nyu personal essay prompts

Published September 18, 2023

Your Guide to the NYU Supplemental Essay

Katie Hindman

Senior Assistant Director of Admissions

As part of this year’s first-year application , you’ll have the option to answer a new NYU supplemental essay question. This year, we’re asking something brand new:

We are looking for peacemakers, changemakers, global citizens, boundary breakers, creatives and innovators – Choose one quote from the following and let us know why it inspires you; or share a short quote and person not on our list who inspires you, and include why (250 words).

• “We’re used to people telling us there are no solutions, and then creating our own. So we did what we do best. We reached out to each other, and to our allies, and we mobilized across communities to make change, to benefit and include everyone in society.”  Judith Heumann, 2022 NYU Commencement Address
• “ I encourage your discomfort, that you must contribute, that you must make your voice heard. That is the essence of good citizenship .” Sherilynn Ifill, 2015 NYU Commencement Address
• “If you know how to fly but you never knew how to walk, wouldn’t that be sad?” Lang Lang, 2015 NYU Honorary Degree Recipient
• “ You have the right to want things and to want things to change. ” Sanna Marin, Former Prime Minister of Finland,  2023 NYU Commencement Address
• “It’s hard to fight when the fight ain’t fair.” Taylor Swift, “Change,” Released 2008, 2022 NYU Commencement Speaker
• Share a short quote and person not on this list, and why the quote inspires you.

No matter your initial reaction to this new question (perhaps “How or where do I start?!” or  “Hmm, nobody has answered this before…” or even “Woohoo! I get to be the first to take this on– no expectations!”), we want this question to give you a chance to shine.

Remember that there are real people (like me!) on the other side of the screen reading your application, and no matter what you write, we are grateful that you’re willing to share with us. 

We encourage you to approach the (optional!) NYU supplemental essay question with a sense of curiosity and excitement– because, after all, it’s all about YOU! 

HOW SHOULD YOU START?

Everyone’s writing process is distinct and personal. To begin, it might be helpful to jot down some ideas about what inspires you in each of these quotes. Even if one jumps out immediately, give some thought to them all! Is there a common theme that comes up in the ways you relate to each? Do they remind you of another quote that inspires you? Brainstorm in the way that works best for you, but give yourself a fair opportunity to consider your best answer.

Once you’ve chosen the quote you’ll reflect on, get all of your thoughts on paper. Sometimes the best writing comes from fragmented and unedited ideas, so try to stay away from judging your own writing before it’s time to edit.

WHAT SHOULD YOU SAY?

While each of the selected quotes has a specific connection to NYU, we want your answer to be about YOU. We assume you’re excited about NYU because you’re choosing to apply, so there’s no need to use this as a way to tell us about your interest in the school. You also don’t need to give us a literary or academic analysis! We’re confident you’re developing these skills in school. Rather, this is our opportunity to read about what inspires you as an individual (because we’re inspired by these quotes, too)!

Finally, think about how your answer might enhance what you’ve already shared with us through the rest of your application. Remember, you only have 250 words to answer the NYU supplemental essay, so start big and then narrow your ideas down to their most succinct form. Pick an idea and get right to it.

THE BOTTOM LINE…

There is no right or wrong way to answer as long as your answer is genuine to you. 

Remember that this question is completely optional (we promise). If you decide that you don’t want to answer the question, you will not be penalized in the admissions process. 

All of us admissions counselors are wishing you the very best of luck as you complete your college applications. We are already looking forward to learning more about the unique and dynamic class of 2028!

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How to Write the NYU Essays 2023-2024

NYU has just one supplemental prompt this year, which allows you to choose from six different options. Although this prompt is technically optional, NYU’s prime location in the heart of downtown New York City, campuses all across the globe, and affiliation with excellent graduate schools in a range of subjects make it highly competitive to gain admission. So, we strongly encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to share something new about yourself with admissions officers.

Read these examples of past NYU essays about diversity and “Why NYU?” to inspire your writing.

NYU Supplemental Essay Prompts

Prompt: We are looking for peacemakers, changemakers, global citizens, boundary breakers, creatives and innovators – Choose one quote from the following and let us know why it inspires you; or share a short quote and person not on our list who inspires you, and include why. (250 words, optional)

• Option A: “We’re used to people telling us there are no solutions, and then creating our own. So we did what we do best. We reached out to each other, and to our allies, and we mobilized across communities to make change, to benefit and include everyone in society.” Judith Heuman, 2022 NYU Commencement Address
• Option B: “I encourage your discomfort, that you must contribute, that you must make your voice heard. That is the essence of good citizenship.” Sherilynn Ifill, 2015 NYU Commencement Address
• Option C: “If you know how to fly but you never knew how to walk, wouldn’t that be sad?” Lang Lang, 2015 NYU Honorary Degree Recipient
• Option D: “You have the right to want things and to want things to change.” Sanna Marin, Former Prime Minister of Finland, 2023 NYU Commencement Address
• Option E: “It’s hard to fight when the fight ain’t fair.” Taylor Swift, Change, Released 2008, 2022 NYU Commencement Speaker
• Option F: Share a short quote and person not on this list, and why the quote inspires you.

“We’re used to people telling us there are no solutions, and then creating our own. So we did what we do best. We reached out to each other, and to our allies, and we mobilized across communities to make change, to benefit and include everyone in society.” Judith Heuman, 2022 NYU Commencement Address (250 words)

Brainstorming Your Topic

Although the framing is a little more particular, this prompt has similarities to two supplemental prompt archetypes: the  “Global Issues” essay and the “Community Service” essay. Basically, you want to show NYU that you’re able to not just identify a problem in the world around you, but actively work towards solving it.

That second piece, of showing that you’re someone who acts when you see injustice, rather than merely observing, is crucial. So, you should have a personal connection to the issue you write about, as the point of your essay ultimately isn’t to teach admissions officers about a particular issue, but rather show them what your passion for that issue says about your potential as an NYU student.

So, don’t write about how aboriginal people in Australia struggled during the 2020 wildfires if you don’t know anyone in that community and have never been to Australia, as your essay will likely end up sounding overly factual and academic. Instead, think about issues that have directly impacted your own life. 

Maybe that’s a social media campaign you spearheaded to help abandoned animals get adopted when the shelter was overcrowded. Or working with your friends from Spanish class to ensure the local soup kitchen always had a Spanish speaker working, to make the environment more welcoming to immigrants from Spanish-speaking countries.

