Why NYU Essay Examples, Checkout Latest Samples and Writing Guide

NYU essay Examples: Have you ever thought of applying to New York University? then you’ll need to submit both the regular Common App materials as well as the NYU supplement, which includes a short essay.

If you continue reading, you will learn more about NYU essay, as well as writing why NYU essay.

All About Why NYU Essay

 

At its heart, the NYU essay prompt asks you to answer a single straightforward question: why do you want to go to NYU?

You will find New York University (NYU) right in the heart of one of the world’s most highly sought-out cities. The absolute epitome of an urban campus, NYU is integrated to such an extent in this thriving city that it can be difficult to know where the university ends and the city begins.

Writing a New York university supplement essay is one of the requirements of getting into NYU and its prime location – along with its long-held ranking as one of the USA’s leading universities, makes admission here quite a challenge. Admissions in the last year dropped to as low as 19%, which is an extraordinary 9% less than the year before.

More importantly, now than before it is essential for anyone hoping to get into NYU to ensure they get noticed. Fortunately, hopefuls are asked to provide a supplement essay and this is a perfect vehicle for doing exactly that – provided it is done properly. Keep reading this guide to find out how you can use the NYUs supplement essay to show yourself in your best light and give yourself a great chance of getting admitted.

Writing the “Why NYU Essay”

New York University is a highly selective private research university based in Manhattan but with campuses and “study away” sites around the world.

The required “Why NYU” essay lets you show admissions readers how you and NYU are an ideal fit for each other. It helps to do lots of research into specific opportunities that NYU offers so that you can stand out in your “Why NYU” essay from the throngs of prospective students who just want to study in New York City!

Now let’s examine the prompt for this NYU supplement.

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)

There are two basic prompts embedded here: “Why NYU” and “Why you’re major.” So how do you address both questions?

It largely depends on how focused you are on your college plans.

If you’re applying to, say, NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering or the Tisch School of the Arts (or both!), you likely have a somewhat defined college plan and some idea of your future goals, though you still may not know your exact major.

Or you may have decided on your major back in the fifth grade and spent recesses networking for top jobs in your field! In either case, you’ll want to structure your essay around this primary interest.

Identify specific classes, faculty, opportunities, student organizations, and other resources that will allow you to pursue this interest and attain your post-college goals.

If you don’t know what you want to focus on, delve into the NYU majors and programs, particularly within their largest undergraduate college, the College of Arts & Sciences, and see what appeals to you based on your academic interests.

In this case, structure your essay around how NYU’s breadth of offerings will help you explore and connect your diverse interests.

You’ll still want to mention plenty of NYU-specific resources so that readers see why another college wouldn’t fit as well with your unique personality, traits, and passions.

Whichever of the above approaches you take, balance it with just a bit of the other approach. So if you’re committed to studying filmmaking at Tisch, and you cite filmmaking resources at Tisch that perfectly align with your artistic goals, you might also briefly discuss how, for example, you’re considering a minor in Art and Public Policy so that you can investigate cinema’s relationship to political and social change.

On the other hand, if you discuss NYU’s global presence and provide examples of how you love exploring other cultures, you’ll still want to pick at least one of your academic interests, explain why it’s meaningful to you, and connect it to specific NYU resources.

This way you address both the “Why NYU” and “Why major” aspects of the prompt, and show that you have enough interest in the school to have done your research.

Keep in mind that mentioning NYU’s New York City location is risky—because of almost everyone “hearts” NYC! Only discuss NYC if you can tie a very specific passion or goal to a very specific NYC resource.

For example, if you are fascinated with finance or urban planning, you could discuss how you might make use of NYU’s proximity to Wall Street or how you might study development within the five boroughs.

The same goes for NYU’s international campuses. It’s a good idea to talk about your interest in the non-NYC locations, but you should still do your research so that you can surprise readers with your specific details and say something no one else could say.

NYU Essay Requirements

Every freshman applying to NYU will have to write the standard Common App essay. Otherwise known as your statement, we created an entire Common App guide so you can write the best essay.

