What are NYU's admission requirements? While there are a lot of pieces that go into a college application, you should focus on only a few critical things:
In this guide we'll cover what you need to get into NYU and build a strong application.
School location: New York, NY
This school is also known as: New York University
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If you want to get in, the first thing to look at is the acceptance rate. This tells you how competitive the school is and how serious their requirements are.
The acceptance rate at NYU is 9.4%. For every 100 applicants, only 9 are admitted.
This means the school is extremely selective. Meeting their GPA requirements and SAT/ACT requirements is very important to getting past their first round of filters and proving your academic preparation. If you don't meet their expectations, your chance of getting in is nearly zero.
After crossing this hurdle, you'll need to impress NYU application readers through their other application requirements, including extracurriculars, essays, and letters of recommendation. We'll cover more below.
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Many schools specify a minimum GPA requirement, but this is often just the bare minimum to submit an application without immediately getting rejected.
The GPA requirement that really matters is the GPA you need for a real chance of getting in. For this, we look at the school's average GPA for its current students.
The average GPA at NYU is 3.81.
(Most schools use a weighted GPA out of 4.0, though some report an unweighted GPA.
With a GPA of 3.81, NYU requires you to be near the top of your class, and well above average. Your transcript should show mostly A's. Ideally, you will also have taken several AP or IB classes to show that you can handle academics at a college level.
If you're currently a junior or senior, your GPA is hard to change in time for college applications. If your GPA is at or below the school average of 3.81, you'll need a higher SAT or ACT score to compensate. This will help you compete effectively against other applicants who have higher GPAs than you.
Each school has different requirements for standardized testing. Only a few schools require the SAT or ACT, but many consider your scores if you choose to submit them.
NYU recommends that you take the SAT or ACT. This means the test might be optional, but submitting a good SAT/ACT score will boost your application chances, especially since most other students will be submitting their scores.
Many schools say they have no SAT score cutoff, but the truth is that there is a hidden SAT requirement. This is based on the school's average score.
The average SAT score composite at NYU is a 1520 on the 1600 SAT scale.
This score makes NYU Extremely Competitive for SAT test scores.
The 25th percentile SAT score is 1480, and the 75th percentile SAT score is 1550. In other words, a 1480 on the SAT places you below average, while a 1550 will move you up to above average.
NYU's high exam standards can be as imposing as Manhattan's iconic skyscrapers. We'll help you rise to the occasion with our professionals' advice for tutoring in Manhattan
.Here's the breakdown of SAT scores by section:
| Section | Average | 25th Percentile | 75th Percentile |
| Math | 780 | 760 | 800 |
| Reading + Writing | 750 | 720 | 770 |
| Composite | 1520 | 1480 | 1550 |
The Score Choice policy at your school is an important part of your testing strategy.
NYU has the Score Choice policy of "Contact School."
This means that the school wants you to contact them to learn more about their Score Choice policies. Keep reading - we may have extra notes about this from our own expert research.
Just like for the SAT, NYU likely doesn't have a hard ACT cutoff, but if you score too low, your application will get tossed in the trash.
The average ACT score at NYU is 34. This score makes NYU Extremely Competitive for ACT scores.
The 25th percentile ACT score is 33, and the 75th percentile ACT score is 35.
Even though NYU likely says they have no minimum ACT requirement, if you apply with a 33 or below, you'll have a very hard time getting in, unless you have something else very impressive in your application. There are so many applicants scoring 34 and above that a 33 will look academically weak.
If you're taking the ACT as opposed to the SAT, you have a huge advantage in how you send scores, and this dramatically affects your testing strategy.
Here it is: when you send ACT scores to colleges, you have absolute control over which tests you send. You could take 10 tests, and only send your highest one. This is unlike the SAT, where many schools require you to send all your tests ever taken.
This means that you have more chances than you think to improve your ACT score. To try to aim for the school's ACT requirement of 35 and above, you should try to take the ACT as many times as you can. When you have the final score that you're happy with, you can then send only that score to all your schools.
By and large, most colleges do not superscore the ACT. (Superscore means that the school takes your best section scores from all the test dates you submit, and then combines them into the best possible composite score). Thus, most schools will just take your highest ACT score from a single sitting.
However, from our research, NYU is understood to superscore the ACT. We couldn't confirm it directly from the school's admissions website, but multiple sources confirm that the school does superscore the ACT. We recommend you call their admissions office directly for more information.
Superscoring is powerful to your testing strategy, and you need to make sure you plan your testing accordingly. Of all the scores that NYU receives, your application readers will consider your highest section scores across all ACT test dates you submit.
