<p>Thinking about NYU but don't want to bust the bank. Anyone from a middle class family making about 100k willing to share an anecdote?</p>
<p>NYU does not meet full need. Based on some of the past posts here on CC, the students with very high stats get more FA than others. Some students with very low EFC get mostly loans. If NYU really wants you, they will make it more attractive for you to attend. One of the posters here seems to understand how their FA works. I will try to find one of her posts for you.</p>
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This was posted by Calmom.</p>
<p>I actually got more than I was expecting. I’m from a middle class family, making a little more than 100k, and I got about half of my tuition covered. It’s still expensive, but not completely impossible to attend. I did get into the honors program at Steinhardt though, so some of my aid money comes from that.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. That was helpful.</p>
<p>Others who know NYU can better answer the question, but I think the university was getting a lot of bad press in news reports about undergrads finishing with $200K worth of debt. Other universities also have grads in those situations, but I wonder if NYU gets affected by its size. Its undergraduate enrollment is larger than a lot of private universities and thus even if its aid is comparable proportionally to other universities the actual number of students getting zero or little aid will be larger. An extra 1,000 students paying full price is a lot of money.</p>
<p>I have seen several posts on CC from students with very low EFCs whose FA from NYU includes huge PLUS loans.</p>
<p>swimcatsmom,</p>
<p>I agree and I do remember reading about students’ tendency to receive big loans even when Their EFCs were low.</p>
<p>NYU does give some nice merit money that covers less than half the tuition, room, board and other fees to top students. But even these students have to pay a substantial amount, as Tessa in post #4 mentioned. A similar situation applied to my son. We are middle class and would not have gotten anything based on our EFC. Sonny got $25,000/ year scholarship, but that still means another $40,000+/year we put up ourselves for total school and living expenses.</p>
<p>I consider NYU, like other private schools, a school that you have to be “privileged” to attend, even with merit aid. Many times I cannot believe we will end up paying $160,000 to 180,000 for sonny’s undergraduate education. I sometimes wish I could just invest the money for him and with wise investment choices, he could be a millionaire in 10 years with the money invested.</p>
<p>However, I am aware this is a passage in life that has meaning and goes beyond money spent. College has opened and will continue to open sonny’s eyes to what the world can offer him. I am just glad we are able to support him in this “privileged” and societally sanctioned way of moving into adulthood.</p>
<p>Does this mean a student who doesn’t apply for financial aid is in better “shape” (in terms of admissions chances) than one who asks for financial aid? Is this effect also true for international students?</p>
<p>It all depends on what you wish to do, OP. A friend of mine sent her D to NYU for business and graduated with $200K debt. However, right after the graduation, she got an offer from GS and paid it off within very short time. On the other hand, if you were to study Art History or English literature, it would be hard to find a job that could pay it off in the short-term.</p>
<p>NYU admissions is need blind, so your ability to pay has no bearing on admission. Also, I do not think there is FA for international students.</p>