Keep in mind that the story you tell should have some component of “reach[ing] out to others,” as this quote highlights the importance of collaboration when solving big issues. So, while creating a statistical model on your own to show the viability of solar polar is certainly something to be proud of, it may not be the best anecdote to write about for this prompt. If you then hosted webinars sharing the model with local business owners and answering their questions, however, that could be an effective way of aligning the story with the spirit of the prompt.

Tips for Writing Your Essay

Like any good college essay, your response should show, rather than tell, your readers what you did. What that means is to use descriptive writing, with strong sensory details, to paint NYU admissions officers a picture, rather than just saying “I did x, y, and z, and learned a, b, and c.” The more detail you can include, the more immersive your story will be, which will make your essay both more engaging and more fun to read.

The other key to a strong response is having takeaways that are both clear and personal. You don’t want your essay to feel like a Hallmark card, so avoid clichés like “This experience showed me the power of diversity” or “I realized that deep down, we’re all the same.” The point of the college essay is to distinguish yourself from other applicants, and relying on generic tropes won’t accomplish that.

Instead, think about how you can take one of these overused ideas and creatively reframe it through the lens of your story in particular. For example, if you write about the soup kitchen example above, you could talk about how you bonded with one person who attended frequently because you discovered you both enjoyed crocheting, and how that taught you to look for shared experiences even with people who may outwardly seem quite different from you. 

The general idea of diversity as a unifying, rather than divisive, force is the same, but by connecting that idea to something specific that happened to you, you’ll give NYU admissions officers of how that idea tangibly impacts your day-to-day life. Ultimately, they’re trying to figure out how you would fit into their classrooms, clubs, dorms, dining halls, and so on, and specificity gives them a much clearer idea of that than just big-picture ideas.

Mistakes to Avoid

There isn’t really any major pitfall to keep an eye out for here. Just make sure you’re conscientious of how you frame your issue. Even though NYU, like most colleges, is much more liberal than society as a whole, you still want to use discretion when discussing politics in a college essay, as you have no way of knowing exactly what context your readers are coming from.

So, if you’re writing about a fundraiser you and your friends organized after the overturning of Roe v. Wade to help women from red states afford travel to states where abortion would remain legal, keep the focus on your efforts and what this experience taught you. Don’t talk about your feeling that anyone who opposes abortion is a misogynist, as, for all you know, the person reading your essay may have a loved one who is pro life, or they may even be themselves. 

You can talk about controversial topics in this essay, but do so in a way that’s introspective and acknowledges the complexity of the issue, rather than in a way that celebrates your own moral superiority.

“I encourage your discomfort, that you must contribute, that you must make your voice heard. That is the essence of good citizenship.” Sherilynn Ifill, 2015 NYU Commencement Address (250 words)

Like Option A, this prompt has elements of both the “Global Issues” essay and the “Community Service” essay. However, the scope here is a little broader, as you’re being asked to talk about a time when you made “your voice heard,” rather than one when you were an active part of helping solve a particular problem. That means you have a little more flexibility in what you write about.

For example, you could describe the time when a conversation with a Jewish friend of yours made you realize Christmas-centric your school’s holiday decorations were, and how that motivated you to accompany her to talk to the principal about it, as she felt uncomfortable going alone. You could also take a similar angle as the one described above, with Option A, and talk about service work, like advocating for preserving wildlife habitat over expanding the boat launch at a nearby lake, or something else on a slightly larger scale that you spoke up about. 

However, don’t talk yourself out of writing about a more personal story like the Christmas example. Although this approach may seem less “impressive,” in reality talking about that kind of smaller moment in daily life can do a lot to show admissions officers what you’re like when nobody’s watching. Just about everyone applying to NYU will have an impressive resume, so you can really distinguish yourself by telling them a story that you’re still kind, altruistic, and thoughtful even outside the context of a particular project or organization.

That being said, both approaches can work incredibly well, so long as they honestly reflect your desire to speak up about the things that matter to you.

Once you’ve picked a particular moment to focus on, you want to think about what lessons you took away from that experience. NYU admissions officers care about who you’re going to be for the next four years, not who you were in the past, so they want to get a sense of how this experience is going to impact your contributions to their community.

There’s no one right way to do this, so if you immediately see a way to tell your story in a reflective, informative way, go for it! If you’re having writer’s block, though, one reliable approach would be to explain what happened, what you learned, and then include a second, much briefer anecdote that shows how you’ve utilized what you learned in the time since. 

For the Christmas example, after you finish describing the principal’s willingness to include menorahs and dreidels alongside the Santas and Christmas trees, you talk about how this experience showed you most people do want to be inclusive, they just might not know exactly how, so we all have a responsibility to speak up when we see a way to be better. You could then talk about how this realization then motivated you to talk to your manager at your part-time job about adjusting shift start times to align with the bus schedule, as she didn’t know that some employees didn’t have their own car.

250 words isn’t a lot, so depending on how much space you need to describe the original anecdote, you may not have space for the second one. That’s completely fine–as long as your takeaways are framed in a personal way that directly connects to the story you have just told, your readers will understand the significance of this experience to who you are today.

Letting your main anecdote breathe is the most important thing, as if you rush through things, your reader might not have enough details to properly anchor your eventual takeaways, which could make your essay feel impersonal or generic. 

For a somewhat extreme example of this, say you wrote about the day you noticed your school had changed their holiday decorations, and how happy that made you, but totally glossed over your own involvement in driving that change. Having a takeaway about the importance of standing up for what you believe in would then make no sense. So, make sure the details you include at each point in the essay work together to create a single, cohesive unit.

“If you know how to fly but you never knew how to walk, wouldn’t that be sad?” Lang Lang, 2015 NYU Honorary Degree Recipient (250 words)

This prompt may come across as overly philosophical at first, but before you rule it out, take a second to think about what it’s actually saying. Flying is more glamorous, exciting, and magical than walking, but walking is what we all do every single day to move around the world. While practicality never makes any headlines, daily life wouldn’t work without walking. 

Connecting that idea, about the value of practicality, to NYU’s focus on difference-makers means that you’ll want to discuss the importance of small, seemingly insignificant actions to driving broader change. As the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day: for every figurehead of a major, earth-shattering movement, there are thousands or even millions of people who spent years paving the road so that the leader could one day walk down it. These people rarely get fame or recognition, but the movement never would have succeeded without them.

Of course, to write a strong, engaging response here, you don’t want to write about a huge historical movement that happened generations before you were even born. Instead, apply the same general idea to your own life. Think about what you do, or observe, on a daily basis that shows you the value of sometimes just taking things one step at a time. If there’s something you’ve been passionate about for a long time, that can be a great starting point, as you’ve probably made many small contributions over the years, compared to something where you were just involved in one, big, “flying” project.

