Getting To Know: New York University (NYU)

Published by Stuart Nachbar at December 5, 2025

NYU is exceptionally selective.

The acceptance rate across all of the undergraduate schools was nine percent and the yield rate, the percentage of accepted students who chose to enroll, was 55%, up from 40% in 2020. However, interesting to me, NYU has a smaller freshman class, There were 6,700 freshmen who enrolled in 2020. Four years later there were fewer than 5,700.

NYU is test optional, yet considers test scores to be Important in the admissions process.

The overwhelming majority of those who submitted scores had over 700 on the Reading and Math sections or the SAT and between 30 and 36 on the ACT. The university discloses no data about Early Decision admissions, though it reports that demonstrated interest is Considered on its most recent Common Data Set.

Those who get into NYU tend to stay.

Freshman retention has risen from 90 percent in 2020 to 96 percent for the classes that entered in 2023 and 2024. The four-year graduation rate, most recently 74 percent, is exceptional given the size of the undergraduate student body and the high costs of the school.

NYU is big about choices.

Applicants must choose from one of the ten undergraduate schools, though they do not need to commit to a specific major. There are over 200 undergraduate majors. Many students carry double majors or multiple minors across two or more schools. There is more room to self-design a degree program at NYU than there is at most large universities.

NYU has majors that are similar within different schools, For example, there’s a Journalism major in the College of Arts & Sciences that requires a second co-major. There is also a Media, Culture and Communications major in the Steinhardt school. Those who opt for NYU Gallatin design their own cross-disciplinary program of study, an unusual opportunity to find at a large university. There are also joint minors between the Stern School of Business and other undergraduate colleges within the university. The Tandon School of Engineering has more than 20 minors as well.

NYU has become a great school for students who, while not from the city, want to become student-citizens of the city.

Just over two-thirds of NYU undergrads come from other US states. More than a quarter come from other countries. I tried to imagine an NYU freshman class trying to get settled in the Big Apple and NYU, especially if most have never been to Manhattan. It’s advantageous to be outgoing to find your friendships early and get to know the city. NYU helps by hosting first-year student events before the rest of the undergrads arrive. But you have to figure out how to get your student discount for the subway to get to your internship as well as the limitless choice of dining and entertainment options.

There’s plenty of events and opportunities to make connections through clubs and organizations. Students can get discounts to Mets and Knicks games as well as cultural events off campus. However, NYU athletics are D-3 non-scholarship sports. On the flip side, as I write this, NYU ranks second only to Johns Hopkins in the D3 Director’s Cup standings across all varsity sports.

It helps that NYU guarantees housing for all four years,

This is provided that you don’t move off campus during your studies in New York or at one of NYU’s global academic centers after your sophomore year. While on-campus housing costs range from $21,000 to over $26,000, rents in the city are higher than practically anywhere, especially near campus. Apartments in Greenwich Village, home to the campus, and the nearby East Village are in high demand among real citizens of New York as well as NYU’s student-citizens

Here are some things that I don’t like about NYU.

You don’t learn much about the physical campus on the in-person or virtual tours.

My hunch is this is due to security concerns, I learned more about the Stern School of Business, as one example, from watching a student-produced YouTube. NYU does a great job of selling New York, most specifically Manhattan, as a college town. That’s why I put the a photograph of the marketing materials at the top of this story. NYU might also be the only school that uses a landmark in a public city park as a marketing signature. However, a recent digital ad that featured the Washington Square arch was quite cotroversial,

The business school building, with the glass rotunda entrance, is an interesting place. So are the law school and Washington Mews where language houses are located.However, the rest of NYU’s Washington Square campus grew by acquiring and renovating older buildings.

NYU mentions different aspects of financial aid.

Yet the university put no financial aid information on its most current Common Data Set. So, I went to US News College Compass and found that the university reported an average student loan debt of just under $26,000 among 2024 graduates who had to borrow to cover educational costs. Yet the university also reported an average institutional debt of over $32,000. It also reported that only 26 percent of 2024 graduates had any debt at all.

During the information session, the audience was told that the average scholarship was $25,000. That’s not much of a dent for a school that can cost over $100,000 a year for direct charges and incidentals. Then, I went to one university website that mentioned that the average scholarship was $59,000. I went to College Compass to get more data. I found that 29% of the 2024 freshman class received need-based scholarships that averaged just over $59,000. The average merit or talent-based award was just under $24,000.

NYU reports that it will meet 100 percent of demonstrated need. However, this is the university’s estimate based on the CSS Profile. Yet, when I tried to check this out on US News College Compass, I saw that only 35 percent of the 2024 freshman class applied for aid. The same source showed that NYU, on average, met 79 percent of need. My feeling is that NYU really tries to help its neediest students, especially if they already live in the city. However, the costs do not appear to deter most from applying, then depositing.

There are two definitions of value to consider when looking at NYU. There’s value in the opportunities one can get that are really tough to find through other urban universities. However, the visual feel of the Washington Square campus is not as nice as it is at the University of Pittsburgh or Ohio State, among other urban universities. Students are as much a part of the streetscape as any other passer by.

Conclusions

NYU is a great place not only to pursue studies, but also to develop a thick skin and patience to learn to live and work in an incredibly fast-paced city. On this thought NYU will prepare one for real life better than most large universities public or private, regardless of location. If you’re looking for a great “training ground for life,” NYU might be your school. But the costs really need to work out.

The Report Card: NYU

Four-Year/Six-Year Graduation Rates: A/A
Freshman Retention:A
Costs:D
Comforts: C
Community: A
Curriculum: A
Connections: A

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