If there are questions about the policy or FAQs below, please contact UDAR-AdmissionsFAQ@nyu.edu.  

Question 1:  I was in conversation with a donor about a gift, when they mentioned their child was in the applicant pool.  What should I do?

Answer: You should respectfully inform the potential donor that it is NYU’s policy that we do not engage in gift conversations with anyone when we know that they have a family member in the applicant pool.  Once the admissions process has passed, you look forward to continuing the conversation about a gift at that point. You should also note that NYU does not accept gifts intended to influence the admissions process.

Question 2: My prospect has a child who is a sophomore in high school.  Can I pursue a gift conversation with that donor?

Answer: The policy only applies to family members who are in the applicant pool so you could pursue a gift conversation with this prospect. However, if the prospect indicates that they hope their gift will influence the admissions decision if the child applies to NYU, the prospect should be told that admissions decisions are not influenced by a person’s philanthropic support and that NYU does not accept gifts intended to influence the admissions process.

Question 3: My prospect says that they are only considering making a gift because they want to increase their child’s chance for future admission.  What should I say?

Answer:  You should emphasize that admissions decisions are made solely by the admissions office and that NYU does not accept gifts intended to influence the admissions process.  You would love the donor to make the gift, but you should emphasize that their giving will not have any influence over their child’s chances and if that is the only reason they are making the gift, they may want to reconsider their decision as NYU is increasingly competitive for admission and currently less than 15% of students who apply are admitted.  If the child is currently in the applicant pool you should cite the NYU policy that we do not engage in gift conversations with anyone who has a family member in the applicant pool and postpone the conversation until after an admissions decision has been made by NYU. If the child is not in the applicant pool and depending on the circumstances, the gift conversation may continue, but you may want to flag this issue for your supervisor and document the conversations with the donor regarding the policy that NYU does not accept gifts intended to influence the admissions process.

Question 4: An educational consultant tells a fundraiser that the child of a foreign billionaire is applying to NYU and that they would like to help the parent make a gift to NYU.

Answer:  The fundraiser should thank the consultant for sharing this information and then inform the consultant that it is NYU’s policy that we do not engage in gift conversations with anyone when we know that a potential donor has a family member in the applicant pool.  Once the admissions process has passed, you look forward to continuing the conversation directly with the potential donor about a gift at that point. You should also note that NYU does not accept gifts intended to influence the admissions process. 

Question 5:  An existing or prospective donor in the process of a gift conversation mentions their neighbor is applying to NYU this year and indicates that the donor hopes that this gift will positively affect the neighbor’s chances of admissions. 

Answer: You may continue the gift conversation, but you should emphasize that admissions decisions are made solely by the admissions office and explicitly state that NYU does not accept gifts intended to influence the admissions process.  You would love the donor to make the gift, but you should emphasize that their giving will not have any influence over the neighbor’s chances and if that is the only reason they are making the gift, they may want to reconsider their decision as NYU is increasingly competitive for admission and currently less than 15% of students who apply are admitted.   Depending on the circumstances, you may want to flag this issue for your supervisor and document the conversations with the donor regarding the policy that NYU does not accept gifts intended to influence the admissions process.

Question 6:  An existing donor informs you that the donor has been generous to NYU and has a friend whose child is applying to NYU and really hopes that they are admitted.  The donor asks if you can make sure the admissions office gives this student special consideration.

Answer: You should thank the donor for their support of NYU. Then you should respectfully inform the donor that admissions decisions are made solely by the admissions office and that NYU does not accept gifts intended to influence the admissions process.    You should assure the donor that the admissions office takes care with every application to ensure that the most thoughtful decisions are made.  You can suggest that if the donor would like to write a letter of recommendation for the student, the admissions committee welcomes as much information about its applicants as possible, and so you would urge the donor to write to the admissions committee directly at admissions.docs@nyu.edu, but that a response should not be expected. If a donor directly sends you any application materials or letter of recommendation, you should respectfully inform the donor that with respect to the application materials, the applicant should provide any application materials directly to the admissions office as instructed in the application. For the letter of recommendation, you can urge the donor to send the letter to the admissions committee directly at admissions.docs@nyu.edu or offer that a UDAR contact can forward the letter to the admissions committee, but in either case that a response should not be expected. To have a letter of recommendation forwarded to the admissions committee, please send it to udar.svp@nyu.edu.  Please do not send the letter of recommendation to admissions yourself.