What do you think about the CUNY Graduate Center?

[pecado]

I want to know what you think about the CUNY Graduate Center, if you plan to apply to it, and how it compares to other schools (in example, Columbia). I am indecisive about applying to it.

The fact that Saul Kripke teaches there, and that it is in the center of New York (in front of the Empire State) makes it attractive. But today I am reading many negative reviews saying that there is a lot of bureaucracy, that the teachers do not care about the students, that they demand too much -more than other universities- from the students, that there is exaggerated security, that the installations are not comfortable in the inside, and that you can't have a complete and fulfilling university experience because there are not undergraduate students, and it lacks the spirit and life of a liberal university.

What do you think? 

Today it is the last day to send the application and I can't decide. As I don't have plenty of money, I could use that money to apply to other better university -if this university is as bad as the reviews say-.

[gughok]

I can't answer any of the questions you asked explicitly, but I can relay something my advisor mentioned: CUNY sometimes gives dodgy funding, which can put you in "a fucked up situation" (advisor's wording) if you're not careful. So if you apply and if you get an offer, you'll want to be sure you actually have the funding you need.

[PorchlightPhilosopher]

I'll forward some advice from a professor of mine:

Don't apply anywhere you couldn't see yourself attending, and that means spending 5-7 years there. 

That being said, I can certainly imagine the things you've been told being true. Then again, I'm basing that off of those things 'fitting' the New York (City) state of mind. 

[rising_star]

I have definitely heard that there can be funding issues for PhD students at CUNY GC. NYC is expensive, which presents its own set of challenges. A lot of PhD students adjunct at various CUNY campuses, which adds to your commute time and can delay progress on the dissertation. 

[jjb919]

I have also heard from other grad students that the funding is pretty poor. Coming from someone who graduated with a Master's from an institution with poor funding, I strongly caution against it. In my opinion it's not worth it. That money is better spent applying to programs with better funding.

[MVSCZAR]

Honestly, the only reason I applied was because it's free for CUNY students. But a lot of my professors teach at the Grad Center and advise against going there. It's difficult to work with some of the professors on the list and, very often, some of those professors haven't taught at the Grad Center in a while. That being said, I know a lot of grad students there and none have complained about funding to me, but I wouldn't be surprised. I heard bad things about their resources as well. But the NY consortium thing is pretty rad. 

[philosophe]

I had a friend who was waitlisted and went to visit. He said that the grad students seemed strained and had more teaching duties than the other schools that he visited. That being said, if it was my only offer and it was enough for rent I'd definitely go. You could do a lot worse that NYC.

[maxhgns]

Kripke teaches there, but don't expect him to supervise you.