From Tampa to New York in a matter of months, a former Plant High School student, Avery Franks, shares about her experience in one of the most competitive schools in the state-NYU. She is an NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education & Human Development for contemporary vocal performance student who just finished her first semester. 

New York University is a private university in New York City, with 94 majors to study, and an acceptance rate of 12%. 

“NYU has been amazing. I ended up exactly where I was supposed to be and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to get a degree in New York City,” Franks said. 

However, it all started at Plant, where Avery spent 4 years of her academic career she was voted as the most talented in the Plant High School Class of 2021.

“At Plant, I was a member of the chorus, the La Sertoa service club, but most of my activities were outside of school, including the Entertainment Revue of Tampa Bay, La Mansion Recording Studio, and the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts Teen Council to name a few,” Franks said. 

However, NYU was not in Franks’ heart years looking back, but as soon as she got accepted, she committed to the private university. 

“If I’m being completely honest, I didn’t decide until May 1 which was the day my decision was due since I did regular admission. I decided very last minute, but I knew that for my major specifically, it was the best choice for me,” Franks said. 

But to many students, the application process is the most terrifying part, somewhat because it consists of multiple steps, and your future depends on it, but Franks speaks from experience. 

“My advice to anyone going through the NYU application is to be yourself throughout the whole process. They don’t want to hear something generic that you think the admissions team wants to see, they want to know about you and your interests! If the major you’re applying for has pre-screens, trust yourself and follow the guidelines,” Franks said.

Nevertheless, Franks’ application wasn’t a slice of pie, but there was a spark that highlighted her from others.

“The NYU application was my longest one by far and it took me forever to perfect. It was long, but totally worth it. I think what stood out about my application was my extracurricular activities and the release of my album “Orbit,”’ Franks said.

Avery has been performing since the age of six, while being a military kind and traveling from city to city, until the age of 11 when the family settled in Tampa, Florida. “Orbit” an album composed by Avery, is one of her releases. 

“I’ve always been interested in writing music, composition, and everything that goes into creating original music, so I hoped that was somewhere in my future and I’m happy “Orbit” came when it did. It’s just a collection of everything I felt in the year of 2020,” Franks said. 

While the dream to go NYU was not in journal early, music was always a passion for Avery. 

“I always knew I wanted to study music. The goal after graduating from NYU is to do the performance thing, but if that doesn’t work out I’d love to work in production, a record label rep or go to law school so I can advocate for artists who have signed into shady situations,” Franks said. 

But after her first album, and three singles, Avery is not finished with her music career. 

“I’m always writing music and I’m hoping to be able to release some more music before summer 2022,” Franks said. 

As Franks mentioned, NYU is between living and dreaming, just as it is to many applicants, current students, and other ambitious individuals. 

“There is never a dull moment and the diversity of students and activities is amazing,” Franks said.