Ok so I’m a junior in hs right now and NYU has been my dream school since I was like 10. I know it’s expensive but it’s so worth it because it’s not just the school, it’s the education and the location and the experience. Also it’s one of the few schools that offer a Major in Clinical Psychology and a Minor in Latin American Studies. Please chance me.
Unweighted GPA: 3.64
(my classes have been extremely rigorous and it also takes into account some middle school classes I didn’t know counted)
Weighted GPA: 4.80 (this will sky rocket once the year is over because of AICE Classes)
SAT first try: 1980
CR: 620 M: 680 W: 680
Goal is 2100+
ACT: taking it in June but I’m averaging 30 in practices
SAT Subject:
Planning on Spanish with listening, Math Level 1 and U.S. History
Community Service: 130+ hours
Church volunteering, events with hospitals, random donations, special Olympics
Extracurriculars:
Debate/ MUN (projected 3 years, historian 10 and 11 VP next year)
Spanish HS (11 and 12)
Chemistry Club (11 and 12 treasurer next year, secretary in 11)
Rho Kappa Social Studies HS (11 and 12 president 12)
NHS (12)
Portuguese Club (11 and 12 treasurer 12)
Students for Gender Equality (12 president)
Class clubs (9-12)
Interact club (11 and 12)
Show choir (9 and 10 for disbanded in 10 because of budget cuts)
I speak 3 languages and am learning a fourth
First generation immigrant
Hispanic female living in Miami
Schedule
Middle school courses that counted for high school:
Algebra 1, Geometry, Biology, Earth Space Science, Portuguese 1 and 2
9th Grade:
AP Human Geo: 4
AS Environmental Management: B on exam
Critical Thinking
Pre AICE Spanish
Personal Fitness
Acting 1
IGSCE Math 2
IGSCE English: B on test
10th Grade:
AP Gov: 3
AS Spanish: A on exam
IGSCE Math 3
Debate 1
Pre AICE Chemistry: B on exam
AICE General Paper: A on exam
AS Thinking Skills: B on exam
Creative Writing 1 and 2
11th Grade:
AICE English Langauge
AICE US History
AICE Global Perspectives
AICE Psychology
AICE Portuguese Language
AICE Chemistey AS level
AICE Spanish Literature
Pre Calculus Honors (dropped AICE Math because it was ruining my GPA)
Projected 12 Grade:
AICE English Literature
AICE International History
AP Calculus AB
AICE Marine Bio
Spanish 5 Honors (no more Spanish classes)
AICE Portuguese Literature
AICE Psychology A Level
Law Studies? AP Euro? Anatomy Honors? Research? (Depends on schedule)
Sorry it’s long but I really appreciate any help or suggestions
I’m currently a senior and I got accepted this year to NYU. I’ve done a lot of research about acceptances and rejections so I’ll be able to chance you relatively well.
just to give you a background on myself: I got a 28 on the ACT. 3.75 unweighted. 3.95 weighted. 3 APs. No SAT subject tests.If you look at those you’ll think that there’s no way he would have gotten into NYU, but I did. The only reasons were my extracurriculars and my story. I come from a very diverse international background and I’ve lived in a couple of different countries though I was in U.S. for all of my high school. I had A LOT of extracurriculars and honestly extraordinary essays. That’s mainly why I got in.
Great work and kudos to you! You have amazing extracurriculars and really tough classes which you did pretty well in. You’ve got everything they’re looking for regarding academics and extracurriculars. Your SAT/ACT scores are good also. I wouldn’t say they’re great but they’re pretty good. If you get it to 30-31 then it would be amazing! To be honest with you, you’re in and accepted. You have a very very high chance. Just make sure that your essays are great. NYU cares A LOT about your personality, life, and character and the only way they can see that is through your essays. Make sure they’re spectacular.
Don’t worry too much about SAT/ACT. Just get something around 30-31. A higher score on those will get you more scholarship money. It wouldn’t help your admission chances that much in my opinion. Especially since you’re applying to CAS.
These days colleges are also really focusing on character and the story than scores and academics. Those still matter a lot but not as much.
If I had to give you one advice, it would be to just focus and focus and focus a lot on your essays right now. Make up a story if you want, do whatever you can but make it an amazing essay. Spend as much time as you need to make it absolutely perfect. Don’t stress yourself too much about the other things(school, SATs, clubs). You’ve got everything they’re looking for. You just need the essay to complete your whole package.
