a small classroom environment. Also, where on an application does it reveal such an assumption?

“I came into NYU without any idea of what I wanted to study,” said Kelsey McIntire, a sophomore on a pre-health track. McIntire applied as an “undecided” and doesn’t recall selecting Liberal Studies as her first choice or one of her fallback options. McIntire came into Liberal Studies without a clear idea of what she wanted to major in, and doesn’t feel that the Liberal Studies classes helped her find any prospective majors. “Being pre-health, I didn’t have nearly as much to ‘try classes’ as they advertised. I was taking all LS classes and chemistry freshman year, which left me no room to take any classes that could be potential majors.” However, McIntire also sees a positive side to Liberal Studies. “I will say that Liberal Studies did buy me some time with deciding on a major. I guess being in Liberal Studies made me feel like it was more okay for me to not know what I really wanted because I assumed a lot of other people were in my shoes.”

Sophomores like Harris and McIntire are leaving the Liberal Studies without the NYU experience they were fully expecting or looking for, but some underclassmen seem to have more enthusiasm about the program.

Ryan Matera, a freshman in Liberal Studies hoping to transfer into the Tisch School of the Arts, thinks that the program is actually one of the best at NYU. “The teachers are great, partly because they’re great teachers, but mainly because they’re able to build classes to their specialties,” he said. Even though Matera selected Liberal Studies as his second choice, he has been thoroughly happy with his decision to come to NYU. Matera thinks that the program not only has great teachers, but is a helpful program as well: “LSP is perfect for students who need more time to build some sort of vision. If you go into it appreciatively, it’s the best thing for a student who has some sort of excitement towards education.”

Matera’s positive words about the program echo the same enthusiasm shared by some prospective Liberal Studies students.

“I’m excited to learn more about art and culture and to read about paintings in the textbook and then go out and see them in the museum,” said Alexander Smith, a prospective Liberal Studies student from New York. Even though Smith originally applied to the College of Arts and Science as his first choice and had Liberal Studies marked as his second choice, he thinks that Liberal Studies will be a good fit. “Liberal Studies was a great choice for me as it was similar to my high school experience, with small class sizes and roundtable discussions.” Smith believes that the program will give him the time he needs to solidify his choice of major: “The flexibility that Liberal Studies allows was critical in my choice.”

There are obvious disagreements about whether Liberal Studies really effectively “buys” time for its students and helps them to explore fields of study, however there’s a resounding, collective frustration regarding the lack of community within the Liberal Studies Core Program.

“I hated that we had literally zero sense of community, which only made it harder to make friends at NYU,” said Cece Charendoff, a sophomore in Liberal Studies looking to transfer into the College of Arts and Science for a double major in journalism and Sociology. Besides believing that a lot of her Liberal Studies professors have been subpar to those in other schools, Charendoff doesn’t feel as if her experience in Liberal Studies has been overly positive or negative. However, the lack of community for Liberal Studies students has put a damper on her experience at NYU even though she admits that there’s a lack of participation for the events that are held. “I don’t think that anyone would want to rally as a community under Liberal Studies. I mean, what’s the benefit if we’re all going to be going our separate ways after two short years.”

Being the second biggest group of incoming students right under CAS, it’s funny how we have just one floor in a building shared by the health center and other administrative facilities. The Liberal Studies mugs in the NYU bookstore collect dust and a lot of LS kids don’t really care about going to the LS events that we’re emailed about constantly. While you can argue that it’s the responsibility of students to participate in those events if we want to be a part of the community and feel the community, there’s something much more deep-seeded within the psyche of LS students. Do we feel embarrassed to be in the program? Are we reluctant to join in LS festivities because we’ll be leaving it in two years anyways?

Dean Schwarzbach responded to the notion that Liberal Studies students feel as if there’s an unfair lack of community in the program with a sweeping response.

“The short answer is that we’re at a good place in terms of community and it has gotten a lot better in recent years, but it could be better still. Actually, if you spoke with students from Gallatin and CAS, the most common complaint I hear about at NYU and student life is a general lack of community,” said Schwarzbach. The dean went on to explain the obvious reasons why a school of 50,000 students spread out over two boroughs would pose a huge challenge in cultivating real school unity and spirit and believes building community involves a matter of time. Schwarzbach also believes that the potential to develop community is there, but it doesn’t benefit students to opt out of those events. “Our hope is that we provide opportunities for people who want to engage and be part of different communities," he said. "Could we do better? Of course we could always do better.”

