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NYU Supplemental Essays 2023-24 Prompt and Advice

August 17, 2023

In the 2022-23 admissions cycle, NYU received over 120,000 applications. That was a record-breaking figure for the university (13% more than the previous year!), as was the all-time low acceptance rate of 8%. To put these numbers in proper context, consider for a moment that in 1991, NYU had an acceptance rate of 65%. At the start of the Obama presidency, NYU still only received 37,000 total applications. These numbers lead us into the topic of this blog, the NYU supplemental essay.

(Want to learn more about How to Get Into NYU? Visit our blog entitled:  How to Get Into NYU  for all of the most recent admissions data as well as tips for gaining acceptance.)

Clearly, standing out as an applicant to NYU was a heck of a lot easier a generation or even a mere decade ago. For the Class of 2027, the median SAT score for an admitted applicant was 1540 , meaning that even a standardized test score in the 99th percentile won’t do much to separate you from the hordes of equally credentialed applicants.

Although it only has one prompt, NYU’s essay still affords applicants an opportunity to illustrate what makes them uniquely qualified for admission. Below is NYU’s supplemental essay for the 2023-24 admissions cycle. We then follow with College Transitions’ advice on how to craft a winning composition.

2023-2024 NYU Supplement Essays

This is a new prompt for the 2023-24 admissions cycle. It’s optional, but we highly encourage anyone who would like to be a serious contender (which, if you’re taking the time to apply, hopefully you are) to answer it.

We are looking for peacemakers, changemakers, global citizens, boundary breakers, creatives and innovators – Choose one quote from the following and let us know why it inspires you; or share a short quote and person not on our list who inspires you, and include why. (250 words)

• “We’re used to people telling us there are no solutions, and then creating our own. So we did what we do best. We reached out to each other, and to our allies, and we mobilized across communities to make change, to benefit and include everyone in society.” Judith Heuman, 2022 NYU Commencement Address
• “I encourage your discomfort, that you must contribute, that you must make your voice heard. That is the essence of good citizenship.” Sherilynn Ifill, 2015 NYU Commencement Address
• “If you know how to fly but you never knew how to walk, wouldn’t that be sad?” Lang Lang, 2015 NYU Honorary Degree Recipient
• “You have the right to want things and to want things to change.” Sanna Marin, Former Prime Minister of Finland, 2023 NYU Commencement Address
• “It’s hard to fight when the fight ain’t fair.” Taylor Swift, Change, Released 2008, 2022 NYU Commencement Speaker
• Share a short quote and person not on this list, and why the quote inspires you.

NYU Supplemental Essay (Continued)

This prompt—and its options—are incredibly open-ended, offering you the power to decide why a particular quote inspires you (note that there are no guiding questions or proposed directions for any quote). As such, read through the quotes provided and note which one you continue returning to. When you read that quote, what do you want to do ? What type of change do you want to affect? Does it encourage to create or innovate? How so? Moreover, does it remind you of an experience you’ve had, a challenge you’ve overcome, or a belief you hold? Perhaps it calls to mind an aspect of your background or perspective. Or, it could speak to a particular social or political cause that is important to you. Alternatively, you can even choose your own quote if none of the above resonates with you.

The strongest responses will look to the future while also incorporating past personal experiences or influences. For example, perhaps the second prompt inspires you to continue seeking out experiences that challenge you. “Why is that?” NYU will want to know. Perhaps, earlier this year, you went out of your comfort zone to speak up at a school board meeting about your school district’s book ban policy, ultimately meeting & agreeing to continue working with a group of fellow students who also opposed the policy.

Finally, given that this is NYU’s only supplemental essay, you can also incorporate how you plan to seek out specific experiences or resources at NYU.

How important is the NYU supplemental essay?

NYU deems four elements as “very important” in evaluating a candidate. These are: the rigor of your secondary school record, class rank, GPA, standardized test scores, and talent/ability. The NYU supplemental essay is considered to be “important” alongside letters of recommendation, extracurricular activities, and character/personal qualities.

Want personalized assistance?

In conclusion, if you are interested in working with one of College Transitions’ experienced and knowledgeable essay coaches as you craft your NYU essay, we encourage you to  get a quote  today.

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New York University (NYU) 2023-24 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

Early Decision: Nov 1

Regular Decision Deadline: Jan 5

You Have: 

New York University (NYU) 2023-24 Application Essay Explanations

The Requirements: 1 essay of 250 words

We are looking for peacemakers, changemakers, global citizens, boundary breakers, creatives and innovators – Choose one quote from the following and let us know why it inspires you; or share a short quote and person not on our list who inspires you, and include why.

“we’re used to people telling us there are no solutions, and then creating our own. so we did what we do best. we reached out to each other, and to our allies, and we mobilized across communities to make change, to benefit and include everyone in society.” judith heuman, 2022 nyu commencement address , “i encourage your discomfort, that you must contribute, that you must make your voice heard. that is the essence of good citizenship.” sherilynn ifill, 2015 nyu commencement address , “if you know how to fly but you never knew how to walk, wouldn’t that be sad” lang lang, 2015 nyu honorary degree recipient , “you have the right to want things and to want things to change.” sanna marin, former prime minister of finland, 2023 nyu commencement address , “it’s hard to fight when the fight ain’t fair.” taylor swift, change, released 2008, 2022 nyu commencement speaker , share a short quote and person not on this list, and why the quote inspires you..

Through this selection of quotes, NYU is asking you to share ways in which you are not like everyone else. Grab a notebook and spend a few minutes with each of the quotes in turn, jotting down whatever words, ideas, or images come to mind. If none of them speaks to you, think about a person or quote that has resonated with you over the years. When you’re done brainstorming, go back through your notebook and see what came up. You can describe past events (maybe you clashed with school administration over unfair policies), experiences you anticipate in college (perhaps you plan to do research to find innovative climate solutions), or your plans for the future (maybe you want to become a diplomat to foster peace internationally). You can also reference the quoted individual’s life and how that inspires you. Remember, this isn’t an essay about your accomplishments or academic interests; your response should, rather, offer admissions insight into your values, passions, and worldview.

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How to Respond to the 2023-2024 NYU Supplemental Essay

Cece Gilmore is a Content Writer at Scholarships360. Cece earned her undergraduate degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from Arizona State University. While at ASU, she was the education editor as well as a published staff reporter at Downtown Devil. Cece was also the co-host of her own radio show on Blaze Radio ASU.

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Bill Jack has over a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. Since 2008, he has worked at Colby College, Wesleyan University, University of Maine at Farmington, and Bates College.

Maria Geiger is Director of Content at Scholarships360. She is a former online educational technology instructor and adjunct writing instructor. In addition to education reform, Maria’s interests include viewpoint diversity, blended/flipped learning, digital communication, and integrating media/web tools into the curriculum to better facilitate student engagement. Maria earned both a B.A. and an M.A. in English Literature from Monmouth University, an M. Ed. in Education from Monmouth University, and a Virtual Online Teaching Certificate (VOLT) from the University of Pennsylvania.

New York University is located in the heart of the city that never sleeps, New York City! Due to its ideal location in the Big Apple, NYU has an acceptance rate of 13% . Your NYU application will need to impress if you want to gain an education in NYC!

NYU applicants are offered the opportunity to submit an optional essay to better showcase who they are. NYU states that students who do not submit the optional essay will not be penalized in their admissions review process. Students who are set on NYU might want to take this extra step to impress. Keep reading to learn how to ace the NYU supplemental essay question!

Don’t miss: Top New York scholarships

The NYU supplemental essay: The prompts

Get excited, because NYU only requires one optional supplemental essay response! Students will respond to the following statement from NYU:

We are looking for peacemakers, changemakers, global citizens, boundary breakers, creatives and innovators. Choose one quote from the following and let us know why it inspires you; or share a short quote and person not on our list who inspires you, and include why. (250 words) 

Applicants may choose from the following list:

1. “We’re used to people telling us there are no solutions, and then creating our own. So we did what we do best. We reached out to each other, and to our allies, and we mobilized across communities to make change, to benefit and include everyone in society.” Judith Heuman, 2022 NYU Commencement Address

This quote can be a little overwhelming due to its length but ultimately it is just stating that teamwork can create beneficial solutions. So, if you have any experience working with others whether it be an organization or just one other person to help you solve a problem, this is the perfect quote for you! To begin responding to this essay prompt you should firstly describe what this quote means to you. How do you interpret this quote? Next, you should detail a story from your life in which you came together with others to solve a problem. Be creative and descriptive in detailing this experience! You want the admissions officer to understand your situation and get a good gauge of the type of person you are especially in difficult situations in which a problem needs to be solved. Don’t forget that this response is only 250 words so be as detailed in as few words as possible! 

Questions to consider

• When was a time in which you had to work with others to solve a problem? 
• Does collaboration help you solve a problem more effectively? 
• What problems are you passionate about solving? What steps would you take to ensure that you can solve these issues? 

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2. “I encourage your discomfort, that you must contribute, that you must make your voice heard. That is the essence of good citizenship.” Sherilynn Ifill, 2015 NYU Commencement Address

This quote is very similar to the first one in that it wants to know how you have benefited your community. To begin, try and think about a time in which you stood up for something or someone that was against the grain or norm for your community. Or, think of a time in which you made your voice heard within your community. Once you decide on a moment no matter how big or small, describe it! You should detail what led up to you sparking a change and how exactly you went about it. Additionally, you should describe what happened after the fact. Did you spark a movement in your community? Did you get ridiculed? Would you stand up again despite the discomfort you faced? This reflection is the most important part of your response as this will show the admissions officer what you have learned from your experience. You want to prove to the admissions officer that you will better the NYU community due to your prior experiences and lessons learned. Don’t forget that this response is only 250 words so be as detailed in as few words as possible! 

• Have you ever stood up for something in your community? 
• What have you learned about yourself from making your voice heard? 
• Do you think people should stand up for what they believe despite the uncomfortableness they may feel? 

3. “If you know how to fly but you never knew how to walk, wouldn’t that be sad?” Lang Lang, 2015 NYU Honorary Degree Recipient

This is a hard quote to digest! Lang Lang is a musician and said this quote in response to an interview question about how he likes to tackle the most difficult music pieces first. Knowing this background, it is easier to digest the quote! Ultimately, Lang is detailing that learning the basics and not jumping ahead to the difficult and rewarding parts first can be extremely valuable. Therefore, try to think of a time in which you may have started something ambitious without gaining a good understanding of the topic. Or perhaps a time in which your own pride got in the way of you succeeding because you wanted to skip ahead without going over the mundane intro-leveled steps. No matter what this activity or skill is, it is important that you focus on what you learned in your essay response. You should be detailing how learning the basics actually could provide you with a solid foundation to become an expert in this skill despite not realizing this at the moment. Additionally, you should describe what you learned from this experience and how you will take this skill of learning to walk before flying with you to NYU in order to succeed. Don’t forget that this response is only 250 words so be as detailed in as few words as possible! 

• Can you describe a time in which you learned to fly before walking? 
• Have you ever been ambitious and tried to complete something with no prior background experience in the topic? 
• What have you learned from trying something without practicing the basics first? Would you do it again? 

4. “You have the right to want things and to want things to change.” Sanna Marin, Former Prime Minister of Finland, 2023 NYU Commencement Address

There are a lot of things you may want to change whether that be something small in your personal life or something large in the world. So, for this response you should try to narrow down your options to selecting a problem that you have taken action to change within your community and life. Meaning, this may not be the best time to discuss a large problem that humans are nowhere near solving. Rather, choosing something you are passionate about that you have actively tried to change in your life can show admissions officers the type of person you are. Remember, this problem can be something as small as wanting to exercise more or something a little bigger such as wanting there to be less litter in your neighborhood. Once you select your problem, you should describe what you have done or are planning to do to change it. You can and should even discuss any obstacles you have faced or criticisms to show that you truly want this change to occur despite any setbacks. Ultimately, make sure that you are detailing your want to change something in your life or community and how you go about actually creating change. Don’t forget that this response is only 250 words so be as detailed in as few words as possible!  

• What is something you have been actively involved in trying to change in your life or community? 
• Is wanting to change enough? Or do you believe you need to act in order to initiate change? 
• What have you learned from creating change in your life? Will you continue to fight for change at NYU? 

5. “It’s hard to fight when the fight ain’t fair.” Taylor Swift, Change, Released 2008, 2022 NYU Commencement Speaker

If you’re a Swiftie then this may be the quote option for you! This quote is from a Taylor Swift song called “Change” that she wrote in 2008 that is still just as applicable to 2023. Change is a song all about overcoming obstacles while still being hopeful. So, try to think of a time when you had to overcome a challenge that felt too big for you to overcome. How did you manage to overcome this challenge? Was it an easy or difficult path? What did you learn from this experience? Describe in greater detail about how this unfair fight made you feel and what you did to overcome those feelings. Ultimately, you want to show the admissions officer that you are a strong individual who can overcome even unfair obstacles or at least have a positive attitude about it similar to the way Taylor Swift does in her song “Change.” Don’t forget that this response is only 250 words so be as detailed in as few words as possible!  

• Have you ever had to overcome an obstacle that seemed insurmountable?
• What have you learned about yourself from unfair situations? 
• Do you believe that someone can win a fight that isn’t even? 

6. Share a short quote and person not on this list, and why the quote inspires you

If another Taylor Swift song lyrics speaks to you or you read a specific quote every morning, this is the essay option for you! However, it is important to note that NYU went out of their way to provide you with a list of prior commencement speaker’s quotes that demonstrates their values. Therefore, unless you are super excited and passionate about a different quote, you should select one from their list. This will ensure you are providing an answer that NYU wants to hear from its candidates. If you end up selecting this option, just ensure that you are detailing new information about yourself and revealing some below-the-surface attributes you demonstrate. Additionally, make sure you are describing characteristics you will bring to NYU if you are accepted and how you plan to make NYU a better place. 

