NYU's Early Decision programs are binding agreements: if an applicant is offered admission and provided with a financial aid package that enables the student to enroll, the student must withdraw any previously submitted applications and accept NYU's admission offer – roughly within 2-3 weeks of receiving an admission offer. Students are then restricted from filing any new applications as well. We believe that part of our commitment to Early Decision applicants is to provide an "early" decision, and as a result, we either admit or deny Early Decision candidates. Please note that Early Decision students who are denied admission may not re-apply as Regular Decision applicants.
Students applying for Early Decision admission must follow the same procedures and submit all of the same materials outlined on the instructions page of our website, including meeting any Additional Program Requirements for the student’s school or college of interest.
Early Decision and Financial Aid
NYU uses the same methodology in providing financial aid for Early Decision candidates as we do in providing financial aid for Regular Decision candidates. Students are not offered more or less financial aid based on when they apply for admission.
For Early Decision candidates, we use information students share with us via the CSS Profile application, administered by the College Board, to provide admitted students with an estimated financial aid package with their admissions decision. Students who are admitted during ED I must follow up by submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to be provided with their official financial aid award in late April.
Students will only be released from the Early Decision agreement if their estimated financial aid package does not enable them to attend. Students must be aware that applying Early Decision will not enable them to compare financial aid packages from other universities. If comparing financial aid packages will be necessary for a student, the student should apply under our Regular Decision program. NYU will still reserve the majority of our admission offers for students applying for Regular Decision, so students should not feel pressure to apply Early Decision if finances are of concern.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Applying Early Decision
The biggest advantage to applying Early Decision is that if you are offered admission, your college search process can be completed early and thus, reduce a tremendous amount of anxiety over the college admission process.
Many students want to know if it is “easier” to be admitted through our Early Decision process. The reality is that no, it is not “easier” to be admitted Early Decision, as the quantifiable criteria we use to evaluate candidates for admission – GPA and class rank (if available), test scores, etc. – is the same during both the Early and Regular Decision processes. That said, given the relatively small size of our Early Decision applicant pool, we have been, in recent years, able to admit a larger percentage of our applicants during Early Decision. Most recently, we were able to admit roughly 39% of our Early Decision applicants as compared to roughly 30% of our overall applicant pool.
