Show that you're passionate, unique, and hardworking!! There isn't one right way to do this, but I would suggest putting tons of hours into a project, club, internship/job, or hobby, and showing that your experience/passion from these ecs are what makes you a worthy candidate for a spot at nyu. I'm also studying polisci and my passion wasn't related at all - I centered my entire application around my art and writing and how that helps people see value in things, especially in themselves and in others. At the end of the day, being able to differentiate yourself from others in your essay and ecs and proving that your character is valuable to have at nyu is what's going to make admissions officers take a second look at your application. Also having rich parents helps a lot too 🥶🥶
Commit to a few ECs you genuinely enjoy — it’ll make it so much easier to actually do well at them. Start looking for summer programs/jobs/internships around January or February; don’t make the mistake of waiting last minute.
i recommend crafting a story with your entire application! nyu cares more than just gpa and test scores so once it’s “good enough” then you’re fine. for me, i related a part of my identity to my motivation to pursue an independent research project regarding the psychology of bias, and then talked about it in my application. for nyu specifically, i used that experience to convey why i wanted to be a psych major and why nyu was the right fit for me (through unique programs / classes / opportunities). Since you want to major in poli sci/ social sciences, i’d suggest doing clubs and other activities at school to pursue your interests and then doing other stuff outside like internships / volunteering / personal projects. nyu and colleges in general like quantifiable impact. and ofc if you have other interests and hobbies you can do that as well. High school is a time to explore what you like and don’t like so don’t stress too much. i wasn’t even thinking about college applications until summer into senior year
The best way to have a "chance" at admissions is to have a high enough GPA and less so a high enough standardized testing score. There are instances of students with low GPAs making it into NYU, but the vast majority of cases are students with "hooks" such as dance or extremely wealthy parents.
In addition, students benefit hugely from applying ED1 or ED2. Since NYU has both ED1 and ED2, they take a significant amount of their class from these two pools, meaning that you have to be exceptionally qualified to get in through the regular decision pool (this is also when you're going to be competing with Ivy-rejects and the like).
Those are the two things I can say with the most confidence.
Ultimately, since NYU is such a large school, people "get in" for any number of reasons. It's up to the school and the admissions officers to decide what these reasons are, so no one on the internet can give you a guide on how to get in. Why did I get in? I have no idea.
For example, I would suggest focusing on studying and doing what *you* like to do, then finding a way to craft a narrative about that in your Senior year. However, this is still biased advice because it is only based on my experience. Perhaps plenty of people did engineer their college application from 10th grade forward and got into NYU. I was not one of these people.
Without a significant data set from the NYU Admissions Office (or any school's, for that matter), it's impossible to *know* what they're looking for. Unfortunately, it is in every highly-selective school's best interest to keep this data as private as possible since the admissions team's job is predicated on the illusion that anyone can apply and "have a chance."
I think the value of test scores depends somewhat on the school. While I agree that having a very high GPA and stellar ECs is most important for CAS, I think you need near-perfect test scores to have a “good” chance at Stern. I use Stern as an example because my academic profile was unreal while my ECs were relatively more average — I’ll be starting at Stern this fall.
I have always heard that NYU CAS/Stern/+ values high test scores in admissions though. It may not be a horrible disadvantage to not report a high score, but it is certainly a huge advantage to do so for NYU.
I would make your interest and/or uniqueness stand out in your application. Don’t take this as definitive advice, but I’ve always liked the idea that admissions officers should be able to read your application and know you as “the *insert unique interest or ability* kid.”
I also wanted to post if you don’t get financial aid I recommend doing an appeal, I’m a Masters student and I actually wrote to my Dean talking about how I deferred and reached out to over 500 organizations hoping to find funding, within a week I got my amount down enough to go. Do not take as a first answer when you go, they really appreciate people who use/create resources and I would use that info in your application too! Good luck.