7. Not answering this optional question.

This is an optional question!! Therefore, you will not be penalized for not responding to this prompt by NYU. However, if NYU is a dream school or high on your college list, you should definitely be responding to this prompt. These 250 words could be the difference between an acceptance letter and a rejection letter. Here are some benefits to responding to this optional prompt: 

• You can highlight desirable traits and experiences that can make your application well-rounded
• You can mitigate any weaknesses in your application such as a low GPA or test score
• You can form a connection with the admissions officer based on your heartfelt response

A helpful tip on choosing your prompt 

When choosing your prompt, you should also be noting what you have already discussed in your application. If you already wrote your Common App essay about one piece of your identity or theme – do not write about this again! Rather, choose something else in order to emphasize who you are and your broad range of interests. 

Next steps after applying to NYU

Congratulations! Your NYU supplemental essay question is completed! Be thankful that NYU was so kind in only making applicants answer one question. Now, what should you do next? Instead of waiting what feels like a lifetime for NYU to reach a decision on your application, be proactive! Show demonstrated interest in NYU to prove that you are committed to attending their university. 

How can you show demonstrated interest ? Well, it is quite simple! Follow any NYU social media accounts, reach out to an admissions officer about any questions you may have and schedule a tour! Doing this will show NYU that you truly want to attend their university because you are making the effort. 

Best of luck and enjoy New York City – it is famous for a reason! (Grab a slice of $1 pizza–you will not regret it!)

Additional resources

As a student working on college applications, you’ve got a lot on your plate. Fortunately, we have resources to help you through every step of the way. Check out our guides on how to write an essay about yourself , how to respond to the Common App prompts , and how to write 250 and 500 word essays. We can also help you decide how many schools to apply to and how to find safety, reach, and match schools .

If you’re wondering whether to send test scores to test-optional schools , we’ve got a guide for that as well. And once you start hearing back, we can help you create a college comparison spreadsheet to make your college choice. Finally, check out our free scholarship search tool to help fund your education and keep all of your college options open. Good luck!

Other colleges to consider

• Boston University (Boston, MA)
• Barnard College (New York, NY)
• Columbia University (New York, NY)
• University of Chicago (Chicago, IL)

Frequently asked questions about the New York University supplemental essay

Should you answer nyu optional supplemental essay, is the nyu supplemental really optional, did the nyu supplemental essay change, how many supplemental essay prompts does nyu have, when are the application deadlines for nyu, are there any helpful tips for making my essay stand out from other applicants, is there a right quote option to select for the nyu essay prompt, scholarships360 recommended.

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How to Succeed with the NYU Supplemental Essay 2022-2023

Padya Paramita

August 29, 2022

You might always have wanted to attend the Tisch School of Arts as an aspiring dancer. Or, you might have become interested in the Stern School of Business recently when your commitment to entrepreneurism developed. Regardless of how long it has been one of your top choices, you’ve got your eyes on New York University. It will be important to express this interest to their admissions officers! Just saying you want to go to school in New York City isn’t specific enough. You must take advantage of the NYU supplemental essay 2022-2023 in a way that will help admissions officers understand why you’d be a perfect fit for one of their campuses and academic programs.

The overall acceptance rate at NYU is 12.2%, so you know the school is selective. Because NYU offers so many specialized programs, the demand for this school is high! Make you write a strong, specific response to the NYU supplemental essay 2022-2023 that reflects your contribution to your community. Read on to find out the best ways to approach the prompt alongside some additional tips to assure your success.

Prompt for the NYU Supplemental Essay 2022-2023

NYU was founded on the belief that a student’s identity should not dictate the ability for them to access higher education. That sense of opportunity for all students, of all backgrounds, remains a part of who we are today and a critical part of what makes us a world class university. Our community embraces diversity, in all its forms, as a cornerstone of the NYU experience.

We would like to better understand how your experiences would help us to shape and grow our diverse community. Please respond in 250 words or less.

This is a very open-ended prompt and is basically a shortened version of a personal statement. “Diversity” is a very broad term and can refer to a variety of parts of your identity and application—your family background, your culture, your hobbies, any story that makes you unique. 250 words isn’t a lot so carefully consider what you wish to convey to admissions officers that hasn’t been articulated anywhere else on your application. Remember that this isn’t a place to list your resumé. Instead, focus on a fact about you that can be exemplified using anecdotes and highlight how it would help you contribute to NYU’s community.

As you brainstorm, start thinking about all of the communities you interact with on a daily basis—school, student group, sports team, neighborhood organization, family, etc. From there, think about what—from any of these communities—you’ve had the most impact on and why. The list could go on, but may include things like helping your parents with your siblings, or stepping up as a leader to initiate a new community center in your neighborhood. From there, you want to think about how your skills can benefit others, specifically at New York University.  When approaching this essay, try to be as specific as possible. 250 words is a short essay, so make sure you get straight to the point and explain the unique contributions you would bring from your current life to NYU. 

Now that you’ve seen the new prompt for the NYU supplemental essay 2022-2023 , it’s time to get to work. Don’t be afraid to really get into the details of what makes you a unique candidate and show the reader why you belong as a future Bobcat. Good luck!

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College Essays

If you're applying to New York University, you'll need to submit both the regular Common App materials as well as the NYU supplement, which includes a short essay. At its heart, the NYU essay prompt asks you to answer a single straightforward question: why do you want to go to NYU?

In this article, we'll fully analyze the "Why NYU?" essay prompt and what successful essays need to accomplish. We'll also go over potential topics to write about and look at the essay that got me into NYU's College of Arts and Science.

First, however, we'll begin with a quick discussion of why schools ask students to write "why this school?" essays

feature image credit: Sagie /Flickr

Why NYU Essay 2023 Update

NYU has discontinued the "Why NYU" for the 2022-2023 admissions cycle . That means there won't be an NYU-specific writing supplement provided as part of the Common Application process. 

However, students can submit an optional 250-word response as part of NYU's additional questions section. This response deals with students' perspectives on diversity. Here's the prompt for 2023-2024: 

We are looking for peacemakers, changemakers, global citizens, boundary breakers, creatives and innovators. Choose one quote from the following and let us know why it inspires you; or share a short quote and person not on our list who inspires you, and include why.

“We’re used to people telling us there are no solutions, and then creating our own. So we did what we do best. We reached out to each other, and to our allies, and we mobilized across communities to make change, to benefit and include everyone in society.” Judith Heuman, 2022 NYU Commencement Address

“I encourage your discomfort, that you must contribute, that you must make your voice heard. That is the essence of good citizenship.” Sherilynn Ifill, 2015 NYU Honorary Degree Recipient

“You have the right to want things and to want things to change.” Sanna Marin, Former Prime Minister of Finland, 2023 NYU Commencement Address “It’s hard to fight when the fight ain’t fair.” Taylor Swift, Change, Released 2008, 2022 NY Commencement Speaker

Share a short quote and person not on the list and why the quote inspires you.

What's the Point of "Why This School" Essays?

While the Common App essay gives students a chance to showcase something of who they are that might not be evident elsewhere in their application, the "why [school]?" essay allows students space to explicitly state why they are such a good match for the school.

Presumably, if you're applying to the school, your test scores, grades, course rigor and curriculum, extracurriculars, and volunteer experience all put you at least somewhat in line with other students at the school.

The "why this school?" essay is your opportunity to discuss not just why you could excel at the school, but why you are a good fit (and why you want to go there).

"Why this school" essays are also a useful way for schools to judge student interest in a school (which can indicate whether or not a student will attend if admitted). Based on students' "why this school?" essays, colleges can distinguish students who are specifically interested in attending that school from students who clearly applied just because of the school's location or ranking

Writing a strong "why [school]?" essay not only gives you another instance to showcase your writing and reasoning skills, but also tells the school that you care enough to invest time in researching what makes them special. It signifies that you have put in the time to realize whether or not you're a good fit. (And, it secondarily shows that having put in that time, you're more likely to attend if admitted than someone who just wrote some generic statements about why they want to attend college ).

For a more in-depth look at what schools hope to get out of your "Why [This School]?" essays, read this article .

Why NYU Essay Prompt, Analyzed

Here's the complete NYU supplement essay prompt for 2021:

We would like to know more about your interest in NYU. What motivated you to apply to NYU? Why you have applied or expressed interest in a particular campus, school, college, program, and or area of study? If you have applied to more than one, please also tell us why you are interested in these additional areas of study or campuses. We want to understand - Why NYU? (400 word maximum)

Besides the standard "what motivated you to apply to [school]?" question that almost every "why this school" essay asks, the NYU prompt gives you one extra nudge for what to focus on in your essay.

Specifically, NYU wants you to talk about what's drawn you to "a particular campus, school, college, program, and/or area of study?" (or, if you're drawn to more than one, why you're drawn to each campus/school/college/program/area of study).

Keep in mind that you should be discussing all of this in the context of NYU . Obviously, if you're interested in NYU because of one of their 10 undergraduate schools, then that's particular to NYU, but the same goes for their campus locations, programs, and areas of study.

For instance, if you're passionate about studying theater, you wouldn't just write that you want to attend NYU because you love theater and NYU has a theater program and is in New York, a city that has theater; that description could apply to half a dozen schools. Instead, you'd go into the details of what attracts you about specific classes and professors at Tisch, or other opportunities that are unique to NYU (ability to do certain kinds of projects, the potential for interdisciplinary collaboration, etc).

This prompt also hints at a few different directions you can go with your "Why NYU" essay:

Why have you expressed interest in a particular campus, school, college, program, or area of study? If you have applied to more than one, please also tell us why you are interested in these additional areas of study or campuses.

If you're already certain of what you want to study in college or have a " spike ", you'll want to go the "particular" route in your essay . This means mentioning specific classes, professors, programs, or how you see NYU supporting your future career/academic plans.

On the other hand, perhaps you're not at all sure what you want to study in college (AKA me in high school). In that case, you'll shape your essay more around how you believe going to NYU will allow you to explore many different avenues to find your passion .

Finally, if you already know that you want to spend time abroad during college in a place where NYU has a campus, you can emphasize your interest in continuing to receive an NYU-level academic education while living in another country .

Potential "Why NYU?" Essay Topics

Earlier, we briefly touched upon some topics that you might write about in your essay, including specific courses/teachers/programs and study abroad opportunities.

We're now going to take those broad topic categories and go into a little more depth for how to write about them in your "Why NYU?" essay.

Colleges/Programs

NYU has the following 10 undergraduate schools, colleges, and programs:

• College of Arts & Sciences
• Gallatin School of Individualized Study
• Liberal Studies
• Meyers College of Nursing
• School of Professional Studies
• Silver School of Social Work
• Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development
• Stern School of Business
• Tandon School of Engineering
• Tisch School of the Arts

Because there are so many different undergraduate programs within NYU, it's a good idea to identify which program(s) you're applying to and why in your NYU supplement essay.

Since you'll need to decide on a program before applying to NYU anyway, you might as well use the time you spend reading about each college to figure out if there are any programs within particular colleges that call out to you.

For instance, if you're interested in the intersection of different fields (like psychology and computer science, or biology and philosophy/ethics) and are self-motivated to create your own program of study, you should talk about that in your application to the Gallatin School of Individualized Study. If you've spent the last 12 years devoting all your extra time in and out of school to theatre and want to attend a conservatory with opportunities to go see live theatre, then write about that in your application to Tisch.

Courses/Professors

NYU is a world-renowned university for a reason, and it's not just because of its immense real estate holdings; it has a wide variety of courses and professors renowned in their fields. If one of the main reasons you're drawn to NYU is for its academics, then this is a good topic to get into in your supplemental essay.

Flip through the online course catalogs and read about professors in departments you're interested in. Are there any classes you really want to take (that seem particular to NYU)? Or any professors you absolutely have to study with?

You don't need to go so far as to read the professors' research or anything like that (unless you're super excited by it!), but doing even a little research into the courses and professors you'd be learning from and mentioning it in your "Why NYU?" essay will go a long way toward showing the admissions officers that you're serious enough about NYU to check out its specifics.

Extracurricular Opportunities and School Traditions

If there's an extracurricular at NYU that you've been particularly involved in during high school (or are excited to start getting involved in at college), you can write about it, as long as you're clear about why it's something unique to NYU.

In a similar vein, you can also try reading through some of the campus-wide events offered throughout the year and see if there's anything special about them that speaks to you.

NYU Essay: Topics to Avoid

The "Why NYU" essay prompt makes it pretty clear that you should focus your 400 words around a specific college/program/area of study.

What you absolutely should avoid is gushing about NYU's location (whether you're applying to the New York campus or not).

Back when I applied to NYU, the "why NYU?" essay prompt was even more blunt about not centering your essay around New York City:

"Many students decide to apply to NYU because of our New York City location. Apart from the New York City location, please tell us why you feel NYU will be a good match for you."

If New Yorkers have heard it all and seen it all before, NYU admissions officers have certainly read any and all paeans you could care to write to New York City.

It's fine to write about how being in New York gives you access to opportunities relevant to your course at NYU (e.g. you can get amazing internship opportunities for journalism and theatre there that you wouldn't be able to get anywhere else). However, you need to be clear to center your essay around the program at NYU, with the New York location (and its opportunities) being an added bonus.