For example, maybe you’ve always loved animals, and as a child you used to talk to your mom about flying around the world and rescuing all the endangered species. Once you got older, you realized you couldn’t do that, but what you could do was start a blog featuring a different endangered species every month, along with nonprofits dedicated to helping that species survive. You’ve even established partnerships with some of these groups, and helped organize fundraisers such as bake sales and 5Ks.

As this example shows, ideally you want to show how you’re finding a way to contribute to a much bigger cause. NYU wants to accept difference-makers, and although most of us aren’t able to donate millions of dollars or spearhead new technological initiatives, you can still show that you’re dedicated to finding ways to help however you can. 

Remember, as we noted in Option B, describing your grassroots efforts can in some ways demonstrate your dedication to a cause more than a high-level accomplishment or accolade, because that kind of work truly shows who you are on a day-to-day basis. So, if something comes to mind, don’t sell yourself short by saying “Oh, but they won’t care about that.” If whatever it is was meaningful to you, we promise they will 🙂

This is the kind of prompt where the brainstorming, if you do it well, is 90% of the work. Since the prompt is more abstract, you’re going to have to spend more time up front thinking about exactly what you want to say, or else you may end up sitting down to write and realizing you have no idea where you want to go. So, if you find yourself staring at a blank page, we would suggest rewinding, and spending a little more time brainstorming.

Once you have a clear sense of the story you want to tell, all you really need to do is actually put the words on the page. As you do that, remember that you want to include strong sensory details, to make your essay as immersive and engaging as possible. Focus less on what you did, and more on how you felt and what you learned from the experience. You may or may not do something similar to, for example, raising awareness for endangered species during your time at NYU, but you want to show admissions officers that, whatever you get involved with, you’re going to bring a thoughtful, dedicated perspective to your work.

For example, rather than saying just “My post on the work done to get manatees from ‘endangered’ to ‘threatened’ got 5,000 views, from places as far away as Italy, Kenya, and New Zealand,” take the next step, and describe how that success made you feel. That might look something like: 

“When I saw the number, I went back to the first post I ever did, on the African Bay owl. That post didn’t get a single view from someone who wasn’t related to me. But as I flipped back to the manatee post, I realized that we’re all related to each other in ways other than blood, as we all share this planet, and reminding people of that can be as simple as putting up a blog post and letting them come find it.”

NYU would be impressed by your outreach alone, but what will truly take your essay to the next level is including this next layer of reflection, and showing them the broader lessons you learned from this experience. That will prove to them that you’re not just talented and motivated, but also that your values align with theirs.

We noted at the beginning of this prompt breakdown that you shouldn’t get scared off just because it’s a little more philosophical than some of the others, and we stand by that. However, its more abstract nature will likely make the brainstorming process take longer, and it’s possible you do end up just feeling stuck. 

If you don’t think you have the time right now to give this prompt the attention it needs, that’s completely fine! The advantage of option prompts is that you have, well, options. Even if you’re initially drawn to this prompt, if you find yourself beating your head against the wall and not getting anywhere, don’t be stubborn–just pivot to one of the others.

“You have the right to want things and to want things to change.” Sanna Marin, Former Prime Minister of Finland, 2023 NYU Commencement Address (250 words)

Like Options A and B, this prompt is, roughly, a version of the “Global Issues” essay. That means you should have two main goals here. First, identify an issue that matters to you. Second, explain what your interest in that issue says about you as a person. 

Note that, unlike the first two options, the problem you choose doesn’t have to be one you’ve taken a lot of tangible action towards resolving. Obviously, you should have some level of personal investment in your issue, as otherwise your essay could come across as disingenuous. But if you have a cause you’re passionate about, but for whatever reason haven’t been able to get involved in directly, that would still be fair game here.

For example, maybe you’d like to increase access to healthy food options, as you live in a remote area and grow a lot of your own food with your family, so you know what a difference high-quality produce makes, but you also know how frustrating it can be to simply not have access to certain things, as your supermarket’s stock is limited. Because you don’t live in a city, you haven’t had the chance to get involved in any volunteer work related to this issue, so instead you’ve done your very best to learn everything possible about the process of growing your own food, so that you’ll have a wealth of hands-on experience to draw on when you are eventually in a situation where you can discuss theoretical, bigger picture solutions to this issue.

This hypothetical student hasn’t been able to take much concrete action towards addressing food inequality. However, they’re still demonstrating a genuine desire to help fix this issue, as well as forethought and motivation, by explaining how they’re finding a way to build up their skill set now, so that when the time comes, they are prepared to create tangible change. Any NYU admissions officer would feel confident about this student’s potential to become a difference-maker.

Of course, you are also more than welcome to write about an issue you have already done some work to help solve. We only want to highlight that already contributing to the solution isn’t a prerequisite for this prompt, so you can cast your net a little wider in your brainstorming than you would for Option A or B.

Once you sit down to actually start writing, the key is to make sure you aren’t just discussing your personal connection to this particular issue, but also highlighting admirable personality traits that will serve you in any of your future endeavors, whether related to the same issue or not. To see what we mean here, look back at the example we gave above. That student shows several traits admissions officers will find attractive, including:

• They are able to extrapolate from their own lived experiences to better understand a broader, societal issue
• They can appreciate the nuance of a big-picture issue
• They can critically evaluate their own skill set and determine the best way for them to contribute to a resolution

These qualities come across because of the (hypothetical) level of detail the student provides. If they were to instead just give a general sketch of the situation, along the lines of “I care about food inequality, and although I haven’t yet been able to combat this issue, hopefully I will one day,”  then admissions officers have a lot of blanks to fill in. 

Instead, you should do the work for them: build a concrete connection between this issue you care about and certain, broader attributes that are fundamental to who you are. That will show them not just that you’re passionate about this one issue, but that you’re an overall thoughtful, mature person who’s ready to take advantage of all NYU has to offer.

If you choose to write about an issue that you haven’t taken much concrete action on yet, just be careful that your essay doesn’t become more about the issue, and your interest in it on a theoretical level, than about your own personality. In the context of the example given above, that might look like a bunch of statistics showing how lack of access to healthy food disproportionately impacts lower income people. 

While that is certainly informative, remember that this isn’t an academic essay. It’s a personal reflection, so even if you’re still figuring out how you can best contribute to tangible change, you still want to highlight specific experiences or moments that showcase the strengths you will eventually use to make a real difference. Otherwise, NYU admissions officers may come away from your essay knowing more about the issue you’re highlighting, but not much about what you’d bring to their community, which is ultimately the question they’re trying to answer.

