Eugene Lang College

I have to say, I love my school.
I came here as a transfer student from Parsons.
I am now an Arts in Context dual-​major at Lang, with a focus in Visual Art and Psychology. I highly recommend this major, it gives you plentiful helpings of both arts and liberal arts education, with plenty of room for electives within your subjects of choice.
I’ve always thought that the professors are what make or break a class, and the professors here are wonderful. One the whole, enthusiastic, original thinkers. It is rare to be challenged without the motivation of fear or strict discipline… most people have never been challenged in this way, and sadly, they can’t even recognize its value when they see it.
You will like Lang if:
You value thinking critically and deeply. You will have these needs met here.
You want your classes to sort of blend together across subjects.
You want to study science in an integrative, practically applied manner. The Interdisciplinary Science program here is one of the best.
You want to be challenged… not to follow strict rules, but to dive more deeply into a topic.
You want a more personal atmosphere with your teachers and classmates.
You will hate Lang if:
You hate reading and writing.
You are athletic outside of yoga and dance. (seriously, sometimes the doors feel too heavy for me to open: P)
You learn best through rote memorization.
You hate explaining yourself.
You hate class discussions.
Lang myths:
Everyone is a pretentious hipster… no! Lang is all about looking past appearances. Like a person’s clothing. I have met kids who reek of having too much privilege. I have also met kids here who are kind, smart, and interesting– great friend material. There’s a lot of creativity floating around here… don’t get all sensitive if it comes out in dress!
Everybody smokes… kind of. There are a lot of smokers here. And as a non-​smoker, I think its pretty stupid. But no ones going to look down on you for not smoking. In fact, they may wish they could do the same. :)
Are there imperfections in the way it operates? Of course. This school maintains itself on our financial privilege. This is more of a problem with American education on the whole. So the tuition is steep, yes.
But it’s kind of like this: if you know you will be in debt after paying for this school, why is that application even in the mail? I wish people would stop talking as if this school put you in debt. No… you put yourself in debt!
If this school will put you in debt, please don’t apply… your impending fees will cast a long shadow over what would be an enriching, life-​changing experience.

I came in as a transfer student in the middle of my Sophomore year. I’m a Psychology major. I like this school a lot. You get small classes with professors that know your name. Yet you are also part of a large university in a large city, so you get the benefits of that experience as well. It’s really different from most colleges: there’s no Greek life, very few sports teams, and meeting other people can be tricky. Personally, I tried the college experience that most people have and didn’t like it, so I like being in a school that’s different. As a Psychology major, you have an opportunity to assist a professor in a lab. Even if you don’t go into the field, you still learn a lot of practical information that can be used in anything you decide to pursue. The coursework can be intense and overwhelming at times, but there are also a lot of resources for support. Avoid the Lang café for lunch if you can. It’s expensive, and the food is really gross. Get your lunch off campus instead.
Overall, I’m very happy with my decision to transfer here. Lang is not for everyone, but is a good place to consider if college football and fraternity parties are not your thing. Just be prepared to work really, really hard.

College is what you make of it.
The fact that its in NYC is what made it for me.
I appreciated the lack of fraternities/​sororities, football and strict curricula, but I also felt like it lacked the variety of people, and thinking, that is a reality outside of the college.

My four years at Eugene Lang were the best years of my life (to date). It was also very expensive and I’m about eighty thousand dollars in the hole. It REALLY sucks. BUT, I treasured my education. I was a writing major and the professors I had were brilliant. They pushed me and inspired me to work harder, they were intelligent and down to earth. The small classes and huge emphasis on class participation brought me out of my shell, built my self esteem, and helped me absorb each lesson. And because there was no «core curriculum» I got to try a whole slew of classes until I knew what it was I really wanted to study. That was very helpful. And of course, you live, work, and play in Greenwich Village, which is a magical and wonderful place. But once again, it is painfully expensive, so if you’re not a rich hipster (which many students who go here are), be certain that you will make the most of every penny you spend to attend. If you do, then in my opinion it’s worth it.

I must give a shout out to Keeley S. who couldn’t have said it better. I really loved my education here. It was progressive and interesting and challenging. The classes were small and I got a lot of personal attention with the professors who were keen to enhancing to my writing and critical analysis skills. I am proud to say I have a degree from this school because it’s up there in the ranks of quality schools. HOWEVER — the students really are lame. It’s true. Everyone is so damn pretentious because they’re so damn interesting or well traveled or well read. Sometimes I felt like they were competing so fiercely for the «best of» in class that I just didn’t bother speaking up during seminar for fear of the burning eyes that I’d feel if I got picked to speak over them. It’s definitely a know-​it-​all kind of student body and it’s hipster central. More than that — it’s smart, artsy hipster so if that’s not your crowd you’ll feel uncomfortable even if you’re one of the 1000 smokers in the courtyard (cigarettes and otherwise). I would recommend this school for the education but it definitely caters to a certain clientele that I just didn’t fit into. But, like I said, I loved the professors and still keep in touch some, one of whom was instrumental in bringing me to my highest confidence in my writing skills.

Lang, what has become of you?! When I applied to Lang it was because I wanted a non-​traditional education, along the lines of Evergreen or Bennington without having to be in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. What made Lang stand out, not just in NYC, but over the entire US educational landscape, was it’s adherence to non-​traditional pedegogy and heterodox theory.
These days, it’s just struggling to be another NYU.
I’m glad that it didn’t start changing until after I left, but the days of occupying John Kerry’s office once a week, never taking a math class (unless you took one at Cooper Union), and half the class being in jail the day after a big protest appear to be long gone.
Sad times for radical education!

Gee, First you defer me. Than, you write a personal letter insisting I come in for another interview, and send in more writing. I paint you on my hands, maybe even stroll past your buildings in hopes this will be my school, oyyyy, than you reject me. Jigga whaaaa, Where to?

I love my school, but I hate all the kids there. They are super pretentious and think they know everything but are kind of just lame. Classes of about 16 people. The teachers are super attentive to the point where they will email you if you don’t turn something in and remind you. There is a good variety of really interesting classes, instead of the mundane required classes at other schools.