Unless you have a unique take on why NYU's location is so important to you (e.g. your grandparents used to live in a building that was demolished to make way for Bobst law library and you were brought up on vengeance that has since turned to adoration), stay away from NYU's location in your explanation of why you want to go there.

Brainstorming for the Why NYU Essay

Before you start to narrow in on what angle you'll take in your "Why NYU?" essay, you should first examine your reasons for applying to NYU. By "examine," we don't just mean "list your reasons"—we mean you need to go a few levels deeper into each surface reason that occurs to you.

For example, this is the list of reasons I had for applying to NYU (roughly in order of importance):

• My test scores and grades/course rigor make it likely I'll get in
• NYU has lots of good schools and programs
• It's easy enough to get from NYU to my family, transportation-wise

On the face of it, none of these reasons are very compelling. If I'd just gone on to write my "Why NYU?" essay (or in those days, essays) with those three bullet points, I doubt I would have been accepted.

Instead, I went deeper with each reason to see if there was anything there I could mine for the NYU supplement essay.

Surface Reason 1 : My test scores and grades/course rigor make it likely I'll get in.

• One level deeper : I'm applying to NYU as a safety school, because I'm pretty sure I'll get in there, even if I don't get in anywhere else, and I'd want to go there if I got in.
• Should I write about this in my "why NYU" essay? Definitely not. No school wants to hear that it's a safety (even if it's a safety you would be fine with attending because it's still a good school).

Surface Reason 2 : NYU has lots of good schools and programs.

• One level deeper : I'm extremely undecided about what I want to study—I know that I'm interested in English (Creative Writing), Math, Neuroscience, Chinese, and Music, but I might end up deciding to study something entirely different in college. It's important to me that I go somewhere that I'll have the opportunity to explore all of my interests (and develop more), which I can do at NYU.
• Should I write about this in my "Why NYU" essay? This reason is definitely promising, although I'll need to do more research into the particular programs and courses at NYU so I can namedrop (and in the process, double-check that I'm right about being able to study all these things there!).

Surface Reason 3 : It's easy enough to get from NYU to my family, transportation-wise.

• One level deeper : My parents want there to be good transportation options for me visiting home (or them visiting me). NYU's location (New York City) definitely makes that possible (there's easy access to planes, trains, buses, rental cars, fixed-gear bikes…).
• Should I write about this in my "Why NYU" essay? Probably not. The prompt asks me about why I've expressed interest in a particular campus, school, college, program, and/or area of study, not a geographic area. Plus, it's not like there aren't plenty of other New York schools. I maybe could throw in this reason if I'm running short on things to say, but as it is, it looks like my second reason is going to be the best bet for the "Why NYU?" essay.

Why NYU Essay Sample

Below, I've created a "Why NYU?" essay example that draws verbatim from what I used in my (successful) NYU application. (The essay requirements were slightly different then, with different word counts, so I had to expand a little upon what I originally wrote.)

I feel NYU would be a good match for me because of the number and kinds of programs it has. I am very interested in a variety of subjects, and NYU seems to encompass everything. In fact, I'm applying to the College of Arts and Sciences because I can’t specify my interests any more than that at this time. I have so many things that I want to learn that I can’t imagine limiting myself before I even enter college.

Take Chinese, for example. I'm learning Mandarin now (and have been for the last five years), but I would also like to learn Cantonese. There are not many other schools that offer Cantonese classes that can boast trips into Chinatown as part of the curriculum! Furthermore, I am excited by the possibility of studying abroad at NYU Shanghai. I'd not only be able to go to China for a semester for a year and immerse myself in the language and culture, but I'd be able to do so with the continuity of being on an NYU campus, even halfway across the world.

The music theory program in the College of Arts and Sciences also really interests me. I've picked up some theory here and there, but I haven't had all that much formal training. I'm also really intrigued by NYU's early music ensemble and the chance to explore different modes and tunings. At the other end of the spectrum, while I've written a few pieces on my own and taught myself a little bit about MIDI, I have not really had a chance to experiment very much with computer/electronic composition, and would really like to use those Steinhardt facilities that would be available to me at NYU to help remedy this.

Finally, I cannot stress enough how important reading and creative writing are to me. Because of how much the two feed into one another, I'm excited by NYU's Reading Series and the potential to be able to attend organized events for interacting with other writers outside the classroom.

The opportunity to expand my Chinese language abilities beyond Mandarin (and have the chance for practical application) is what first intrigued me; the chance to explore computer music and get my hands on NYU's facilities was the next breadcrumb; but the breadth and depth of the courses for writing lure me in even more, until I can resist no further.

This essay isn't necessarily the best piece of writing I've ever done. However, it still effectively conveys my desire to attend NYU because I mention a few key reasons I want to attend NYU:

• The variety of courses available . I began by stating that I'm undecided and part of what attracts me to NYU is the opportunity to get to do lots of different things. I then go on to discuss several different examples.
• Specific NYU opportunities . I looked up various courses, events, and opportunities offered by different departments and mentioned a couple of them specifically (the Reading Studies program for creative writing, Cantonese classes, studying abroad in China).
• While I did mention a New York City thing (going into Chinatown), it was linked with something that's relatively NYU-specific (the opportunity to study Cantonese as well as Mandarin).

Tips for the Why NYU Essay

To wrap up, we've summarized our top four tips for writing the "Why NYU?" essay.

#1: Look over the descriptions of the different schools/programs. This will help you figure out both which one you want to apply to as well as what makes those schools interesting for you to apply to.

#2: Read through the course catalog and look up professors in departments you're interested in. As the NYU Admission blog states , you don't have to go overboard in stating exactly what course you want to take with what professor at what time, but you should demonstrate that you're aware of what kinds of things you will be able to do and learn while at NYU

#3: Look into whether there are any extracurricular activities or NYU traditions that particularly appeal to you--and explain why they matter specifically to you.

#4: Avoid writing odes to New York City. If there are particular opportunities you're interested in that are only available in New York (e.g. internships at the American Museum of Natural History, research into immigration history at Ellis Island) you can mention it, but don't lean too heavily on the location.

#5: Remember that while you should make it clear why you want to attend NYU with your essay, you don't need to agonize for hours over it. Ultimately, other parts of your application (including your test scores and grades/course rigor, letters of recommendation, and personal statement) are more important factors to your acceptance than your NYU supplement essay is. You just need to show that you've done at least a little research into NYU and why you want to apply there in particular.

And if along the way you find that you don't really have a super good reason that's getting you excited to apply to NYU? It might be worth reconsidering whether or not you should apply there.

What's Next?

Have a bunch more college-specific supplement essays to write? Be sure to check out our overview of the "why this college" essay .

Looking for application tips for other selective schools? Read our complete guides to the University of California system and to the Georgetown application .

Should you apply early or regular decision to college? Find out the pros and cons of early decision in this article . ( And read up on the distinctions between early decision, early action, and the different kinds of each here. )

Laura graduated magna cum laude from Wellesley College with a BA in Music and Psychology, and earned a Master's degree in Composition from the Longy School of Music of Bard College. She scored 99 percentile scores on the SAT and GRE and loves advising students on how to excel in high school.

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New York University (NYU) Supplemental Essays Guide: 2021-2022

Not sure how to approach the “Why NYU” essay prompt? CollegeAdvisor.com’s “Why NYU” Essay Guide will show you exactly how to write an engaging “Why NYU” essay to maximize your chances of admission. This guide will also reference CollegeAdvisor’s “Why NYU” essay examples  article  from last year. The piece includes two “Why NYU” essay examples from students who were admitted to NYU. We also reference feedback from former admissions officers on why each “Why NYU” essay was successful.

If you need help crafting your answers to the NYU application essay, create your free  account  or  schedule a free consultation  by calling (844) 343-6272.

New York University ( NYU ) Essay Guide Quick Facts:

• For the class of 2025, NYU accepted  12.8% of applicants  to its New York Campus.  U.S. News  considers this school to be  most selective .
• We recommend answering the required NYU essay, and any additional prompts, comprehensively and thoughtfully.

What is NYU known for?

NYU prides itself on the fact that the city is its campus. In 1831, the university’s founders aimed to create an institution of learning that would be “in and of the city.” Thus, NYU’s main campus has no gates or walls separating it from the rest of Greenwich Village. This differs from other schools in the city, such as Columbia University that has a central quad and gates separating itself from the Morningside Heights area. Side note: Barnard College, Columbia University’s affiliated women’s college has its own quad and set of gates, albeit adjacent to Columbia’s campus.)

However, the breadth of NYU students’ learning extends far beyond the confines of Manhattan. NYU has more international students and students studying abroad than any other university in the United States. Students hail from 133 countries and nearly every state in the U.S.

What are three interesting facts about NYU?

• NYU’s main campus is located in Manhattan. However, the university also has campuses in  Shanghai ,  Abu Dhabi , and other  global academic centers .
• The origin of NYU’s color, violet, is  obscure . Many believe it’s a nod to the violets that grow in Washington Square and around the original university building. Others trace it back to Athens, Greece—a center of learning in the ancient world. The violet flower was strongly associated with the city.
• NYU has many world-renowned  alumni , including Lady Gaga, Adam Sandler, and Angelina Jolie.

How many essays do you have to write for NYU?

New York University has  one  required NYU essay prompt in the 2021-2022  Common App . Each applicant will produce a “Why NYU” essay in addition to their Common App personal statement. As you look at the  NYU admissions page , you’ll notice that there are additional requirements for Steinhardt (an  audition or portfolio  for all applicants to the Music Department with the exception of Educational Theatre, and a  portfolio  for those applying to Studio Art) and Tisch (an  audition or portfolio  for applicants to all programs). A pplying to one of these programs? Make sure you complete all of the requirements referenced on the pages linked above.  This NYU essay guide will only cover the required “Why NYU” essay. However, you can use the tips here to help craft the  Steinhardt portfolio ,  Tisch portfolio , and  Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholars Program  essays as well.

How long is the NYU essay?

When writing your “Why NYU” essay, you have a maximum of 400 words to convey your interest in attending NYU. While 400 words may seem like a lot, you will want to strategize to use them wisely. You’ll also see below in the “Why NYU” essay prompt breakdown that there are several layers to the NYU application essay. Accordingly, you’ll need to answer each portion of the NYU essay prompt in order for it to be considered complete.

Due to NYU’s relatively low acceptance rate and competitive admissions process, a strong NYU application essay is key to maximizing your admissions odds. In fact, this is your chance to show NYU your demonstrated interest (DI). Demonstrated interest is what universities use to gauge just how interested a student is in attending their particular school. Want to read more about using supplemental essays to convey DI to each school that you’re applying to? Check out this article on DI by  Forbes .

Why does the NYU essay have a word limit?

The “Why NYU” essay has a word limit because admissions officers have a limit. Last year, over  100,000  first-year undergraduate hopefuls applied to NYU. In short, the “Why NYU” essay has a word limit to help admissions officers process the large number of applications.

There’s more to the picture, however. The NYU supplemental essay prompt also enforces a strict word limit to test your (the applicant’s) ability to respond to their prompt clearly and succinctly. The NYU supplemental essay prompt is intentionally broad. Thus, each writer has ample opportunity to discuss their research on the school, passion about their potential major(s), and general excitement about NYU.

Finally, the NYU admissions committee is looking for well-edited, dynamic writing in each “Why NYU” essay. Having a 400-word limit helps admissions officers identify both strong and weak writing quickly. Most importantly, they’re looking for students who they believe will bring diversity to their community and will excel in a rigorous academic environment.

“Why NYU” Essay Prompt (Required)

We would like to know more about your interest in NYU. What motivated you to apply to NYU? Why have you applied or expressed interest in a particular campus, school, college, program, and or area of study? If you have applied to more than one, please also tell us why you are interested in these additional areas of study or campuses. We want to understand – Why NYU? (400 words)

This NYU essay prompt is more than just a simple “Why NYU” essay question. In fact, there are several layers to the NYU essay. The admissions team is interested in your reasons for applying not only to NYU, but your interest in a particular campus, college, program, and area of study. Consequently, it’s best to approach this NYU supplemental essay as an NYU-specific personal statement. Similar to your Common App personal statement, you’ll want to treat this NYU essay as an introduction to the admissions committee.

How do you write the “Why NYU” essay?

Begin your “Why NYU” essay writing process with a brainstorm/free-write session. Start a list and write down every reason that contributed to your decision to apply to NYU. It can be as simple as “wanting to live in NYU;” as big as “majoring in education studies to make sweeping reforms in NYC’s school systems;” and as specific as “taking a music course with adjunct professor Questlove.”

Take no more than ten minutes to write this list. When you’ve finished, write two more lists, one titled “academic goals,” and the other titled “professional goals.” Spend ten minutes each completing these lists–these don’t have to be specifically related to NYU like the first list, but this is simply an opportunity to think about your area of study and goals for the future.

Make connections

Now that you have these three lists, take some time to draw connections between the three. For example, if your “why NYU” list includes the bonus of living in New York City while attending school, try to connect it with one of your reasons from the other lists. In other words, consider the fact that many students will list wanting to study in New York City as a reason for attending NYU.

To help your NYU essay stand out, you’ll need to create stronger connections between the school and your academic, personal, and professional goals. An example of this in a “Why NYU” essay could look like a student who is excited to study urban planning at NYU. In their NYU essay, they could link their interest in studying the history and future of New York City as the main reason for pursuing this particular program at NYU.