When you’re applying to NYU, you’ll need to write one supplemental essay.

• The supplemental essay has a 400-word limit and requires that you express your interest in NYU as artfully and concisely as possible.

This guide will walk you through the question and tips for crafting your essay to help you put your best foot forward!

So, let’s get to it!

Let me leave you with Examples

Step 1: Read the question and break it down.

This is an extremely important step! A question like this one, with several parts, requires that you understand and address the entire question in your 400-word response.

Let’s walk through the question breakdown together.

“We would like to know more about your interest in NYU”

Translation: Why do you want to attend NYU? You have thousands of other choices in schools, and you used one of your choices on NYU. Why?

“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.”

This is a meaty one, so let’s break it down into two parts.

“We are particularly interested in knowing what motivated you to apply to NYU…”

Translation: We want to know more about you as an individual.

• What is it about you that makes you think NYU is a good choice?
• Are you a good fit for NYU? If yes, tell us why

“We are particularly interested in knowing….why you have applied or expressed interested in a particular campus, school, college, program, and/or area of study.”

Translation: Why are you interested in what you’re interested in, and why did you apply to the school that has your chosen major?

For example, if you’re interested in acting, tell us why you’re interested in acting and why you’re applying to the Tisch School of the Arts.

“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”

Translation: If you have more than one interest and want to pursue more than one major or degree, please tell us why and help us to make sense of your interests.

For example, if you want to study Acting (Tisch School of the Arts) and Computer Engineering (Tandon School of Engineering), we want to know how your interests fit together and why you want to do both.

“You may be focused or undecided, or simply open to the options within NYU’s global network; regardless, we want to understand – Why NYU?”

Translation: You understand that NYU has a global network, right? Tell us why you want to come to our school.

If you are unsure of what exactly you want to study, rejoice!

NYU is saying that you don’t need to have your major all figured out. You just need to have an articulated interest in NYU.

Think about the issues and the questions that interest you.

• Maybe you wonder about the way our dress (fashion) sustains or challenges the way we see world culture (anthropology)?
• Consider, then, how NYU could help you explore anthropological questions about fashion.

Click deeply into NYU’s website to find an avenue – a school, a program, or even a class – that will help you pursue this interest. You don’t need to commit to a career or even a major, but you do need a good sense of the questions that guide you. Even if you’re uncertain, lean into a vision for your future.

Your supplemental essay isn’t binding, so you can operate in hypotheticals.

• If you’re interested in economics, imagine yourself as a business student.
• What type of business student would you be?
• Would you care about sustainability?
• Would you have other social or ethical concerns?
• What kind of career would this prepare you for?

And, in case you didn’t notice, they highlighted that they have a “global network.” This is important information, and the next step will tell you why.

Step 2: Research NYU’s values and special traits.

If you’ve decided to apply to this school, then you’ve likely already done your homework. Just in case you haven’t, study their website.

From studying the website, you can gain a clear sense of the school’s values, what they look for in an applicant, and if you share similar values.

Even if you’re uncertain, pretend that you’ve “fallen in love with the school,” and focus on the particulars of your new infatuation. To extend the metaphor, the application process is a kind of courting in which you make the first move.

• If you’re interested in digital media, research programs like the Brooklyn Experimental Media Center.
• Describe how its resources will convert your interests into an abiding passion or a career orientation.
• A good rule of thumb for “Why This College” essay is that you should have several names (in capital letters) of particular programs at the university.

This research will help you immensely in answering the “Why NYU?” question.

If they have blogs and/or social media accounts, look through those to get a feel for the school. Bonus points if you can visit because an on-campus visit (especially during a regular weekend when they’re not trying to impress you) is the best way to determine what a campus feels like, what their culture is like and what they truly value.

Here’s a great way to research NYU’s values and traits:

• NYU has an online magazine called NYU Q for prospective students. You can find the online magazine by clicking . NYU Q showcases the interesting people, places, and things that make NYU special.
• A quick look through the NYU Q site illustrates that NYU as a campus deeply values building a global community with people from diverse backgrounds, geographic locations, academic interests, and life experiences.
• You can find out that NYU boasts of having a higher number of international students than any other campus (their international student population is ). They also have three international campuses and a robust study abroad program.

