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First-Year Survival Guide

Everything you need as a new NYU student — from finding your classes to writing your first paper. Start here!

5 steps

1NYU Brightspace

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2BobCat Library Catalog

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3NYU Writing Center

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4Grammarly Premium

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5JSTOR

Find your classes and materials

Brightspace is where ALL your course content lives — syllabi, assignments, grades, discussions.

💡 Pro tip: Enable email notifications so you never miss a deadline or announcement.

Service

NYU Brightspace

Learning Platforms

NYU's official learning management system (LMS). Access course materials, submit assignments, check grades, participate in discussions, and watch lecture recordings. Used by virtually every NYU course.

Access

Search the library for textbooks

Before buying textbooks, check if the library has them — you can borrow physical or digital copies for free.

💡 Pro tip: Search by course number to find everything your professor put on reserve.

DatabaseFree$500/yr value

BobCat Library Catalog

Library Services

NYU Libraries' unified search catalog for books, journals, DVDs, databases, and digital collections across all NYU library locations. Request items, place holds, and manage your library account.

Access

Get help with your first paper

The Writing Center offers free 1-on-1 consultations to help you plan, draft, and revise papers.

💡 Pro tip: Book appointments early in the semester — slots fill up fast around midterms and finals.

On CampusFree$3,000/yr value

NYU Writing Center

Academic Support

Free one-on-one writing consultations for all NYU students at any stage of the writing process. Help with brainstorming, outlining, drafting, revising, and citation formatting across all disciplines.

Access

Polish your writing

Free Grammarly Premium for NYU students — catches grammar, style, and citation issues before you submit.

💡 Pro tip: Install the browser extension to get suggestions in Brightspace, Google Docs, and email.

ServiceFree$144/yr value

Grammarly Premium

Academic Support

Free Grammarly Premium for all NYU students — advanced grammar, style, tone, and plagiarism checks. Works in your browser, Microsoft Office, and Google Docs for papers, emails, and applications.

Access

Find academic sources

JSTOR is the go-to database for peer-reviewed journal articles across every subject.

💡 Pro tip: Use the 'Cited by' feature to find more recent papers that build on your sources.

Database$199/yr value

JSTOR

Research Databases

Access to scholarly journals, primarily in the humanities and social sciences. In addition to journal articles, users can access book chapters, ebooks, and primary source documents.

Access