personal statement for nyu

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Statement of Purpose

A statement of purpose describes your study interests, goals, and program fit

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Your statement of purpose should be a typewritten, double-spaced, well-organized statement explaining why you wish to pursue graduate study through your program of interest at NYU. This is your opportunity to introduce yourself and to inform the department about your goals, interests, and career plans as they relate to your intended academic pursuits. Please make sure to include your name as it appears on your application, the program you are applying to, and the date. This document can be uploaded directly to your online application portal.

For those applying as a Cyber Fellow: Applicants to the NYU Cybersecurity M.S. program who are also applying to be considered for the NYU Cyber Fellow scholarship must submit a well-organized statement of purpose that is a maximum of 250 words . 

For all other applicants: Applicants to any other program or applicants to the Cybersecurity M.S. who are not interested in being considered for the Cyber Fellows scholarship must submit a well-organized statement of purpose that is a maximum of one- to two-pages .

How to write a strong Statement Of Purpose

Your statement of purpose should assure readers—primarily the faculty on the selection committee—that your background and experience will support your success in graduate study. Think of the statement of purpose as a composition with five key parts:

Part 1: Introduce yourself, your interests and motivations

Share your interests — what sparked your desire for graduate study? This should be short and to the point; you don’t need to spend a great deal of time on your autobiography. You can elaborate on your areas of academic interest later in the statement.

Part 2: Summarize your undergraduate and previous graduate career

Include details such as:

• Research you have conducted. Indicate with whom, the title of the project, what your responsibilities were, and the outcome. The graduate admissions committee is composed of faculty so write technically, or in the style of your discipline.
• Important papers or thesis projects you’ve completed, as well as related extracurricular activities.
• Awards or recognitions you’ve received for the scholarly achievements discussed.
• Related internship experience, especially if you’ve had any responsibility for testing, designing, researching or interning in an area similar to what you wish to study in graduate school.

Part 3: Discuss relevant recent activities

If you have ongoing projects or work experience, indicate the scope of that work. Whether for a company, non-profit, design team, etc, include your responsibilities, what you learned, etc. You can also indicate how this will help you focus your graduate studies. Cyber Fellows applicants: You can skip this portion for brevity!

Part 4: Elaborate on your academic interests

Use this part of your statement to indicate what you would like to study in graduate school in enough detail to show the graduate admissions committee that you understand the scope of research in a specified discipline. This can include engagement with current research themes, and/or reasons why this specific program would be a good fit for you. Indicate your area(s) of interest. Ideally, pose a question, define a problem, or indicate a theme that you would like to address and questions that arise from contemporary research that you would like to investigate. This is a key paragraph!

Part 5: Wrap up with key takeaways!

End your statement in a positive manner, indicating your excitement and readiness for the challenges ahead.

NYU Essay Examples (And Why They Worked)

The following essay examples were written by authors who were admitted to New York University and are intended to provide examples of successful NYU application essays. All names have been redacted for anonymity. Please note that other CollegeAdvisor.com has shared these essays with admissions officers at NYU in order to deter potential plagiarism.

For more help with your NYU supplemental essays, check out our 2020-2021 New York University Essay Guide ! For more guidance on personal essays and the college application process in general, sign up for a monthly plan to work with an admissions coach 1-on-1.

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 word maximum)

I always had a keen interest in numbers, probability, and finance. Early on, I could run numbers quickly: calculating sales tax, analyzing probabilities, and visualizing complex mathematical models in my head. After taking AP classes in economics and statistics, I became intrigued with the mathematical representations of economic markets and statistical models, sparking my desire to pursue a career in that field. I set my sights on becoming an actuary since risk management intrigues me and allows me to use my talents in quantitative analysis. However, few schools offer a comprehensive study in that field, which makes Stern the perfect fit for me as the curriculum combines my interests and career goals.

At Stern, I will have the privilege of studying actuarial science, while also obtaining a business degree. The ability to tailor my education with the actuarial science concentration allows me to develop skills in statistical analysis. Through the intense rigor of the concentration requirements STAT-UB 21 “Introduction to Stochastic Processes” and STAT-UB 15 “Statistical Inference and Regression Analysis,” I will be given a stepping stone into quantifying social situations while stimulating my mathematical intrigue through advanced fields like stochastic calculus. I am eager to pursue this course of study to enhance my career development.

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.

Why this NYU essay worked: From an ex-admissions officer

This is an extremely compelling essay. It is clear that the student’s declared interests are, in fact, in line with both the student’s background and experiences, as well as in line with what the college has to offer. These essays work best when the reader can feel the student’s conviction and enthusiasm. Admissions officers appreciate when the reader can easily see the impact the student will have on the school community. By going into detail about their passion for business, the student helps the reader clearly visualize how this passion will manifest in the classroom.

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.

When the kids did show up, however, I could barely relate the image painted for us in training to the bright, bubbly children who I was to mentor. Mahdi and I especially took to each other. He was just like any other nine-year-old kid–a fan of Roblox, pizza, basketball, funny accents, and an acute hatred for anything math-related.

Only, he wasn’t like any other kid–at least not in the eyes of the 49% of Americans who believe he has no place in this country, for no reason other than the color of his skin, his god, the status of his residency here.

There are people here who would hear his name and call him a terrorist. Kids on the playground would mock his accent rather than be amazed at how quickly he picked up basketball–a sport he’d had zero exposure to 6 months back. Adults, on both ends of the ideological spectrum, would see him as a political mascot rather than a kid, allow him to be one–he’d be forced to grow up too soon, as a result of the hatred, having his existence politicized.

To get to my internship every day, I transferred at West 4th, from the A to the M train. Once in a while, I’d take the chance to climb up and walk around Washington Square Park.

Clad in lavender shirts, NYU students were camped out in the center of the park, asking people to write out on little post-its what social justice meant to them. Fire burning in the pit of my stomach, I wrote, “Allowing Mahdi to just be a kid.”

And NYU can help me make that happen–there is groundbreaking research happening on campus regarding racial bias and inequality at CASSR that I can’t wait to contribute to. Pursuing a major of public health policy, I can take fascinating, relevant classes such as Social Policy in Modern Societies and Race and Ethnicity. What’s more, I can join student organizations–like the one handing out the post-its that day in Washington Square–and work with my peers, with NYU, with New York City as a whole, towards social justice from a health perspective, towards allowing Mahdi to just be a kid.

This essay begins with a student who is searching for answers. She has trained to help her community, applied her training to her environment, and then expands on her findings. In her volunteering endeavors, she finds her purpose. She continues with a personal story with Mahdi, and successfully brings us into her world. We are engaged. She is now frustrated because she can’t help enough, and with a bit of karma, she is approached by an NYU student, and at this moment NYU becomes her answer. She then cites why NYU is her solution, which major she will pursue, which classes she will take, and which student organizations will help to accent her goals. This essay succeeds because we see this student as community oriented and ambitious. As readers, we know that she will be a great and focused addition to the campus. This is a student with purpose, and she makes it clear that NYU will propel her to reach her goals.

These essay examples were compiled by the advising team at CollegeAdvisor.com . If you want to get help writing your NYU application essays from CollegeAdvisor.com Admissions Experts , register with CollegeAdvisor.com today.

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, nyu personal statement examples.

I'm having a hard time writing my NYU personal statement. I'd really appreciate it if someone could share any successful personal statement examples to help give me an idea of what works for NYU admissions. Thank you so much!

It's important to remember that there is no perfect formula for a successful personal statement, as every student has a unique story to tell. To help you think about how to approach your NYU personal statement, I can provide you with a brief example and some general tips that you could use as a starting point.

Growing up in a single-parent household in Brooklyn, I often found refuge in the vibrant colors and lines of street art. NYC's graffiti culture became a canvas for me to explore my own identity, and eventually, I began transforming my sketches into grand murals on makeshift plywood walls. These walls not only became a medium through which I expressed my creativity but also a physical representation of the colorful and resilient community that raised me.

When Hurricane Sandy devastated my neighborhood, I was determined to turn the broken streets and devastated houses into heartfelt murals that evoked hope and unity. Partnering with local artists, we began our mural project, adding color to the gray, rebuilding landscape—one brushstroke at a time.

NYU's diversity and commitment to community engagement resonates with my passion for art and social impact. I am eager to pursue a degree in Fine Arts at NYU because it positions me at the epicenter of a living, breathing art gallery where every corner reveals a new story carved into the city's walls. I am excited to further hone my skills at NYU's world-renowned art facilities and collaborate with like-minded students who have an unwavering passion for using art as a tool for social change.

Remember that your personal statement should be a reflection of your own journey and unique experiences, so take this example as a guide, but be true to yourself when crafting your statement. Good luck!

About CollegeVine’s Expert FAQ

CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.

How to Write a Compelling Personal Statement for New York University School of Law

Learn how to craft a powerful personal statement that will impress the admissions committee at New York University School of Law.

Posted May 12, 2023

Featuring Machmud M.

AMA: Law School Application Process

Starting sunday, august 11.

11:00 PM UTC · 45 minutes

Table of Contents

Applying to law school can be an overwhelming experience, but there are few places more impressive than New York University School of Law. The admissions process requires a lot of effort, especially when it comes to crafting a standout personal statement. In this article, we'll go over the importance of the personal statement, admission requirements, and ways to ensure that your statement is attention-grabbing and compelling.

Why a Personal Statement is Important for Admission to NYU School of Law

First, it's important to understand why the personal statement is such a crucial piece of your law school application. The personal statement provides admissions officers with a glimpse into who you are beyond just your GPA and test scores. This is your opportunity to demonstrate your passion for law, showcase your unique qualifications and experiences, and explain why you are a good fit for NYU School of Law. A well-crafted personal statement can make all the difference in securing admission to this prestigious institution.

Additionally, the personal statement allows you to address any potential weaknesses in your application. For example, if you have a lower GPA or test score, you can use your personal statement to explain any extenuating circumstances that may have affected your academic performance. Alternatively, if you have a gap in your education or work experience, you can use your personal statement to explain how you have used that time to develop skills and gain valuable experience that will benefit you in law school and beyond.

Understanding the Admission Requirements for NYU School of Law

Before diving into crafting your personal statement, it's important to understand the admission requirements for NYU School of Law. Besides your personal statement, you'll also need to submit academic transcripts, LSAT scores, and letters of recommendation. It’s important to note that NYU School of Law places heavy emphasis on applications beyond the numbers and seeks applicants who are diverse, multifaceted, and community-oriented. In addition, it is highly recommended that applicants have work experience to show that they have experience in applying law to real-world situations.

Another important aspect to consider when applying to NYU School of Law is the application deadline. The deadline for regular decision is February 15th, but it is highly recommended that applicants submit their materials well before the deadline to ensure that their application is given full consideration. Additionally, NYU School of Law offers an early decision option for applicants who are certain that NYU is their top choice. The early decision deadline is November 15th, and applicants who are accepted through this program are required to withdraw their applications from other law schools.

It's also worth noting that NYU School of Law offers a variety of joint degree programs, allowing students to earn a law degree along with a degree in another field such as business, journalism, or social work. These programs typically take longer to complete than a traditional law degree, but they offer unique opportunities for students to gain specialized knowledge and skills that can be applied in their legal careers.