In fact, in the first of the “Why NYU” essay examples, the writer draws a clear connection between their interest in studying at the Stern School of Business and the opportunity to participate in the International Business Exchange Program:

Essay Example 1:

The Bachelor of Science in Business Program excites me, as it entails a well-rounded yet intensive study in core business disciplines. However, what draws me to Stern is the emphasis on gaining a global perspective, which is crucial in today’s rapidly changing world economy. Through the International Business Exchange Program, I will be able to gain a first-hand cultural experience that will mold me into a global citizen and business leader. Not only will I be taking courses in the most prestigious business schools across the globe, but I will also have new doors opened for me to network with alumni.

In just a few short sentences, the writer is able to state their school of interest (Stern), connect it to a program (the International Business Exchange Program), and talk about how NYU can help them accomplish their professional goals.

Identify the connections in your lists of personal, professional, and academic goals related to NYU. Then, it’s time to think about how you’d like to open your NYU essay. The second of our “Why NYU” essay examples perfectly demonstrate the power of a persuasive opening anecdote or story. The first few sentences are meant to draw the reader into your story. This is true of any essay, the “Why NYU” essay included. Consequently, you’ll want to use dynamic language that sets the tone for your NYU supplemental essay. Let’s look at our “Why NYU” essay examples for inspiration:

Essay Example 2:

Before I began interning for the International Rescue Committee’s refugee youth acclimation program—right in the heart of the Lower East Side—I underwent weeks of training in providing trauma-informed support, reminded repeatedly that these kids have gone through more than I could possibly imagine.

Similar to the language in the first of our “Why NYU” essay examples, this writer is able to say a lot in a few sentences. They’ve not only identified their extracurricular/internship work with IRC but also established their level of commitment to helping refugee youths.

As you can see, both of these “Why NYU” essay examples deal with the very different subject matter. One essay deals with a refugee volunteer looking to study racial policy. The other focuses on a finance student looking to network with future NYU alumni. Both candidates, however, are clear in what they want to study at NYU and why it is important for them to pursue that particular program there. They are also able to draw connections between their passions and interests to their proposed academic programs.

Do your research

Make a strong case for why you want to pursue a particular program at NYU. Use the “Why NYU” essay examples for reference; this is the most important part of your “Why NYU” essay. If you’re unsure of what you want to study, now is the time to research  NYU’s programs . The major referenced in your NYU essay may not be what you pursue if admitted, and that’s okay. If you can, however, identify potential majors of interest in your NYU essay prompt response and connect them to your overall candidate profile. This can help you write a stronger NYU essay.

For example, if your extracurriculars deal with creative writing and your high school courses are mainly in literature, picking a STEM major, simply to impress the admissions committee will likely raise red flags. In cases like this, you may want to talk about the ways that an NYU education will help you find your academic area of focus. Your “why” may not be as clear, but you can still write a successful “Why NYU” essay that focuses on what draws you to the unique community at NYU.

In other words, authenticity is key. Don’t submit a NYU essay that simply tells the admissions officers what you think they want to hear.

“Why NYU” Essay Draft Key Questions:

• Does your “Why NYU” essay talk about your motivations for attending NYU?
• In your NYU essay prompt response, do you demonstrate that you’ve done research on the schools, programs, courses, and organizations that NYU offers?
• When applicable in your NYU essay, do you mention specific NYU campus traditions, courses, regional attractions, professors, etc.?

What should I include in my “Why NYU” essay?

The NYU supplemental essay prompt asks two deeper questions: “What motivated you to apply to NYU?” and “Why have you applied or expressed interest in a particular campus, school, college, program, and or area of study?”. Both of these questions should be answered when drafting your “Why NYU” essay.

Naturally, NYU’s desired location in New York City leads many of its applicants to apply to the school. You can speak about the unique opportunities that the big city presents. However, you want to ensure that your response is specific enough to NYU. What does NYU have to offer that Columbia and Fordham don’t? Remember in the second of the “Why NYU” essay examples, the writer was able to specifically name the major (public health policy) that they wanted to pursue at NYU, as well as where they wanted to carry out research ( CASSR ). As in the “Why NYU” essay examples, it’s best to be as specific as possible.

After all, the NYU essay prompt asks “What motivated you to apply to NYU?”, and not “What motivated you to apply to college in New York City?”. A solid strategy in approaching this NYU supplemental essay, then, is to center your essay around NYU. This might seem obvious. However, you’d be surprised how many students realize  after the fact  that their completed NYU essay revolves around the city of the school and not the school itself.

Tell a story

For this NYU supplemental essay, it’s important to reflect on the past experiences that have led you to be interested in a given area of study. Was it a specific moment in your life or a series of experiences? You have the option to choose either path in writing this NYU application essay. Take a look at both of the “Why NYU” essay examples on the CollegeAdvisor  blog . The first NYU essay example highlights multiple experiences that led the author to their interest in pursuing a finance major. The second of the “Why NYU” essay examples makes one volunteer experience the focus of their NYU essay prompt. Both are strong and a great reminder that your “Why NYU” essay should be as unique as you are!

To recap, the NYU application essay you submit should be thoroughly researched. After familiarizing yourself with NYU’s  campuses  and  programs , you should include specific details related to your program of interest in your “Why NYU” essay. If it’s relevant to your essay you may also want to write about specific NYU  clubs/organizations  and  events/traditions .

NYU Application Essay: Final Thoughts

Completing the NYU supplemental essay can seem daunting, but don’t let the NYU essay prompt discourage you from applying. At the end of the day, the NYU essay prompt is not intended to trip you up. Rather, view the NYU application essay as an opportunity to further introduce yourself to the admissions team.

Use this NYU supplemental essay guide to help you approach the NYU application essay with confidence. Before and during your NYU essay writing process, make sure to spend some time reading over our “Why NYU” essay examples. Use the feedback from former admissions officers included with each NYU essay as guiding criticism for your own draft. While your experiences are going to be different than what is outlined in the “Why NYU” essay examples, your reasons for wanting to attend NYU should be just as clear as you read in the sample essay.

After completing your NYU supplemental essay, make sure to revise your NYU application essay. You should ask a counselor, advisor, or other trusted adult to help you proofread for spelling, grammar, and clarity. Good luck!

This 2021-2022 essay guide on NYU was written by  Juliana Furigay , Columbia ‘23. For more resources on the college admissions process, click  here . If you need help crafting your answer to the NYU essay prompt, create your free  account  or  schedule a no-cost advising consultation  by calling (844) 343-6272.

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How to Write the NYU Supplemental Essay

Madeleine Karydes

Lead admissions expert, table of contents, the 2022-2023 nyu admissions essay prompt, how to use the 3-part structure to write your best nyu supplemental essay, more tips for writing the nyu supplemental essay, up next: completing the nyu admissions process.

Stay up-to-date on the latest research and college admissions trends with our blog team.

If you’re getting stuck while trying to complete the New York University (NYU) admissions process, you’re not alone. This sought-after institution includes a “supplemental essay” prompt that is known to trip up even the most qualified students. 

The first thing to know is that, while the NYU supplemental essay is listed as optional, you’re going to want to be sure to complete this prompt, as NYC includes it when reviewing your complete package. Having anything missing will set you apart from the other applicants – and not in a good way.

Let’s take a closer look at the prompt, and explore some ideas on how you might structure your best response.

So, how do you tackle this part of your application? First, you’ll need to understand the question they’re asking (it’s the same for everyone), and think about the ways you could approach it. The prompt during the 2022-2023 application season was the following:

NYU was founded on the belief that a student’s identity should not dictate the ability for them to access higher education. That sense of opportunity for all students, of all backgrounds, remains a part of who we are today and a critical part of what makes us a world class university. Our community embraces diversity, in all its forms, as a cornerstone of the NYU experience.

We would like to better understand how your experiences would help us to shape and grow our diverse community. please respond in 250 words or less. .

NYU is mixing it up a bit with this prompt. The NYU admissions process used to include the much shorter prompt of, “Why NYU?” The 2022-2023 question is similar to the previous prompt (both are ultimately about setting yourself apart from other applicants), but it turns the focus from the institution to the students themselves. The bottom line: NYU wants to know what you would bring to the university’s diverse table. 

While we don’t know yet what the prompt will be in 2023-2024, it’s possible it could stay the same. Or, it might be a variation on this prompt. Either way, knowing what NYU likes to ask, and giving yourself some time to think about how you’d respond, will help you be more prepared than the average applicant. 

When thinking about this prompt, here are a few ways you might choose to frame your answer:

• Highlight your leadership experience

Universities need student leaders who will champion social causes and social change. They’re also looking for students who will participate in on-campus activities like student government, take on TA roles, and run the various clubs and organizations the university wants to offer to all students. Talk about a time you were called to be a leader, and delivered. This could be something that happened in an academic setting, or, it could be a time you had to lead in your family, your community, or during an extracurricular activity. Remember, NYU is looking for students who stand out, so you might want to highlight a leadership moment that not many other applicants are likely to have encountered. 

• Talk about something that is completely unique to you

Here we go again with the idea that NYU is looking for applicants who stand out from the crowd. By asking about your life experiences, they want to know what you’ll bring to campus that is different from what is already there. Is there something about your life story that is uber unique that you could highlight? For example, did your family live overseas for an extended period of time? How might that have shaped who you are and what you hope to accomplish at NYU? Maybe you lived through a challenging time in your community due to a natural disaster or social change. Talk about how you contributed to any positive outcomes, or how it shaped your worldview and what you want to pursue in the future. These are just a few examples – you know best what makes you unique, so write about that! 

• Share something that will surprise the admissions committee

Admissions counselors read hundreds of essays. Even the most dedicated reviewer is at risk of getting bored with the task, or getting lulled into complacency. One of the ways to make your response stand out is to bring emotion or humor into it (while still keeping things professional and appropriate, of course). When you cause an emotional reaction in someone, they are going to have an easier time remembering you. Did the most embarrassing moment of your life turn out to be life-changing in a way that makes you ready for NYU? Maybe you lived through a challenging time that taught you valuable life skills, or set you on a path towards a certain career or work as an activist. The admissions committee is going to read a lot of essay responses that sound alike – give them something surprising that makes them want to bring you into the NYU community. 

Lastly, always remember that whatever you choose to write as your response to the NYU admissions essay prompt, you absolutely must keep it honest. It can be tempting to make something up that you think will definitely get you in. Or to embellish a story because you think they will like it better that way. The truth is that the truth always has a way of coming out. Lying or being less than honest in your NYU supplemental essay response is a surefire way to damage your changes of getting in. Not to mention what it could do to your reputation long term. It’s better to just keep it real. 

Now that you understand what NYU is really asking of you in the prompt, and you have an idea of how you’d like to answer it, you need to focus on writing a structurally sound essay.  The NYU admissions essay is short – only 250 words! Getting the structure and flow right is going to be key to making a good impression on the admissions committee. 

That’s why you should focus on the go-to formula for essay writing: the 3-part structure. 

If you’ve ever taken a writing class, you’ve likely come across the concept of the 3-part essay. This rule says that all essays should have an introduction, thesis, and conclusion to make them readable, interesting, and impactful. Let’s take a closer look at each section:

• The Introduction

Use the introduction (the first 2-3 sentences) to catch the reader’s attention. Here’s where you tee up the rest of the story you’re going to tell in your NYU supplemental essay. Hook the reader here and they’re more likely to remain focused on what you have to say later. 

A thesis statement outlines the main argument, point of view, or insight that the essay intends to deliver. This is where you might try to convince the reader of your idea, perspective, or prediction. It is generally only a sentence long, but it is the entire reason we write essays in the first place: to declare something to the world. If NYU is asking what you’d bring to the campus, here’s where you say exactly that. 

• The Conclusion

Now that you’ve caught the reader’s attention and presented them with your main argument, it’s time to wrap it all up with a thoughtful ending. A strong essay never ends abruptly. Instead, it often takes the reader back to the beginning, to remind them how they got to this point in the first place. The conclusion ties it all together, and leaves the reader feeling like the story has, well, concluded!

Once your essay is written, follow these tips for making it shine:

• Check for any grammatical errors or spelling mistakes. Either one of these will make even an interesting essay look sloppy.
• Read your essay out loud. How does it sound? Is this a story you’d like to hear someone tell?
• Have someone else proofread your essay. Your eyes will start to miss errors. Someone else could catch a mistake and save your essay.
• Verify the word count to make sure you’re within the limit set by NYU. You don’t want to have to scramble at submission time. 

Now that you know what is expected of you in the NYU supplemental essay, it’s time to tackle the entire NYU admissions process . No matter which campus you apply to (New York, Abu Dhabi, or Shanghai) or which academic program you’d like to pursue (undergraduate, graduate, or professional degree), you can set yourself up for success by carefully reviewing all of the admissions criteria, deadlines, and other important information. Keep yourself organized, and be sure to complete even the optional admissions steps (such as the NYU supplemental essay) to help your application stand out from the thousands of other applications NYU receives every year. 

Remember: you have something unique to bring to the diverse NYU campus community. Don’t be afraid to show it off! It might just be exactly what gets you accepted to your top choice university. 

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4 Great “Why NYU?” Essay Examples

New York University is a selective university in the heart of NYC. Its top academic programs and location make it a highly-desirable college, and only a select few of over 85,000 applicants were accepted last year.

It’s clear that writing a strong essay is vital to standing out and demonstrating your interest in NYU. In this post, we’ll go over NYU’s main supplemental essay prompt from previous years, and what admissions officers are looking for. Then, we’ll share essays from real applicants, analyzing what they did well, and what they could’ve improved. Note that the supplemental prompt has changed for the 2022-2023 cycle.

Please note: Looking at examples of real essays students have submitted to colleges can be very beneficial to get inspiration for your essays. You should never copy or plagiarize from these examples when writing your own essays. Colleges can tell when an essay isn’t genuine and will not view students favorably if they plagiarized. 

