NYU Abu Dhabi pulled the curtain off the Class of 2014 today, and several newspapers, including The New York Times and The National, Abu Dhabi’s English-language paper, have picked up the story.

Their articles provided details about NYUAD's impressive incoming class as a whole (150 students from 39 countries, speaking 43 language), but also highlight four of our outstanding students: Laith Aqel, Mate Bede-Fazekas, Erin Meekhof and Ahmed al Masaood.

The National points out that NYU Abu Dhabi's admissions statistics are on par with elite US institutions including Harvard and Yale, although Laith makes it clear that NYU Abu Dhabi students are seeking something different:

"To me it represents a whole new paradigm of education," he said. "The whole international experience is invaluable. I don't think there has ever been a more diverse group assembled whether you're looking at the faculty themselves or the students. It feels like the world is shrinking. NYUAD will prepare me to be a citizen of the world, not just my country."

Both stories reflected upon the national diversity of the class, and in the Times, John Sexton, NYU's president, touched on how that mix will make itself evident in the classroom:

"One of the features of the student body is raw intellectual potency. But what's especially unusual is that there's no real national center of gravity to the class. People who care about ideas care about testing the premises of their vantage points, and there's no better way to test those than to put oneself in a rigorous, civil conversation."

NYU Abu Dhabi Scours Globe for Top Students  (New York Times)

NYUAD set to join the Ivy League  (The National)

'The World's Honors College?'  (Inside Higher Ed)