Additionally, because the question asks you specifically, “Why have you applied or expressed interest in a particular campus, school, college, program and/or area of study,” you owe it to yourself to become familiar with the culture of the particular school or college to which you’re applying, and even the department of the major you’re interested in studying.

It’s important to ensure you aren’t picking NYU for generic traits. Generic traits are dangerous to mention in your essay because they can be applied to any college campus.

Here’s a useful checklist to make sure you are highlighting the special elements of NYU:

1. Don’t say NYU is the “perfect” place for you. Perfection is impossible to achieve, and the admissions officers are well aware.
2. Instead, pick five elements of NYU (departments, professors, events, on-campus groups) that appeal to you. Picking real names and titles forces you to perform research and stay specific.
3. Your “Why NYU?” essay should not be a retelling of your Common App essay. Use this opportunity to pair NYU with your values and personality (covered later in this piece).
4. Make sure your essay couldn’t be true of any other school. This demands that you do your research and dive deep into the school’s website.
5. Make sure you never write about how you want to attend school in New York City. There are dozens of universities both in and near NYC, so this reason is cliche and tiresome.

Still, having trouble? Ask yourself these questions to help you find specific elements of NYU that you find appealing:

• What are the classes I’d like to take?
• What are some questions I’d like to ask in these classes?
• Name some on-campus groups and activities that I’d like to participate in.
• What are the NYU-sponsored events I’d like to attend?
• Which academic department at NYU do you want to study in? And what are the department’s noteworthy achievements?
• What is my ideal major or double major at NYU?

The admissions officers at NYU want to see that you are well-informed about what they are offering and that you’ve thought hard enough about whether or not you would be a good fit.

You want to mention, for example, that you’re interested in the Tisch School of the Arts. You also want to go a step further and describe how you’re excited, perhaps, about their internship opportunities and classes
on animation.

You can’t determine if you’re a good fit if you haven’t done your research.

Under the Academics, the tab is a full listing of NYU’s academic programs, schools and colleges, and other academic offerings. Make sure you click through to find your particular school and major.

Step 3: Free-write

The worst thing you can do as you’re writing your response is to agonize over every single word at the beginning of the process.

1. Instead, just start writing.
2. For each question, they ask, write down whatever comes to mind, and don’t hold back.
3. Use our translation to each question to simplify what you should be writing about.

It’s through answering these questions in an unrestricted flow that patterns can emerge.

Be sure to write down any memories that come up  – even the bad ones! The refining will come later, but for now, but all the words you can on paper.

The key here is to organize your thoughts. This task seems farcical, but it’s important to perform because “Why NYU?” is such a broad question that countless thoughts will fly through your mind at first read.

• Find stories that embody your personality.
• Record stories that highlight your sense of grit.
• Write stories that personify your wonder and curiosity.

Perform this task three times. You want at least three stories. The more stories, the more options you have.

Step 4: Brainstorming Powerful Essay Ideas

Once again, you never want to write about how much you want to live in New York City. There are plenty of schools that share NYU’s geographic location. Furthermore, there are thousands of students who want to live in a city as diverse, resource-rich, and historic as New York City.

Your goal is to set yourself apart from the rest of the applicants. Your story will help you do this.

Dig deeper.

Write down what you care about. What…

• …makes you happy?
• …makes you angry?
• …bores you to death?
• …are you inspired by?

Don’t hold back here either. Be completely honest with yourself.

In the college admissions process, you may be able to lie to yourself, but it’s hard to lie to the college admissions committee. It’s not worth the risk.

Be honest about what you care about, and it will shine through in your essay. Once you’ve come up with your list, look through your research from Step 2. What does NYU care about? Perhaps, you’ve learned that they care about the arts, curiosity, intercultural exchange, and open-mindedness.

Do you…

• …care about the arts? Are you curious?
• …enjoy learning from and learning with people from cultural backgrounds different from yours?
• …consider yourself to be open-minded?