Do more research on the course offerings and stress the unique opportunities NYU will provide you in your disciplines of choice. Iclude this in your why NYU essay. Also, are you a first generation college student? In my opinion this is much more compelling than ethnicity or immigrant status. Most elite private universities are broadcasting this statistc as part of their diversity effort. Visit NYU and see what you like about it. Is there something that resonates with you. If so, include it in your essay.
Who is paying the cost? NYU is one of the stingiest for financial aid. Check on salaries for a psychology and figure out how to pay $500+ per month in loan payments when you graduate. Seriously decide how you are going to pay before you bother to apply. I just did a quick estimate. The payment for $175k at 6.8% is over $2000 a month for ten years.
Hey. I applied with similar-ish stats this year and got in with a 25K scholarship to CAS and into the Presidential Scholars group,which basically means it’s a prep team for Grad school. You get priority status for grants and you get basically free travel for two weeks your first two years.
This is a good start.
First off, don’t worry about taking both the SAT and the ACT. You need to figure out which one you are good at and kill it.
I got into NYU with an ACT score alone by practicing a ridiculous amount at just that and finally getting my score up to a 34, although a score that high isn’t necessary unless you want Merit Scholarships.
(Don’t take the actual test until you have practiced enough that you think you will do really well. Every single time you take it that recorded score has to be sent to NYU. So don’t do it a bunch of times.)
And with a high GPA like you have you don’t really need that high of a ACT score just something in the 30s.
The one thing I honestly wish someone had told me a long while before i applied is that you should focus every single thing on your application towards your intended major.
Focus everything you write about, all of your extra curriculars, and the topic of your recommendation letters on your passion for psychology.
That was my intended major, I changed it to Neural Science during the registration process because I realized that appealed to me more, but you need to get rid of every single EC that doesn’t have to do with Psych.
Everything you write on your Common App has to relate to this.
It really helps them picture you helping a specific area of the university and will give them a fuller picture of you which will increase your chances of getting in with a scholarship.
Your essay needs to tie into this. In your Why NYU you need to touch on this. Every single thing you say has to be focused and specific.
Also maybe work on some research and internships in your field. All of your volunteer hours should tie into this too.
This will really put you over the edge and push you into the scholarship zone.
Hope this helps. I think you have a very good chance if you work hard this year.
I’m sorry @whateversquared, but most of that advice is incorrect. I doubt the OP is still checking this thread, but I can’t stand to have blatantly wrong information on here if other people come to reference it later. Literally no one expects a high school senior to know exactly what they want to study, or necessarily to have any substantial extracurricular activities related to their major. Include the ECs that best represent you as a person. NYU wants to see who you actually are, not some meticulously curated version of yourself.
PS - I applied as a psych major, and the only thing even remotely related to psych in my application was the fact that I took AP psych. My application and extracurriculars were diffuse. I was involved in generic volunteering, language tutoring, languages in general, music, marching band, and theater, none of which were related to psych.
Also, all NYU scholarships (with the exception of MLK Scholars and one other major scholarship) are need based with a little bit of merit thrown in (if you have need and high stats, you’ll get more aid that someone with need and lower stats). So if you don’t have financial need, it doesn’t matter how good you are, you are unlikely to get any money.
I’m just saying @jazzcatastrophe , I have three friends who got 20k+ scholarships to NYU with this strategy and one who got into Columbia with this strategy. The friend of mine who didn’t do this and had a sky high GPA and a 31 on the ACT got waitlisted even though she had good ECs, they just weren’t focused.
Out of the six people I know this worked for the five who did it… It’s just what I’ve seen happen, and that’s what OP was looking for.
Sorry your advice differs, I’m sure it’s good too, but we should give OP as much advice as we can from everyone and not shoot down others because their opinion differs from yours.
@whateversquared@jazzcatastrophe I agree that you should not present a resume with a laundry list of EC’s just to impress admissions. But you certainly do not have to narrow down your involvement to a single focus on one’s major. I have two D’s who were accepted to NYU. They were both interested in music, art, theatre and had student government positions. One D also had a leadership position in a youth group though our local synagogue.
Going into senior year, their EC’s were similar, but one chose to apply to NYU as a vocal performance major and the other as a studio art major.
Both got accepted into Steinhart’s scholars program. Younger D recently asked for a recommendation letter from one of Steinhart’s deans. It was interesting to note that they spoke of how she was an embodiment of all that Steinhardt offered with her multi-faceted interests in music, art, theatre and education. So it was not a singular focus that was her ultimate appeal, but rather her more global interests in the arts combined with leadership.
In terms of scholarship money at NYU, the vast majority is based on need. If they really want you, they will gap you less. Some talent based programs (with auditions or portfolio requirements) offer merit scholarships (without need), but other than MLK scholarships, everything else is need based.