Click below to learn more about how superscoring critically affects your test strategy.
For example, say you submit the following 4 test scores:
| English | Math | Reading | Science | Composite | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test 1 | 32 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 20 |
| Test 2 | 16 | 32 | 16 | 16 | 20 |
| Test 3 | 16 | 16 | 32 | 16 | 20 |
| Test 4 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 32 | 20 |
| Superscore | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 |
Even though the highest ACT composite you scored on any one test date was 20, NYU will take your highest section score from all your test dates, then combine them to form your Superscore. You can raise your composite score from 20 to 32 in this example.
This is important for your testing strategy. Because you can choose which tests to send in, and NYU forms your Superscore, you can take the ACT as many times as you want, then submit only the tests that give you the highest Superscore. Your application readers will only see that one score.
Therefore, if your ACT score is currently below a 35, we strongly recommend that you consider prepping for the ACT and retaking it. You have a very good chance of raising your score, which will significantly boost your chances of getting in.
Even better, because of the Superscore, you can focus all your energy on a single section at a time. If your Reading score is lower than your other sections, prep only for the Reading section, then take the ACT. Then focus on Math for the next test, and so on. This will give you the highest Superscore possible.
Currently, only the ACT has an optional essay section that all students can take. The SAT used to also have an optional Essay section, but since June 2021, this has been discontinued unless you are taking the test as part of school-day testing in a few states. Because of this, no school requires the SAT Essay or ACT Writing section, but some schools do recommend certain students submit their results if they have them.
NYU considers the SAT Essay/ACT Writing section optional and may not include it as part of their admissions consideration. You don't need to worry too much about Writing for this school, but other schools you're applying to may require or recommend it.
Because this school is extremely selective, getting a high SAT/ACT score and GPA is vital to having a chance at getting in. If you don't pass their SAT/ACT and GPA requirements, they'll likely reject you without much consideration.
To have the best shot of getting in, you should aim for the 75th percentile, with a 1550 SAT or a 35 ACT. You should also have a 3.81 GPA or higher. If your GPA is lower than this, you need to compensate with a higher SAT/ACT score.
For a school as selective as NYU, you'll also need to impress them with the rest of your application. We'll cover those details next.
But if you apply with a score below a 1550 SAT or a 35 ACT, you unfortunately start out with the odds against you and have a tiny chance of getting in. There are just too many students with high SAT/ACT scores and strong applications, and you need to compete against them.
We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League.
We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools.
Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in.
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Every school requires an application with the bare essentials - high school transcript and GPA, application form, and other core information. Many schools, as explained above, also require SAT and ACT scores, as well as letters of recommendation, application essays, and interviews. We'll cover the exact requirements of NYU here.
We did more detailed research into this school's admissions process and found the following information:
NYU has two early decision deadlines: November 1 (December 15 notification) and January 1 (February 15 notification), as well as regular decision (January 1). Both early decision options are binding, so only select them if NYU is your top choice.
If you're interested in NYU, you'll probably be interested in these schools as well. We've divided them into 3 categories depending on how hard they are to get into, relative to NYU.
These schools are have higher average SAT scores than NYU. If you improve your SAT score, you'll be competitive for these schools.
| School Name | Location | SAT Avg | ACT Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brown University | Providence, RI | 1540 | 35 |
| Carnegie Mellon University | Pittsburgh, PA | 1540 | 35 |
| Yale University | New Haven, CT | 1540 | 34 |
If you're competitive for NYU, these schools will offer you a similar chance of admission.
| School Name | Location | SAT Avg | ACT Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA | 1540 | 35 |
| Princeton University | Princeton, NJ | 1518 | 34 |
| Tufts University | Medford, MA | 1500 | 34 |
| Georgetown University | Washington, DC | 1480 | 33 |
| University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, MI | 1470 | 33 |
| Villanova University | Villanova, PA | 1440 | 33 |
| Binghamton University | Binghamton, NY | 1430 | 31 |
If you're currently competitive for NYU, you should have no problem getting into these schools. If NYU is currently out of your reach, you might already be competitive for these schools.
| School Name | Location | SAT Avg | ACT Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boston University | Boston, MA | 1418 | 32 |
| University of California, Berkeley | Berkeley, CA | 1415 | 31 |
| University of California, Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA | 1405 | 31 |
Data on this page is sourced from Peterson's Databases © 2024 (Peterson's LLC. All rights reserved.) as well as additional publicly available sources.
We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League.
We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools.
Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in.
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