Why, or why not? Once again, the key here is, to be honest.

Dig deeper. Explore your values, memories, interests, and hobbies.

• Is there a setback you’ve learned from? Is there a challenge burned into your memory?
• What issues are you passionate about?
• What are you endlessly curious about? Do you love reading about a particular subject?
• What talents do you want to offer the world? Is there a specific reason you want to share your gift with the world?
• What drives you? Deep down, is there something that makes your blood flow and brain click?
• Are there special items in your house that hold sentimental value to you?

All told, think about anecdotes: What stories from your life have inspired your interests and passions. Think about lessons learned, personal themes, and the challenges and setbacks that made you who you are today.

Students often say that their anecdotes aren’t interesting. That’s fine!

What matters is how you explain them within the context of your experiences. That means you should be honest and specific about your experiences. Authenticity goes a long way for the Why NYU essay.

Step 5: Picking an Effective Essay Premise

Look over your free-write responses, and pick up particularly interesting memories that are related to your values and tell a story.

Almost everyone likes a good story.

• Review your free-writing document. Find memories that highlight an important aspect of your personality or values.
• Find a common thread between each of your stories and one or two values per story.
• Match one of NYU’s values or special traits with each story.
• Structure your essay around these three parts.

College admissions officers have to read hundreds of applications a day, and the ones that stand out are the ones written in the form of a good story.

The good news is that you don’t have to be J. K. Rowling or John Green. The best stories are authentic (that means they are true to who you are), descriptive (you help the reader experience your experience with their senses), and clear (the reader understands exactly what you’re trying to say).

Talk about your experience, how that relates to your values and NYU’s values, and, most importantly, how your experience has impacted your choice of NYU as a potential college.

It’s likely your “Why NYU?” essay will flow as such:

1. This is a story that highlights an important aspect of who I am.
2. This value connects to the story.
3. It just so happens this value connects with NYU’s special value.
4. And that’s why I’m a great fit.

Remember the million-dollar question: Why NYU?

And then rethink the question: Why am I a good fit for NYU?

Why NYU Essay Example Outline

Here’s an excellent outline of a Why NYU essay. Before reading the outline, keep in mind that you have many options for crafting this essay.

What counts is telling an effective story.

• As such, one way to tell an effective story is to start your essay with an anecdote.

Your anecdote can begin with one of the following:

• A quote from someone that helps you preface your story
• Cold hook: Something almost random that captures the reader’s attention
• Bold statement: A statement that your story will support with details
• Obvious statement: A line that makes the reader say, “Yes, of course. Why would you say something that obvious?” This is the segue to the next part of your essay.

Once you add your anecdote, frame it with details immediately. You have 400 words to work with, so get right into your essay. Your anecdote should comprise 10-15% of your essay.

Once you get into your essay, explain the actions you took to pursue an interest. This should comprise 30-40% of your essay.

• What are you interested in?
• Describe the action steps you took to further your passion and take initiative.

Then, spend the rest of your essay discussing the resources at NYU that will help you accomplish your goals and sharpen your skillset. You can mention examples of the following:

• Grants
• Fellowships
• Projects
• Internships
• Professors and their classes
• On-campus groups
• Study-abroad programs
• New academic initiatives
• Externships

Without further delay, here’s what a good Why NYU essay would look like:

1. You grew up in a lower-income household and can recall a conversation with your sibling about how your family couldn’t afford health insurance.
2. Disappointed in our country’s health care options, you were inspired to volunteer in clinics, where you learned more about bloat and inefficient business processes within insurance companies. This adds to costs for would-be consumers like your family.
3. You shadowed a doctor during your junior year in high school to learn about technologies that could be provided at scale for low-income citizens.
4. This is why you want to study at NYU Stern: to engage in NYU-sponsored internships both in the city and abroad that will help you learn more about healthcare technology at scale.
5. You then want to establish a startup with the help of a specific professor, who will advise you with raising capital, hiring talent, and pivoting when necessary.

