NYU Acceptance Rate: Early Decision, Regular and Transfer Numbers

Last updated: November 5, 2026

The NYU acceptance rate is about 9.1% for students who entered in fall 2025: NYU admitted 10,340 of 114,125 first-year applicants, according to its Common Data Set. NYU's own announcement for the same class, the Class of 2029, put the rate for its New York campus at 7.7% of more than 120,000 applicants. The transfer rate is much higher, about 38.6%. Below you will find five years of NYU's own numbers, what NYU says about Early Decision, the transfer numbers, the test scores of the newest class, and what NYU asks of you in the application.

NYU wants students who connect people and ideas. A research project you lead, one-on-one with a PhD mentor, gives you a real story to tell. See if you qualify for the STEM Research Program →

NYU acceptance rate for the Class of 2029

NYU's Common Data Set (CDS) for 2025–26, section C1, reports the class that enrolled in fall 2025:

Applicants: 114,125
Admitted: 10,340
Enrolled: 5,662
Acceptance rate: about 9.1% (our calculation: 10,340 ÷ 114,125)
Yield: about 54.8% of admitted students enrolled

That works out to about 1 admitted student for every 11 applicants.

NYU's March 2025 announcement gave a lower figure: offers to 7.7% of the more than 120,000 students who applied to the New York campus. NYU called the class "one of the most selective classes in NYU's history." The two numbers measure different things. NYU made the announcement in March, when offers went out. The CDS counts completed first-year applications as of NYU's official fall reporting date. Use the CDS when you compare NYU with other colleges, because every college reports it the same way.

The same announcement says three NYU schools admitted fewer than 5% of applicants: the College of Arts and Science, the Stern School of Business and the Rory Meyers College of Nursing. Your rate depends on the school you choose.

How the NYU acceptance rate changed over five years

NYU's Factbook reports applicants and admits for the New York campus for fall 2021 to fall 2023. Its CDS reports fall 2024 and fall 2025. Rates are our calculations from NYU's counts:

Fall 2025: 114,125 applicants, 10,340 admitted, about 9.1% (CDS)
Fall 2024: 110,807 applicants, 10,232 admitted, about 9.2% (CDS)
Fall 2023: 113,578 applicants, 10,693 admitted, about 9.4% (Factbook)
Fall 2022: 100,662 applicants, 12,539 admitted, about 12.5% (Factbook)
Fall 2021: 95,517 applicants, 12,380 admitted, about 13.0% (Factbook)

The pattern:

Applications grew and admits fell. From fall 2021 to fall 2025, applications rose by 18,608, about 19.5%. Admits fell by 2,040, about 16.5%.
The big drop came in fall 2023. The rate fell from about 12.5% to about 9.4% in one year, then held near 9% for two more years.
Yield is high. More than half of admitted students enrolled in fall 2025.

NYU admitted about 1 in 11 first-year applicants. Show what makes you the one: a question you chose and answered, with a PhD mentor guiding you. See if you qualify for the STEM Research Program →

NYU Early Decision acceptance rate

NYU does not publish its Early Decision acceptance rate. Its 2025–26 CDS leaves the Early Decision applicant and admit counts blank, and NYU's announcements give no rate. Any NYU Early Decision rate you see comes from a source other than NYU.

What NYU does publish:

Two binding rounds. Early Decision I is due November 1, with decisions on December 15. Early Decision II is due January 1, with decisions on February 15. Regular Decision is due January 5, with decisions on April 1.
A record early pool. For the Class of 2029, NYU received more than 25,000 Early Decision applications, 10% more than the year before.
One application a year. If you apply Early Decision and are not admitted, you cannot apply again in Regular Decision that year.
The commitment. If admitted Early Decision, you are expected to enroll, withdraw your other applications and submit no new ones. NYU makes exceptions if you are not admitted to your first-choice school or for financial aid reasons.

What this means for you: choose Early Decision when NYU, and one NYU school, is your clear first choice and your application is ready. See early decision vs early action.

NYU transfer acceptance rate

Transfers have a far higher rate. From NYU's 2025–26 CDS (section D2), for fall 2025:

Transfer applicants: 10,681
Admitted: 4,128
Enrolled: 1,549
Transfer acceptance rate: about 38.6% (our calculation: 4,128 ÷ 10,681)

That is about four times the first-year rate. NYU accepts transfers for spring (applications due October 15) and for summer or fall (due March 15). Transfers receive decisions on a rolling basis.