“It’s hard to fight when the fight ain’t fair.” Taylor Swift, Change, Released 2008, 2022 NYU Commencement Speaker (250 words)

Like the previous prompt, this quote wants you to discuss a cause you are currently fighting for, or would like to fight for during your time in college and beyond. But the angle is a little bit different, as this quote is centered around the challenges of fighting for something in unfair circumstances.

If you choose this prompt, you’ll want to talk about an obstacle you’ve overcome, or are in the process of overcoming, in your effort to make your communities a little more just. This doesn’t have to be anything intense, like facing harassment or threats after a talk you gave at a school assembly about your experiences with racism. Of course, you are welcome to discuss this kind of extreme hardship if you are comfortable doing so. 

You don’t have to, however. There are a whole bunch of things that make advocacy work difficult, and many of them have nothing to do with physical violence. For example, you could talk about your attempts to research successful city planning projects that incorporate more green spaces, and your frustration upon realizing many of the articles you wanted to read were stuck behind paywalls.

Alternatively, you could talk about how you want to help increase access to affordable education in your city by tutoring, but not having a car makes it difficult for you to reach many of the people who seek out your help. No obstacle is too small–as we’ve highlighted in several of the previous breakdowns, contextualizing a societal issue within your own life is what NYU wants you to do with pretty much all of these prompts, so don’t feel like you need to dramatize anything. Just be honest about your efforts, and the things that have gotten in your way.

The key to writing a successful response is to not focus your entire essay on the challenge itself, as that will result in a rather defeatist tone. Rather, spend the first part of the essay explaining the difficulties you’ve faced in your efforts to resolve some societal issue, and spend the second half explaining what you’ve done to overcome them. That will result in a more positive overall vibe for your essay, which shows your ability to adapt and grow even in the face of challenges, a skill that will be vital to your success in college.

Like with the challenge itself, you don’t have to glamorize whatever it is you did to work around the obstacle you encountered. For example, don’t say you set up a consortium of high school students where everyone pitched in some money so that you could create shared accounts on all the sites you wanted to use, unless you actually did do that. 

It’s okay to say you asked your parents for their credit card, and that you agreed to take on extra chores around the house because being self-sufficient in your advocacy work is important to you. Or that saving up for your own car proved too difficult, so you’ve worked out a schedule with your elderly neighbor to use his car in the evening, since he goes to sleep early anyways, so long as you pick up his groceries on the way home. 

NYU isn’t going to judge you for the particulars of your situation. They just want to see that, when the fight isn’t fair, you still find a way to keep punching.

Taylor Swift may be the biggest pop star in the world right now, but this sadly isn’t an essay for you to talk about your fandom. Keep the focus on the challenges of tackling inequality, not on your Eras Tour outfit or opinions on which (Taylor’s Version) album has the best (From The Vault) tracks 😉

Share a short quote and person not on this list, and why the quote inspires you. (250 words)

While you may initially feel drawn to this option because of the freedom it affords you, we advise against defaulting to it if you don’t immediately feel a connection to one of the other prompts. The other options do have narrower focuses, but you have five to choose from, and all of the quotes are open-ended enough that you aren’t being forced into a box.

Because this prompt is already unusually flexible for a supplemental essay, you should have a good reason for creating your own option. Ideally you’ll already have a particular quote, or at least a particular person, in mind. If you’re just thinking “Oh, I’d like to write about [general topic],” the time you spend googling possibilities is time you could instead be spending on your actual response, so we’d encourage you to look back at the options already given to you and see if any of them could be an inroad to your desired topic.

Additionally, you may have noticed that, while the options NYU gives you all portray slightly different perspectives, and come from a wide range of speakers, they all have something to do with the theme of justice and equity. In the main prompt, NYU even says they’re looking for “peacemakers, changemakers, global citizens, boundary breakers, creatives and innovators,” so your quote should show your potential to become a difference-maker in the world. Avoid writing about, for example, Stephen Hawking’s thoughts on black holes, as that would be jarring for admissions officers.

Obviously, the exact structure of your essay will depend on which quote you select. But in general, many of the points we’ve made in our breakdowns of the other prompts will apply here too. The best advice we can give is:

• Use anecdotes, rather than speaking generally about whatever your topic is
• Make sure the essay doesn’t just focus on your topic, and instead teaches your reader about a few tangible personality traits that speak to your potential as an NYU student 
• Provide enough detail that your story feels personal, rather than like something any old applicant to NYU could have written.

With regards to this prompt specifically, since you’re taking this choose-your-own adventure path, don’t be afraid to be a little unconventional in how you do these three things. Maybe you share a quote of something meaningful your dad once said to you about having a responsibility to give back to others, and then you describe a few moments you have shared with him that exemplify how he embodies this ideal every day, and how you seek to do the same.

Alternatively, say you study Latin in school. Maybe you choose a quote from Ovid, your favorite Roman author, that relates to injustice, and explain how to you, this quote shows that, although it’s easy to get discouraged by all the doom and gloom on the news, humans have been trying to make the world a little bit better for as long as our species has existed.

These two examples both take advantage of the fact that you have a pre-existing personal connection to the actual person who said the quote, not just their words, as that’s something you probably don’t have with any of the options given to you (with the possible exception of Taylor Swift). As a result, NYU admissions officers get to see a level of depth and reflection in your response that they otherwise wouldn’t, which is the benefit of this option–you can pick both the framework and the content of your essay, rather than needing to fit what you want to say into a particular structure.

This isn’t a mistake, but just something to keep in mind if you’re seriously thinking about coming up with your own prompt: you still only have 250 words, and you’re going to have to spend probably about 20 of them just on your quote and the name of the person who said it. So, make sure your quote is relatively short (you can also use well-placed ellipses to save yourself room)–Option A, for example, would be much too long, as you’d be using over 20% of your space just on the quote itself.

Regardless of how short your quote is, however, you’re still going to have less space available than if you had chosen one of the options NYU provides, which is yet more reason you need to be 100% sure that this option will allow you to say something none of the others will. If you choose this option without already having some sense of what you’d like to say, having 20 fewer words may end up really biting you.

To summarize: if you’re feeling bold, and already have a clear sense of how you’re going to channel that boldness, this prompt is a great opportunity to truly set yourself apart from other applicants. But if you’re just choosing it because you can, and coming up with your own prompt sounds fun, we’d encourage you to give the pre-established options another look.

Where to Get Your NYU Essay Edited 

Do you want feedback on your NYU essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays. 