Step 6: Get Critiques & Make Revisions

An English teacher, your favorite teacher (which may or may not be your English teacher), and a friend who is always honest are great choices for additional readers.

A great English teacher knows the mechanics of the English language very well and will be honest with you about how your essay looks and sounds.

• Bad punctuation is a death knell, and awkward words and phrases could move your essay from the “wow we’ve got to take him/her” pile to the “snooze/meh” pile.

Pick an English teacher with whom you have a good/neutral relationship, and approach them with the utmost respect and humility.

• Remember, they don’t have to read your essay. They’re doing you a favor.
• Ask them to mark it up for you, if they have time, and to give their honest thoughts and opinions.
• If they like you, they may do this several times. After the process is said and done, be sure to send them a thank you card.

Your favorite teacher may not be your English teacher, but they’re just as valuable because they usually have a really good sense of your likes, dislikes, as well as your authenticity. In other words, they can tell if you’re lying or trying to be something you’re not.

You need someone who knows you well and can tell you if you’re being honest in your essay. Your favorite teacher may also be able to remind you of things about yourself that you’ve forgotten.

• Let’s face it, when you’re taking 6-8 classes a quarter among all of your other responsibilities, you might lose memory or two.
• A friend who is always honest with you is infinitely better than a friend who just wants you to be happy/flattered.

Pick a friend who isn’t afraid to tell you that your writing is terrible, or that you could have worded things a little better.

You need as much constructive criticism as possible while crafting a college essay that is authentic and compelling.

Step 7: Final read-throughs

If possible, do your final readings at least 24-48 hours after your last revision, to give your brain a break.

Make sure to read your essays out loud, just in case you have a typo in there that you and your other readers missed.

Two final read-throughs should be sufficient for assurance sake, but any more than that, and you could end up making yourself a bit anxious.

Trust yourself and trust the process. When you’re done, let go and submit.

Why NYU Essay Examples

We’ve provided some examples of Why NYU essays. Please remember to never plagiarize – we take this quite seriously.

Why NYU essay examples are here to provide you with a visual on what a good essay looks like. Your essay should look different.

A version of Why NYU by a student:

Se-mi-llas de Es-pe-ran-za y A-mor. These were the words written on the school wall I visited as a member of The Hillsdale Effect an organization that fundraises microloans for businesswomen. Seeds of Love and Hope. During my six days in Guatemala, I had the opportunity to speak with students, teachers, and businesswomen about the struggles they face every day. My journey in Central America not only shaped my college and career goals, but they have also guided the direction in which I want to use my skills.

Semillas de Esperanza y Amor is a school that brings in street children and offers them a free education. I asked one student, a young girl, about her aspirations. To my greatest surprise, she wanted to study at Guatemala’s only public university to become a doctor and return to her village to help her community. Afterward, a teacher explained that despite the students’ aspirations, a college education would be financially out of reach for their parents. This was a call to action.

Later, I spoke to a local organizational director, who described an application they had tried to develop that would allow the businesswomen they serve to connect with business educators. Unfortunately, due to the lack of a strong Internet connection in some regions and the overall complexity of the user experience, the application failed. It was abandoned by all the local directors, who no longer saw it as a beneficial endeavor. To me, this seemed like a lost opportunity. If done right, the application could radically simplify communication and make the loaning process more effective. Which would then allow more women to participate in the program to empower themselves, transform their businesses, and help their children get an education.

I want to dedicate my education to building technology that makes a social impact. My passion for international affairs has allowed me to help people in a drastically different community than my own. And by pursuing a computer science education at NYU while also participating in one of the multitude of study abroad programs offered, I know I will be able to develop the technical and global skills that will allow me to construct technology that will break the cycle of poverty, allowing little girls like the one I met to make their dreams come true.

Here’s another example of the Why NYU essay from the same student:

“Comienzo! Alto!” As the young students and I kicked the soccer ball back and forth on the Guatemalan field, I peered toward their village, San Mateo Miltas Alpas, and envisioned change. Change to improve infrastructure and help the businesswomen of their community. This is why I want to study computer science at NYU.