NYU test scores

NYU is test-optional through the 2027–28 application cycle. If you choose to submit testing, you submit one form:

SAT or ACT. NYU superscores across test dates. Scores must be from within five years.
At least three AP exams. One in the humanities, one in math or science and one of your choice. Stern and Tandon applicants must include a math exam.
IB Diploma results, predicted or final.

Middle 50% scores of first-year students who enrolled in fall 2025 (CDS section C9):

SAT composite: 1480 to 1550 (median 1520)
SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing: 730 to 770 (median 750)
SAT Math: 750 to 790 (median 780)
ACT Composite: 34 to 35 (median 35)

Only 27% of those students submitted SAT scores and 10% submitted ACT scores. To see where your own scores fall, use the SAT score calculator or read what is a good SAT score.

How to get into NYU

NYU's application is the Common App plus NYU's own questions. Four things matter most:

Choose your school with care. You apply to one NYU school or college, and rates differ between them. Your courses and activities should fit the school you pick.
Show your grades and rigor. NYU accepts unofficial transcripts and self-reported test scores when you apply, so you can submit on time.
Write the optional essay. NYU has no "Why NYU" question. Its one supplemental essay is optional and pre-checked in the Common App. NYU asks for "bridge builders": students "who can connect people, groups, and ideas to span divides, foster understanding, and promote collaboration." NYU says it is confident "you can communicate your thoughts in 250 words or less."
Write a strong personal essay. It goes to every college on your list. See the Common App essay prompts.

NYU offers three questions for its essay. One asks about "an experience you've had working with others who have different perspectives." A research project gives you that experience: you work with a mentor who knows more than you do, and you explain your field to people outside it.

NYU's essay asks how you work with people who think differently. Research with a PhD mentor gives you that experience and a finished paper. Learn how the program works →

How research fits an NYU application

Research is not required, and many admitted students never do it. But it fits NYU well:

It shows your interest is real. If you apply to NYU's College of Arts and Science or Tandon in a STEM field, a project shows you have already worked in that field.
It gives your essays real material. A question you chased is easier to write about than a list of clubs.
It fits NYU's research culture. NYU reports more than $1 billion a year in research spending.

For how to present it, see the Common App activities list and whether research helps college admissions.

How NYU compares

On the same measure, the Common Data Set for fall 2025:

Columbia: about 4.9% (2,946 of 59,611)
Cornell: about 8.4% (6,077 of 72,523)
NYU: about 9.1% (10,340 of 114,125)
USC: about 11.2% (9,345 of 83,488). See the USC acceptance rate.

NYU received more first-year applications than any Ivy League school in fall 2025. See the Ivy League schools for all eight.

More than 114,000 students applied to NYU. A research project in the STEM field you love helps your application stand apart. See if you qualify for the STEM Research Program →

NYU cost and financial aid

NYU lists annual tuition of $65,622 for new New York campus undergraduates in 2025–26, before aid. Through the NYU Promise, NYU says that for first-year students admitted to the New York campus who apply for aid on time:

Families with income under $100,000 and typical assets do not pay tuition.
NYU meets 100% of demonstrated need, for domestic and international students.
Scholarships rise with tuition each year.

Frequently asked questions

What is NYU's acceptance rate? About 9.1% for fall 2025, from NYU's Common Data Set: 10,340 of 114,125 applicants. NYU's announcement for the New York campus gave 7.7%.

What is NYU's Early Decision acceptance rate? NYU does not publish it. NYU reports more than 25,000 Early Decision applications for the Class of 2029, a record.

What is NYU's transfer acceptance rate? About 38.6% for fall 2025: 4,128 of 10,681 transfer applicants.

Why is NYU so hard to get into? Demand. NYU received 114,125 first-year applications for fall 2025, about 19.5% more than in fall 2021, while it admitted fewer students.

Is NYU free if your family makes under $200,000? No. NYU's tuition-free threshold is a family income under $100,000 with typical assets. Above that, NYU still meets 100% of demonstrated need.

Is NYU test-optional? Yes, through the 2027–28 application cycle. You may send the SAT, the ACT or at least three AP exams.

Is NYU an Ivy League school? No. The Ivy League has eight members: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton and Yale.

Does NYU have a "Why NYU" essay? No. NYU's one general supplemental essay is optional and asks how you bridge divides between people and ideas. Programs that need a portfolio or audition ask for more.

Sources

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