What Admissions Officers Look for in a Personal Statement

In reviewing personal statements, admissions officers at NYU School of Law are looking for a few key things. They want to see that you have the intellectual capacity to succeed in law school, the ability to work well both independently and as part of a team, a passion for the law, and relevant life or work experiences that demonstrate your exceptional qualifications. With that said, it is important to write an essay that is your own personal story and passions because the personal statement is a time to showcase who you are, not who you think they want you to be.

It is also important to note that admissions officers are not just looking for a list of achievements or experiences. They want to see how these experiences have shaped you as a person and how they have prepared you for a career in law. Therefore, it is important to reflect on your experiences and explain how they have influenced your decision to pursue a legal education. Additionally, admissions officers are looking for applicants who are well-rounded and have interests outside of academics and the law. This can include hobbies, volunteer work, or other extracurricular activities that demonstrate your character and values.

Tips for Brainstorming and Outlining Your Personal Statement

Before you start writing, it's helpful to brainstorm and create an outline for your statement. Begin by jotting down ideas, thoughts and passions that you have that are relevant to your desire to attend law school at NYU. You can then begin to organize these thoughts into an outline that lays out each section of your statement. A well-planned outline is the foundation of a solid, engaging essay.

When brainstorming, it's important to not only focus on your achievements and experiences, but also on your personal values and beliefs. Admissions committees want to see that you have a clear understanding of your own values and how they align with the values of the law school you are applying to. Additionally, when outlining your statement, make sure to include a clear introduction and conclusion that tie together your main points and leave a lasting impression on the reader.

Crafting a Strong Introduction to Your Personal Statement

When it comes to the introduction of your personal statement, it’s important to remember that first impressions count. Your goal is to capture the attention of the admissions committee right from the start. It is best to open with an engaging hook that grabs the reader's attention. Follow this with a thesis statement that clearly lays out what you are trying to communicate in your essay. A strong opening will help set the tone for the rest of your statement.

One effective way to create an engaging hook is to start with a personal anecdote that relates to the theme of your essay. This can help to establish a connection between you and the reader, and make your essay more memorable. However, be careful not to make the anecdote too long or off-topic, as this can detract from the overall focus of your statement.

Another important aspect of a strong introduction is to avoid cliches or overused phrases. Admissions committees read countless personal statements, and they are likely to be turned off by generic or unoriginal openings. Instead, try to be creative and unique in your approach, while still staying true to the overall message of your essay.

Highlighting Your Unique Qualifications and Experiences in Your Personal Statement

The body of your personal statement should be used to showcase your unique qualifications for law school. You should highlight any previous experiences you've had that support your interest in the field and make you a unique candidate for NYU School of Law. For example, if you've had previous work experience or interned for a law firm, talk about specific duties you had and how they influenced your decision to become a lawyer.

Demonstrating Your Passion and Commitment to Law in Your Personal Statement

NYU School of Law wants to know that you are passionate about the law and that you plan on using your degree to make a positive impact. This means demonstrating your commitment to the field by describing what you hope to accomplish through your legal studies. Use the personal statement to show how your experiences, interests, and future career aspirations align with your desire to practice law and how NYU School of Law specifically, can help you achieve your goals.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Mistakes in Writing a Personal Statement

There are a few common mistakes that applicants make when writing personal statements. Be sure to avoid cliches, vague statements, and hyperbolic language. It's okay to be passionate, but you should also strive to be honest and authentic in your statement. In addition, be sure to proofread your statement carefully before submitting it. Any errors or typos will only detract from your application.

Editing and Proofreading Your Personal Statement for Clarity and Coherence

As with any written piece, editing and proofreading your personal statement is critical. Your essay should be clear, concise, and well-organized. This is where your outline is especially helpful – you can use it to check that each paragraph flows seamlessly into the next. In addition, be sure that your sentences are easy to understand and avoid using complicated jargon. Lastly, have someone you trust read over your statement to give you additional feedback.

How to Incorporate Relevant Research into Your Personal Statement

Do research about NYU Law in addition to your other reference materials. This will help you tailor your statement specifically to the school's values and programs. For example, if NYU Law is known for its focus on international law or constitutional law, highlight how your academic and work background support these areas of law.

The Importance of Tailoring Your Personal Statement to NYU School of Law

It is critical that your personal statement is tailored to NYU School of Law. Do research on the school’s history, culture, and academic programs to better understand how you will fit in with the school’s values and community. Be sure to identify and reference specific programs or professors at the school that you admire, as this will demonstrate to admissions officers that you have a keen interest in attending their institution.

Using Strong Language and Active Voice in Your Personal Statement

When writing your personal statement, be mindful of the language and voice you are using. Employ active voice and use strong verbs to give your writing more impact and make it more engaging. Avoid using passive voice, as this can make your writing sound dull. Also, use positive language rather than negative language – stress what you have accomplished, rather than what you have not.

Showcasing Your Leadership and Teamwork Skills in Your Personal Statement

Your personal statement is a great opportunity to showcase your leadership and teamwork skills. You can do this by highlighting examples of times when you've worked collaboratively with others to achieve a common goal. Furthermore, you can showcase leadership skills by talking about moments when you took initiative and helped lead others to success.

Seeking Feedback and Revision Strategies for Perfecting your personal statement

Once you've written a draft of your personal statement, it's essential to seek feedback and critique from others. Having a second set of eyes review your statement can help you catch inconsistencies, typos, or unclear language. You can seek feedback from a writing tutor, a mentor, or an admissions officer. By receiving constructive criticism, you'll be able to revise your statement and make it the best it can be.

Writing a personal statement for NYU School of Law may seem daunting, but it’s a great opportunity to showcase your unique skills and experiences. Remember to be truthful, engaging, and authentic while also making sure your statement is tailored specifically to NYU School of Law. If you follow these tips and strategies, you'll be able to craft a compelling personal statement that highlights your strengths, experience, and potential as a law student. Good luck!

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Division of Applied Undergraduate Studies Admissions Criteria

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There is no application fee for undergraduate admissions. 

Transcripts

We require transcripts from all high school(s) and colleges attended by the applicant.

Demonstrate what experiences you’ve had to date, so we can help you go further. Relevant knowledge in and passion for your chosen field of study will help to distinguish you as a prospective student.

Include any extracurricular activities—volunteer work, college prep, leadership roles, student clubs/government participation, part-time jobs or internships, and full-time work experience.

Personal Statement (Bachelor's)

Tell us about your academic and professional goals, and how NYUSPS is the right fit for you. Personal statements should be a minimum of 500 words. Your personal statement can be uploaded into the online application.

Four Short Essay Questions (Associate's)

Tell us what makes you the right fit for our learning community, and how you sense you will benefit from your chosen program of study. Be sure to answer the prompts given in the online application form. Each answer should be a minimum of 250 words.

GED or High School Diploma

Identifying what level of education you have completed to date will assist us in better understanding your academic accomplishments as we help you to plan your future.  

Recommendations

For DAUS bachelor's degree programs, at least one letter of recommendation from an academic or professional source is required however, two are suggested. These documents will tell us more about your academic potential, character, and professional experience from the people who know you best.

For DAUS associate's degree programs, at least one letter of recommendation from an academic or professional source is suggested.

If you share your recommender’s contact information in the online application, your recommender will be able to submit a letter online.

Guaranteed Admission Requirements

Without taking any additional action, eligible applicants are automatically accepted into select NYU SPS degree programs when they apply or transfer by the final deadline of the program. Learn more about  Guaranteed Admission .

Additional Requirements for International Students

Pearson vept.

The Pearson VEPT is an online English language proficiency exam. DAUS applicants who do not meet the minimum recommended scores outlined for TOEFL/IELTS are required to participate in the VEPT exam.

International Transcript Evaluation

Applicants who studied at an international institution may be required to submit an evaluation. Evaluations are an essential component of the application process because they determine how your academics are graded as compared to the US education system.

When requesting an evaluation, please request a “course-by-course evaluation.” All transcripts must be evaluated by a recognized foreign educational credential evaluation from the list below.

Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE)

Educational Perspectives, npf

Foreign Academic Credential Service

Transcript Research

World Education Services (WES)

Applicants who have earned an associate's degree from a US institution are not required to submit an evaluation.

Bachelor's degree applicants who do not hold a U.S. associate degree are required to submit international high school transcript and a course-by-course transcript evaluation from one of our approved agencies.

TOEFL/IELTS

Applicants who did not complete a high school diploma or Associate's degree at an institution where the medium of instruction is English are required to submit TOEFL/IELTS scores. The recommended TOEFL score is 100, and the recommended IELTS score is 7.0. 

NYU SPS Office of Admissions only accepts the TOEFL, TOEFL At Home, and IELTS academic tests from the past two years.

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Writing the Why NYU Essay

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. )

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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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NYU Law Personal Statement

An NYU Law personal statement must be a clear, unique, thoughtful, and demonstrative expression of why you are the perfect fit for the program.

Law school personal statement tips as well as expertly written law school personal statement examples will give you the edge you need.

In this article, we will go over general personal statement objectives and format and provide examples of personal statements geared specifically to NYU Law to guide you in writing your own best statement.

>> Want us to help you get accepted? Schedule a free initial consultation here <<

Article Contents 8 min read

What to include in a personal statement.

In your NYU Law personal statement, you tell your story. Unlike for other essays, where you might have to pick between law school admissions essay topics , the emphasis here is on the personal.

The main question that you want to answer in your personal statement is, “Why am I perfect for NYU law school?” What is unique to you and your journey to becoming a lawyer, specifically one who will be studying law at NYU? However, because this is a personal statement, you’re not going to spend the whole time talking about NYU Law, especially given that NYU Law School has a 500-word cap on their personal statements.

The main goal of your personal statement should be to show yourself. You have a passion for the law, for your career goals, for altruism, for justice, or, in other words, for some aspect of this profession that has kept you motivated to study hard and gain the experiences necessary to get into NYU Law.

• Start with that idea of the personal story. What was the first moment you wanted to enter the legal profession? Your introduction sets up your story.
• How have you pursued that goal? Pick one major event that shows the biggest step forward in your journey. Ideally, this part of your story will highlight one or two desirable traits that you have.
• Conclude the story with a brief statement about how you are continuing your journey and/or where you would like your journey to lead. Do you have political aspirations? Do you want to be a judge? Do you want to make top legal services more accessible? Where will NYU Law help you get to?

Your story can’t be a lot of “I feel” or “I want.” It’s better to say, “I am pursuing law because...” and talk about something you have done to advance your position. This could be on a personal level – aspects of yourself – or it might be something you have accomplished, courses you’ve taken, law school extracurriculars , or jobs you have performed.

You’re going to use a standard essay format.

• Beginning: the first thing on the page is the “hook” sentence. Start your essay with a good attention-grabber.
• The remainder of the introduction sets up the rest of the essay.
• Chronological order is easier to write and easy to follow as a reader. So, you will probably start with the catalyst or defining moment that set you on your journey.
• The body of the essay consists of one or two examples of how you are pursuing and advancing toward your goal.
• Conclude by talking about your aspirations.
• If possible, link the conclusion to the introduction for a “complete circle” feel to your essay; this won’t always be possible.

