New York University Receives Record Number of Applications Across its Global Network of Campuses

NYU Abu Dhabi downtown campus exterior.

Press Release

Receives 48,606 applications for its Class of 2017

New York University received a record 48,606 applications from young men and women seeking admission to an NYU campus, representing a 12 percent increase from last year. NYU has degree-granting campuses in New York, Abu Dhabi, and — beginning this fall — Shanghai.

The number of applications represents individual applicants (an applicant to NYU is entitled to apply to one, two, or three of the NYU campuses; however, when an applicant applies to more than one campus, it is counted as a single application).

This is the sixth year in a row of a record number of applicants to NYU. NYU operates degree-granting research university campuses in New York, Abu Dhabi, and beginning this fall, Shanghai. Of the 48,606 applicants, 90 percent asked to be considered for one NYU campus, with ten percent seeking consideration for two or more campuses. Applicants come from 150 countries, with 25 percent being non-US citizens, an increase of five percent from the class of 2016.

"It is clear that NYU's unique approach to offering a truly global education is resonating with students both in the US and abroad, and has allowed us to successfully compete for those young men and women who are truly committed to making their mark," said Randall C. Deike, NYU's vice president for enrollment management and university institutional research.

In total, NYU maintains 14 sites around the world — the three degree-granting "portal" campuses, along with 11 academic centers — at which students from each portal are able to study during semesters away from their "home" campus. Furthermore, some of the students accepted to NYU New York may choose to begin their studies in London, Paris, or France.

There are some 5,250 spaces available in NYU's freshman class across its global network, with approximately 4,800 New York-based spaces (91 percent), 150 in Abu Dhabi (three percent), and approximately 300 in Shanghai (six percent). Of the 48,606 applicants, 94 percent expressed interest in New York (45,452 applicants), nine percent expressed interest in Abu Dhabi (4,289 applicants), and in its first year of recruitment, an extraordinary 11 percent expressed interest in Shanghai (5,145 applicants).

Also of note is that in just its fourth year, NYU Abu Dhabi continues to see remarkable growth both in the quality of its overall admissions pool, and in the quality of those who were nominated for admission by their high school counselors. Applicants to its Class of 2017 who submitted SATs had a median score of 1,950, up from 1,850 for the Class of 2016 (a 5.4 percent gain). Of those reporting ACT scores, the median for applicants to the Class of 2017 was 29, up from 27 last year (a 7.4 percent gain).

(Note: The number of applicants, 48,606, is unduplicated, but because applicants are able to express interest in more than one campus, applicants can be included for more than one campus in the above percentages.)

As NYU continues to refine its process for attracting and evaluating applicants for its global network, this year's application asked that applicants submit up to eight separate writing assignments, depending on which campuses and programs they wished to be considered for admission.

"We are continually seeking the right balance between ensuring that applicants have the ability to make their best case for admission to a given campus or program, and also recognizing that for some students, the application may be the first time they fully comprehend the scope of NYU's global network," said Deike.

"We expect that we will continue to evolve NYU's application in the years ahead in a manner that reflects the extraordinary breadth of the global network, and will empower students to make the best decisions they can."


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.