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

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New York University | NYU’s 2023-24 Essay Prompts

Select-a-prompt short response.

We are looking for peacemakers, changemakers, global citizens, boundary breakers, creatives and innovators - Choose one quote from the following and let us know why it inspires you; or share a short quote and person not on our list who inspires you, and include why.

“We’re used to people telling us there are no solutions, and then creating our own. So we did what we do best. We reached out to each other, and to our allies, and we mobilized across communities to make change, to benefit and include everyone in society.” Judith Heuman, 2022 NYU Commencement Address

“I encourage your discomfort, that you must contribute, that you must make your voice heard. That is the essence of good citizenship." Sherilynn Ifill, 2015 NYU Commencement Address

“If you know how to fly but you never knew how to walk, wouldn’t that be sad?” Lang Lang, 2015 NYU Honorary Degree Recipient

"You have the right to want things and to want things to change." Sanna Marin, Former Prime Minister of Finland, 2023 NYU Commencement Address

"It‘s hard to fight when the fight ain‘t fair.” Taylor Swift, Change, Released 2008, 2022 NYU Commencement Speaker

Share a short quote and person not on this list, and why the quote inspires you.

Common App Personal Essay

The essay demonstrates your ability to write clearly and concisely on a selected topic and helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice. What do you want the readers of your application to know about you apart from courses, grades, and test scores? Choose the option that best helps you answer that question and write an essay of no more than 650 words, using the prompt to inspire and structure your response. Remember: 650 words is your limit, not your goal. Use the full range if you need it, but don‘t feel obligated to do so.

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?

Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you‘ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

What will first-time readers think of your college essay?

NYU Supplemental Essays 2023-24 Prompt and Advice

August 17, 2023

In the 2022-23 admissions cycle, NYU received over 120,000 applications. That was a record-breaking figure for the university (13% more than the previous year!), as was the all-time low acceptance rate of 8%. To put these numbers in proper context, consider for a moment that in 1991, NYU had an acceptance rate of 65%. At the start of the Obama presidency, NYU still only received 37,000 total applications. These numbers lead us into the topic of this blog, the NYU supplemental essay.

(Want to learn more about How to Get Into NYU? Visit our blog entitled:  How to Get Into NYU  for all of the most recent admissions data as well as tips for gaining acceptance.)

Clearly, standing out as an applicant to NYU was a heck of a lot easier a generation or even a mere decade ago. For the Class of 2027, the median SAT score for an admitted applicant was 1540 , meaning that even a standardized test score in the 99th percentile won’t do much to separate you from the hordes of equally credentialed applicants.

Although it only has one prompt, NYU’s essay still affords applicants an opportunity to illustrate what makes them uniquely qualified for admission. Below is NYU’s supplemental essay for the 2023-24 admissions cycle. We then follow with College Transitions’ advice on how to craft a winning composition.

2023-2024 NYU Supplement Essays

This is a new prompt for the 2023-24 admissions cycle. It’s optional, but we highly encourage anyone who would like to be a serious contender (which, if you’re taking the time to apply, hopefully you are) to answer it.

We are looking for peacemakers, changemakers, global citizens, boundary breakers, creatives and innovators – Choose one quote from the following and let us know why it inspires you; or share a short quote and person not on our list who inspires you, and include why. (250 words)

• “We’re used to people telling us there are no solutions, and then creating our own. So we did what we do best. We reached out to each other, and to our allies, and we mobilized across communities to make change, to benefit and include everyone in society.” Judith Heuman, 2022 NYU Commencement Address
• “I encourage your discomfort, that you must contribute, that you must make your voice heard. That is the essence of good citizenship.” Sherilynn Ifill, 2015 NYU Commencement Address
• “If you know how to fly but you never knew how to walk, wouldn’t that be sad?” Lang Lang, 2015 NYU Honorary Degree Recipient
• “You have the right to want things and to want things to change.” Sanna Marin, Former Prime Minister of Finland, 2023 NYU Commencement Address
• “It’s hard to fight when the fight ain’t fair.” Taylor Swift, Change, Released 2008, 2022 NYU Commencement Speaker
• Share a short quote and person not on this list, and why the quote inspires you.

NYU Supplemental Essay (Continued)

This prompt—and its options—are incredibly open-ended, offering you the power to decide why a particular quote inspires you (note that there are no guiding questions or proposed directions for any quote). As such, read through the quotes provided and note which one you continue returning to. When you read that quote, what do you want to do ? What type of change do you want to affect? Does it encourage to create or innovate? How so? Moreover, does it remind you of an experience you’ve had, a challenge you’ve overcome, or a belief you hold? Perhaps it calls to mind an aspect of your background or perspective. Or, it could speak to a particular social or political cause that is important to you. Alternatively, you can even choose your own quote if none of the above resonates with you.

The strongest responses will look to the future while also incorporating past personal experiences or influences. For example, perhaps the second prompt inspires you to continue seeking out experiences that challenge you. “Why is that?” NYU will want to know. Perhaps, earlier this year, you went out of your comfort zone to speak up at a school board meeting about your school district’s book ban policy, ultimately meeting & agreeing to continue working with a group of fellow students who also opposed the policy.

Finally, given that this is NYU’s only supplemental essay, you can also incorporate how you plan to seek out specific experiences or resources at NYU.

How important is the NYU supplemental essay?

NYU deems four elements as “very important” in evaluating a candidate. These are: the rigor of your secondary school record, class rank, GPA, standardized test scores, and talent/ability. The NYU supplemental essay is considered to be “important” alongside letters of recommendation, extracurricular activities, and character/personal qualities.

Want personalized assistance?

In conclusion, if you are interested in working with one of College Transitions’ experienced and knowledgeable essay coaches as you craft your NYU essay, we encourage you to  get a quote  today.

• College Essay

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How to Write the NYU Supplemental Essays

Reviewed by:

Rohan Jotwani

Former Admissions Committee Member, Columbia University

Reviewed: 1/30/24/em>

Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about the NYU supplemental essays. 

Located in the heart of one of the most iconic cities in the world, New York University (NYU) is known for its vibrant and diverse community. To be successful as an applicant, you must use all the opportunities available to showcase your unique qualities and experiences. 

One way you can do this is through your supplemental essays . Your responses give the admission committee a better understanding of who you are outside of your academic profile, and how you will fit into their community.

In this article, we’ll break down each prompt and provide key tips to help you draft essays that will impress the admissions committee. We’ll also provide a few NYU supplemental essay examples you can use as inspiration to craft your own compelling responses. Let’s get started!

