How to “Win” the NYU Transfer Acceptance Rate

New York: the capital of finance, film, art, entrepreneurship, good food, and ultimately one of the most well-known universities in the world. If you’re fortunate enough, you may even get accepted into NYU. It’s no secret that an NYU degree affords limitless opportunities and, of course, the prestige that comes with it.

If you didn’t get into NYU as a freshman, don’t worry. Practically no one does. With an acceptance rate so low, it can feel like a lottery.

However, if you’re looking to get in as a transfer, it may not be as much of a gamble as you think. If you play your cards right, you may even “win” against the NYU transfer acceptance rate.

Is it easy?

Well, no. Not really.

When it comes to transferring into any T20 school, we HIGHLY recommend speaking with our professional college admissions consultants who can help you craft an application that maximizes your chances and beats the application pool.

Not sure if we’re the right pick? Fair enough!

Take a look at our guide to “winning” against the NYU transfer acceptance rate, so you can apply confidently instead of feeling like one of many tickets in a lottery.  

Table of Contents

  1. NYU’s Transfer Acceptance Rate.
  2. NYU Transfer Dates and Deadlines.

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NYU’s Transfer Acceptance Rate.

The NYU transfer acceptance rate is 24.6%. This makes transfer acceptances approximately 3x as likely, with the regular admissions rate being 8%.

Sounds pretty rough; and, it is!

Students who were accepted often performed well in academics and had strong test scores.

Notice how the school mentions that grades and performance are the primary focus?

“Admission for transfer students is highly competitive. NYU’s evaluation will focus primarily on your college/university grades and your high school/secondary school performance. Our most competitive applicants have completed at least 32 credits/points of coursework by the time they enroll at NYU.”

NYU Official Website

But, there’s more to the NYU transfer acceptance rate than just stats.

Despite the fact that NYU uses grades and performance as its primary metric, there’s a lot more that goes into the equation. In addition, those externalities are more important than we think!

Why the NYU Transfer Essays are More Important Than You Think.

Alright.

This is going to be a bit of a strange section. But, bear with us here.

Long story short: the NYU transfer essays play a very important role in the transfer rate.

Let’s explain.

If you look through NYU’s common data set, you can find a comprehensive archive of information regarding the university’s priorities and variables that go into admissions.

If you look at section C7 of NYU’s common data set, you’ll notice something peculiar about their priorities.

You’ll notice that the application essay is put in the “important” section, whilst the test scores, GPA, rank, and rigor are put in the “very important” section.

Doesn’t seem too weird, right? If you look below, you’ll notice three other variables: extracurriculars, talent/ability, and character/personal qualities.

That’s a problem.

These three variables can’t be measured quantitatively unlike class rank or GPA. GPA and class rank can be judged by numbers. But, the quality of extracurriculars, talent/ability, and character/personal qualities can’t be measured with numbers alone.

They’re qualitative factors that require further explanation through words. This is why the essay is so important. The essay is one of the few places you can elaborate on the nitty-gritty details of your extracurriculars, talent/ability, and character/personal qualities.

So, in some ways, those three variables all count as the application essay. Thus, a good essay helps your extracurriculars, talent/ability, and character/personal qualities.

Now, NYU is not the only school to do this. There are other schools that put extracurricular activities, talent/ability, and character/personal qualities in the important or very important section.

But, when the NYU transfer acceptance rate is so horrendously low, it’s good to know that the essay section can be used as a “secret weapon” to “win against” that dreadful admissions rate.

Now, that brings us to our next point: how should we write the NYU transfer essays?

Writing the NYU Transfer Essays.

There are two NYU transfer essays you should be concerned with: the “Why NYU” prompt and the “reasons+objectives” prompt.

We’ll go through both briefly.

  • Why NYU
    • For this prompt, we find the HYPSM method to be the most useful. We ask our clients this. “If you were accepted into Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, or MIT, why would you still choose NYU?” The reason this works wonderfully is because it helps students think outside of their superficial desires. Most students want a great school like Harvard or Yale. But, they’re still schools mostly coveted for their prestige. When you take that out of the picture, it forces you to look at NYU for its variables outside of prestige. Then, you may take it a step further and ask yourself why NYU may be absolutely necessary by thinking of the calamities of getting rejected. What potential will be lost? Will you lose the chance to build a world-changing startup? The options are endless.
  • Reasons+Objectives
    • Future. Future. Future. When answering the NYU reasons + objectives prompt, think of the future. What are the possibilities that come from applying to NYU? Will you get a better chance at a project you’ve been hoping to improve and release into your industry? Will there be an opportunity in the long run to revolutionize your field? Would that be impossible without the help of NYU? These are all important questions to ask; but, thinking of the future and the potential that comes with it is a fantastic way of answering this beautifully.

