I think studying away in Shanghai is a quite great experience for me. Shanghai is an amazing city with its own distinct culture, and it's so convenient and safe. Well, I think the cost of living in Shanghai actually is much lower than New York, which sometimes also be a concern for college students.

As for the academic courses, I highly recommended you to take some culture related courses in NYUShanghai which allows you to gain and explore more about this city and this country, I think it is a very important part of "Study Away Program" and is very meaningful. I've taken "Concept of China" and "History of Chinese Art" during my "Study Away" semester, the professor was so nice, even inspiring my great academic interests in Art History, currently I decided to pursue this field as my minor.

During your spare time, I think searching for a on-campus job is a very good choice, then you can meet more with your teammates/partners/groups. At the same time, it's also like a close community with who you works with, it will provide you a sense of belongingness to this site. Take my story as an example, I was the "Study Away Peer Assistant" in that semester, and we worked together to plan for study away students' events/activities. Through meetings, brainstorming, chatting, collaborating, I made good friends there and I also love the energy I had while working in this team! Otherwise, you can also step outside the campus and go cycling along the Bund or bring your camera to Xujiahui. I mean lifestyle in Shanghai is up to you, don't be stressful when you are seeing people in a hurry to work. There are many places and things you can go for, explore and enjoy!

Many aspects of living such as food and transportation will be cheaper in Shanghai than any Western country. Something to be aware of is the Chinese requirement to study in NYU Shanghai. Chinese may be a difficult language to learn because it is completely different from Western languages such as English. Academics are slightly harder. Clubs are slightly limited because the school itself is smaller and there is no greek life in NYU Shanghai. All of the courses are held in one building called the academic building, but NYU Shanghai is opening a new campus, if not already, very soon.

Super fun! Building is really nice! I don’t like cash anymore because of China. Get Alipay, get Yi Dian Dian. Drink boba everyday, it’s cheap. Eat chipotle before going, they don’t have it there. Take Professor Raymond Ro’s classes, he’s the best professor I’ve ever ever had. Take Marketing, take Management and organizations! Go to Puxi on the weekends for brunch or for night life. School’s super close to Lujiazui so there’s a lot of things to do after school. Go to IFC Mall, go see the pearl tower and the tallest bookstore

Super fun! I loved being in Shanghai and meeting different people. The people were pretty friendly and the efficiency in the city was unbelievable. I could go out the dorm without cash or my wallet. Everything I needed was on my phone. It lessened my traveling weight, plus it was so easy to book high-speed train tickets and plane tickets. I could travel to close-by provinces within 3 hrs and come back within the day. It was awesome. I loved yellow mountain and Beijing. Both were different experiences but very enjoyable.

Shanghai is an amazing city to travel and study in. I went as a student, but I had the chance to travel on the weeek ends to near cities and water towns. Personally, I visited Wuxi where my family is from. In shanghai, getting around is super easy. We travel by bus, bikes, metros, cabs, and Chinese Uber. All of these are really cheap. In terms of food, you can get really good food for not a lot of money. You could order food from a delivery app called Eleme. I love shanghai, I recommend it for anybody.

Definetly recommend you go to Shanghai! Theres so much to explore and see, and so much culture. I went to Suzhou, Beijing, Guilin, and much more.
The food is very good. Theres definetly less options for those with dietary restrictions but they have so many cuisines.
The school was very good. It definetly felt like a school and the community was very nice. The teachers were very helpful.
I would definetly reccommend you go to Shanghai. Great people, great food, great culture, and great experience.

NYU Shanghai is a pioneering program that offered me the opportunity to achieve my goal of living in China, gaining fluency in Chinese, and continuing my studies as an NYU student. The campus is located in Pudong and is a new and beautifully built building with great resources for academic, language, and social success while living in China. Housing was in Pudong as well, a little far from campus, but made it possible for me to have a place to recharge and experience getting used to life in China. The Chinese language program at NYU is TOP NOTCH - these teachers know what they are doing and really care about their students. It's easy to get overwhelmed or feel a little isolated sometimes while living in such an expansive city as Shanghai, but I think NYUSH does a great job of making students feel welcome. Dining options within the school are good, and fitness center (small but sometimes useful), café, library, etc. are all good as well. Certainly a program to be recommended for a great semester or academic year abroad.