Like any other beginning, your first year of college is intimidating. You separate from your long time friends since grade school and are thrown into a campus where everything and everyone is foreign to you. Needless to say, we were a little nervous, especially attending a school such as NYU, where your campus is basically New York City. Located in such a popular area of New York makes it difficult to identify NYU students, resulting in awkward accidental conversations with random locals about what the econ homework was or when the dining hall closes. For this precise reason, NYU has a variety of different Welcome Week activities and events that are specifically designed to help students meet people, make friends, and get some free stuff too. However, some events are more worthwhile than others—check out this list of the top 5 NYU Welcome Week Events!
1.Vic Mensa Concert
Vic Mensa, an up and coming new hip hop artist who has worked with Kanye West and Chance the Rapper, put on a free concert for NYU students! Space was very limited, so students lined up to get in as early as 5pm. The crowd was energetic, the music was blasting and the environment was exhilarating! Everyone was having a good time, dancing and socializing throughout the night—definitely the best NYU Welcome Week event.
2. Comedy Night
Hosted by comedian Jordan Carlos, Comedy Night was a huge success! Expectations were low; not too many people knew what to expect or what comedy night entailed, but the night ended with some astonished gasps, raunchy stories and uncontainable laughter. The student comics were relatable and hilarious, making it definitely one of the best NYU Welcome Week events!
3. Acapella Night
NYU is home to some of the most talented students in the world, and this talent was definitely displayed on Acapella Night! It was a full house with every seat packed and students standing in the back in order to watch the show. A number of groups performed, singing various types of music genres. One of the most memorable parts was the performance of Sam Smith’s “Latch.” This fun musical night is definitely worth checking out!
4. Think Fast Game Show
High energy, quick-thinking and fast movements are the essence of the Think Fast Game Show. This high speed game allowed the entire audience to play along and get involved! Though some felt that the event ran a little long, everyone agreed that the best parts of the show were the 1v1 competitions between different audience members. If you love trivia or you’re just good at guessing games, you’ll definitely have a blast during the Think Fast Game show!
5. Music Festi-ball
To many this was the most anticipated event of the week, however it fell a little short. It is true that there were some free items provided for those that attended, however it wasn’t more than a forgettable souvenir or two. Nevertheless, the dance floor on the top floor was packed and full of energy and good vibes! Popular music blasted as people grooved and bopped to the melodic beat. It was very reminiscent of a school prom— so if that’s your cup of tea, definitely check it out!
These five events were just a fraction of all the events that NYU offered their students to attend during Welcome Week, but these events were by the far the most entertaining and worthwhile! Though these were hits, there were also a couple misses as well. The biggest disappointment was the FYRE Cruise.
This moonlight cruise stirred up a lot of conversation and was a big topic of discussion and excitement among incoming freshmen. Tickets quickly sold out, leaving a large number of disappointed ticket-less students. However, as the day of the cruise grew closer, more and more students attempted to get rid of their tickets and sell them to others. It was an hour wait to get on the cruise, leaving some students cranky and disgruntled. Once boarded, students could not get off until it was over, which was around 3am. This event was not nearly as fun as anticipated, and not worth forking over the $40 to buy the tickets early—especially when you could buy them from other students for as little as $10!
There were some events worth checking out, and some that you could have definitely gone without. Regardless of which activities you attended, and which ones you decided to skip out on, NYU’s Welcome Week was full of various events, with something for everybody!