The following samples are between 460–499 words each, which is about perfect for an NYU Law personal statement.

Example No.1:

I have pictures of my family on my desk; my picture of my dad is his mugshot. Dad had the bad luck to look like a guy who knocked over a liquor store in our neighborhood. Fortunately, he wasn’t in for long – less than a year – before the other guy got caught and confessed to the crime. My Uncle Terry was so angry about the whole thing that he rails against lawyers, judges, and cops every chance he gets. In contrast, my reaction was to hit the books so that I could contribute to preventing such problems.

Most people my age get a part-time job to buy a car or a cell phone, or to help their families get by. I got one so that I could open an account with PACER and start studying interesting cases. I got the idea to email law offices in my city, state, and around the country, and ask them which landmark cases I would learn from the most. Some didn’t get back to me, but most were happy to help out a kid with a passion for the law.

I also joined the debate club at my college. I hoped to learn how to argue properly, but I learned two lessons that were far more valuable:

1. You can’t win every case, and it’s not always your fault. Most of the time, I could build a pretty persuasive argument and keep my opponents on their toes. But sometimes that didn’t matter. Some audiences are stacked with people who aren’t willing to have their minds changed, or even with friends of the other debaters. I’m not bitter. I’m not complaining. I’m not saying it isn’t fair. Life isn’t fair – with my father’s experiences, you can’t help but know that. What I’m saying is that I learned to handle a disappointment or a loss and respect my opposing debaters regardless of outcomes. This was the perfect introduction to the tricky nature of a trial by jury.

2. You can’t always get what you want. There is a profound satisfaction to taking a subject you’re passionate about and arguing from that position. But in debate club, as with the law, sometimes you get stuck with a topic or position – or client – you dislike. You do your job anyway. This really helped me because any animosity I still felt for the lawyers, judges, and jury members who wrongfully convicted my dad melted away. These were people doing a job – a necessary job for fairness in society.

That doesn’t mean I’m going to just accept that the system can’t get better. I know a lot of people say they want to make a difference, but I will make a difference by becoming a lawyer. I will not only defend clients, but also contribute to the progression of the justice system so that we can perfect it for everyone – people like me and my dad.

Want to learn how to get into law school with a low GPA? Check out this infographic:

Example No.2:

When most people think about lawyers, they conjure up a TV drama filled with cries of “OBJECTION!”, people pleading the fifth, and last-minute, Hail Mary gambits that shock witnesses into tearfully confessing right on the stand. That makes for great television, but for me, it’s about the quiet, methodical work of getting the job done. I know this from my aunt, who practices law, and who has been a big influence on my life in a lot of ways.

When I was small, my parents got divorced and lived far apart. This complicated my life, but Aunt Jane – she got me to call her “AJ” – made it a lot easier. AJ would help my mom with drop-offs and pick-ups. She would often watch me while my mom ran around doing errands or was at work. Even though her career as a lawyer was extremely busy, she always found time for me. I will never forget that.

AJ was my big inspiration, but what really got me interested in law occurred one day after school when I was at her office. I could walk to her firm’s offices from the school, and I would do homework there while waiting for my mom’s shift to end and she could pick me up. I sometimes talked with the other lawyers, and that day, I remember seeing two people exiting a meeting room, with their lawyers, looking really relaxed. They were a couple splitting up, and their lawyers had kept the negotiations amicable and casual. I knew how hard my parents’ divorce was, and I was pleased to see that with skill and care, lawyers could actually make that process a lot easier.

I asked AJ if I could come to the offices more and maybe help out, and she arranged for me to do some basic-level office tasks like photocopying or setting out water for boardroom meetings. But the real purpose of the job was to get to know what a law office is like and to be able to see how the legal profession worked.

It was nothing like TV, but that didn’t matter to me. I didn’t mind doing paperwork, learning the filing systems, or helping lawyers prepare for client meetings. From the moment I encountered that couple leaving, so relaxed and relieved, I appreciated how my office work with AJ helped provide much-needed services, but I also came to understand the importance of the daily diligence required for law. My natural disposition has always been a bit more oriented toward careful, methodical preparation than bombastic speeches, so it suited me. Of course, lawyers see their fair share of drama as well, but I am mainly motivated by the chance to work quietly in the background to help people.

In high school, I enjoyed debates, whether I was in debate club or not. Teachers both feared me and loved me. My participation was always high, but I could tell that I was a challenging student for them. I wasn’t trying to be difficult; I just wanted to know more about the “Why?” of any given subject. I’ll never forget Mrs. McGillicuddy seeing my hand shoot up in Civics class and saying, “Not today, Ralph.”

My search for a better “Why?” is being piqued all the time. In college, I was working on a mathematics degree because I have always been good with numbers and statistics, and I was talking about mathematics in the library with a co-worker, where I had a job.

The conversation went from mathematics to computers, and we started talking about AI. I hit upon this question:

“When AI can think for itself, and while it’s making art, is it AI art or real art?”

This philosophical quandary got me into full research mode, and I hit the stacks hard. I started thinking about the copyright issues around AI art. Does it belong to the creator, who used the AI to make the art? Or does it belong to the programmers who developed the AI? What about the company that paid to develop the AI? Then I wondered, “Does the AI itself have a claim here?” From that night on, I started working on pre-law courses as electives before simply adding a second major in pre-law.

I am applying to your LLM in Legal Theory specialization because I want to explore more “Why?” questions around the legal aspects of technology. Legal issues are constantly changing and evolving, along with the modern world, and I want to be a part of advancing those issues. This might seem over-eager, but I have already started my research. The main areas I would like to research concern AI, and I have been communicating with the computer science department at my institution, talking to them about their own thoughts and opinions on copyright questions around AI.

Every answer I seek becomes another question. Some of my main questions right now include the following:

• How does AI affect copyright legislation, and how will it affect copyright legislation in the future as it advances?
• What should the law have to say about AI in terms of the job market?
• Should we create laws to prevent an AI takeover of the job market?
• Do unions have precedent to freeze out AI workers?”

Yes, each of those questions lead to multiple other questions, but I still can’t stop raising my hand in class.

NYU puts a 500-word cap on their personal statement. Do not exceed this limit under any circumstances.

Absolutely they do. You cannot hope to leave a good impression with bad spelling. Proofread or employ one of the best law essay writing services to help you with your edits.

You don’t have to literally use the words “New York University” in your statement. The focus is on you, personally. However, you should make sure that your statement clearly syncs up with NYU’s values and programs so that it is, at the very least, implicitly clear why you are perfect for NYU.

No less than two weeks, and maybe three. You need time to write the statement and refine it. This is more than proofreading; you need to carefully edit the statement to make it perfect. That takes time. Work on it a little bit every day.

They are crucial components of your application. In a sea of transcripts, personal statements set you apart.

Not formally, but they are evaluated, so put in maximum effort.

You would have to write to NYU and ask to change aspects of your submission. Assume you can’t, however, and turn in a perfect statement the first time.

Law school acceptance rates show that NYU has a 33% acceptance rate. While this is not the most prohibitive rate on the list – that spot goes to Yale Law School with 6.9% – it isn’t one of the easiest law schools to get into, either. It’s somewhere in the “lower middle” in terms of range.

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How to Get Into NYU Law School: The Ultimate Guide

How hard is it to get into nyu law school learn the nyu law school acceptance rate and admissions requirements, plus essays examples that work.

learn how to get into nyu law school

Part 1: Introduction 

Part 2: nyu school of law programs, part 3: nyu school of law admission statistics      , part 4: nyu school of law application, part 5: nyu school of law essay strategies, part 1: introduction.

As a top seven law school nestled in the heart of Greenwich Village, New York University School of Law provides its students with an outstanding legal education in the midst of one of New York City’s most culturally-relevant neighborhoods. This combination makes the NYU experience incredibly unique for legal education.

NYU School of Law has something for everyone. From international law and criminal law , to tax law and business/corporate law , NYU offers some of the best programs of study of any law school. Even if you are not sure of what you want to want to do, it is hard to go wrong by attending NYU. It is one of the best law schools for those looking to enter private practice, especially if you are interested in getting a lucrative job in Big Law after you graduate. NYU also caters to those who are interested in working in service of the public interest at a nonprofit, in government, or as a law clerk for a judge. NYU offers significant resources to public interest students, including various funding and scholarship programs , a special office dedicated solely to serving public interest students, and a generous loan repayment program for graduates who spend part of their careers working in eligible public interest jobs.

In this post, we will cover much of what you need to know about how to get into NYU School of Law, including admissions statistics, application requirements, and some tips on how to best approach the essay portion of your application.

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Thank you! Your guide is on its way. In the meantime, please let us know how we can help you crack the law school admissions code . You can also learn more about our 1-on-1 law school admissions support here .

NYU offers several degree options to its students. The vast majority of its students pursue a Juris Doctor (J.D.), which is the traditional degree associated with going to law school in the United States. NYU also offers a one-year Master of Laws (LL.M.), which is most often pursued by lawyers who received their law degrees outside of the United States and J.D. graduates who are looking to specialize in a particular area of the law. Lastly, students at NYU can pursue a Doctor of the Science of Law (J.S.D.), which prepares students for careers in legal scholarship.

In addition, NYU School of Law also has numerous joint or dual degree programs available to students interested in pursuing interdisciplinary studies, including the popular J.D./M.B.A. program with NYU Stern School of Business .  

Part 3: NYU School of Law admission statistics                

With a 2021 first-year J.D. class size of 484 students, NYU is one of the larger top-tier law schools. However, with 104 full-time faculty, 353 courses to choose from in 16 different areas of study, and more than 40 clinics and externships offered, NYU provides a rich academic experience to its students.

NYU School of Law provides a robust picture of its incoming classes. NYU’s first year J.D. class for the Fall of 2023 looks like this :

Demographics:

Students of Color: 47%

Out of college one to four years: 70%

Out of college five or more years: 10%

GPA spread:

25th percentile: 3.77

50th percentile: 3.90

75th percentile: 3.96

LSAT spread:

25th percentile: 174/180

50th percentile: 172/180

75th percentile: 168/180

As you can see, gaining admission to NYU School of Law is no small task. To put some of these numbers into perspective, NYU is tied for second with Stanford and the University of Chicago amongst all law schools in terms highest median LSAT score. Given this high bar, you should definitely spend a lot of time preparing for the LSAT to ensure you get the best score possible. While a high LSAT score alone will not guarantee admission, and students with “low” scores can still gain admission, you should aim for a score in the 170s. 

If you are still an undergraduate, you should study hard and try to get the best grades you can. All else being equal, having a high GPA/LSAT combination improves your chances of admission.

If you are already out of college or are preparing to take time off between college and law school, you should focus on gaining as much experience as possible. As mentioned above, NYU reports that 68% of its current first-year class was out of college for at least one year prior to matriculating at NYU.  

