- Pay attention to deadlines. Applications postmarked after the deadlines will be considered only if space remains available in the NYU School/College and the program you desire.
- Don't wait until just prior to the application deadline to apply. Snowstorms might close your school or disrupt mail service; your hard-drive might crash. All sorts of things can go wrong if you wait until the last minute!
- Use your legal name on all your application materials. We won't be able to match your test scores or your other credentials with your application if you've used a different variation of your name on each document.
- Use your social security number on your application and your application forms if you have one. It helps us match up your credentials, and you won't be able to receive federal financial aid unless we provide it.
- Keep photocopies of your application and all forms that you complete.
- If the application fee is a financial burden to your family, check with your guidance or transfer counselor regarding a fee waiver.
- Be sure to have official test scores sent directly to NYU from the testing agencies, and be sure you know which tests you need and when you should take them.
- Don't send supplementary materials - portfolios, videotapes, CDs, or other samples of your artistic ability - unless you are applying to one of the programs that specifically requires an audition or portfolio as part of the admissions process. If such materials are not required for admission, they will not be considered by the committee.
- We will inform you of any missing items in your application file. However, it is your responsibility to make certain that the Office of Undergraduate Admissions receives all of the information required to complete your application.
- Read and follow instructions. Please don't decide that you have a "better" way. We wouldn't ask you to do something in a certain way unless it was important that you do it that way.
- Be sure to refer to the Applying for Admissions section of the NYU Web Site for application instructions and requirements, especially if you use the Common Application.
- Be sure to check the e-mail address you provide on your application for important messages. We wouldn't ask for your e-mail address if we didn't plan to use it!
- We will send you both an e-mail and a written acknowledgement shortly after we receive your application. If you do not receive an acknowledgement that your application has been received by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, you should contact us to be certain that we have received your application.
- Proofread what you enter. Be sure to answer all the questions, and be certain that your answers fit in the spaces provided. Print a sample for yourself and review it before you hit the "Submit" button.
- Do not print out each screen that you use to enter your information and send those pages in as your application. The screens you see do not look anything like the finished product that is produced when you submit your application.
- When you are ready, be sure to submit your application! This seems obvious, but every year we have students who complete their application online but who never actually push the "Submit" button.
- Be sure to tell your counselor that you have applied to NYU. We won't receive your transcript and recommendations unless your guidance office knows to send them!
- When you submit your online application, you will receive an e-mail confirming that your application has been submitted. This confirmation is not an indication that your application has been received and processed by the NYU office of undergraduate admissions; it only means that your application is sitting on a server somewhere in cyberspace! If you do not also receive an e-mail from the NYU admissions office confirming that your application has been received, be sure to check with us to see that your application was actually received, not simply sent.
- Very Important: If you submit the Common Application on-line, you must also submit your NYU Supplement to the Common Application on-line. Your on-line Common Application will not be released to NYU unless you complete and submit the NYU Supplement on-line. If you apply on-line but send the paper version of the NYU Supplement, your application will remain on the Common Application site and you will not be an applicant!
You can find the Paper Application Do's and Don'ts here.