Read our NYU essay breakdown to get a comprehensive overview of this year’s supplemental prompts. 

“Why NYU?” Supplemental Essay Prompt

We would like to know more about your interest in nyu. what motivated you to apply to nyu why have you applied or expressed interest in a particular campus, school, college, program, and or area of study if you have applied to more than one, please also tell us why you are interested in these additional areas of study or campuses. we want to understand – why nyu (400 words).

This prompt is a classic example of the “ Why this College? ” supplemental essay. This essay aims to better gauge your interest in the school, and how you might fit with the campus community. You’ll need to research NYU’s opportunities and point out how they support your goals and interests.

A common mistake students make is to cite general aspects of the college that apply to many other schools. You may want to go to NYU because of NYC, but why do you want to be in NYC? Is it because of the fashion industry opportunities? Is there a special internship that NYU offers with companies in Manhattan?

You should aim to get granular and cite resources unique to NYU. This shows that you’ve reflected on your potential role in the NYU community, and are certain that it’s a fitting place to pursue your education.

Essay Example #1

My mother never takes off her Cartier necklace that my father gave her 10 years ago on their anniversary. As a child, I didn’t fully understand this attachment. However, on my 15th birthday, my aunt gifted me a ring, which was uniquely designed and made up of three rings linked together. Wearing it every day and making sure I would never lose it, I didn’t treat it like my easily replaceable childhood necklaces; it was my piece of luxury. This sparked my deep curiosity for the luxury world. The niche strives to provide the finest and most memorable experiences, as equally as my Japanese attention to detail and my French appreciation towards aesthetic beauty. In a constantly shifting environment, I learned that luxury chases timeless excellence.

NYU Stern’s BS in business and a co-concentration in management and marketing will fully immerse me in the business side of luxury fashion that I aim to pursue a future career in. The luxury marketing track, offered only by NYU, will enable me to assemble the most suited classes to reflect my interests. Specifically, NYU Stern’s exciting electives such as The Dynamics of the Fashion Industry seminar and Brand Strategy & Planning will encourage me to develop the skills that I was introduced to and grew keen on when running a virtual sustainable fashion auction.

As someone who has moved around from Paris to Tokyo, to Chicago and now Athens, I thrive in meeting and collaborating with others from diverse backgrounds. The school’s strong global outlook, demonstrated through Stern’s International Business Exchange Program, further sets NYU apart for me, as it is crucial to building essential soft skills. This opportunity allows me to experience new cultural approaches to luxury business which I can bring back with me to New York, and therefore push me to become a well-rounded business student. Similarly, I am excited to take part in the array of student clubs offered, such as the Luxury and Retail Association (LARA), which I learned about after connecting with and talking to current students. Seeing past talks from employers of companies like Conde Nast, I am eager to learn outside of the classroom from future speakers. 

Finding myself in new situations constantly, I always seek new challenges and explorations – to me, it is clear that NYU Stern will push me to create the finest and most unique learning experiences of timeless excellence.

What the Essay Did Well

This essay has an amazing introduction paragraph. It doesn’t mention anything about NYU or what this student is planning on studying, which is what makes it so intriguing. The reader doesn’t know where this student is headed after making such a seemingly unrelated statement about jewelry, but we want to find out. 

Not only does this essay immediately capture the reader’s attention, it maintains a succinct and direct tone that helps the reader effortlessly flow from one paragraph to the next. The student chose to include three opportunities at NYU that excite them and fully elaborate on them. This serves as an excellent example of more is less. 

We aren’t bombarded with a laundry list of classes, professors, and clubs the student wants to take. Instead, the student took a focused approach and described why they were excited by each offering they highlighted. Going deeper into a smaller number of opportunities at the college still shows this student did their research, but it allows for their backstory and goals to be discussed in far greater detail.

What Could Be Improved

While this student does a good job of elaborating, they also mention a few key aspects of their personality as throw-away lines, when it would have been great to elaborate further on them. For example, they mention running a virtual sustainable fashion auction (cool!), but don’t provide us with any details on what that actually entails, how they got involved with it, what they enjoyed about it, etc. They also mention moving around a lot in the context of developing a diverse perspective, but they don’t include any emotional insight into what that was like.

Although there are only 400 words available, and you don’t want to spend too much time discussing the past, it would be nice to see just a sentence or two that delves into the details of this student’s background. The fashion auction and moving around clearly had an impact on the student, so we want to know what that was. If they are choosing to include these details, they must be important in the student’s decision to pursue business at NYU, so they shouldn’t be afraid to divulge the emotional significance to the reader.

Essay Example #2

“A futuristic way of looking at academics,” the student panelist said during a New York University virtual information session. I reflected on a conversation I had with my grandma; she couldn’t understand how her vegetarian granddaughter could build a career in the food industry. However much I tried convincing her that vegetarianism was the future, as it offers substantial benefits to the environment and can offer health benefits to a growing population with the same environmental resources, she insisted that tofu would never provide the same satiation as meat. She was raised in a community where meat consumption was embedded in the culture, and its production is a large part of the country’s economy. In contrast, I had the privilege of living a few steps from San Francisco, with many restaurants and grocery stores dedicated to plant-based meat alternatives. Trying innovative recipes and products eventually allowed me to develop my own recipes. Upon my move to Nicaragua, where my grandmother is from, I found my food options to be limited, expensive and hard to find. So I developed my own small-scale solutions that did not break the bank and satiated grandma.

An institution that implements forward-thinking is what I need to reach my goals of changing the future of plant-based diets and people’s views on vegetarianism. NYU’s Nutrition and Food Studies program offers multiple disciplines of food studies that I will apply to my aspirations as a vegetarian. I plan to study under Adjunct Faculty Kayleen St. John, whose success in the plant-based industry and her teaching of the ‘Foundations of Plant-Based Nutrition’ in The Vegetarian Times excites me. The variety of classes like Introduction to Food History, Food Photography, and Food Systems: Food & Agriculture will give me an overview of what is available in the food industry to be prepared for all fields. Not to be cliche, but NYU’s proximity to the city is essential for the rapidly changing vegetarian industry. The multiculturalism available in NYC and NYU will allow me to understand the food system and diets of various cultures, religions, and areas. I can explore the extremes of the food industry, from fancy restaurants to public school cafeterias. These juxtapositions, much like the one I experienced after my move to Nicaragua, will allow me to broaden my reach and demonstrate that the vegetarian diet is not something reserved for select groups but a diet attainable to all. 

A core strength of this essay is the fact it takes its time to provide the reader with ample background on why this student is interested in nutrition and food studies and how they have grappled with difficult questions and surrounding this topic in the past. It’s okay to not mention anything about NYU for a whole paragraph if you are using that space to bring depth to your interests and tell the reader the crucial backstory behind pursuing your intended degree.

Another positive aspect is the inclusion of New York City for a purposeful reason. NYU admissions officers read thousands of essays that just talk about living in NYC for the sake of NYC—this is not what they want to hear. In contrast, this essay focuses on the vast and lively food scene in New York that the student considers to be an invaluable asset to her NYU education. This is a time where including New York actually plays to the appeal of NYU, rather than making it seem like the student is simply applying for the city.

Finally, this student clearly demonstrates that they are someone who wants to change the world for the better, but through their personal niche. NYU is looking for people who express this desire to be a changemaker, but oftentimes sweeping statements like “I want to change the world” come across as vague and disingenuous. The essay does mention changing diets and looking to the future, but it is focused within the student’s specific area of interest, making the claim to change the world more determined and authentic. 

This essay could be made stronger if there was a bit more personal reflection included. The first paragraph provides a lot of details on the student’s vegetarianism and how it conflicts with her grandmother and her heritage. What it doesn’t include very much of is how the student thinks and feels about her diet being at odds with that of her family. 

Does this student feel they are betraying their heritage by being vegetarian? What emotions do they feel when people criticize vegetarianism? Why did they go vegetarian in the first place? Probing questions like these that get to the emotional core behind the story in the first paragraph would really help to build out this student’s backstory. We want to understand what their emotional responses and reasoning processes look like, so finding ways to include those into an already expositive paragraph would further bolster this essay.

Essay Example #3

Hacking represents my ideal college experience.

Hackathons give me a special way of expressing myself and exploring my intellectual curiosity. Conceptualizing a potent societal problem, investigating a technically complex solution, building an application, and presenting to industry experts all within a day gives me the thrill of exploring a new form of education I thrive in. 

I’d apply this approach to a larger scale with research at NYU CS, taking advantage of their strong research partnerships with cutting-edge technology firms in New York. At NYU’s CS Colloqium, I’d learn from internationally renowned researchers around the world and apply these groundbreaking machine learning discoveries to the CILVR Lab and the Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, both of whom focus on computationally predicting the causation of deadly diseases. Expensive healthcare has led to a history of undetected chronic illnesses for my extended family, so, at NYU, I want to tackle AI-Based preventive care to stop these problems at their roots. 

NYU’s undergraduate thesis will let me carry out my novel visions, with support from faculty, through the scientific process and eventually publish my findings. I’m a “doer”, so I define success my own way and want my college research to produce findings that contribute to tangible, positive changes in the world. This time I’ll have 4 years at NYU with endless opportunities to do so, instead of the 24 hours I get at hackathons.

I’d also want to take my talents overseas to study abroad with NYU while exploring foreign cultures. Whether it be the food, language, traditions, or values in a country, I always love to immerse myself in new environments. Doing so while benefitting from small class sizes, hands-on learning, and local major-specific academic events, such as the NYUAD International Hackathon for Social Good, is a dream.

Equally important as satisfying my academic curiosity is finding my community. At hackathons, I compete with my friends and other participants, who have helped form a bond of inclusivity seldom found at other competitive events. My teammates became a second family with whom I play park basketball, watch movies, and Bollywood dance. 

At NYU, I’d replicate this with an extremely diverse population with different backgrounds and interests who come together to venture through New York with the discounted student passes, plan school-wide events with the Program Board, and form a sense of camaraderie with Residential Colleges. 

This essay has a nice flow that comes from multiple short paragraphs. So often in college essays, students fall into the trap of including long chunks of text on the page, but those essays are always harder for admissions officers to read through. Breaking up the essay into focused sections makes it much more manageable for the reader.

In terms of the content, the student’s ability to tie everything back to the central theme of a hackathon is a clever way to demonstrate their passion for hacking and bring together a bunch of unrelated aspects of NYU. We get insight into how this student handles challenges and thinks through problems based on the way they fawn over the structure of a hackathon. Using one of their primary passions in high school as a metaphor for college life creates this natural progression and makes it very easy for the admissions committee to imagine how this student would fit in and engage with the NYU community.

One of the largest drawbacks of this essay was how it heavily relied on telling the reader what occurred and what this student enjoys, rather than showing us. 

The essay tells us their family has a history of chronic illness, but it doesn’t describe how they cried all night about saying goodbye to a loved one after hearing of another diagnosis. The essay tells us they are a “doer”, but it doesn’t explain the project they took upon themselves because of their motivation to change the world. The essay tells us their teammates were a second family, but it doesn’t include the laughs and inside jokes they share during a game of basketball to show the comfort the student feels with their friends.

Simply telling the reader what has happened without elaborating, or what type of person you consider yourself to be without showing your character in practice makes for both a bland essay and a less convincing one. Not showing what happens through descriptions and colorful imagery, makes it harder for the reader to envision what the student is trying to share. 

If this essay showed what occurred and how the student reacts and thinks, we would truly get to see the importance hackathons have on their life and feel far more connected to this student.

Essay Example #4

The United States is a “tossed salad” of cultural diversity in which New York City is the epicenter of innovational food exploration. An opportunity to major in food studies at New York University would allow me to work with a global community to explore different experiences and opinions with the hopes of developing a sustainable food source in the future that can adapt to population growth. Steinhardt School’s emphasis on developmental social change in particular, is an atmosphere that will encourage me to pursue new ideas both in and out of the classroom.

I am looking forward to taking the next step toward my future with entering university while continuing to cultivate my own identity in NYU’s academically diverse campus. Through the NYU food lab, I would be able to discuss current nutrition and sustainability issues through a hands-on approach in a commercial setting—access to the kitchen would also allow me to continue my love for baking and cooking with the opportunity to share my creations with peers. Not only will I satisfy my hunger for our food systems with classes like Essentials of Cuisine: International and Food Production Management, I will be able to participate in discussions that challenge my understanding of our food system in a creative setting.

Whether sampling smoked fish in Makola Market or hosting cooking demos with Club EAT, NYU’s educational possibilities are endless. With study-abroad programs ranging from a few weeks to a semester in locations far and wide, I am able to learn about cultural food systems through hands-on experience; with the world as my classroom, there is no limit to the knowledge that I can achieve. When I am not examining America’s organic agricultural policies in Washington D.C, I would participate in the diverse extracurriculars that NYU has to offer. From the Baedeker blog and Peer Health Exchange to the NYU Art Diversity Festival—appealing to my adventurous and artistic nature—regardless of the extracurricular I choose to pursue, I am confident that I will find success in any direction I take. 

A NYU student, I would be proud to extend the social mission of advancing innovation through culture as I cannot imagine a campus that would better nurture my development as both a scholar and an individual. As an aspiring foodie, I look forward to walking into the Urban Farm Lab in the Greenwich Village, as if I have returned home. 

A large positive of this essay is how it remains true to the student. This student’s passion for food shines through in every paragraph. They do a good job of weaving their interest into academics, extracurriculars, and the surrounding community, which helps the reader get a feel for the type of person this student would be on campus.