In deciding how to spend your interim years, know that there is no right way to go about it. The decision with what to do with your time is yours alone. That said, here are a few things to consider when charting out your path:

Gain experience to improve your resume. Depending on which area of law you are interested in, you may find relevant volunteer or internship opportunities in your community. For example, if you’re interested in immigration law and live in the NYC area, volunteering with the New York Immigration Coalition would provide experience in a field you could later pursue at NYU Law and explore in a personal statement.

Learn about the law and dive into particular topics and fields of study that you may want to explore once school starts. Take the initiative to broaden your knowledge of the legal profession. Even taking EdX courses on different legal topics can show commitment, motivation, and self-discipline—all of which are required to be successful in law school

Become more well-rounded.  NYU Law loves seeing multi-talented candidates with diverse interests. Consider joining a debate club or a language meetup in your area. If you play a musical instrument, perhaps a jazz jam session can help you explore your talents.

To apply to NYU Law, you first need to sign up for the Law School Credential Assembly Service (CAS), which you can access online via the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). You will submit your entire application online through LSAC. 

NYU has two tracks for J.D. admissions: Regular Admission and Early Decision. Both tracks use the same application, but Early Decision has a separate timeline.

Applications for both tracks traditionally open at the beginning of September. For Regular Decision, you have until February 15 to submit your application. However, NYU notifies admitted students on a rolling basis, so you should try to turn your application in as soon as possible to have the best chance of getting admitted. If you submit your materials on the February 15 application deadline, you should hear back from NYU by late April.

NYU School of Law’s Early Decision process works a lot like the traditional college Early Decision process you may be familiar with. By applying Early Decision, you are committing yourself to attending NYU if you are admitted. After receiving your acceptance letter, you must decline any acceptances from other law schools and also withdraw any pending applications. Failure to take these actions will result in NYU revoking its offer of admission, so think carefully about whether Early Decision is right for you. Applicants that do not receive an Early Decision acceptance may have their applications moved into the Regular Decision pool or rejected entirely.  

To apply Early Decision, you must submit your application by November 15. NYU sends out its Early Decision by late December. If you would like to be considered as an Early Decision candidate, NYU requires you to complete and submit its Early Decision Contract. This can be done in the application prior to submitting it, or if you have already submitted your application, you may also complete the contract and email it to [email protected] , prior to the closing of the application window.

If you are interested in applying to one of NYU’s public interest scholarship programs, it is important to keep track of the special deadlines. As of now, NYU requires all scholarship applicants for the current admissions cycle to submit their completed applications and CAS law school reports by January 1. In addition, scholarship applicants must take the LSAT or GRE no later than November 2022.

For more detailed information about the application process, click here for NYU’s FAQ page.

Regardless of whether you apply Regular Admission or Early Decision, you will need to submit the following materials:  

The application form along with an $85 application fee.

LSAT/GRE scores.

NYU now accepts a GRE score in lieu of an LSAT score. While you can apply with either a LSAT score or a GRE score, if you take the LSAT, law schools can see that, even if you prefer to put forward your GRE score.

NYU accepts LSAT scores from test administrations that occurred up to five years before the application date. For example, a score from the June 2019 LSAT is the oldest LSAT score that students applying in the 2024 cycle are allowed to use.

To apply Early Decision, you must take the LSAT or GRE no later than October. All other applicants must take the LSAT or GRE no later than January.

CAS report .

Two recommendation letters.

If you are currently in school or recently graduated (within two years of your application to law school), both letters should be from faculty from your school. If you have been out of school longer than two years, only one letter needs to be academic.

Mandatory: law school personal statement . NYU provides applicants with discretion regarding the length and content of the personal statement. However, we suggest that you try to keep your personal statement to two pages, single-spaced, 11 or 12-pt font.

Optional: law school diversity statement . No length requirements given. We will discuss how to write this type of essay later in the guide.  

Optional: additional information, if relevant. This includes statements of strong interest in attending NYU and explanations of undergraduate and/or LSAT/GRE performance.

In this section, we will discuss how to approach writing essays for your application to NYU School of Law. We will also show you some full-length essay examples from admitted students so that you can get a sense for how you can approach this process. Keep in mind that there are many approaches you can take to writing high-quality essays. We will highlight some things that successful applicants often have in their essays, but it is important to tailor our advice to your specific situation.

Some general guidelines to keep in mind when writing your essays: 

Focus on crafting the very best writing you can and make sure to proofread your essays for correct grammar and spelling. Since writing well is an incredibly important skill for lawyers, NYU’s admissions officers will absolutely be paying attention to how you write in addition to what you write.

Be sure to carefully follow essay instructions, including length guidelines. Going over a specified word limit will show you have trouble following directions, which is not a good sign for someone to looking to be a lawyer.  

Personal statement  

To simplify the process of applying to law school, we suggest writing a personal statement that can be tailored to each school that you apply to. Try to keep your essay to two pages, single spaced.   

Here are a few things we think you should keep in mind while writing your personal statement:  

Make sure your personal statement touches on why you want to go to law school and highlights your commitment to practicing law in the future. While this might seem like a no-brainer, it is important not to lose sight of the purpose of your personal statement, which in this case, is to demonstrate why you should be a law student at NYU School of Law.

Provide a clear example of your skills or qualities that could translate to success in law school. Law students must be analytical, organized, meticulous, creative, resilient, have good time management skills, and be able to synthesize large amounts of information. Using your personal statement to tell a story that demonstrates that you possess one or more of these qualities and are thus prepared for the rigors of law school can be very effective.

Do not be afraid to use your personal statement to tell an interesting story. We like this approach, because it makes your personal statement enjoyable to read while also giving the reader a glimpse into your life story. Telling a personal story helps to humanize you to your reader, which can help them feel connected to your application.

Pay close attention to your essay structure. Avoid using long words and sentence structures. Each sentence should be succinct and clear. Also use good transitions between paragraphs so that your essay reads smoothly, and your reader is able to easily keep track of the key points you are trying to convey.

Below is an example of what our student, Elan, wrote to get into NYU School of Law (Note: some identifying details have been changed to protect the writer’s privacy.):

At the age of 4, I had presumptively decided to dedicate myself to law enforcement. I roamed my childhood home imitating my favorite detective, Columbo, convinced that I was closing in on bad guys. At age 7, when a rock was mysteriously thrown through the back windshield of my mother’s car in our south Atlanta neighborhood, I was the first to investigate and draw up the usual suspects. At age 13, I decided that I would pursue a career as a forensic profiler for the FBI. I dreamed of wearing a badge, like my hero Columbo, to signify my membership as a dutiful public servant. By this time, my mother and I had left Atlanta for a small, predominantly white town in Texas. At 17, I momentarily reconsidered my plans when I mentioned Rodney King in my senior English class, only to be met with silence by my peers, who had never heard of him. Perhaps their parents had not warned them about police violence as mine had. I briefly considered that their experiences with law enforcement, directly or indirectly, would always be different than mine. And still, despite my brief reservation, my commitment to federal law enforcement was unwavering.

At age 19, my conceptions and career plans collapsed around me. Since moving to New York for college, I had attended numerous forums, lectures, and panels on the intersection of two issues I was intimately but naively familiar with—criminal justice and racial prejudice. My rural Texas hometown never discussed “mass incarceration,” “mandatory minimums,” or “stop-and- frisk.” I was not aware of how severely racial prejudice inundated the criminal justice system, and I panicked at the revelation that it was so powerful and institutionalized as to be written into law.

Despite my childhood convictions, my conceptions of good and bad guys had changed. I had been conditioned to believe that the delineations were clear—those who executed the law and those who disobeyed it—the good and the bad. I discovered, however, that sometimes those with badges, shiny degrees, and high-ranking positions are the bad guys. Sometimes the bad guys have power, authority, wealth, and societal respect. They sometimes sit in boardrooms and county seats. They receive awards and accolades. They stand in court. They even become president.

And the good guys—sometimes the good guys can be found in federal prison for minor drug possession or spending six years at Rikers Island awaiting trial for a crime for which they have not been proven guilty. They are sometimes sixteen-year-old boys in detention centers, who are considered “delinquent” because their teachers do not possess the cultural competency to understand that the violence they face at home and in their neighborhood causes them to act out in class. Sometimes they are fathers killed in dark stairwells because their skin color is inherently threatening. They are women who, by merely speaking up, threaten the power and authority of men and are thus considered “disobedient” or “noncompliant,” warranting a criminal penalty that will keep them subdued. They are the wrongly convicted who have lost years of their life, dignity, and sanity after being punished for crimes they did not commit. They are arrested for being too poor to afford the subway fare. They are subject to societal and legal ostracism because they have been labeled “undocumented,” “delinquent,” and “criminal.”

At 19, I decided that I would not work for the FBI. I felt far more compelled to advocate for those who fall victim to a legal system that targets, marginalizes, and disenfranchises them. My current position in the Public Corruption Unit of the County District Attorney’s Office has allowed me the unique opportunity to witness how the system operates in practice so that I am ultimately equipped to challenge it. I am confident that my career trajectory will allow me to bring both attention and solutions to the various issues plaguing policing, prosecution, and incarceration. Not only will I give voice to these issues, drawing from my personal and professional experiences, but I intend to avidly defend those suppressed and overshadowed by abuses of authority.

At age 23, I recognize the glaring contradiction in the understanding of justice I had as a girl. Distinctions of “good” and “bad” are not black and white, nor are they all encompassing, nor do they wholly quantify a person. That said, as these labels tend to traditionally exist in the criminal justice system, they often differ dramatically from the surface perception. They perpetuate a system that is deeply prejudicial and flawed. As it turns out, I spend every day at my job investigating and analyzing “bad guys,” just as I imagined when I was a little girl. Unfortunately, they are successfully posing as good ones.

Some things we like about Elan’s personal statement:

Elan uses her essay to tell a story about how her childhood interest in law enforcement and desire to pursue a career in criminal justice evolved as she grew older. She details how specific experiences in her life provided nuance to her “simplistic” childhood worldview of criminal justice and complicated her understanding of the law. Through this narrative, she lets her reader know that she has a genuine interest in the law and helps the reader to imagine how she could fit in at law school given her interests.

Elan conveys her story through a well-structured, easy-to-follow narrative. The progression of her essay follows the chronological development of her views on law enforcement. In the end, she relates all of her development back to the views she held as a child, which really drives home how her thinking and understanding regarding the topic of her essay has developed.

Elan’s personal statement is bold. The topic she discusses is not an easy one, but she covers it very well. Her writing gives her readers a genuine look into who she is as a person, which could really help set her apart from applicants who write about more generic topics.

Optional essays (Diversity Statement)

Like most top law schools, NYU allows applicants to include optional essays with their application. These essays can cover topics not addressed in your personal statement that will help the admissions committee gain a better understanding of who you are as a person. We encourage all applicants to consider writing supplemental essays—especially what we like to refer to as diversity statements. These essays give you the chance to highlight what makes you unique and can cover a wide range of topics such as race, gender, sexuality, or particular interests that you have.  

If you are unsure if writing a diversity is the right thing for you to do, we suggest reading our guide to writing law school diversity statements and guide to law school admissions , which cover how to approach this decision.   

