NYU is a private university in New York City with an undergraduate student body of approximately 29,000. NYU has smaller campuses in Abu Dhabi and Shanghai. Last year the acceptance rate dipped to 19%, and the school has called the class of 2022 the most diverse class in the history of the school.
NYU’s supplement, as long-winded as it may be, is essentially asking “Why Us.” It’s only 400 words, so you’ll need to do a lot of research and write about what you plan to do both inside the classroom and outside of the classroom.
We would like to know more about your interest in NYU. We are particularly interested in knowing what motivated you to apply to NYU and more specifically, 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 tell us why you are interested in each of the campuses, schools, colleges, or programs to which you have applied. You may be focused or undecided, or simply open to the options within NYU's global network; regardless, we want to understand - Why NYU? (400 word maximum)
Academics:
A quick note before we begin: you may have noticed that the supplement says you may be undecided, but that’s not how we do things at TKG. It’s really important to show schools that you’re coming in with a plan and are going to take advantage of the curriculum.
Start by picking a major. Look at the academic programs NYU has to offer and choose something that closely resembles one of your academic interests. If you already know what you want to major in, choose that one. If there’s a specific reason you want to major in something (we call that an origin story) you should include one or two sentences to explain why you’re in interested in what you’re interested in. For example: if while on vacation growing up you always begged your parents to take you on city tours and loved learning about the history of foreign places, you might write that as your reason for declaring a history major. Don’t stress yourself out too much if you aren’t sure what you want to study, but make sure you pick something that interests you because you then need to do a deep dive to choose a few classes you want to take.
Look for upper level (200-300) classes you’re interested in, write about why you want to take them, and make sure they aren’t classes that can be taken anywhere. Research professors, department heads, and other faculty members. A perk of going to a school in a major city is that working professionals often teach classes as adjunct professors, so look into that as well. This would also be a good time to mention your interest in joining research projects.
Extracurriculars:
Next, you’ll write about your extracurriculars. Look at the list of clubs and student organizations on campus and find something you’re interested in. Don’t choose something random. You need to pick something that is an extension of the activities you did in high school. Once you get in you can join any club you want, but this essay is a research assignment and your goal is to prove that you’re familiar with what the school has to offer and have something to contribute. There is a lot to choose from so spend some time searching and looking through your options and write about something that compliments your major.
Conclusion:
The good thing about a 400-word essay is that you don’t have to spend much time with the conclusion. If there’s any other very specific reason you want to go to NYU (not so you can ride the subway for the first time or because you’re following a food blogger that highly suggests falafel at Mamoun’s) you can include it here, otherwise just put a bow on it and close things out.
If you want help researching or writing, we’re here to help.