One thing you should also consider is that the NYU essays serve as tools.

They are one of the only sections in the NYU application itself that are qualitative elements of your application. While everything else important is mostly quantitative, the essay allows you to use words, persuasive language, and powerful characterization to demonstrate your worth.

Not only that, you can use your words to subtly compensate for your lower GPA. If you’re not quite sure how to explain a low GPA to the NYU admissions office, you can always contact us for a free consultation and we’ll help you with your letter!

For a more comprehensive guide, check out our NYU transfer essay guide here.

The Inevitable Importance of the Shotgun Method.

Let’s be very blunt.

There are a plethora of students who apply to NYU with GPAs at the 4.0 level. There are also students with perfect SAT and ACT scores, impeccable awards, powerful extracurricular leadership positions, and impressive acts in startup/nonprofit projects.

Nonetheless, many of those students are rejected.

Therefore, it’s made very clear that no matter how strong your application is, there’s no guarantee you can get accepted into NYU.

Just because NYU’s transfer admissions rate is higher than the undergraduate level does not mean you’ll be “safe.” Instead, the safer way of transferring to NYU is to use the shotgun method.

The shotgun method is the method by which applicants apply to a large number of colleges in the hopes of increasing their chances of landing an acceptance into a wider net of schools. This is not limited to any number; however, common numbers include anywhere between 8-25.

For most applicants, the best number of colleges to apply to is 15.

You can find more information on the shotgun method in our sister article here.

But, long story short, here’s our general consensus on how one should shotgun their college applications.

“So, as a general rule of thumb: you should shotgun as many schools as you reasonably can before the ROI decreases. That means, applying to the max amount until you feel you truly have no more time to dedicate to writing quality essays. Find the sweet spot. Note though that most students can certainly write more essays than they think!”

PenningPapers.com —How Many Colleges Should You Apply To?

Do I Need A Lot of Extracurriculars to Transfer To NYU?

Nope!

The key here is not quantity.

It’s quality.

It’s better to have strong extracurriculars that actually demonstrate your worth and value as a candidate for NYU than it is to fill your resume with random extracurriculars that have no merit behind them.

The admissions office does not want to fill its student body with people who are looking to “game the system” by using false extracurriculars or finding shortcuts.

So long as your extracurriculars are strong, honest in nature, show your worth and character as a person, and demonstrate your worth as a lifelong learner, you’ll maximize your admissions rate to NYU.

Now, let’s say that you don’t have any extracurriculars for college.

If you have no extracurriculars, you may be tempted to start every possible club and activity you can.

Don’t.

Or, at least, slow down there!

What you should consider doing is taking on at least 1-2 passion projects or research opportunities. Because research can take a while to get ahold of, and there’s an arbitrary luck element to receiving such opportunities, we recommend starting a passion project related to an online blog or small business in your field.

If you don’t know how to start a strong extracurricular or want help with creating one, feel free to contact us for a free consultation! We’ll set you up to get started with all the right tools, tips, and necessary knowledge needed to create a stellar EC that stands out from the rest!

NYU Transfer Dates and Deadlines.

If you’re applying with an artistic portfolio, special rules apply.

Here’s what NYU’s official website has to say about it.

“If you’re applying to a program that requires an artistic review, we recommend submitting your Common Application one month earlier to give you time to prepare your portfolio or an audition by the deadline.”

*Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. EST.

NYU Official Webiste

We’ve also pasted their application deadlines below.

  • Spring Transfer:
    • Application Deadline: November 1
    • Decision: November – January
  • Summer/Fall External Transfers
    • Application Deadline: April 1
    • Decision: May – June
  • Summer/Fall Internal Transfers
    • Application Deadline: March 1
    • Decision: April – May

If you’ve seen the NYU transfer acceptance rate and decided you need help with applying, consider working with the best college admissions consultants around. Here at PenningPapers, we’ve helped countless students get accepted into their dream schools by guiding them through the entire application process. Contact us for a free consultation, and we’ll set you up for a time to discuss how we can help within 24 hours.

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