If you choose to write a diversity statement, here are a few things we think you should keep in mind:

Feel free to think big . Diversity includes more than the traditional concepts of race, gender, and sexuality. While there is nothing wrong with focusing on those areas, taking time to also highlight other areas of diversity could help set your essay apart from all of the others that admissions officers will read. Pursuing this strategy also opens up the diversity statement to those who might not qualify as “diverse” in one of the traditional areas. Some other examples of diversity include service in law enforcement or military, living with a chronic illness or disability, competing in sports professionally, or growing up in another country. We suggest that you attempt to write a diversity statement if at all possible.

Emphasize why diversity is important to you and how it will influence how you show up in the classroom and law school community. Law schools like applicants who will be engaged and active members of their student bodies. You can use your diversity statement to show your readers how the kind of impact you will have during your three years in school.

If you have an interest in the law (or think you have an interest) and tie it into your diversity essay, we recommend you do so. If you end up changing your mind once you get into the school of your choice, that is totally fine!

Below, we have included a diversity statement from Anthony, who was also admitted to NYU School of Law (Note: some identifying details have been changed to protect the writer’s privacy.):

My mother, her mother, and her three siblings all live within a half-hour’s drive of one another outside of Washington, D.C., and throughout my childhood, I saw my cousins and grandparents almost every day. My close-knit family was therefore very surprised that I did not take a job in the city after earning my graduate degree, but instead decided to work abroad. Just as I was the first and only person in my family to attend a predominantly white institution for college, I am the first to work internationally. They have all but given up on trying to convince me to stick around.

At this point, I am used to being different. As I have pursued a career in foreign affairs, I have learned to grapple with and move past the challenges of being a Black American in spaces where others like me are few and far in between. I have been called a racial slur to my face more times abroad than I have been in the United States, but I still relish the opportunity to immerse myself in other cultures and societies. Similarly, while I was initially distracted and sometimes discouraged by being the only African American in meetings while working in the federal government, I eventually learned to block out those thoughts and focus on the task at hand.

At times that self-consciousness reemerges as I question whether my aspiration to facilitate political stabilization in other conflict-affected countries is justified given the persistent institutional racism within my own. I was dispirited when learning of Trayvon Martin’s murder while I researched education policy in South Africa and of Philando Castile’s killing as I soaked in the beauty of Jerusalem’s Old City, for instance. Nevertheless, I am confident of the path to which I am called, and conquering my doubts has strengthened my conviction that fighting against injustice anywhere is guarding justice everywhere. Now, as I prepare to enter law school, I know my independence of thought and self-assurance in my calling will enable me to challenge common biases and assumptions, thereby helping others to better understand their own roles in promoting justice and peace.

Some things we like about Anthony’s diversity statement:

Anthony uses his diversity statement to bring together how his career interests, life experiences, and racial background have intersected to shape his life. He highlights how these various manifestations of diversity of diversity have impacted who he is and how he will show up in the classroom, on campus, and in his broader life. This combination gives his reader a good picture of who he is and what sets him apart from other applicants.

Anthony’s essay is well-written. He gives his reader a peek into many sides of who he is in a very succinct manner. All of his sentences and paragraphs build upon each other to further his narrative. It is clear to the reader that Anthony is a skilled writer, which will help assure them that he is a good candidate for admission to law school.  

Final thoughts

Getting accepted to New York University School of Law is no small feat. To increase your chances of getting admitted, make sure to follow these steps:

1.     Get the best grades and standardized test scores possible.

2.    Think deeply about why you want to go to law school.

3.    Communicate your desire to go to law school in your application essays in a thoughtful, creative way that highlights the quality of your writing and the unique experience, perspective, and set of skills you will bring to NYU.

About the Author

Dr. Shirag Shemmassian is the Founder of Shemmassian Academic Consulting and one of the world's foremost experts on law school admissions. For nearly 20 years, he and his team have helped thousands of students get into law school using his exclusive approach.

THERE'S NO REASON TO STRUGGLE THROUGH THE LAW SCHOOL ADMISSIONS PROCESS ALONE, ESPECIALLY WITH SO MUCH ON THE LINE. SCHEDULE YOUR COMPLIMENTARY 30-MINUTE CONSULTATION TO ENSURE YOU LEAVE NOTHING TO CHANCE.

How To Apply

For an application to be considered complete, the following application materials must be submitted.   GRE scores are not required for admission.

Completed SOPHAS application (the centralized application service for public health schools and programs). Please see SOPHAS’ Instructions and FAQs page for further details.

Resume or CV

Personal statement

Official transcripts from each post-secondary institution attended (Applications with foreign educational credentials are required to submit a WES evaluation to SOPHAS.)

Three letters of recommendation

TOEFL scores from all applicants whose native language is not English and who did not receive the equivalent of a US bachelor's degree at an institution where English is the primary language of instruction. Applicants holding or completing only a graduate or professional degree from an institution where English is the primary language of instruction are still required to submit a TOEFL score unless the graduate program was four or more years in duration.  When ordering test reports from ETS, you must include the proper institution code for the SOPHAS application service (#5688). 

All official transcripts should be addressed to: 

SOPHAS P.O. Box 9111 Watertown, MA 02471-9111

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Important note for dual degree applicants.

All dual degree applicants are required to submit  separate  applications to both the MPH program and the partner program that participates in the dual degree you wish to apply to. You may find links to applications to those partners programs on the individual dual degree pages:

Medicine (MD/MPH )

Dentistry (DDS/MPH)

Wagner (MPA/MPH)

Nursing (MS/MPH)

• Social Work (MSW/MPH)

Application Tips

Apply early. ALL MATERIALS should arrive at SOPHAS at least four weeks prior to your earliest deadline. It can take up to 10 business days for items such as transcripts or money order payments to be marked as received by SOPHAS from the date they are mailed, and it can take up to FOUR WEEKS for your completed application to be processed and mailed to GPH. Submitting your materials early helps ensure timely processing and avoids costly delays.

Don’t wait for supplemental materials to submit your application. Do not wait for your standardized test scores, recommendations or other documents to be received by SOPHAS before submitting your application. Submit your application as soon as you have entered all required information; we may wish to begin processing your application right away and will add documents, recommendations and test scores as they are received.

Do not send any copies of application documents, as they will not be accepted as part of your application. SOPHAS will not accept faxes, photocopies, or unofficial documents. Notify your registrar that you need an official copy sent to SOPHAS; a request form can be found in the application’s Colleges and Universities section. 

After you have submitted your application, use the SOPHAS application system to check the status of your application instead of calling or emailing the admissions office. You can ensure all required documents are received and your application is being processed in the “My Status” section of SOPHAS. Check your status often until you application is complete. 

Please note that during certain times of year, due to extremely heavy inquiry volume it may take up to 1-2 weeks for email or phone inquiries to GPH’s admissions office to be responded to.

How Are Applications Reviewed?

The review process for the MPH program is comprehensive and holistic, taking into account all factors and experiences in a prospective student’s application. Our review of applications examines the following characteristics.

Transcripts : A bachelor's degree or higher from a regionally accredited college or university, with no previous work and/or research experience required. Reviewers consider the overall GPA, as well as the academic rigor of the academic institution and any changes or improvements in academic performance.

We are interested in admitting candidates who have the potential to be global public health leaders. Evidence of leadership (during you educational experiences and outside) includes:

Charity/Volunteerism

Professional Associations

• Work as a Reviewer/Editor of any publications

Personal Statement

The personal statement is given considerable weight in the admissions process. We expect thoughtful and reflective answers and invite applicants to take this opportunity to creatively and honestly communicate their own engagement with global public health and interest in graduate study at NYU. Factors include:

Writing Ability : writing style, spelling, grammar, and conciseness

Substance : More compelling personal statements demonstrate how the student would benefit from the NYU MPH and that the applicant already has a sophisticated understanding of the field in which you are currently working or intend to work.

Congruence with Program Goals : Show an understanding of the degree and describe how the program’s mission and goals will help you achieve your professional and/or academic pursuits.

Ability to Follow Directions : The substance of each question in the prompt should be addressed either directly or indirectly somewhere in the statement.

Recommendations

Each of your three references should include a recommendation form and an accompanying letter of recommendation. Applicants who are currently students applying for a joint degree program, or who have graduated within the past three years must submit at least one academic reference. Other references should be from professional contacts, not friends or peers. Reviewers consider the following:

Strength of Recommendation : Recommendations should discuss/evaluate the applicants’ academic and/or professional qualifications and potential for success

Credential of Recommender: Is the writer a supervisor, senior professor, etc? Is the person qualified to make the recommendation?

Comparison to Others: how the recommender evaluated the applicant against others s/he has taught or supervised

Consistency: Recommendations that vary substantially in their overall evaluation may not show clear evidence of the applicant’s potential.

Work Experience

Applicants are asked to include their most recent resume or curriculum vitae so we may consider the following factors:

Public Health Experience : Does the applicant have prior work experience in public health or a related field and in particular, public health issues?

International Experience : Has the applicant worked internationally and/or in the US on international issues? Does the applicant show evidence of cultural competence?

Types of Positions Held : Does the applicant’s work history lend support for success in the program as well as success in a career in public health?

Publications : Although not required for admissions, reviewers consider any publications from the applicant, with particular attention to publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Application Deadlines and Review Timeline

Admission review is conducted on a rolling basis and in order of their receipt and completion. We encourage you to submit your materials as early as possible as admission offers are extended throughout the year and space will become limited as the deadline approaches. Please note that due to heavy application volume during certain times of year, admission decisions can take anywhere from three weeks to three months to be issued.

Applicants are notified of their admissions decisions via email sent to the email address entered into the SOPHAS application. NYU GPH no longer mails print admission letters except by special request. ►  August 17: Application opens

 SOPHAS application opens for spring and fall applicants to all concentrations.

►  December 15: Deadline for Spring

All applications are due for both domestic and international applicants, whether applying to an on-campus or online program for spring. ►  February 1: Initial deadline for Fall

All applications are due for both domestic and international applicants. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis for all applications received past February 1. Once an application is complete, it will be forwarded to the Admissions Committee for review.

►  After February 1: Rolling admissions on a space-available basis

Applications may be accepted after February 1st on a rolling basis for programs in which space remains.  This is not guaranteed, so we encourage interested applicants to submit their applications prior to the February 1st deadline. 

►  April 15: Enrollment decision deadline

All applicants admitted prior to April 1st are required to notify NYU of their enrollment decision by this date.

Schedule a class visit and meet with admissions staff

Request information about the nyu master of public health.

We are no longer accepting applications for 2024.

The application for Fall 2025 will be live in September this year!

In a typical year, the Grad Acting Program will personally audition hundreds of students in order to select an ensemble of 16 actors. Ideally, each ensemble is diverse, both in cultural background and practical experience; we place a high value on having actors from across all of life’s spectrum sharing their backgrounds with their classmates. Each actor’s story is unique and each brings something important to the ensemble.

At Grad Acting, we are sharply focused on making attendance afforable for every student based on their need. We offer need based scholarships up to, and including full tutition.  Increasing our pool of financial aid is our Number One priority and we have numerous scholarships (including full tuition), funded aid awards, and work study packages to offer our incoming students.  Please don’t let concerns about finances keep you from applying or auditioning:  we strive to work with each individual student to make it possible for them to attend Grad Acting.