NYU Supplemental Essay Prompts 2023-2024

Students are only required to answer one of the NYU essay prompts . Here are the options you can choose from for the current admissions cycle:

“ We are looking for peacemakers, changemakers, global citizens, boundary breakers, creatives, and innovators – Choose one quote from the following and let us know why it inspires you, or share a short quote and person not on our list who inspires you and include why. (250 words, optional).”

"We're used to people telling us there are no solutions and then creating our own. So we did what we do best. We reached out to each other and our allies, and we mobilized across communities to make change, to benefit and include everyone in society.” Judith Heuman, 2022 NYU Commencement Address.

“I encourage your discomfort, that you must contribute, that you must make your voice heard. That is the essence of good citizenship.” Sherilynn Ifill, 2015 NYU Commencement Address.

“If you know how to fly but never how to walk, wouldn’t that be sad?” Lang Lang, 2015 NYU Honorary Degree Recipient.

  “You have the right to want things and to want things to change.” Sanna Marin, Former Prime Minister of Finland, 2023 NYU Commencement Address.

“It’s hard to fight when the fight ain’t fair.” Taylor Swift, Change, Released 2008, 2022 NYU Commencement Speaker.

Share a short quote and a person not on this list and why the quote inspires you .

How to Write the Essay Prompt for NYU

In this section, we will analyze the prompt and provide a few tips to help you write impactful responses.

How to Write the NYU Supplemental Essay Option A + Analysis and Tips

Analysis of Option A : This first quote is a powerful statement that emphasizes resilience, collective action, and the ability to overcome challenges. Heuman describes a community's response to adversity, rejecting the notion that there are no solutions. 

The admissions committee likely chose this quote to gauge how applicants perceive and respond to challenges, as well as their commitment to inclusivity and positive change. For your essay, you might want to explore how this quote aligns with your personal values and experiences. 

Consider discussing instances where you've seen the power of collective action or have been part of a solution-oriented community. You could also reflect on your role in fostering inclusivity and change, either in your local community or within a specific context.

Here are some tips you can consider if you choose to write about Option A:

• Personal Connection : Start by reflecting on a personal experience or a situation where you've witnessed individuals coming together to create positive change. Share a story that resonates with the themes in the quote, demonstrating your understanding of its significance in real-life scenarios.
• Actions Speak Louder : While discussing why the quote inspires you, provide concrete examples of actions you've taken to contribute to positive change. Whether it's involvement in community projects, advocacy work, or initiatives that promote inclusivity, showcase instances where you've translated inspiration into tangible efforts.
• Relate to NYU Values : Align your response with NYU's values and mission. Highlight aspects of the quote that resonate with the university's emphasis on diversity, inclusivity, and global citizenship. This will show the admissions committee that you not only understand the quote but also see its relevance to the NYU community.

How to Write the NYU Supplemental Essay Option B + Analysis and Tips

Analysis of Option B : This quote emphasizes the importance of discomfort in contributing to societal change. The admissions committee expects applicants to reflect on their understanding of civic responsibility and showcase experiences where they've actively engaged in making their voices heard for positive transformations.

Take a look at these tips before you start writing:

• Choose a Genuine Experience : Select an experience where you genuinely felt discomfort but embraced it as a catalyst for positive change. Authenticity is crucial, so pick a situation that resonates with you personally.
• Highlight Personal Growth : Discuss how the discomfort you encountered led to personal growth and contributed to your development as an individual. Admissions officers are interested in understanding your journey and the lessons you've learned.
• Reflect on the Essence of Good Citizenship : Dive into what "the essence of good citizenship" means to you. This is an opportunity to share your philosophy on active citizenship and how you see it shaping your future endeavors.

How to Write the NYU Supplemental Essay Option C + Analysis and Tips

Analysis of Option C : This quote suggests the importance of grounding oneself in fundamental skills and practical knowledge, even when possessing exceptional talents or abilities. It calls for a balance between grand aspirations and the essential, foundational elements of any pursuit. 

The admissions committee is likely seeking applicants who understand the value of humility, continuous learning, and the importance of mastering the basics before venturing into more complex realms.

• Choose a Personal Anecdote : Share a specific moment or experience from your life where the quote's message resonates. For example, you could describe a situation in which you had to balance ambitious goals with the need for foundational skills.
• Reflect on Challenges : Discuss any challenges or obstacles you faced when tempted to focus solely on "flying" without considering the importance of "walking." Reflect on what you learned from these challenges.
• Discuss Long-Term Perspective : Discuss how your commitment to learning fundamental skills aligns with your long-term goals. Illustrate how this philosophy contributes to your personal and professional development.

How to Write the NYU Supplemental Essay Option D + Analysis and Tips

Analysis of Option D : The quote suggests that individuals possess the right to desire change and the right to actively seek change. It implies a sense of agency, empowerment, and a call to action. Admissions officers may want to see how this perspective aligns with your values and aspirations.

Applicants are called to consider their aspirations, the changes they wish to see in the world, and how they intend to exercise their agency. It invites reflection on personal values, social consciousness, and the willingness to contribute to positive transformations.

• Identify Personal Desires for Change : Reflect on your personal desires for change, whether in your life, community, or globally. What issues resonate with you, and why?
• Highlight Values and Principles : Articulate the values that underpin your desire for change. Whether rooted in empathy, justice, or other principles, explaining these values provides depth to your essay.
• Express Optimism and Determination : While acknowledging the need for change, convey optimism and determination. Admissions officers are likely looking for candidates who approach challenges with a positive mindset and a determination to make a difference.

How to Write the NYU Supplemental Essay Option E + Analysis and Tips

Analysis of Option E : This quote suggests a theme of resilience, determination, and the challenges inherent in pursuing one's goals. The admissions committee is likely interested in understanding how applicants navigate adversity, their tenacity in the face of challenges, and their perspectives on fairness and justice.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind for this option:

• Reflect on Growth : Reflect on how facing unfair challenges has contributed to your personal and intellectual growth. Admissions committees are interested not just in the challenges themselves but in how you've evolved as a result.
• Relate to Taylor Swift’s Journey : If you're a fan of Taylor Swift, consider drawing parallels between her journey and your own. Discuss how her experiences or advocacy efforts have inspired you and influenced your perspective on fairness.
• Link to Societal Issues : Explore how the quote reflects broader societal issues. Discuss your awareness of social injustices and your commitment to addressing these challenges, either through advocacy, volunteering, or future career plans.

How to Write the NYU Supplemental Essay Option F + Analysis and Tips

Analysis of Option F : This prompt gives applicants the flexibility to choose a quote from any person beyond the provided list, allowing for a more personalized response. Admissions committees are likely looking for insight into the student's values, influences, and the ability to make thoughtful connections.