Another aspect of this essay to note is the author’s voice ㅡ they retain an academic and professional tone without being overly serious. Their inclusion of more colloquial terms like “foodie” helps counter more advanced vocabulary, crafting their unique voice without being overly formal or casual. When writing your essay, it is important to focus on your word choice to strike this balance. 

One thing lacking from this essay is elaboration on why this student cares about food and sustainability. While the essay mentions a plateful (excuse the pun) of food-related opportunities at NYU, the reader doesn’t understand what drives this student’s passion. 

They tell us they want to develop a sustainable food source to address the growing population in the introduction, but this essay would be much stronger with more elaboration. Did this student have a jarring and eye-opening experience surrounding food insecurity? Did they grow up cooking with their family? Was there a particular moment or news story that sparked their interest in sustainability? Although this prompt wants you to look to the future, it’s just as important to delve into your past to help the reader understand your motivations.

This essay could also benefit from a more organized structure. There is an attempt to discuss academics in the second paragraph and extracurriculars in the third, but when they should be discussing academics they started talking about baking with peers for fun, and when they should have addressed extracurriculars they were discussing studying off-campus. This back and forth makes it harder for the reader to take away clear summaries of each paragraph. It would have been simpler to follow if the student dedicated each paragraph solely to one aspect of NYU, whether that be academics, extracurriculars, the community, or study abroad.

Where to Get Your NYU Essays Edited

Do you want feedback on your NYU essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays. 

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

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September 13, 2023

2023-2024 NYU Supplemental Essay Prompt

New York University has released its supplemental essay prompt for the 2023-2024 admissions cycle. In addition to The Common Application ’s Personal Statement, applicants to NYU are asked to respond to one optional 250-word supplemental essay — and it’s a different one from years past.

For this supplemental essay, NYU applicants can focus their answer on one of four quotes provided, choose their own quote, or not answer the question at all. Of course, students who don’t write optional essays put themselves at a significant disadvantage — irrespective of what NYU’s admissions officers may say to the contrary.

2023-2024 NYU Essay Question

In 250 words or less, applicants to NYU’s Class of 2028 are asked to respond to the following prompt:

We are looking for peacemakers, changemakers, global citizens, boundary breakers, creatives and innovators – Choose one quote from the following and let us know why it inspires you; or share a short quote and person not on our list who inspires you, and include why.

“We’re used to people telling us there are no solutions, and then creating our own. So we did what we do best. We reached out to each other, and to our allies, and we mobilized across communities to make change, to benefit and include everyone in society.” 

– Judith Heumann, 2022 NYU Commencement Address

“I encourage your discomfort, that you must contribute, that you must make your voice heard. That is the essence of good citizenship.” 

– Sherilynn Ifill, 2015 NYU Commencement Addresss

“If you know how to fly but you never knew how to walk, wouldn’t that be sad?” Lang Lang, 2015 NYU Honorary Degree Recipient “You have the right to want things and to want things to change.” 

– Sanna Marin, Former Prime Minister of Finland, 2023 NYU Commencement Address

“It’s hard to fight when the fight ain’t fair.” 

– Taylor Swift, Change, Released 2008, 2022 NYU Commencement Speaker

Share a short quote and person not on this list, and why the quote inspires you.

Not answering this optional question.

When answering this NYU essay prompt, regardless of the quote a student chooses, students must focus on how they think and wish to shape the world in one singular way rather than focus on the quote itself or the person who uttered the line at a commencement address. Ideally, the essay will fit like a puzzle piece with the Personal Statement — in a complementary rather than a redundant way — to showcase the singular hook a student hopes to bring to NYU.

On a personal note, we at Ivy Coach are pleased to see a quote included from the late disability rights activist Judith Heumann , NYU’s 2022 commencement speaker and the subject of a 2022 Academy Award-winning documentary, as she was a dear friend of Ivy Coach’s Founder, Bev Taylor .

Ivy Coach’s Assistance with the NYU Essay

If you’re interested in optimizing your case for admission to NYU by submitting an NYU supplement that wows admissions officers, fill out Ivy Coach ’s free consultation form , and we’ll be in touch to outline our college counseling services for applicants to the Class of 2028.

You are permitted to use www.ivycoach.com (including the content of the Blog) for your personal, non-commercial use only. You must not copy, download, print, or otherwise distribute the content on our site without the prior written consent of Ivy Coach, Inc.

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TOWARD THE CONQUEST OF ADMISSION

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How to Apply

The Application Process

Whether you’re from Massachusetts, Manchester, or Mumbai, a first-year student or a transfer, there are a few key things you need to do to apply to NYU. But requirements such as standardized testing and English language testing vary for different applicants.

• First-year applicants
• International applicants
• Transfer applicants  
• Homeschooled applicants
• Internal transfers
• Second Bachelor's Degree

If you're applying to one of the programs listed below, do not complete the Common Application. Visit the links for application instructions:

• Dental hygiene program
• SPS Division of Applied Undergraduate Studies

Things to Know Before Applying

The review process . There are no formulas to making admissions decisions; NYU seeks a mix of students who have a variety of interests, talents, and goals. 

Email address .   Make sure to use a personal email address. We strongly encourage you not to use a school email address to submit your application, as you may miss important information about your application and admissions decision.

Checking your application status . Within three weeks of the application deadline, NYU will let you know that we have received your application and give you information about how to track your status.

Documents . Please submit only documents or copies that you can replace because NYU does not return application documents.

Supplementary materials . Please only send artistic materials if you are applying to a program that requires an audition or portfolio ( see Step 2 of the application instructions ). If you are not applying to an artistic program, we cannot consider artistic materials or any other supplemental materials (pictures, articles, research papers, etc.).

Transfer students seeking financal aid/support . At present, NYU does not provide institutional aid to transfer students with the exception of certain partner or specialty programs such as CCTOP , Phi Theta Kappa, Horizon, GUIDE , POISE , and Second Degree Transfer program at Rory Meyers College of Nursing . Our financial aid counselors are here to help prospective transfer students consider financial options including federal financial aid.

Missing materials . Supporting materials should be sent by the deadline, but materials can be accepted after the application deadline but before the material deadline reflected in your application portal (typically 1-2 weeks after the application deadline).

Applicants with a previous criminal conviction . Please review our admission philosophy and process .

Application authenticity . It is your responsibility to ensure that your application information and all supporting documents are truthful and correct. NYU has a strict policy on application authenticity and working with agents or third parties.

Which Campus is Right for You?

New york city.

Learn in the heart of one of the world’s most inspiring and influential cities. NYU’s founding campus offers a vast selection of majors and cross-school minors.

Apply to NYU » Visit NYC » NYC Academics »

Choose from liberal arts, sciences, and engineering degrees in 26 majors at the Middle East’s first comprehensive liberal arts college.

Apply to Abu Dhabi >> Visit Abu Dhabi >> Abu Dhabi Academics >>

Work towards a B.A. or B.S. in one of the most culturally vibrant cities in the world. Immerse yourself in a community of exceptional scholars from within China and across the world.

Apply to Shanghai >> Visit Shanghai >> Shanghai Academics >>

Students Affected by Natural Disasters, Political, and/or Governmental Decisions

We recognize that there are a myriad of circumstances that can affect a student’s ability to successfully complete the application process. For students and families affected by natural disasters, circumstances imposed by national governments, or any extreme extenuating circumstances, we want to be as accommodating as possible to avoid additional stress. We encourage any student in these situations to reach out to our office to inform us of the situation so that we can provide you with a recommended course of action. Depending on your situation, you may also follow these recommendations if you intend on applying to NYU.Supporting Materials

We will be as flexible as possible when waiting for supporting application materials such as transcripts or teacher evaluations. Certain materials are required to enroll at NYU, so please be in contact with our office should you expect any materials to be delayed.

Submitting Your Application

On a case-by-case basis, we will consider application extensions for any student affected by a natural disaster, circumstances imposed by national governments, or any extreme extenuating circumstances. Please contact [email protected] with a request for an extension before or shortly after our application deadline.

Application Fee Waivers

Impacted students can request an application fee waiver in the NYU Questions of the Common Application by selecting "Impacted by Ongoing Humanitarian Crisis."

Want to take a NYU course?

Visiting student programs are ideal for high school graduates, professionals, and students from other colleges and universities. 

• College Application

NYU Supplemental Essay Examples

Perusing NYU supplemental essay examples will greatly help you with your own essay writing. There is nothing quite like being able to see how somebody else has composed their essays to help you with your own.

Expert college essay tips can really help you with how to start a college essay , and you can even study specifically with supplemental college essays , but being able to read samples will be particularly useful to you.

In this article, you will see sample prompts for NYU’s supplemental essay prompts, as well as a small tips section on formatting and requirements.

>> Want us to help you get accepted? Schedule a free strategy call here . <<

Article Contents 10 min read

Essay Prompt #1: Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

Sometimes I feel like my country doesn’t belong to me, or even my life some times. I live in a suburb of New Jersey, and in my particular area, I’m one of the only Black kids around. All of my friends are white.

None of this is necessarily a problem – I love my friends dearly – but it doesn’t change the fact that I get a daily dose of, “Hey, you’re different!” just from walking out the front door. If that wasn’t enough of a punctuation point on the whole racial imbalance of my particular life, I get to do things like switch on the news, or read any headlines, so it seems, on any given day just to get an underline or two added to the way I am distinct from my peers.

I have sat with my friends at a comedy show and had the comic tell racially charged jokes. I can feel them look to me. “Is that funny?” say their darting, peripheral glances, and I know that I have a choice to make; I can laugh or not. If I laugh, it’s funny. If I don’t, they’ll be offended for me. Even if the joke just wasn’t funny – not offensive, just not worthy of a chuckle – they might get offended for me. I love my friends, and they clearly have my back, but man alive, is this wearying sometimes.

“Go back to where you came from!” the racists shout to me, and I think, “Jersey? Where I came from is a ten-minute bus ride.” Nonetheless, I persistently receive this abuse and wonder if it’s all worth it. Maybe I should explore my roots. My grandparents came over from Senegal. It’s not as if Senegal couldn’t use another bright, idealistic student to try and improve its quality of life. Senegal is still coughing from colonialism, the boot having only been removed from its neck since 1960.

That feels like giving up, though, so I’ll stay – just to show those racists who the real patriot is, I suppose.

As I look toward my future, I think about where I come from – as a person, not "Jersey."

I come from a place that feels like home until the world outside makes me feel like I don’t belong. But my family, my friends, my suburb feels welcoming. I want to take that and expand it. It sounds like a pipe dream. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could put all this garbage of animosity and prejudice behind us? Well, why not?

Figuring out how to write a college essay is a bit of a process in and of itself, but following the examples above and the format below should really help you.

Most NYU supplemental essays are between 500 and 700 words. You don’t want to go too long, or you’ll risk becoming tedious; remember that the admissions committee will be reading more than 200,000+ essays from their recently reported 105,000 applicants. With those numbers, making your essay run for pages and pages just seems cruel.

As for the format itself, we encourage you to stick to a standard essay writing format:

• an opening paragraph that sets everything up, which should be headed by an attention-grabbing “hook” sentence;
• the body of the essay, containing two or three main points over a few paragraphs, during which you will explore your main ideas;
• finally, a concluding paragraph which wraps everything up.

Polish up your opening paragraphs by reading some college essay introduction examples .

You’re applying to an academic institution, so keep the tone on the formal side, avoiding slang and other types of suspect vernacular. The differences between a standard essay and your application essays is that the latter are written in the first person because you are telling your story. You can be freer with opinion – and you don’t need citations, of course!

The biggest requirement, and what you should focus on the most, is showing your best qualities to the admissions committee and making sure that you stand out. Consider these essays a way to “get to know you,” almost like a written interview before the in-person interview you hope to get.

If you follow these tips and construct your essay with patience, thoughtfulness, and skill, we are confident that you will get that interview.

Wondering how to navigate your applications?

Constructing a supplemental essay is a long process and can feel intimidating. We hope that reading these examples will make you feel a lot less intimidated and more confident about going forward with your application. If you need an extra boost, a college essay review service can really help you refine what you have written. Remember to put in the work, go after what you want, and seek help where you need it.

NYU doesn’t post a limit on their website. From year to year, application requirements might vary. Pay attention to any instructions in your application package and make sure you stick to the limits that NYU sets. Never go above the limit, remember to include spaces in character count restrictions, and more than anything, remember that brevity is the soul of wit: a shorter essay – well-written – will be more effective than a rambling one.

Spend some regular, quality time with your essays over the course of 6-8 weeks. That might sound like a lot, but going from brainstorming your way through the blank pages to putting the final polish and spell-checked version into your application should take time. Remember that you’ll almost definitely need to do multiple drafts and re-writes – ideally receiving good, reliable feedback between those drafts.

There are no rules that say you do, which means you don’t have to. Still, remember that these essays will be (mostly) about you, so the first person is understood to be in play and will be the most convenient way to convey your story to the applications committee. Use the storytelling perspective that best suits your essay, of course, but don’t feel the need to try something different just because you can.

It’s your work, so yes.

Make sure that you answer the prompts, though. Whoever wrote them was meticulous about the wording; therefore, you need to answer the exact wording of the prompt. If your recycled essay answers a similar question but one that is nevertheless slightly different, you need to edit your essay to fit the new prompt. That might be a minor tweak or a complete overhaul. Make sure you scrub or exchange any NYU-specific lingo from essays you use for another school.

Not formally, but you are being judged and evaluated based on your essays. That’s not to say that you’re being scored necessarily, just that what you write really matters.

Don’t worry about grades or points; worry about effort and results.

NYU has them, so if you want in to New York University, then yes, you’re looking at some supplemental essay writing.