The Application Process

The process of applying to any graduate acting program can be intimidating and confusing. To help make this process as clear and as easy for you as possible, we suggest taking a tour of our website. Please begin with the steps below.

Before You Apply

To apply to the Grad Acting program you must:

• Have a bachelors degree or be in the process of completing one. All accepted candidates to NYU’s Grad Acting MFA are expected to have completed an undergraduate degree before starting the program. Exceptions are rarely granted and require an appeal to the Dean of the school.
• Complete the general Tisch Graduate Application online. For more details on this application, visit the Tisch Graduate Admissions page .
• You may apply to the program a maximum of 3 times.

Grad Acting Information Sessions

The Office of Graduate Admissions at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and the Grad Acting department will be holding a series of virtual informational sessions that will cover the MFA Grad Acting program and how to apply for the Fall 2025 admissions cycle. All sessions will be moderated by members of the department & Graduate Admissions staff. 

MFA GRAD ACTING INFORMATION SESSIONS

Location:  Zoom

Dates: 

Monday, Sept. 16th - 11am-12pm EST

Register in advance for this session:

https://nyu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEqcuiqqzsqGdOVywh4pkeIls6dtUZH0nSP 

Friday, October 11th - 12pm-1pm EST

https://nyu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIodeChqz8vG9cHqqrWrS29C2XV6MlaAGCD 

Wednesday, November 13th - 9:30 - 10:30am EST

https://nyu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcodeuprDkoGNfuLKSDAoOpRUI_ANK-vCzX 

Tuesday, December 3rd from 10am-11am EST

https://nyu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcscuCoqTsrGdM77vc54TnTDvbIdCgVeD7c 

How To Apply

The next application cycle, which will be for entry in 2025, will begin in early September 2024.

Do not send your headshot/résumé or personal statement to the Office of Graduate Admissions or attach them to your online application.Four monologues and a song. M onologues should be classical and contemporary, both comedic and dramatic, two being in verse (rhymed or unrhymed).

Specific Requirements:

Two contemporary pieces ( 1919 to Present ).

Two classical pieces ( 2500 BCE to c.1918 ).

Please bring three printed copies of each text (in English) to the audition.

No piece should be longer than 2 minutes and 25 seconds .

Advice on Selection & Preparation:

• Examples of classical authors include: Anonymous, Juan Ruiz de Alarcón, Aphra Behn, Bhasa, Pedro Calderón de la Barca , Pierre Corneille, Euripides, Kalidasa, Jesús Lara, Federico García Lorca, Ben Jonson, Lope de Vega, John Webster, and William Shakespeare. Examples of verse translators/ adaptors might include: Christopher Hampton, Wole Soyinka, Femi Osofisan, José Rivera, Richard Wilbur, David Ives, Nilo Cruz, Ezra Pound, Tony Harrison, Ranjit Bolt, Caryl Churchill, Adrian Mitchell, Anne Carson, Derek Walcott, and Jo Carson among others. 
• Please avoid selecting multiple pieces by the same author (Shakespeare excepted).
• Regarding pieces in verse (whether contemporary or classical) — we’re looking for you to “ lift the verse off the page .” By that we mean, how do you take these words and make them feel like they spring from your own thoughts? We are not concerned about you speaking Shakespeare or Lorca or Tupac or Eminem ‘correctly’. Rather than only a poetic recitation of the verse, we hope to feel a sense of your imagined scene partner or circumstances.

Four monologues and a song. M onologues should be classical and contemporary, both comedic and dramatic, two being in verse (rhymed or unrhymed).

Auditions / Callbacks

Please note, we will not be accepting walk-ins for any of our in-person auditions.

NYC Auditions

Deadline to apply and register for auditions:  TBD January 2025

Audition Dates:

TBD January 2025

Virtual Audition Date

Audition Tour Dates

Chicago : TBD January & February 2025

San Francisco : TBD January & February 2025

Final Callback Weekend : TBD March 2025

Audition dates and times are subject to change and will be available to select when you submit your application.

Please be prepared to hold the full day for your first day of auditions. We may run late, so it is best to expect that. Please keep your schedule open on the day that you register for.

Approximately 60 applicants from the first round of global auditions will be asked to come to New York for two of three available days in March 2025 for the final callback round. The entering class of 16 students will be selected from the March callback.

If you are called back, you will be given specific instructions as to how to prepare for your callback “weekend.”

What to Prepare

What You Have to Prepare

1. Your audition. 

Four monologues and approximately 16 bars of a song. Monologues should be classical and contemporary, both comedic and dramatic, two being in verse (rhymed or unrhymed).

Two contemporary pieces ( 1919 to Present) .

No piece should be longer than 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

• Examples of classical authors include: Anonymous, Juan Ruiz de Alarcón, Aphra Behn, Bhasa, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Pierre Corneille, Euripides, Kalidasa, Jesús Lara, Federico García Lorca, Ben Jonson, Lope de Vega, John Webster, and William Shakespeare. Examples of verse translators/ adaptors might include: Christopher Hampton, Wole Soyinka, Femi Osofisan, José Rivera, Richard Wilbur, David Ives, Nilo Cruz, Ezra Pound, Tony Harrison, Ranjit Bolt, Caryl Churchill, Adrian Mitchell, Anne Carson, Derek Walcott, and Jo Carson among others. 
• Regarding pieces in verse (whether contemporary or classical) — we’re looking for you to “lift the verse off the page.” By that we mean, how do you take these words and make them feel like they spring from your own thoughts? We are not concerned about you speaking Shakespeare or Lorca or Tupac or Eminem ‘correctly’. Rather than only a poetic recitation of the verse, we hope to feel a sense of your imagined scene partner or circumstances.

2. A full-face photograph (headshot).

3. A detailed résumé listing your prior acting experience.

4. A personal statement in essay form (approximately 500 words or two pages, typed and double-spaced). Write freely and personally about yourself and your acting. It will not be seen as a sample of your literacy, or as a test of your character. Tell us why you are applying here to NYU’s Grad Acting Program (as opposed to a general interest in graduate school), what you expect the experience to be like, and what you would like to accomplish. Write about your life, past and present; how you get along with people, the world; likes, dislikes (in theatre, literature, golf, anything). The personal statement will be instrumental in helping the auditors make a final decision about your professional abilities. It will be read only by the chair and designated faculty in strict confidence.

International Students

Applying for International Students

International students who are unable to travel for the first round of in-person auditions may audition virtually. If you are under consideration for March Callbacks, you will be required to attend in-person.

Note: International applicants need to speak fluent English, as we are primarily training actors for theater, film and television in the English language.

Tuition & Financial Aid

The Graduate Acting Program offers substantial financial aid support to applicants who demonstrate need. In recent years we have significantly grown the level of funding and vastly reduced the cost to students. A snapshot of recent classes demonstrates that students who qualify for financial aid regularly pay less than 25% of the listed tuition in the first two years and about 5% of tuition in their final year. This is some of the highest support of any top tier actor training program. While funding can change from year to year and is determined based on need, we work thoughtfully with each person offered admissions to find a way to help them join our community and get the training they've worked so hard to earn.

The following links provide information about borrowing, budgeting and paying back loans:

For the general guidelines and information about Tisch School of the Arts financial aid and scholarships, go to: Tisch School of the Arts Financial Aid Page .

For the cost of tuition and fees, which do not include living expenses, go to: Tisch School of the Arts Costs .

For instructions on the Financial Aid process, see: How to Be Considered for Financial Aid .

For valuable advice on Federal loans and managing your debt, go to the government handbook by clicking on: Advice on Federal Loans and Debt .

Scholarships

The Tisch School of the Arts offers a limited number of tuition scholarships. Tuition scholarships are funds applied toward the cost of tuition. There is no separate application for them, and all students are automatically considered after you apply for admission and indicate your interest in financial aid on the admission application.

Awards are made on the basis of academic excellence, demonstrated ability, professional promise, and financial need. Evaluations are made by the Graduate Acting Program and by the NYU Office of Financial Aid.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the Tisch Application for Graduate Admission contain all the information needed for scholarship determination. Please keep in mind that requesting financial aid will have no effect on the admission decision.

Federal Aid and the Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA)

Need-based federal financial assistance in the form of loans and student employment is available to qualified students through the federal government. It is available to U.S. citizens and permanent residents only. Graduate students may qualify for the Federal Subsidized Stafford Student Loan or the Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Student Loan programs. Students may also qualify for student employment through the Federal Work-Study Program.

To be considered for this federal and/or state aid, you MUST file the FAFSA. Tisch School of the Arts encourages all U.S. citizens and permanent residents to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). After submitting your Tisch application, we strongly encourage you to go online and complete your FAFSA on the Web at:  FAFSA Online .

The FAFSA application is available beginning January 1 and should be submitted by February 15. Make sure that you give permission on the FAFSA form for your data to be forwarded to New York University: federal school code number 002785.

Special Financial Circumstances

Applicants can provide to the Office of Graduate Admissions any special financial circumstances they feel would be grounds to be considered for more or less aid. Please provide a separate statement of any details you consider would be useful to us in determining your eligibility for scholarship funding.

Special Note For International Applicants

Tuition scholarships for international students (F-1 and J-1 visas) are extremely limited in number. In general, international applicants are urged to seek aid from outside sources and the government of their home country.

More detailed information on financial aid for international students can be found at  Tisch Financial Aid for International Students . 

Support NYU Law

• JD Admissions
• Transfer Application FAQ

Transfer (JD) Application Questions

The online application for fall 2025  transfer admission will be available May 1.

Applicants for transfer must have completed one full year of study (28-33 credits) by June 15. Applicants whose law school credits fall outside of the 28-33 credit range must submit a statement explaining why they fall outside the range.

A maximum of 30 credits will be applied toward the JD degree at NYU School of Law.

The application filing deadline for transfer applicants is June 15. All supporting materials must be received by June 15.

The Law School does not waive application fees for this program.

If an applicant has a valid LSAT score, the score(s) must be submitted. A writing sample is required for those applicants who submit a LSAT score. Valid LSAT scores and writing samples will be submitted as part of the CAS report. Applicants are required to submit GRE scores if they submitted GRE scores to the law school at which they completed their first year of law school. GRE scores must be sent to NYU Law directly from ETS. The law school code for NYU School of Law for both LSAC and ETS is 2599. 

Neither is weighted more heavily than the other. The Committee will consider grades for all courses taken.

Yes. The form should be completed by the dean of students or administrative officer with access to official records at the law school the applicant attends and emailed to [email protected] .

Yes. The college questionnaire form should be completed by the dean of students or administrative officer with access to official records at the undergraduate school from which the applicant received a baccalaureate degree and emailed to [email protected] .

Two recommendations are required to complete your admissions application. At least one of the two letters must be written by a law professor at your current law school. The Committee on Admissions requires the use of the LSAC Letter of Recommendation (LOR) Service. Please do NOT submit duplicate letters directly to NYU School of Law.

Applicants should include a personal statement with their application on a subject of their choice. The personal statement should be double-spaced and no more than 500 words. 

All decisions will be made no later than the end of July.