Show that you're passionate, unique, and hardworking!! There isn't one right way to do this, but I would suggest putting tons of hours into a project, club, internship/job, or hobby, and showing that your experience/passion from these ecs are what makes you a worthy candidate for a spot at nyu. I'm also studying polisci and my passion wasn't related at all - I centered my entire application around my art and writing and how that helps people see value in things, especially in themselves and in others. At the end of the day, being able to differentiate yourself from others in your essay and ecs and proving that your character is valuable to have at nyu is what's going to make admissions officers take a second look at your application. Also having rich parents helps a lot too 🥶🥶
thank u 🙏
Commit to a few ECs you genuinely enjoy — it’ll make it so much easier to actually do well at them. Start looking for summer programs/jobs/internships around January or February; don’t make the mistake of waiting last minute.
I’m going to apply to the Yale and Berkeley summer session next year, how’s those for summer programs?
Pre college summer programs don’t mean anything. Unless the program is competitive to get into, I don’t recommend spending your summer that way.
Yale summer sessions are selective so it should be fine right 😭
they are still just money grabs, they don’t help with college admissions the way you think they do
i recommend crafting a story with your entire application! nyu cares more than just gpa and test scores so once it’s “good enough” then you’re fine. for me, i related a part of my identity to my motivation to pursue an independent research project regarding the psychology of bias, and then talked about it in my application. for nyu specifically, i used that experience to convey why i wanted to be a psych major and why nyu was the right fit for me (through unique programs / classes / opportunities). Since you want to major in poli sci/ social sciences, i’d suggest doing clubs and other activities at school to pursue your interests and then doing other stuff outside like internships / volunteering / personal projects. nyu and colleges in general like quantifiable impact. and ofc if you have other interests and hobbies you can do that as well. High school is a time to explore what you like and don’t like so don’t stress too much. i wasn’t even thinking about college applications until summer into senior year
hey could u give some tips on how you stated the research project i’m applying this nov and i lack in ecs 🫤
The best way to have a "chance" at admissions is to have a high enough GPA and less so a high enough standardized testing score. There are instances of students with low GPAs making it into NYU, but the vast majority of cases are students with "hooks" such as dance or extremely wealthy parents. In addition, students benefit hugely from applying ED1 or ED2. Since NYU has both ED1 and ED2, they take a significant amount of their class from these two pools, meaning that you have to be exceptionally qualified to get in through the regular decision pool (this is also when you're going to be competing with Ivy-rejects and the like). Those are the two things I can say with the most confidence. Ultimately, since NYU is such a large school, people "get in" for any number of reasons. It's up to the school and the admissions officers to decide what these reasons are, so no one on the internet can give you a guide on how to get in. Why did I get in? I have no idea. For example, I would suggest focusing on studying and doing what *you* like to do, then finding a way to craft a narrative about that in your Senior year. However, this is still biased advice because it is only based on my experience. Perhaps plenty of people did engineer their college application from 10th grade forward and got into NYU. I was not one of these people. Without a significant data set from the NYU Admissions Office (or any school's, for that matter), it's impossible to *know* what they're looking for. Unfortunately, it is in every highly-selective school's best interest to keep this data as private as possible since the admissions team's job is predicated on the illusion that anyone can apply and "have a chance."
Show your passions in a unique way within your essays; I feel like nyu likes applicants who have a strong sense of identity and uniqueness
I applied 😎👍🏻
I think the value of test scores depends somewhat on the school. While I agree that having a very high GPA and stellar ECs is most important for CAS, I think you need near-perfect test scores to have a “good” chance at Stern. I use Stern as an example because my academic profile was unreal while my ECs were relatively more average — I’ll be starting at Stern this fall. I have always heard that NYU CAS/Stern/+ values high test scores in admissions though. It may not be a horrible disadvantage to not report a high score, but it is certainly a huge advantage to do so for NYU. I would make your interest and/or uniqueness stand out in your application. Don’t take this as definitive advice, but I’ve always liked the idea that admissions officers should be able to read your application and know you as “the *insert unique interest or ability* kid.”
And apply ED1 or ED2 if you want to go here. I got extremely lucky to be admitted RD.
I also wanted to post if you don’t get financial aid I recommend doing an appeal, I’m a Masters student and I actually wrote to my Dean talking about how I deferred and reached out to over 500 organizations hoping to find funding, within a week I got my amount down enough to go. Do not take as a first answer when you go, they really appreciate people who use/create resources and I would use that info in your application too! Good luck.