They can, but they are often very similar from one year to the next. Institutions aren’t radically shifting the kind of students they want from year to year. So, there might be a bit of a change-up, but you will usually find very similar prompts.

No. You should highlight yourself in ways that the admissions committee will appreciate enough to bring you in for an interview. Highlighting a skillset you have, qualities you have, or academics are great, but there is no one element in that list that is required to be included in your essay.

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Published August 01, 2023

Announcing the 2023-2024 Common Application for NYU

Billy Sichel

Assistant Vice President of Undergraduate Admissions

It’s August 1st and that means the application at NYU has officially opened. This year, we’ve made some pretty big changes to NYU’s Common Application to simplify the process for our applicants, and to help us learn a little more about you!

When you start NYU’s member questions on the Common App, you’ll see 6 sections that you’ll need to complete. We give you a little bit of a head start by checking off the “Writing” section. This section is optional – but also new and exciting! More on that later.

The General Information Section

In the “General” section, you’ll be asked a few questions about how you want us to handle your application – Early Decision I, Early Decision II, or Regular Decision? – and which campus you want to apply to. As you (hopefully!) already know, NYU has three degree-granting campuses: in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai. Our Common App will let you apply to any combination of our campuses.

Once you make your campus selections, an additional set of questions will show up that are specific to your campus(es) of interest. Nothing too tricky here! You’ll be able to tell us about your academic area of interest for each campus, and a few other quick-and-easy questions about program eligibility, housing preferences, etc. so that we’re ready for you if you are ultimately admitted.

The Academics Section

Once you have those sections squared away, you’ll move on to the Academics section. This section will walk you through the information we’ll need you to submit outside of the Common App itself. Nothing to do here, except confirm that you’re clear on the next steps and additional requirements.

The Optional Supplemental Question

Now, the moment you’ve been waiting for: The optional, pre-checked-off Writing section. Last year, we made the decision to remove our “Why NYU?” question. However, what we heard from our applicants was that people really wanted to tell us more! But the thing is…we already know why NYU is a great place to spend your 4 years, so we thought: if you want to tell us more about your passion for NYU, let’s make the question about you .

The new writing question says “We are looking for peacemakers, changemakers, global citizens, boundary breakers, creatives and innovators. Choose one quote from the following and let us know why it inspires you; or share a short quote and person not on our list who inspires you, and include why.”

We then share a few quotes from people who have shared our vision over the years – and who have been honored for their embodiment of the NYU ethos as NYU Honorary Degree recipients and Commencement Speakers.

So, if it feels right for you to tell us a little more about yourself in the application, we want to know where you will turn to for inspiration, and what experiences have shaped you and resonate with you. Four years at NYU will propel you into a future you might not even be able to imagine yet, but take a minute (if you want – it really is optional!) to tell us about the ideas that have gotten you to this point, and those that might shape you into the person you’re about to become.

These are just a few of the changes we have made this year, so make sure to carefully read each question carefully before you answer them. If you ever have any questions for us about our questions, we are always here to help . We wish you the best of luck this application season, and can’t wait to learn more about you!

More from Billy:

NYU’s Common Application Questions

Thinking about submitting an application to NYU? Learn what to expect when you add NYU to your My Colleges list on the Common Application.

How to Approach the Common Application

There’s no wrong way to approach the Common Application, but here’s two different strategies you might want to choose from when you apply to NYU.

Submitting a Transfer Application to NYU

Everything you need and everything you need to know about the transfer process.

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Below are some of the questions we get from new students most frequently. We have arranged the questions by topics.  If you don't find an answer to your question below, you can email us at [email protected]

The 2024 First-Year Orientation Week is from Monday August 26 to Saturday August 31 . Orientation Week is required for all first-year students and cannot be skipped.

Parents are invited to the Campus Tour and Parent’s Panel on campus in the afternoon of Move-in Day (August 25, 2024).  Due to limited space, parents and guests will not be able to join the University Welcome.

Orientation Week is designed to give first-year students knowledge about university resources, allow them to meet and bond with their cohort, and get involved with their new community. It is important for students to spend time with their new peers in session discussions and team activities throughout the orientation week. 

While some of these events are optional, pulling students out of these events will make it harder for them to adjust to life at NYU Shanghai. Because of this, we strongly recommend that parents say their final goodbyes to their kids at the end of Move-in Day, and allow them to enjoy Orientation Week independently.

First-year students can move into their rooms at the Jingyao Residence Hall at 9 AM on August 25, 2024 (533 Jiming Road, Pudong). A few days before Move-in Day, students will receive the key code for their room. Students will receive their NYU ID Cards at the residence hall for entering the building. Students can get their NYU Shanghai student booklet, a pre-loaded metro card, and a Class of 2028 T-Shirt from the Welcome Table on Move-in Day on campus. This is a special day for every new student and we will have staff on-site from the following teams: Residential Education and Housing, Center for New Student Programs, Student Mobility, Information Technology, Bursar Office, and Student Health Center to assist you with specific questions.  

We will arrange airport pick-up shuttles, and the shuttles running between the residence halls and the campus on Move-in Day. The shuttle schedule will be announced in one of the summer newsletters.

Yes. On Move-in Day, NYU Shanghai will provide shuttle buses for students of the Class of 2028 from Pudong International Airport (PVG) to Jingyao Residence Hall (533 Jiming Road, Pudong). 

Shuttle buses will depart from PVG on a set schedule (confirmed schedule will be announced in the summer newsletter). Students will be given priority seating on the shuttle bus, but seats for your family are not guaranteed. Family members can either wait for an available seat on the bus or take a taxi. Our shuttle bus has enough storage capacity for approximately 2 medium to large suitcases per student , so remember to pack accordingly.

If students arrive in the late evening, they will probably miss our airport shuttle bus. We recommend that students line up in the taxi queue at the airport, and take a taxi to the Jingyao Residence Hall (533 Jiming Road, Pudong). This should cost around 140 RMB (20 US dollars) with no traffic. Please get the Alipay wallet ready or prepare some spare amount of CNY cash in advance, so that students can pay the taxi drivers.

There are a few hotels close to the NYU Shanghai campus and they offer a corporate rate for students and parents. Please click this link to find the hotels. To enjoy the rate, you need to contact the Sales Representative listed in the Hotel Guide and indicate that you are part of the NYU Shanghai community.

The Fall housing application for Class of 2028 international students will be released in June. The Fall housing application for Class of 2028 Chinese students will be released in July. Housing assignments for all students will be sent out in August.

Multi-cultural integration and understanding is a fundamental aspect of NYU Shanghai’s educational mission. To further this mission, we prioritize assigning students with a room-mate from a different geographical background. We make every effort for each room to have an international-Chinese student pairing. 

In addition, we will try to pair students with someone who has similar lifestyle habits, as specified in answers to the Lifestyle Questionnaire in the housing application

Each NYU Shanghai Residence Hall room is equipped with furniture (bed, closet, desk, and chair), NYU Shanghai WIFI, air conditioning, a private kitchen (fridge, water filter, kettle, induction cook top), a private bathroom, and a washing machine.

Upon move-in, students can purchase linen sets at a price of 350 RMB from the Tower 5 Resource Center. Each set includes a quilt, quilt cover, pillow, pillow cover, and bed sheet. For general information about Jingyao Hall, please check out our website .

There are several local supermarkets and shops nearby like HeMa, Carrefour, and Ikea. Students can also purchase daily necessities at local stores like H-Life Supermarket (荟选集市) just across the street from the residential hall, Lian Hua Supermarket (联华超市), or Watson’s. 

In addition, students have affordable food delivery and restaurant options in the nearby area. Ask your RA for guidance if you have any questions.

All kitchens are equipped with a cooktop, water filtration system, kettle, and fridge. All other kitchen supplies need to be purchased by the students. Students may purchase personal kitchen appliances as long as:

• the total wattage of all personal appliances does not exceed 3000W,
• the appliance is not an open-flame device and 3) the use of the appliances does not require power strip/extension cords.

All housing units are equipped with a private bathroom and private kitchen shared by a maximum of three students per apartment.

Please review the Furniture Policies (Pg. 13) and the Fire Safety Policies (Pg. 14) in the NYU Shanghai Student Conducts and Policies . In general, we advise students to wait to bring outside furniture until they have experienced the living space and after they have communicated with their roommate(s). 

Packages may be shipped directly to Jingyao Residence Hall, after move-in. Kindly do not send packages before the student has checked into the Residence Hall. To receive packages at Jingyao Residence Halls, please use the community mailroom (菜鸟) located between Tower 2 and Tower 3 or the smart lockers located in front of Tower 3. 

For shipping, please use the following address and format:  

• (English) Room XXXX, Tower X, No. 533 Jiming Road, Pudong New District, Shanghai, China, 200126 
• (Chinese) 上海市 浦东新区 济明路533弄 X号楼 XXXX 【200126】

NYU Shanghai does not provide summer storage and encourages our students to pack light when preparing for NYU Shanghai. However, if students would like to store their belongings over summer, NYU Shanghai has negotiated good terms with a private storage company which offers a discounted rate for our students. The storage vendor organizes collective storage drop-off dates at the end of the semester and pick-up dates at the start of the new school year. For individual queries, students may contact the Storage Vendor directly. For any help, please contact [email protected] .

To strengthen the bond of each cohort, first-year and sophomore students are required to live on campus for four semesters. Junior and senior students have the option to live on campus, but are not required to live on campus. Additionally, study away students are required to live on-campus during their study away time period, as specified by the Office of Global Programs. On-campus housing is available for all four years.

Students are allowed to stay in their room over all breaks during the academic semester. If students are signed up for both fall and spring semester housing, they can continue to stay in their room over Winter Break. If students are not signed up for housing for both semesters, they will be asked to move-out at the end of the semester (please refer to the Academic Calendar). 

There are three mobile phone service providers in China: China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile. You can find their service centers near the Jingyao residence hall. There are also several banks around campus such as Bank of China (BOC) and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) where you can easily access services in English. 

To make it easier for new students, we will invite these service vendors to campus during orientation to help new students sign up for local cell phone numbers and Chinese bank accounts. Students just need to bring their passport and some cash with them to campus.

We recommend that students first make a list of all the items they would like to bring and then decide whether they can find them in China. Chances are good that you will find them. When you start packing, the most important items to bring are clothing for all seasons (Shanghai can get very hot and very cold), any preferred or special toiletry products, cosmetics, and medication. 

In general, it should be noted that clothing and shoe sizes run small in China. Because of this, it may be difficult to find clothing or shoes that fit, or stores that carry plus sizes.

It can be hard to find cosmetics for diverse skin tones in China, so you might consider bringing extra from home

Check the voltage of your home country before you come to China. China uses 220V electricity, so if your country’s voltage is lower than 220V and you plan to bring an appliance from your home country (like a hair straightener, steamer, etc), you may need a voltage converter to use your appliance. While this is one option, we generally encourage students to buy the appliance in Shanghai, if possible. Electronics like computers, cell phones, gaming devices, etc usually do not need a voltage adapter since most are designed to accept a range of voltages. To see if your device will work in China, you should check your product specs to see if it will accept 220V. 

The main sockets used in Mainland China are Type A and Type I. Type A plugs have two holes of the same shape and size and are commonly used outside of Mainland China in countries like the United States, Mexico, Canada, Japan, Colombia, etc. Because of the way Type A plugs are designed in Mainland China they can also accept Type C and Type I plugs, which are widely used in Europe and South Korea. If you come from one of these countries, you should be able to use your two-pronged charger to charge or power your electrical appliances. Type I plugs have 3 holes and are commonly used in countries outside of Mainland China like Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, and Fiji.

Mainland China outlets look like this:

NYU Shanghai Public Safety organizes regular shuttle bus service between the Jingyao Residence Hall and the campus during the academic semester. These buses typically operate from 7:30 AM to 11:00 PM. The regular shuttle bus schedule will be announced at the beginning of each semester by the Department of Campus Safety. 

No. Alipay embeds a transportation mini program. After you link your bank card with Alipay, you can simply open the metro or bus mini program in Alipay, and scan the QR code to take the metros/buses. On move-in day, our staff and welcome leaders will guide the students to set the function up. 

Billing and payment deadline information for Academic Year 2024-2025 will be available in June 2024. You can visit the Bills, Payments and Refund webpage , or contact the Bursar Office at [email protected] . 

• International and U.S. students, please contact: [email protected] | +1-212-998-2838
• Chinese students, please contact:  [email protected]

There are 4 state owned banks in China. They are Bank of China (BOC), China Construction Bank (CCB), Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). They are all quite reliable banks. The university will invite representatives from local banks to assist students with bank account registration during orientation.

There is also an ICBC ATM machine located on the B2 floor North Building on the New Bund Campus where students can withdraw cash. Meanwhile, a BOC Foreign Currency Exchange machine is located on the First floor North Building on New Bund Campus where students can exchange foreign currency banknotes into RMB banknotes (maximum limit of RMB 2500 per transaction)

To open a Chinese bank account, you will need to have the following items prepared: a Chinese phone number, a passport with valid Chinese Visa, your student ID card, an admission letter, and 10-20 RMB in cash. You might also be asked for your social security number if you are from the U.S. It usually takes about 1-2 hours at the bank to finish all paperwork and open the account at the counter and it will take up to 3 weeks for the document reviewing process. 

Though it is not recommended to bring a large amount of cash, students may need anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 RMB to cover the cost of their Health Check, transportation, and food in the first few weeks. It is recommended that students contact their banks before departure and bring a debit/credit card that can withdraw cash from local Shanghai ATMs to cover expenses in the first month.