Transfer applicants offered admission to the Law School are eligible to apply for housing, and those enrolling at NYU School of Law may participate in Early Interview Week and may apply to participate in Law Review/Journals. Transfer applicants are not eligible for scholarships or need-based financial aid grants.

No. Even if you have previously applied to NYU School of Law, you must submit an entirely new application and submit all required supporting material anew as well.

No. NYU Law strives to ensure that students in each transfer class bring with them a diversity of experience. All individuals, including those with previous criminal convictions and other prior involvement in the criminal justice system, are encouraged to apply.

Please be advised that in addition to a bar examination, there are character, fitness, and other qualifications for admission to the bar in every U.S. jurisdiction. Bar examiners consider prior criminal legal history as part of the character and fitness evaluation. This may include charges, convictions, arrests, and other forms of involvement in the criminal justice system.

Applicants are encouraged to determine the requirements for any jurisdiction in which they intend to seek admission by contacting the jurisdiction. The National Conference of Bar Examiners provides addresses for all relevant agencies and a Guide to Bar Admissions Requirements .

Applicants who plan to seek New York Bar admission may petition the State bar for an “advance ruling” on the effect of a felony or misdemeanor conviction upon their character and fitness evaluations. Applicants seeking such a ruling are encouraged to contact the Appellate Division of the New York State Unified Court System in which you reside; if you do not reside in New York State, please contact the Attorney Admissions Office of the Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department. Applicants who expect to practice in New York State also are encouraged to review Are You Fit to Be a Lawyer , published by the New York State Lawyer Assistance Trust.

NYU Law will use information shared in the Character and Fitness section of the application to advise and support admitted students. The Law School’s Office of Career Services and Public Interest Law Center will provide counseling to students who have questions on how a criminal legal history may impact a legal career.

In order to be eligible for membership in the Order of the Coif, a graduating student must have completed at least 75% of his or her law studies in graded courses at NYU School of Law.  4-semester JD students are eligible for Order of Coif. Transfer students coursework completed for a grade in the first year of law school and transferred towards the NYU School of Law JD degree will count as completed graded credits for calculating the required 75%, however, the grades earned in the first year will not be considered. The number of students eligible to be in the top 10% of the class is computed based on the entire class, including 4-semester JDs. Ten percent of the number of 4-semester JDs are calculated, and that number is the maximum of 4-semester JDs eligible for Coif from among the top 10% of the entire class.

© 2024 New York University School of Law. 40 Washington Sq. South, New York, NY 10012.   Tel. (212) 998-6100

Published August 01, 2024

Announcing the 2024-2025 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 update our supplemental 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:

“In a world where disconnection seems to often prevail, we are looking for students who embody the qualities of bridge builders—students who can connect people, groups, and ideas to span divides, foster understanding, and promote collaboration within a dynamic, interconnected, and vibrant global academic community. We are eager to understand how your experiences have prepared you to build the bridges of the future. Please consider one or more of the following questions  in your  essay :

What personal experiences or challenges have shaped you as a bridge builder?

How have you been a bridge builder in your school, community, or personal life?

What specific actions have you taken to build bridges between diverse groups, ideas, or cultures?

How do you envision being a bridge builder during your time at our university and beyond?”

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:

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.

Why You Should Start Your Common Application Early

There are many benefits to getting an early start on your Common Application to NYU.

Search NYU Steinhardt

How to Apply On-Campus MS in Communicative Sciences and Disorders

Drawing from linguistics, psychology, physiology, and physical science, the field of communicative sciences and disorders is dedicated to understanding and minimizing the impact of disordered speech, language, hearing, and swallowing processes in children and adults. In this master's degree program, you'll learn from and collaborate with leaders in the field and gain hands-on clinical experience. This degree leads to eligibility for professional licensure as a speech-language pathologist.

Our program is offered in two modalities: on-campus and online. The application materials and adjudication are equivalent across the two modalities; however, the application process differs for each. This application is for the on-campus option only. If you would like to apply to the online modality , please visit the online program application . Candidates can only have one active application to NYU Steinhardt during each admission cycle. In other words, candidates can either have an on-campus application open or an online application open, but not both.

See the curriculum and degree requirements for the MS in Communicative Sciences and Disorders.  Our program offers three available tracks, including:

Standard Track:

The Standard Track is the most common program track selected, in which students complete the graduate program in 6-8 terms depending on the number of outstanding foundation courses a student must complete. For students with all foundation courses complete, the standard track is typically 6 terms. Students can opt into the track following the deposit deadline. No action is needed to indicate interest in this track during the application process.

Intensive Track:

Students entering the program with all foundation courses waived or completed prior to beginning their first term may be eligible for the Intensive Track. The Intensive Track allows students to complete the graduate program in 5 terms.  Students balance both academic and clinical responsibilities by taking an increased number of credits each term and entering the Practicum sequence in their first semester. Students can opt into this track following the deposit deadline.  Final acceptance determined by meeting additional eligibility requirements before the start of their first term.  

Please note: Students who join the Intensive Track are not eligible to enroll into the Bilingual Extension Track as this track is a minimum of 6 terms.

Bilingual Extension Track:

The  Bilingual Extension Track (BET) includes coursework and clinical experiences required for NYS Education Department’s Teacher for Students with Speech and Language Disabilities-Bilingual Extension (TSSLD-BE) certification. The NYSED TSSLD-BE is designed for bilingual or multilingual students admitted to the MS in CSD program, who intend to work in NYS with linguistically minoritized populations between the ages of 3-21 years. This program has limitations in size, with caps imposed every semester. Acceptances are determined on a lottery basis. Completion of the questions in the application, confirms potential interest in the BET and entry into the lottery. You will learn about your status in the BET following the deposit deadline. Please review the BET webpage to learn more about the requirements of this track.

Official Degree Title

Application Deadline

Subplan Code

(Bilingual Extension Track)

Admissions Information

Program Information

Tips for Applying to Graduate School

As you begin crafting your application, explore our tips for applying to graduate school for information on starting the process, managing deadlines and letters of recommendation, and navigating the Communication Sciences and Disorders Centralized Application Service (CSDCAS) .

Admissions Requirements

Each year, NYU Steinhardt’s Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders welcomes several dozen college graduates from science and other liberal arts backgrounds from across the country to join its MS program. Applicants must have been conferred a bachelor’s degree prior to their first semester of enrollment in order to apply to the MS program.

If you do not have a background in communicative sciences and disorders, you may be required to take additional foundational course work. All foundation courses are necessary for New York State licensure and ASHA certification. These foundation courses do not carry graduate credit for the MS degree.  Please see the CSD Foundation Courses section of the Curriculum webpage to learn more about how you can meet the requirement. 

It is recommended that applicants meet at least one of the following grade point average (GPA) requirements, based on a 4.0 scale:

• A minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA for baccalaureate studies
• A minimum 3.2 GPA in any communicative sciences and disorders foundation courses you have taken

In evaluating applications, we examine prospective students holistically taking all application components into account.

Priority Deadline Option for Current NYU Undergraduates ONLY

Students who have completed, are enrolled, and/or will be enrolled in three or more undergraduate NYU CSD courses (or the equivalent) by the end of the upcoming Spring semester have the option to apply for early admission into the MS degree. The application for the upcoming Fall semester is due on November 15 the year prior to the start of the program.

Students who select this option will be informed of their admission decision by the end of December. Accepted students will have until the regular deposit deadline (April 15) to submit their deposit. Financial aid packages will not be fully available until mid-March.

NYU Steinhardt's undergraduates are not required to apply for the priority deadline option and are welcome to submit their graduate application on the regular admission date of January 2.

For undergraduate students who do choose to apply for the priority deadline, their CSD courses will be confirmed via transcript review during the application process. Please note that the Department reserves the right to revoke admission, as acceptance into the program is contingent upon satisfactory course completion, which will be determined by a review of final course grades.

Observation Hours Guidelines

Prospective students are strongly encouraged to complete all 25 hours of guided observations prior to entering the Graduate Program.  Although not a requirement for acceptance into the program, students must complete these hours before they start Practicum I (Fall 2025 for students who choose the intensive track). A minimum of 13 out of the 25 guided observation hours must be completed outside of our department. Students can only apply a maximum of 12 hours via recorded observations (e.g., Master Clinician Network or SimuCase observation hours) to their total 25 required observation hours. Licensed and certified speech-language pathologists  (CCC-SLP) must supervise all guided observation hours. The hours can be earned with individuals across the life span in any setting. Completed observation hours from a required course at the undergraduate or post-baccalaureate level may be submitted. All observation hours earned on or after January 1, 2021 must be completed under a CCC-SLP meeting the 2020 ASHA standards; specifically, the supervisory requirement.   It is the student's responsibility to ensure that the SLP they are observing has met the 2020 ASHA standard. 

Re-Application Guidelines 

Candidates who have previously applied to NYU's MS in CSD program (on-campus and/or online) are required to submit an additional supplemental essay in addition to the standard application materials.  Additionally, candidates must disclose prior applications and decisions from NYU on any future applications to NYU regardless of the modality of their prior application. Please see the Documents tab in CSDCAS for detailed instructions.

How to Apply

These instructions and requirements are for all applicants. If you are not a citizen or a permanent resident of the United States, please read the special instructions for international applicants and the English Proficiency Exam section in the table below.

Applications must be fully verified in CSDCAS by  Sunday, January 26, 2025. Your application in CSDCAS will require the following items:  personal statement, a CV/resume, and one supplemental essay. If you are re-applying, you are also required to include a reapplication essay. 

1. Prepare Your Application

Preparing your application.

Prior to applying , prospective students are encouraged to view our Tips for Applying to Graduate School . These resources and videos contain  a wealth of helpful information, including how to start your application, identifying letter of recommendation writers, and how to create the best application.

Document Preparation

All documents should be double-spaced , in 12 point font, with 1-inch margins, including your last name and document title on the top right-hand corner (e.g., Doe, Personal Statement).  As you upload each document, please make sure each document is labeled accordingly. The accepted file formats are MSWord (.doc, .docx), Rich Text Format (.rtf), Portable Document Format (.pdf), and ASCII Text file (.txt).

Personal Statement

Your personal statement is an opportunity for you to introduce yourself to the Admissions Committee at New York University. Your statement should describe your motivation for pursuing a career in Speech-Language Pathology, as well as your goals, interests, and career plans. We are also interested to learn which personal characteristics and experiences you believe will make you a successful graduate student at New York University.  When applicable, the Personal Statement is also an opportunity to provide or include context to further explain aspects of your application.

(2-page maximum)

Please upload a copy of your most recent résumé or curriculum vitae.

(2-page maximum, does not need to be double-spaced or have 1-inch margins)  

Letters of Recommendation

You are required to submit a minimum of two, and a maximum of three letters of recommendation. Two letters must come from academic sources. An academic letter of recommendation is from a professor, clinical instructor, and/or academic advisor from your undergraduate or post-secondary institution, or post-baccalaureate coursework. A third academic or professional letter of recommendation can also be submitted. The recommender should provide insight into your academic preparation and performance.  Only three letters of recommendation will be reviewed by the Admissions Committee.  The Admissions Committee encourages you to waive your right to view your letter of recommendation.    