If you choose this option, make sure to:

• Select a Meaningful Quot e: Choose a quote that holds personal significance. It could be from a favorite author, a mentor, a historical figure, or anyone whose words have had a profound impact.
• Explain Your Connection : Clearly explain why the chosen quote inspires you. Share personal anecdotes or experiences that highlight the significance of these words in your life.
• Showcase Reflective Thinking : Demonstrate reflective thinking by discussing the evolution of your understanding or interpretation of the quote over time. This showcases your capacity for self-reflection and growth.
• Relate to NYU Values : Connect your chosen quote and the associated person to values that align with NYU. This could include themes of diversity, innovation, social justice, or any aspect that resonates with the university's ethos.

Examples of NYU Supplemental Essays That Worked

In this section, we will provide a few NYU supplemental essay examples that have allowed students to successfully secure admission into the university. We will also discuss why each sample was effective and highlight what made them stand out.

Sample Essay #1

Prompt : “NYU was founded on the belief that a student’s identity should not dictate the ability for them to access higher education. That sense of opportunity for all students, of all backgrounds, remains a part of who we are today and a critical part of what makes us a world-class university. Our community embraces diversity, in all its forms, as a cornerstone of the NYU experience.

We would like to better understand how your experiences would help us to shape and grow our diverse community. Please respond in 250 words or less.”

Outside of spacetime, in my mind’s eye, on the International Tennis Federation’s (ITF) Florida “Orange Bowl” courts, I imagine Roger Federer serving to Caroline Wozniacki, who returns it back across the net. Except, Caroline’s return doesn’t go to Roger (who’s since dissipated back into my ethereal daydream), but rather to Coco Guaff, who hits a forehand back to Andre Agassi, and so on in an infinite rally between tennis legends who’ve played in the same tournament on the same court on which I’m now standing. Time to go to work!

Like a businesswoman entering the building for a productive workday, I set my bag down as I walk in - in this case, on the courtside bench - and survey my surroundings. Nerves like butterflies flutter in my stomach watching other tennis players from around the world warm up… but I know better by now to just trust my preparation and let it fly. Breathing deeply, I step into my office: the tennis court.

For my first match against an Australian opponent, I’m blessed with two pep talks: one from a [ETHNICITY] coach advising me to “expect everything and adjust to anything” and the other from my [STATE] coach saying to “be proactive, be persistent, play through to the finish.” Given that we’ve worked together longer, the latter words of wisdom stuck with me more, helping me win that first match, go onto qualify for the main draw, and, with your acceptance, share my play-through-to-the-finish pertinacity with my fellow Violets.

Why Essay #1 Worked

This essay is successful because it effectively connects the applicant's experiences in tennis to the values of diversity and community at NYU. The writer uses a creative and imaginative approach, describing a scenario of playing tennis with legends and drawing parallels between the advice received from coaches of different ethnic backgrounds. 

By vividly portraying the tennis environment and incorporating advice from diverse mentors, the applicant showcases their ability to navigate and appreciate diverse perspectives. The essay demonstrates how these experiences would contribute to the cultural richness and inclusivity of NYU's community, aligning with the university's emphasis on diversity as a cornerstone of its identity. 

Sample Essay #2

Prompt : We would like to know more about your interest in NYU. We are particularly interested in knowing what motivated you to apply to NYU and more specifically, why you have applied or expressed interest in a particular school, college, program, and/or area of study? We would like to understand why NYU? (2500 character maximum)

Though the brain, in all actuality, is not like any other muscle in the human body, the fact that I tend to view my brain as one would view any other muscle is something that must be acknowledged before analogizing how I’ve recently gone about challenging myself intellectually. Simply put, I take my brain to the gym; I analyse its power through its capability to ‘lift’ (fully comprehend) intellectual weights of varying mass and attempt to broaden the reach of its abilities by consistently exercising it, repeatedly pushing it just past its limits until it grows stronger and is thus ready to load on even heavier weights. While I’m by no means claiming here to be some sort of bodybuilding guru – in fact, I weigh roughly the same as most large dogs – this particular process of meticulous brain-training is something I’ve found myself doing in an endless quest to satisfy my insatiable thirst for an understanding of the bigger picture. 

Although attending my current institution has provided me with a stimulating academic experience, and one where I’ve jumped at the opportunity to more deeply explore my interests in both familiar and unfamiliar subjects alike, I find myself at a level of intellectual strength and vitality today where I’m confident in my capacity to take another step forwards – or better yet, a quantum leap into the academic equivalent of an Olympic-level gymnasium that is NYU.

How exactly I plan to utilize the variety of resources such a 'gym’ would provide is a question I’ve spent years eagerly pondering: for one, continuing on my path of pursuing degrees in economics and philosophy at a school ranked 11th and 1st in those subjects respectively would be an absolute honour, as would the experience of studying beneath Professor Alberto Bisin, whose HCEO lecture on Cultural Inequality I’ve now watched countless times. Tantamount to my commitment towards fully exhausting NYU’s academic resources is the level to which I aim to immerse myself in the school’s diverse community; whether it be by driving Tandon’s Formula SAE racecar in competition or volunteering for the noble Change the Imbalance Initiative, I want to ensure that my character undergoes as much development as my intellect in being an NYU student. What stands above all, though, is my desire to give back to the Violet garden of intellectual growth by putting my voice into play within NYU’s academic arena, both inside and outside the classroom. 

Why Essay #2 Worked

This essay effectively articulates the applicant's intellectual curiosity and eagerness to engage with NYU's academic and community aspects. The analogy of treating the brain like a muscle and taking it to the "gym" showcases the writer's disciplined approach to intellectual growth. 

The essay is well-structured, with a clear narrative that transitions from the current academic experience to the desire for a more challenging environment at NYU. The applicant expresses a specific interest in economics and philosophy, aligning their academic goals with NYU's strengths in those subjects. 

The writer goes beyond academics by highlighting their intention to actively participate in the diverse community, referencing specific activities like driving Tandon’s Formula SAE racecar and volunteering for the Change the Imbalance Initiative. Overall, this response successfully conveys the applicant's motivation to contribute both intellectually and personally to NYU's vibrant academic environment.

Sample Essay #3

Prompt : “NYU was founded on the belief that a student’s identity should not dictate the ability for them to access higher education. That sense of opportunity for all students, of all backgrounds, remains a part of who we are today and a critical part of what makes us a world class university. Our community embraces diversity, in all its forms, as a cornerstone of the NYU experience.”

