Inside Colleges: Pace University (New York, N.Y.)

If you are a student who would love to go to a co-ed college in the Big Apple, you may want to consider the Pace University campus in lower Manhattan (Pace also has another campus in Westchester).

For undergrads, the New York City campus has about 4,000 full-time undergrads in three undergrad schools:

• Lubin – the Business School 
• Dyson – the Arts and Sciences School
• Seidenberg – the Computer Science/IT School.

Pace also has an honors program, which comes with benefits like significant merit aid, special honors classes, special events, research opportunities and housing.

The NYC campus consists of a handful of buildings including dorms in lower Manhattan and one dorm in Brooklyn Heights. If you are looking for green lawns and trees, you are in the wrong place. Your campus is the city. If going to the South Street Seaport, soaking up Wall Street, or walking across the Brooklyn Bridge excites you, Pace may be for you. My tour guide Michael, a freshman in the Seidenberg School, lived on a themed housing floor in a freshman residence hall. Housing is guaranteed all four years and there are also a sizeable number of commuters.

Most classes are given in a single high-rise building. Class size averages 28 students and grad students don’t teach classes.

The school boasts of having a large number of internship opportunities with 56 percent of the student body taking advantage of this opportunity (No. 1 university in N.Y. for internships per US News). Pace graduates are 12 percent more likely to have a job after graduation based on the Fall 2011 Salary Survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

The Division II teams are all in Pleasantville. There is a bus twice a day between the two campuses. The NYC campus has gym facilities, but no pool. There are club hours three times a week.

Virtually all students (97 percent) get some form of need-based or merit-based financial aid. Students are automatically considered for merit aid of between $4K and $28.5K.

Pace has rolling admissions with a Feb. 15 preferred deadline. Those who apply Early Action by Dec. 1, will hear if they have been accepted by the second week in January. Overall 84 percent of applicants were admitted. Those who are interested in performing arts have a Jan. 15 deadline and need to audition; admission for the performing arts spots is highly competitive.