NYU received more applications this year than any other private university in the United States. This is despite the fact that NYU makes it very clear that it will not necessarily meet any applicant’s full need (although it can and does do so for desired applicants).
One of the goals of the ED “Scorecard” was to promote transparency in cost and outcomes. NYU has ALWAYS been one of the most transparent universities out there in that respect. No false promises of meeting need. I say BRAVO to NYU, and shame on all of these others with their overstated promises of affordability. Looking at the average debt at graduation, many, many universities’ graduates have similar or worse average debt than NYU despite their glowing promises.
I object to the very premise of this thread; i.e., the notion of a college “saddling” any student with debt. Nobody is “saddling” anybody with anything. Nobody is putting a gun to anyone’s head and forcing them to choose an unaffordable FA package. Students and families are saddling themselves if they make such choices.
My beef is with the colleges that “hide the ball” with their promises of amazing FA just to get your application, and then reveal some awful package to you in the spring when it’s too late to apply somewhere else. NYU is NOT one of these schools.