It’s hard to say if the Liberal Studies program has improved the way in which it explains its course information, builds community, and states its overall purpose. The information is there on the websites and there are Liberal Studies events that students can attend, however the stigma is still hard to eradicate. The negative sentiments towards the program make it hard for students to fully engage in what it offers. This cyclic dilemma affects current students as much as it affects prospective ones. Sophomores moving out of the Liberal Studies program remember the confusion they felt after being placed in the program and that same uncertainty still affect the incoming freshman who don’t know how the program will affect their journey through NYU.

Jenny Qiu, a prospective Liberal Studies student from Boston, MA is undeclared and remains cautious but hopeful about her coming journey in the program: “I put down Liberal Studies because I really thought that the extra two years would benefit me, but that said, I also didn’t expect to be put in Liberal Studies.” Qiu doesn’t think that being put in Liberal Studies was a bad thing and notes that in terms of finding information about the program, the NYU Liberal Studies website and in-person information session were helpful. “There were many people available to answer questions during the session, which really helped as well and convinced me otherwise of the few negative articles that I’d read about LSP,” she said. Qiu notes that a lot of the negative comments written online about the Liberal Studies program were dated back in 2011 and believes that a lot of things can change in five years.

Through the criticism, concerns, and praise for Liberal Studies, Dean Schwarzbach remains calm, resilient, and positive about where the program is headed. Upon being asked what his personal goals are for the improvement of the program, he responded with a general statement:

"What I try to do is continue to provide a better educational experience for all of our students and I think we have a great program where students do really well and succeed in all kinds of things,” said Schwarzbach. To follow up his broad statement, he emphasized that it’s important to look at the other side of the equation: “If you look at the data, and the data would be things like time to degree, percentage who completed the degree, and final GPA, our students do at least as well or even better than those who begin their journeys in their schools as first year students. So as far as I’m concerned, we’re doing a great job in preparing students for success in whatever they do."

However, the dean and NYU’s higher-ups knows students are drawn to what NYU and its surrounding area offer. It’s a school of high standing and it’s on a chunk of land that arguably has some of the most important cultural and social happenings in our world. However, is it fair to say that students should just accept Liberal Studies with the glamour of New York City in mind? Is it fair to play on the notion that NYU is a dream school for so many people around the world? Should we take what we’re given and silence our questions with what the city lights promise to offer?

This past Spring semester, I finally finished all of my LS courses. I’ll be a junior in Steinhardt for MCC with a prospective double major in Journalism. Yes, I still worked that dream to study Journalism in there, despite what might’ve seemed like an early roadblock. Some love LS and some hate it. Some argue that there’s a lot of room for improvement, but that it’s okay for now. Personally, I wasn’t head-over-heels about the program, mostly because I didn’t even want it in the first place. However, I’m here now on the other side. I have still been soaking in everything that New York City and New York University have to offer. I have been making friends and connections. I have been writing, taking photographs, and making videos. I have been able to write pieces like this one. Maybe Liberal Studies wasn’t incredibly advantageous for me, but it definitely wasn’t negative either.

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I’ve been waiting a long time to finally find the right time to write about something that I felt alone in not fully understanding. I hope to have written something that will guide that other confused high school senior out there, mining the Internet for answers that still haven’t even been fully answered. NYU really has a long way to go when it comes to Liberal Studies and their transparency with the program. Community issues cannot be resolved without a changed perspective and that changed perspective needs to start at the admission process

Still, I really want to congratulate the incoming LS kids who are going to be jumping around Washington Square Park and navigating the streets of the city I now call home. It makes me happy to know that the prospective LS kids are much more optimistic than I or my classmates ever were about the program, but it only makes me feel that this school has such a great responsibility to not let these kids down in having a valuable educational experience. If I were to leave any bit of advice with you all, I would just say that no question is not worth asking and your future rests upon you and only you.