To open and close this bar, use alt+/

New York University Abu Dhabi Welcomes Class of 2017

Press Release

175 Students Represent 72 Countries from Around the Globe

NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) has welcomed 175 of the world’s most talented students to the University’s undergraduate program as its Class of 2017. The arrival of the newest class, which represents 72 countries, marks the first time in NYUAD’s four-year history that the student body includes a full cohort of undergraduates — from first-year students to seniors. (An additional four students admitted to the Class of 2017 will begin their studies in the fall of 2014.)

The yield for the incoming class — the percentage of students who attend NYUAD after being admitted — was 86.2 percent.

UAE Nationals comprise the largest group of students by nationality, a first for an incoming class at NYUAD. Other heavily represented countries include the United States, China, India, Pakistan, Russia, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and Australia. With this incoming class, NYUAD’s student body represents 102 nationalities and speaks 98 languages.

NYUAD’s total student body is currently some 620 students, and will gradually increase to a total undergraduate population of 2,000-2,200 students after the University moves to its permanent campus on Saadiyat Island next year.

Like previous classes, members of the Class of 2017 demonstrated impressive academic credentials before their arrival, with test score results comparable to those of the world’s most prestigious universities. NYUAD, like NYU in New York, accepts a number of options that satisfy its testing requirements in recognition of the international composition of both institutions. Results include:

SAT: At the class' 75th percentile, the SAT math score was 800 (with 10 students receiving perfect 800 scores), while at the 25th percentile, the score was 715. At the 75th percentile, the score for critical reading was 765 (with five students receiving perfect 800 scores). At the 25th percentile, it was 700. The median SAT score was 1,500 (out of the 1,600 scale).

ACT: The ACT — a US-based standardized test that encompasses English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science Reasoning — composite average was 32 out of a 36-point scale.

International Baccalaureate (IB): Those submitting IB results reported an average predicted score of 41 (out of a scale of 45).

“It is hard to believe that it was just three years ago that our first students arrived at NYU Abu Dhabi, and the arrival of our fourth remarkable class is the first of several key milestones for NYU Abu Dhabi over the next 12 months,” said NYU President John Sexton. “From the graduation of our inaugural class to the opening of our Saadiyat Island campus, this is an extraordinarily exciting time for NYUAD. It is also a momentous one for NYU’s global network, as this month we mark the start of classes at NYU Shanghai, which joins New York and Abu Dhabi as NYU's third degree-granting campus.”

NYU Abu Dhabi Vice Chancellor Al Bloom added: “The Class of 2017 joins an inspirational, energetic, and ever more accomplished student body. With their arrival, NYUAD has for the first time a full complement of students, from first-year students stepping courageously into an unmatched educational adventure to seniors hard at work formulating individual Capstone projects, the culminating intellectual and creative experiences of their undergraduate years. In three short years NYU Abu Dhabi has become an international magnet for young men and women who are not only among the very best academically, but who share a passion for learning and a resolve to build a more united, just, and peaceful world.”

NYUAD, created in partnership with the Abu Dhabi government, is a liberal arts and science college, with engineering, and a world center for advanced research and scholarship; over time, it will also offer distinctive graduate programs. All fully integrated with each other, NYU New York, NYU Abu Dhabi, and now NYU Shanghai — which welcomed its inaugural class this fall — form the backbone of a unique global network university, with faculty and students from each campus spending semesters at one or more of the numerous study-abroad sites NYU maintains on five continents.

About NYU Abu Dhabi

NYU Abu Dhabi is the first comprehensive liberal arts and research campus in the Middle East to be operated abroad by a major American research university. NYU Abu Dhabi has integrated a highly selective undergraduate curriculum across the disciplines with a world center for advanced research and scholarship. The university enables its students in the sciences, engineering, social sciences, humanities, and arts to succeed in an increasingly interdependent world and advance cooperation and progress on humanity’s shared challenges. NYU Abu Dhabi’s high-achieving students have come from over 115 countries and speak over 115 languages. Together, NYU's campuses in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai form the backbone of a unique global university, giving faculty and students opportunities to experience varied learning environments and immersion in other cultures at one or more of the numerous study-abroad sites NYU maintains on six continents.