This depends on the policies at each bank. Please also be aware that the NYU Shanghai Bursar Office does not accept payment with credit cards or checks.

To transfer money, you will need the following information:

• Branch name
• Bank address
• Bank account number
• Account holder’s name

A transfer error can occur if the name on the transfer does not match the name on the Chinese bank account. Please double-check the name (including capitalization and space) against the application receipt received when students opened the account. 

How to invite parents and authorized user

• Access your eSuite account by logging into the Albert Student Center via NYUHome. Your NYU Shanghai NetID and password are required.
• Once in the Albert Student Center, click on the View Bursar Account link, located under the Finances menu. This will take you to the secure eSuite website.
• After logging on to the eSuite, go to the My Account tab, and then click the Authorized Users link.
• Enter the email address of the person you are authorizing.
• That person will receive two email notifications with instructions on how to set up his or her individual eSuite account. After they enroll, they will be notified each time a new billing statement is available.
• After parents are invited by students as authorized users, log into eSuite with their registered email address and password.
• Click the ‘View Activity’ button in the middle of the page to view the students’ financial account activities.

Refunds will be processed twice a year. Fall refunds will be processed in October and Spring refunds will be processed in March. 

• Chinese students, click here for more information.
• U.S. students, click here for more information. 
• International (non-U.S.) students, click here for more information.

View health requirements here .

We recommend that students get the MMR and Meningitis vaccines before they come to Shanghai. Although the vaccines are available in Shanghai, they are not administered by the Student Health Center, so it is much more convenient to get these at home.

This depends on the availability of the medication. Please contact the Student Health Center at [email protected] before students arrive in Shanghai if they take any medication and may need refills.

Shanghai Raffles Hospital is about 5 minutes away by car, and can serve International students in an emergency.

We have two full-time counselors and two part-time counselors on staff. In addition to our staff counselors, we can also refer students to expat mental health professionals in the Shanghai community. Students can schedule an appointment at our Student Health Center or speak with a mental or medical health professional 24/7 by calling the NYU Wellness Exchange (Toll free at (021) 2059-9999).

This depends, see click here for more details.

No. NYU Shanghai does not have meal plans. Instead, students may use cash or mobile payment to top up their campus card, which can be used in the cafeteria and cafe. The average cost for one meal at the NYU Shanghai cafeteria is 30 RMB.

In order to meet the needs of students from different countries, our cafeteria offers Chinese, Western, Halal, Vegetarian, and Vegan options. 

Besides the NYU Shanghai Cafeteria, there are 2 large malls located 8-10 minutes walking distance from the campus. Though generally more expensive than the NYU Shanghai Cafeteria, these malls have a wider range of Chinese and Western options. Food delivery is also readily available in Shanghai and there are multiple apps like Ele.Me, Sherpas, and Meituan that students, staff, and faculty often use to order food. 

When it comes to vegetarian options, China has plenty to offer. There are quite a few vegetarian restaurants in Shanghai which are at a reasonable price.  Since vegetables, beans and tofu products play an important role in Chinese cuisine, it is not difficult to find a vegetarian option in most of the restaurants. It is also a good idea to say “sucai” (vegetarian) as opposed to “bu yao rou” (no meat), as seafood is not considered as “rou” in China. 

To enjoy being a vegan in China, you will first need to be brave enough to enjoy Chinese food. Vegan restaurants are expensive in China, and they are few. But once you enjoy the Chinese food, you will find plenty of options. However, one thing you must consider is that most of the time, it’s hard to tell whether the dishes you order use animal-based oils, sauces, or broths in preparation. So you will need to be a bit flexible on it. It is also hard to find vegan breads in most of the bakery. Instead, you can try the steamed bun which is common for a Chinese breakfast. At the NYU Shanghai Cafeteria, all vegetarian and vegan food is clearly labeled. 

If you observe a halal diet while in Shanghai, you should have no problem finding halal or “Qingzhen Cai” (清真菜). Muslim restaurants and food stalls can easily be found near the NYU Shanghai Residence Halls and the Academic Building. In addition, the NYU Shanghai Cafeteria offers Halal options every day

Refer to the 2024-2025 Academic Calendar to check dates for school breaks. In general, students have a week-long fall break during Chinese National holidays in October, a month-long winter break between the fall and spring semesters, a week-long spring break in early April, and a summer break in June, July, and August.

You can refer to the 2024-2025 Academic Calendar for move out dates. Since different classes have finals on different days, some students will finish earlier than others.

New York University, as a nonsectarian institution, adheres to the general policy of including in its official calendar only certain legal holidays. Students who anticipate being absent because of any religious observance should notify their faculty in advance of such anticipated absence.

Faculty are asked, that whenever feasible, examinations and assignment deadlines not be scheduled on religious holidays. Any student absent from class because of religious beliefs shall not be penalized for any class, examination, or assignment deadline missed on that day or days. If examinations or assignment deadlines are scheduled, any student who is unable to attend class because of religious beliefs shall be given the opportunity to make up that day or days. No adverse or prejudicial effects shall result to any student who avails him/herself of the above provisions

Parent(s) should contact their kids for academic performance information. 

Students must sign a Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Waiver Form to grant parent(s) access to their education records. In cases when students sign the waiver form, the student and parent must both be present at all conversations pertaining to student records.

Students have the option to provide other individuals (or proxies) select access to their Albert records.

To grant guests access to their records students must go to their Albert Student Center and follow the steps below:

Go to the “Personal Info” section

Click the “Guest User” link

Click “Albert Mobile Login”

Click “Manage Guest Users”    

Click “Add a Guest User”

Enter the name and email of the authorized guest user in the fields provided 

Select the specific components of the academic record the guest should be able to access

Once access has been granted, the authorized guest will receive an email listing the items to which they have been granted access.  This email will also include login credentials and instructions.  To access the information:

Click the link provided in the email

Select “Albert Mobile Login”

Enter the username and password provided in the email

Once signed-in you can see the student’s Albert Mobile Dashboard.  Use the left-hand navigation menu to view the student’s information

Working on campus allows a student to take advantage of the many resources provided by university departments and helps students gain real working experience. The Center for Career Development encourages students to develop professional skills starting in their first year by applying for an on-campus job. Students can use a few hours of their time and talent each week to contribute to the university and gain work experience. 

These positions will help students strengthen their résumés, develop important skills for future employment, and earn a monthly paycheck. In the past, some student workers made videos for their departments. Watch these videos to get a better sense of the student worker experience!

Departments hire new student workers at the beginning of each Fall semester. And the commitment for each position is usually one academic year. All job descriptions will be posted on Handshake . If students are interested in applying for student worker positions, please read the job descriptions in Handshake and apply accordingly. In addition to hiring at the start of the semester, some departments also open positions throughout the semester. If students have questions about specific positions, they should contact the representative for each job posting.

An On-Campus Job Fair is usually hosted during the first week of the fall semester where students can meet with on-campus employers in person. To better prepare for on-campus job applications, the CCD encourages all students to watch this On-Campus Job Orientation Video to learn more information about resume writing, interview preparation and on-site support from the career coaches.

Throughout the year, the Center for Career Development (CCD) hosts a variety of programs, workshops, fairs, and conferences. Please see the programs and events in the CCD recap calendars: 23 Fall , 23 Spring , and 22 Fall . These events provide relevant career related information, useful professional skills, and networking opportunities. Events include:

Career Fairs

Hosted twice a year, career fairs give students a convenient opportunity to meet a large number of organizations recruiting for internships and full-time positions. Representatives from various industries visit the campus, and provide information about their organization, and tell us the types of talent they are looking to recruit.

The CareerLab is an innovative center that takes advantage of the digital and technological power to stimulate students' self-learning in career development regardless of time and space. 

CareerLab is composed of Online Courses, Digital Toolkits, and Video Library. 

• Online Courses on BrightSpace provide essential and basic knowledge for Resume Writing, Interview Preparation, Internship Searching and Networking.
• In the Digital Toolkits, students have free access to a variety of career resources and platforms, from resume checkers like Hiration to interview and test preparation platforms like Big Interview and GF Assessment,  from networking platforms like LinkedIn and the Violet Network, to global job searching websites like Going Global and Handshake. 
• In the Video Library students can access more than 100 recordings of the CCD events to gain insider industry knowledge, and learn tips on career skill-building and advice from professionals and alumni.

Workshops, Panels, and Conferences

Every semester, the CCD offers professional development workshops, panels, and conferences to provide career skills and knowledge to students. 

The I AM LIMITLESS Conference is an annual event hosted by the Career Development Center. During the past I AM LIMITLESS Conferences, we had the distinct pleasure of welcoming social impact awards winners as keynote speakers and young NYU Shanghai alumni to campus to speak. Through this conference, we hope to support NYU Shanghai students in fostering a service mindset in all career paths, helping draw positive inspiration from professionals, alumni, and peers, and making  an impact in our neighborhood, community, and the world.

Check the CCD website to see more information.

I AM LIMITLESS Conference 2023

I AM LIMITLESS Conference 2022

I AM LIMITLESS Conference 2021

I AM LIMITLESS Conference 2020

Employer Events

CCD collaborates with employers to host events throughout the year, including company information sessions, business competitions,  industry-specific conferences, group coaching with industry experts and career bootcamps. 

At these events, students gain insight into successfully applying to a company, extend their classroom knowledge to real-life business challenges, and expand their professional network. Students also have the chance to apply for semester and year-long career programs. Enrollment in these programs and interacting with peers, alumni, and staff will help you gain recognition as a student leader and build your career network.

On average, 15% of international students choose to stay in China after graduation, among whom 70% choose to work and 30% choose to pursue further studies. Some of them chose to work in China. The employers are Huawei Technologies, Bytedance, IBM, Pinduoduo, Unicredit and Run the Chain, and more. Some of them decided to pursue master's degrees in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and other cities. The universities that host the students are Tsinghua University (Schwarzman Scholars), Peking University (Yenching Scholars), City University of Hong Kong, Nanjing University, NYU Shanghai, New York University Joint Degree Program, and more.

Check the Life Beyond the New Bund and Life Beyond Century Avenue report to see more information.

Life Beyond the New Bund: Class of 2023

Life Beyond Century Avenue: Class of 2022

Life Beyond Century Avenue: Class of 2021

Life Beyond Century Avenue: Class of 2020

Life Beyond Century Avenue: Class of 2019

Life Beyond Century Avenue: Class of 2018

Life Beyond Century Avenue: Class of 2017

Shanghai is as safe or safer than any major metropolis with more than 20 million residents. Locals are quite warm and friendly. It’s safe to walk on the streets at night. However, there may be pick-pockets on the streets, public transport, and in restaurants and bars. So always keep an eye on your belongings. Please also be aware of taxi scams, where drivers target people who don’t look like locals by inflating fares or taking a longer ride. Students will learn more of the safety tips via pre-departure online orientation in early August. 

Shanghai is extremely hot and humid in the summer from late June to early September. The average temperature is around 28°C (82°F). In the past years, the hottest day reached over 40°C (104°F). Since both the campus and the residence hall are covered by air-conditioning, you may feel cold while indoors.  Shanghai is also cold in the winter from late December to early March. It might occasionally snow in Shanghai during the winter, and average temperatures are around 5°C. There's a need to pack too many clothes as you can easily find familiar brands like the GAP, H&M, and Uniqlo in Shanghai.

The Office of Student Affairs plans and organizes a number of events and activities throughout the academic year. Orientation week is the first chance for first-year students to meet new peers, explore the city together, and make friends. 

Residential Assistants regularly organize floor events and weekend events which help residents get to know floormates better. Other ways to get involved include sports teams, clubs, student government, and participate in community service activities

To better prepare for first-semester registration in August, all incoming students will be required to complete an Online Advising Module to get their registration hold released and successfully enroll in classes when registration begins. 

Around mid-July, incoming international students will receive information about the Online Advising Module from the Summer Newsletter. Incoming Chinese students will receive the Online Advising Module information later in July. 

The Academic Advising Office will also send out reminder emails with information about academic planning, course registration procedures and policies, and Academic Peer Advising programs to better support student’s upcoming registration and academic adjustment

Students will receive a major interest survey in the summer. The Academic Advising Office will then assign incoming students to an academic advisor based on the student's survey submission. Before receiving the advisor assignments, students may reach out to [email protected] for academic-related questions.

The Academic Resource Center (ARC) offers academic support and resources for students enrolled in NYU Shanghai courses. Students are welcome to book appointments with Global Writing & Speaking Fellows and Writing & Speaking Learning Assistants (LAs) to develop English writing, speaking, listening, and reading skills. 

The Writing & Speaking Fellows also help students develop study habits and other academic skills such as time management, exam preparation, class participation, communication with professors, etc. 

Students are also welcome to work with course-specific Learning Assistants (LAs) to discuss course content, address problems in learning, review important concepts, and practice problem-solving.

The ARC offers a variety of workshops on English language skills and other academic skills throughout the semester. More information about ARC workshops can be found on the ARC Engage webpage .

NYU Shanghai is committed to providing equal educational opportunity and participation for students with disabilities. The NYU Shanghai Academic Accommodations Team works with students through collaboration with the NYU Moses Center for Student Accessibility to implement appropriate and reasonable accommodations that support equal access to a world-class education.

Students with disabilities may apply for academic accommodations by filling out an online application form . An Accessibility Specialist from the Moses Center will follow up with the student to discuss reasonable academic accommodations. Once approved for academic accommodations, the Academic Accommodations Team will provide onsite support for students needing exam accommodations (i.e., extended time, smaller proctored environment, etc.) and address any questions about academic accommodations. Check out the Student Resources to learn more about the application process and students’ frequently asked questions.

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