A professional letter of recommendation may be accepted in place of an academic source for those who have been out of school for five or more years.

You will submit the names and contact information for up to three references, who will then be notified to submit letters of recommendation via CSDCAS.

Transcripts

Request one official transcript from every postsecondary school you have attended to be mailed to CSDCAS by the institution's registrar. Make sure to request them well in advance of the deadline.

Supplemental Essay

Please answer one of the two essay prompt options below. 

• Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are called upon to be culturally responsive practitioners. Practicing from a culturally responsive lens involves integrating clients' lived experiences and identities (e.g., race, language, ethnicity, gender, ability, etc) into assessment and intervention contexts. Explain how your prior life experiences have contributed to your understanding of cultural responsiveness and how you plan to continue learning about culturally responsive service delivery.
• Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

(one-page maximum)

Re-Application Essay

Re-Application Essay:  If you are reapplying to NYU Steinhardt's CSD Program, please briefly describe the steps you have taken to strengthen your application since your last submission. Please include when you applied and what modality (on-campus or online).

Not required.

English Proficiency Exam (if applicable)

Please refer to Special Instructions for All International Applicants .  

Official Tests and Minimum Scores:

If your native language is not English, you must submit results from one of the following English proficiency exams:

• Please use the CSDCAS-wide TOEFL code C122 when reporting your score.  Do not send TOEFL scores to NYU Steinhardt.  
• The International English Language Testing System (IELTS): Successful candidates typically achieve a band score of 7 or higher. 
• Pearson Test of English (PTE Academic): Successful candidates typically score between a 68 - 70 or higher. 
• Duolingo English Test: Successful candidates typically score 120 or higher.

Official English Proficiency Scores are valid for two years from the date they are taken. If your scores have expired before you apply, you must retake the exam.   

 If you submit scores from more than one of the exams, all of your scores will be available to the Admissions Committee.  

Please see the Documents tab in CSDCAS for detailed instructions regarding both the required and supplemental application materials.

CSDCAS Application

Start your application now

You will apply through CSDCAS only. You do not need to fill out a separate NYU Steinhardt application.

(The CSDCAS application portal is for our  on-campus program . See  Speech@NYU  to apply for our  online program. )

3. Receive Your Admission Decision

You will be notified about your decision by email. Typically, decisions will start going out in March or early April for Fall enrollment. You may learn of your decision before or after this timeline.

Application Policies

It is your responsibility to ensure that all materials are submitted through CSDCAS by the appropriate deadline, and we reserve the right to return any application that arrives after the deadline. Only completed applications will be considered. Should a deadline fall on a weekend, the in-office deadline will be the next business day. We advise you to apply early.

Please check your CSDCAS account to confirm that you have successfully submitted your application and that it is fully verified by Sunday, January 26, 2025. Due to the volume of applications and related materials received, the Office of Graduate Admissions will only contact you if your application was successfully submitted and is deemed incomplete because of missing required materials. Otherwise, you will hear from us when the Admissions Committee has made its decision.

Deferral policy: NYU Steinhardt does not allow deferrals. Applicants who wish to be considered for a future semester must reapply by submitting a new application with all supporting materials, including letters of recommendation, by the application deadline.

Admissions Policy

It is the Department of CSD's policy that admitted students cannot switch between modalities. Students who wish to switch from one academic modality (online to on-campus or vice-versa) must withdraw their applications and re-apply to the other modality. 

Requests for exceptions to this policy must be formally submitted in writing to the department chair and director of the master of science program detailing the extenuating circumstances which make a modality transfer necessary. Requests for exceptions to this policy will be considered on a case-by-case basis and are not guaranteed to be granted.

Candidates can only have one active application to NYU Steinhardt during each admission cycle . In other words, candidates can either have an on-campus application open or an online application open, but not both.

Financial Aid

In order to be considered for financial aid, you must submit your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by the appropriate deadline.  Students are strongly encouraged to submit their FAFSA before receiving a decision from the program. Please visit the Steinhardt Financial Aid page for detailed information.  There are several scholarships and grants available through Steinhardt .  Most of these have a deadline and require a separate application. Many of these deadlines are before you will receive a decision from the program. Do not wait for your decision before submitting.

NYU IT Security News and Alerts

NYU IT Security Alert: “Salary Adjustment Acknowledgement” Phishing Message

NYU is being targeted by a phishing message with the subject line “Salary Adjustment Acknowledgement” that includes a PDF attachment. 

Do not respond to this phishing attempt ( not sure what “phishing” is? ). Do not click any link, fill in any personal account info, reply to the email, or open the PDF. Doing so may put your accounts, identity, and NYU at risk.

If you did respond , change your NetID password immediately and see below for more information.

On this page : What if I clicked something? | Reporting phishing | What gives this one away?

What if I clicked something?

• If you went to the website linked from the PDF and entered your username and password, change your NetID password immediately and email [email protected] as soon as possible so they can assess the risk and assist in mitigating any potential damage.
• If you attempted to open the PDF in this phishing email or replied to the email but didn’t provide your NetID and password, change your NetID password immediately as a precaution.
• If you receive additional requests for personal information, do not respond.

Reporting phishing

• NYU IT is aware of this ongoing cyberattack and is taking steps to block further messages. 
• It’s always helpful for people to report such messages by forwarding them to [email protected] and then deleting them. Doing so helps NYU IT assess the scale of an ongoing phishing attack.

What gives this one away?

There are several elements that make this message identifiable as a phishing attempt. Like many phishing messages, it attempts to create a sense of urgency by focusing on something financial and instructing you to provide personal information in a non-standard way. Some of the things that give this one away include:

• Suspicious “From” field: there’s no situation in which an email about your salary would be sent via a third party such as “ugftv”.
• Unusual typeface: if you’re reading this message on a screen, did you notice the non-standard letter “a” in the subject line and body of the message? This is not something you will see in official NYU communications.
• Awkward and grammatically incorrect text: there are several indicators throughout the message, including referring to NYU as “The New York University,” the non-standard decimal point in the number, the confusing wording about a “salary increment letter,”, the misspelling of “look” as “lok,” and the use of green type.
• Request that the recipient download and fill out a PDF instead of logging into PeopleSync, the most common way for NYU employees to manage their personal and financial information. The PDF may also be tagged with a warning from Gmail. Attempting to trick you into downloading and opening a file is a common way for scammers to gain access to your information and can even result in ransomware that locks you (and potentially many others) out of essential services, accounts, and equipment.

Phishing is a type of message that attempts to trick you into revealing personal or sensitive information, and/or to install malware on your device (such as a computer, tablet, or phone). These messages can be delivered by email, phone call, text, DM, or other means.

Read more about identifying and reporting phishing and other cyberattacks.

Washington Square News

A love letter to New York City

When I told people that I committed to NYU a little less than four years ago, their responses were always the same. At first, the obligatory “congratulations,” followed up by a “no way” or “that’s awesome,” but always concluding with an inevitable, “Wow, I never saw you as a city girl.” 

I was excited to go to NYU, a little nervous to head to college but looking forward to expanding my circle beyond my small-ish Massachusetts town. I had only visited New York City once before — twice if you count my visit right before I hit submit on the Early Decision application, months after my mind was already made up. I wasn’t an incoming first-year who had dreamed of NYU my whole life with New York City memorabilia plastered on my bedroom walls. I thought it would be a good place to study because I liked to write, thought I could maybe do something with that interest and figured, “Hey, why not try something different?” But there was always this looming thought that maybe I didn’t make the right choice. Maybe I’m not cut out for a big-city life.

After being here for three years, I’ve learned that the city is as big as you make it. As a first-year, I didn’t expand my life much more north than Rubin Hall or much more south than Bobst Library. My mornings consisted of walking a block over to Bagel Bob’s before going two more blocks down to Downstein dining hall when it was time for lunch or dinner. While it may seem like I was missing out on all that New York City had to offer, I needed to create my own sense of a community — my own campus, if you will — before feeling comfortable enough to try a new restaurant every weekend or frequent other neighborhoods.

Finding your tried-and-true places is so important. Whether this be through a favorite bagel shop, cafe or an NYU club where you feel at home, you have to be responsible for creating your own sense of community. And while oftentimes this sense of community is built through connections with people — I thank studying abroad and WSN for all of my friends to date — the physical communities you find yourself in are just as key. 

Today, my favorite part about living here is how much I can explore. I finally have a long list of restaurants to give to extended family and class friends from high school when they reach out and ask for recommendations when they visit the city for the weekend. Even though I now have a familiarity with the area I live in, I still discover something new every day. I leave for a week and a new pasta restaurant opens up below my apartment. I walk down the block and run into an old friend I met in Florence. I finally wait in that long line for a bagel place and realize why everyone stands in the sun for thirty minutes on Saturday mornings to buy one. The newness and opportunities here are refreshing.

I love going to school here, but escaping the city during school breaks is wonderful — there’s nothing better than sleeping in your own bed or playing with your dog you haven’t seen in months. But I’ll wake up in the morning and really wish I had a bacon egg and cheese across the street, or randomly crave boba — which I never have when I’m back at school. The convenience and comfort of New York City are so much easier to see when I step away from it.

I think of how many different types of people I was lucky enough to meet while living here. How much I learned about different cultures or ways of life or habits. I think about how much I’ve grown since moving here, and maybe it’s just age, but maybe it was everything else.

As I enter my senior year at NYU, I’m feeling grateful for everything this city has done for me. From something as small as trying sushi for the first time to giving me a new sense of independence that I didn’t have at 18. It’s been the landscape of so many great memories, a few hiccups and opportunities I never would have anticipated. So maybe I am a city girl, maybe I’m not. Whatever that means.

Contact Emily Genova at [email protected] .

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An enhanced Eco1 retron editor enables precision genome engineering in human cells from a single-copy integrated lentivirus

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Retrons are a retroelement class found in diverse prokaryotes that can be adapted to augment CRISPR-Cas9 genome engineering technology to efficiently rewrite short stretches of genetic information in bacteria and yeast; however, efficiency in human cells has been limited by unknown factors.

We identified non-coding RNA (ncRNA) instability and impaired Cas9 activity as major contributors to poor retron editor efficiency. We re-engineered the Eco1 ncRNA to incorporate an exoribonuclease-resistant RNA pseudoknot from the Zika virus 3’ UTR and devised an RNA processing strategy using Csy4 ribonuclease to liberate the sgRNA and ncRNA. These modifications yielded a ncRNA with 5’- and 3’-end protection and an sgRNA with minimal 5’ extension. This strategy increased steady-state ncRNA levels and rescued Cas9 activity leading to enhanced efficiency of the Eco1 retron editor in human cells. The enhanced Eco1 retron editor enabled the insertion of missense mutations in human cells from a single integrated lentivirus, thereby ensuring genotype-phenotype linkage over multiple cell divisions.

This work reveals a previously unappreciated role for ncRNA stability in retron editor efficiency in human cells. Here we present an enhanced Eco1 retron editor that enables efficient introduction of missense mutations in human cells from a single heritable genome copy.

Competing Interest Statement

NYU and Rockefeller University have filed a patent application directed to the subject matter described in this paper and the application is currently pending.

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