Founded as an all-male school in 1831, New York University has developed into not only one of the best schools in New England but one of the most elite universities in the entire world.
Over the years, NYU has established itself as a home for intellectuals and artists, free thinkers, and analytical minds.
NYU built this reputation thanks in part to its various schools and their respective research centers.
The Tisch School of the Arts has trained great performers in nearly every genre of music. And yet, even among such a heady company, the Clive Davis School of Recorded Music at NYU Tisch is known as one of the field’s great innovators. At the Clive Davis School, students can not only learn music education but also pursue a unique business degree, which prepares its students to be music industry entrepreneurs.
One of the finest medical schools in the country, the Grossman School of Medicine features state-of-the-art facilities, renowned the world over. With a recently constructed emergency simulation center found at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, the future doctors studying at Grossman will be prepared to handle every possible challenge.
The legendary NYU Law School gives future lawyers access to cutting-edge cases and essential hands-on training. The public policy institute Brennan Center for Justice addresses legal issues related to justice, democracy, and equality. Students working with the Reiss Center on Law and Security handle cases related to post-9/11 international security.
This is just a small sampling of the educational advantages offered by NYU. So why wouldn’t a potential student want to find out as soon as possible if they’ve been accepted?
Fortunately, NYU offers an Early Decision application program, which provides applicants with admissions decisions before those who apply at the regular deadline.
NYU Early Decision Acceptance Rate
The early decision acceptance rate at NYU is 38%.
That is an incredibly high number, especially when examined next to the school’s other acceptance rates. For Fall 2021, NYU accepted 16% of those making regular decision applications. For transfers, NYY has a 24.63 acceptance rate.
Not only is the 38% rate high for NYU, but it is also quite high compared to other early decision applications to elite schools. For example, the Ivy League institution Cornell University has an acceptance rate of 23.8, almost 15% lower than that of NYU.
What accounts for this high number? Many factors are at play, but it tends to come down to the obvious.
Because college applications require a great deal of work and preparation, those who apply early tend to be the most dedicated and focused. This isn’t to say that regular decision applicants are somehow lesser. Rather, there tends to be a higher percentage of top-level students in the early application pool than in the regular decision pool.
That said, no one should worry that they will look worse if they apply for an early decision or think that they will look better if they apply for a regular decision. Each application stands out on its own, regardless of the group of people who apply at the same time.
NYU Early Decision Decision Date
NYU informs Early Decision I candidates of its decision by December 15th each year. The University informs its Early Decision II candidates of its decision by February 15th each year.
As you might expect, these dates come much earlier than those for standard enrollment. Regular decision students receive an answer by March 15th at the latest. Those who apply on a rolling basis after February 15th generally have to wait between two and four weeks after their submission to receive a decision.
As you can see, early decision applications give students a quicker answer. However, they also give students more time to make their own decision.
Students who wish to attend NYU must confirm with the school by March 30th, which gives regular admission applicants a mere two weeks to make such a major commitment. However, those who apply for early decision have much more time to make their plans, which can be crucial if that student has several offers of admission.
NYU Early Decision Deadline
The deadline for applying for early decision admission at NYU is November 1st for Early Decision I. The deadline for applying for early decision admission at NYU is January 1st for Early Decision II.
While the advantage of applying for early decision is that you have less time to wait before finding out if the school will accept you, the challenge is that you have less time to prepare your materials.
Before you go about creating an early decision application, you must be clear on what’s expected of you. You will need to do everything that a regular admission applicant does, but with much less time.
The deadline for standard admission at NYU is January 5th for future freshmen. Early Decision I applications need to be completed and submitted a full two months before regular admission students.
Even though the Early Decision II deadline is just four days before the standard decision, those days can make a world of difference when you come right down to the wire.
For those reasons, anyone who wants to apply for early decision must be prepared to do a lot of excellent work in a short amount of time.
Those stakes are especially high because a rejection for early decision is the same as a standard decision. NYU does not allow students to fill out a second application for regular admission after being rejected for early decision.
Does NYU Have Early Decision 2?
NYU does have an Early Decision II option.
For those who want to reap the benefits of early decision, but miss the Early Decision I deadline, they can take advantage of the Early Decision II option.
With this second option, students still learn about their acceptance before the standard decision date of March 15th, but they need not finish their applications by November 1st.
In fact, they have until January 1st to complete their applications for Early Decision II, which is only four days before the standard January 5th deadline. They only need to wait five weeks for an answer, as Early Decision II applicants receive their decision by February 15th.
That said, those four days may make all the difference when you’re rushing to gather all of the necessary materials for your application. Treat the Early Decision II deadline as a second chance for those who miss Early Decision I, not as an opportunity to be less diligent when creating your application.
NYU ED Deferral Rate
NYU has an early decision deferral rate of approximately 5%.
In some cases, NYU opts to defer an Early Decision applicant, waiting to provide an answer about admissions with the regular decision students. In these cases, students will not learn if they’ve been accepted into NYU until March 15th.
Without question, it can be disappointing for an Early Decision applicant to go through all of the work of applying before the regular deadline, without reaping any of the benefits. In fact, it’s somewhat worse, as these deferred students need to wait even longer after submitting their applications.
However, that perspective fails to keep in mind the reason NYU has deferred the decision. Deferments occur when the school wants to compare the Early Decision applicant against those of regular decisions.
In other words, instead of being rejected, deferment gives an Early Decision applicant one more shot to be accepted. If not enough more impressive students come in with the regular applicants, there will be room for a deferred student, allowing them to be admitted.
How to Apply to NYU for Early Decision
To apply for Early Decision at NYU, one must submit their completed application package by one of the two deadlines: November 1st for Early Decision I and January 1st for Early Decision II.
While there is certainly much to do for a college application, Early Decision hopefuls need not do anything special. There’s no extra paperwork to fill out, nor any special letters of recommendation. They only need to submit their applications by the above deadlines.
However, that isn’t quite as easy as you might think. To get into an elite school such as NYU must provide a great deal of information, which takes quite a while to gather.
NYU requires hopefuls to complete an online Common Application, complete with an $80.00 application fee. Students must also gather transcripts, a mid-semester report, and a self-reported academic record.
For the 2022-2023 school year, NYU has made standardized tests optional. However, if you would like to submit your SAT or ACT scores as part of your application, they must be sent in by your chosen Early Decision deadlines.
Finally, if you are applying to a program that requires an audition or portfolio, then you must have that completed and submitted as well.
Without question, that is a lot of information to provide. And if you’re applying for Early Decision, you do not have much time in which to complete it.
But if you’d like full control over your academic life and the most possible time to make your own decision, then Early Decision might be the choice for you.
