This semester I’m taking classes at Marymount Manhattan College, NYU, and Hunter. Usually all on the same day. Am I crazy? Perhaps. But is it doable? So far, I have to say yes. In fact, it’s far more fun than attending just one university.
I didn’t sign up to take classes at two other schools just to say I’m going to three colleges at once (though it is fun to throw that around). During my first semester at MMC, I noticed the catalog was missing a bunch of courses I wanted to take. While Marymount has an amazing selection of theater and dance classes, I was looking to take jazz music, along with a higher level Chinese course to continue where I left of in high school, and calculus with integrals ’cause TBH I kinda love math. Don’t sue me… it’s more fun than reading twenty pages of workshop stories for creative writing class sometimes. Marymount doesn’t really have instrumental music classes, their Chinese is only offered at beginner’s level and their highest level math– Calc I– doesn’t quite get past derivatives.
Thus, I set out to take the courses I wanted at the places that offered them: Hunter and NYU. Since Marymount has a consortium with Hunter, I could take up to six credits there to count as my 12 minimum for a full time MMC student. I decided to take Chinese and jazz through Hunter since I’d heard good things about those programs. Since nearing the credit max, I signed up for calculus at NYU (it’s just a short subway ride and their library is *ah-mazing*). It took a couple of months to apply as a visiting student at NYU, get all my paperwork in for both schools, and register for the classes because there was a LOT of paperwork. The Academic Advisement office is now my second home, but by the end of January I was all set to be a student at two new schools
Now I’m about a month into my three-school-semester, and I have to say, it is both hectic and super fun. Since none of the schools have the same allotted class times, choosing sections was tricky and my schedule is a pain at times: on Mondays I head to my 8:10 AM Chinese at Hunter, then chemistry and neuroscience at Marymount, then take the subway to NYU for calc, and finally head back to Marymount for my 5:50 PM creative writing class. Even though my afternoon trip to NYU three times a week is a bit of a trek, it’s pretty fun. I get a mini adventure in the middle of my day and it’s super rewarding. Every week I get to be part of three amazing communities, meet people with very different perspectives, and take advantages of three campuses worth of resources. Whenever I get stressed, I think about how much I love the classes I’m taking and I feel proud reminding myself that I didn’t just settle for the easiest path.
So what’s the moral of my story? If your school is missing something you’re interested in or you hear about a super awesome class at a nearby institution, don’t be afraid to branch out and take a class somewhere else… Or three at two somewhere else’s if you’re feeling especially extra. Being a visiting student is far more rewarding than stressful. Though it may seem scary at first, I’m glad I took a risk and pounced on that opportunity— that’s what college is about, isn’t it?