NYU vs Michigan for city jobs: which school has better access to internships and recruiting in New York or other major cities?

The biggest practical tradeoff is proximity versus breadth: NYU puts you inside New York City every day, which makes semester internships, coffee chats, and last-minute networking much easier, while Michigan gives you a more traditional campus experience with very strong national recruiting and a huge alumni base that reaches major cities, including New York. If your priority is being physically present in the city during the school year, NYU has a real edge. If your priority is broad access to employers across finance, consulting, tech, and other fields with a classic college environment, Michigan is extremely strong and does not shut you out of city jobs at all.

For New York specifically, NYU benefits from being local. Students can intern part-time during fall or spring, attend in-person events without travel, and build contacts continuously. That matters in industries where repeated face time helps, especially finance, media, fashion, entertainment, and some startup or nonprofit roles.

Location matters most for internships during the academic year, not necessarily for full-time outcomes. NYU makes it easier to stack experiences while classes are in session. Michigan students often rely more on summer internships, formal recruiting channels, and alumni outreach, which can still lead to the same cities but usually with a bit more planning.

If your main goal is New York access during college, NYU is the more direct route. If you want excellent city recruiting without needing to live in the city right away, Michigan holds up extremely well. Between the two, NYU has the clearer advantage for day-to-day New York internship access, while Michigan is just as credible, and sometimes stronger, for broad national recruiting depending on your school or major.