In high school, I have been a leading member in The Hillsdale Effect, an organization that fundraises microloans for businesswomen in Guatemala. Our goal is to empower women entrepreneurs in hopes of breaking the cycle of poverty. I was given the opportunity to travel to Guatemala on a study tour and meet the individuals we were helping.
When visiting a local headquarters in Antigua, the director explained how microloans are processed through their office: Business educators working for the organization contact their users. The educators then utilize a smartphone application to simplify the rest of the communication process between the businesswomen and educators. Unfortunately, due to the lack of a strong Internet connection in some regions and overall complexity of the user experience, the application failed. It was abandoned by all the local directors, who no longer saw it as a beneficial endeavor.

I quickly realized I wanted to construct my own application that would connect the educators with the users. Of course, my application would need minimal service, and its simpler interface would be accessible from anywhere in the country. By utilizing images and multiple audio explanations, the language barrier could be broken, allowing
individuals of any age or background to use the application. My goal is to integrate the solutions to these problems into a new application.

After studying computer science at NYU, I want to apply my learned skills to build the Internet infrastructure of villages around the world. Furthermore, I want to partake in one of the multitude of study abroad programs offered so I can again travel to developing countries and learn more about the various benefits technology can provide in addressing infrastructure needs.

This past year, we broke our school fundraising record, earning over $8,000 in two weeks for the businesswomen of Guatemala. As I look forward to the conclusion of high school, I know I can do more by learning at NYU. As my coding skills improve, I want to use them to go back abroad and do my part to build communities, like San Mateo Miltas Alpas.

From a student who wants to go to NYU to study public health:

As a Lacinda First Aid Team leader, I applied my interest in public health within my school community. During weekly shifts, I supported the nurse by patrolling the fitness center and common areas for ill students. After initiating partnerships with other school clubs, my team and I organized informational health fairs and visits from physicians, pharmacists, physical therapists, and surgeons. I trained noncertified members and supplied bandages, heating pads, and antiseptic swabs to injured students. My training culminated during competitions, where I treated patients in unconscious victim, heart attack, stroke, and choking simulations.

NYU’s College of Public Health provides students with opportunities to blend academic rigour with clinical experience, just as I delved into my zeal for helping others as a member of the First Aid Team. As a global public health major, I would complete an Experiential Learning course where I would step out of the classroom using a tactile approach. Then, I would take Health and Societies in a Global Context to learn how factors such as age, gender, culture, and race impact health on a global scale. I could take this knowledge to engage in team-based learning, where I would address the severity of mental illness on NYU’s campus. Learning to tackle problems as a team is a vital skill, especially when working closely with public health organizations.

A project that captivates me is the Applied Global Public Health Initiative led by Dr. Chris Dickey. As a future program member, my goal is to discover improvements for the universal health coverage policy of the World Health Organization and the development of online public health programs. Under Dr. Dickey’s tutelage, I would apply my newfound knowledge to create an interactive fellowship experience that promotes collaboration with experienced NYU professionals while tackling issues that impact vulnerable communities. This work would create tools that better manage health accessibility to all.

One day, I would like to become involved with Doctors Without Borders. NYU gives me the optimal resources combined with engaging experiences to work toward my goal. I believe a person’s health is the fundamental pillar of stability and sustainability; thus, I want to dedicate my time to improving both on a global scale. I aim to work in developing countries to spread the knowledge I acquire through internship opportunities, projects, and stimulating curriculum. NYU offers an immersive academic experience while supporting its students through personal growth and innovation.

Finally on NYU Essay Examples

You did it! You made it through all 7 steps.

By now, you understand the importance of breaking down the essay questions and putting them in your own words, researching the school, reflecting on your values, and finding places of commonality between your values and the school.

To get to your story, you need to let yourself write without restriction. Also, you know the importance of crafting a coherent narrative and having several people read through your work.

Hopefully, you have written a superb essay in response to NYU’s question.

Remember that you are more than enough, and all the support you need is out there if you would look for it.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us. Do well to also share this article with your friends. I wish you all the best in your applications.

StudentsandScholarship Team.