What I’d add to the NYU menu is time-tested tradition translated into battle-tested characteristics and skills that make for seasoned leaders and entrepreneurs. This tradition spans not only academic excellence in school but also entrepreneurial prowess in DECA and even empowers me personally when it comes to my Jewish faith. Since I can remember, Friday nights have always been spent at my grandparents’ house. The euphoric smells of challah and kugel diffuse from the kitchen as the familiar faces of close family sit hungrily around the dinner table, eager to begin the Shabbat prayers. As the last blessing concludes, my grandpa raises his glass. L’chaim, “to life”, echoes throughout the dining room and is accompanied by the sounds of clinking glass and tikvah, “hope”. And finally, it’s time to eat. 

These Shabbat memories have ultimately fueled my ever-growing Jewish identity. The traditional Ashkenazi Jewish recipes that cover the dinner table, symbols of the strength of my ancestors who migrated to America from war-torn Poland during the Holocaust, and the gathering of family each Friday night, symbols of a surviving legacy, have inspired me to hold these traditions close to my heart as I forge my own path through both Judaism and life. 

Today, involvement in my synagogue’s youth program has continued to fuel my ever-growing Jewish identity by allowing me to channel my enthusiasm through civic engagement initiatives that aim to foster change within our community and beyond, such as the [NAME OF EVENT] and other fundraising events within our synagogue. 

Why Essay #3 Worked

This essay effectively communicates the applicant's commitment to their Jewish identity and its connection to their academic and entrepreneurial pursuits. Through vivid details of Friday night Shabbat gatherings and the cultural significance of traditional Jewish recipes, the essay paints a compelling picture. 

The applicant skillfully links their involvement in DECA and synagogue youth programs to civic engagement initiatives, showcasing a commitment to community betterment. The use of Hebrew terms adds cultural authenticity. 

FAQs: How to Write the NYU Supplemental Essays

Here are our answers to a few frequently asked questions about the NYU supplemental essays:

1. Does NYU Have Supplemental Essays?

Yes, NYU has supplemental essays as part of the first-year application process.

2. How Many Essays Does NYU Require?

NYU only has one supplemental essay. You can choose from the options available or come up with your own .

3. How Important Is the Supplemental Essay for NYU?

These essays are very important; they allow you to highlight what makes you unique and how you will contribute to the NYU community. It’s your chance to convey your passion, interest, and commitment to the university. A well-crafted essay can set you apart from other applicants and increase your chances of admission.

4. How Long Should the Supplemental Essays Be?

Your response should be no longer than 250 words. 

5. Can I Reuse the Essay from Other College Applications for NYU?

No, reusing the essay from another college application is not advisable. It’s important to ensure your essays are school-specific and align with the values of each institution. Admission committees seek unique and genuine stories and your fit for their school.

6. How Should I Respond to the NYU Supplemental Essay Prompt?

To answer the prompt, ensure you are innovative by tailoring your response to the exact prompt, which should be at least 250 words. You can choose any option and tell your story to show that you are deeply invested in the issue you are discussing.

Final Thoughts

The NYU supplemental essays allow you to convey your passion, values, and aspirations to the admission committee. A well-crafted application can help you stand out and convince the admission committee that you are a perfect fit for the university. 

To successfully meet NYU's essay requirements, it is crucial to delve into prompts that explore your reasons for applying, your specific interest in NYU, and how your experiences align with the university's commitment to fostering a diverse community. 

Therefore, thoroughly understanding the prompts will empower you to create a narrative that reflects your individuality, ultimately increasing your chances of admission. Good luck!

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September 13, 2023

2023-2024 NYU Supplemental Essay Prompt

New York University has released its supplemental essay prompt for the 2023-2024 admissions cycle. In addition to The Common Application ’s Personal Statement, applicants to NYU are asked to respond to one optional 250-word supplemental essay — and it’s a different one from years past.

For this supplemental essay, NYU applicants can focus their answer on one of four quotes provided, choose their own quote, or not answer the question at all. Of course, students who don’t write optional essays put themselves at a significant disadvantage — irrespective of what NYU’s admissions officers may say to the contrary.

2023-2024 NYU Essay Question

In 250 words or less, applicants to NYU’s Class of 2028 are asked to respond to the following prompt:

We are looking for peacemakers, changemakers, global citizens, boundary breakers, creatives and innovators – Choose one quote from the following and let us know why it inspires you; or share a short quote and person not on our list who inspires you, and include why.

“We’re used to people telling us there are no solutions, and then creating our own. So we did what we do best. We reached out to each other, and to our allies, and we mobilized across communities to make change, to benefit and include everyone in society.” 

– Judith Heumann, 2022 NYU Commencement Address

“I encourage your discomfort, that you must contribute, that you must make your voice heard. That is the essence of good citizenship.” 

– Sherilynn Ifill, 2015 NYU Commencement Addresss

“If you know how to fly but you never knew how to walk, wouldn’t that be sad?” Lang Lang, 2015 NYU Honorary Degree Recipient “You have the right to want things and to want things to change.” 

– Sanna Marin, Former Prime Minister of Finland, 2023 NYU Commencement Address

“It’s hard to fight when the fight ain’t fair.” 

– Taylor Swift, Change, Released 2008, 2022 NYU Commencement Speaker

Share a short quote and person not on this list, and why the quote inspires you.

Not answering this optional question.

When answering this NYU essay prompt, regardless of the quote a student chooses, students must focus on how they think and wish to shape the world in one singular way rather than focus on the quote itself or the person who uttered the line at a commencement address. Ideally, the essay will fit like a puzzle piece with the Personal Statement — in a complementary rather than a redundant way — to showcase the singular hook a student hopes to bring to NYU.

On a personal note, we at Ivy Coach are pleased to see a quote included from the late disability rights activist Judith Heumann , NYU’s 2022 commencement speaker and the subject of a 2022 Academy Award-winning documentary, as she was a dear friend of Ivy Coach’s Founder, Bev Taylor .

Ivy Coach’s Assistance with the NYU Essay

If you’re interested in optimizing your case for admission to NYU by submitting an NYU supplement that wows admissions officers, fill out Ivy Coach ’s free consultation form , and we’ll be in touch to outline our college counseling services for applicants to the Class of 2028.

You are permitted to use www.ivycoach.com (including the content of the Blog) for your personal, non-commercial use only. You must not copy, download, print, or otherwise distribute the content on our site without the prior written consent of Ivy Coach, Inc.

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, writing the why nyu essay.

College Essays

If you're applying to New York University, you'll need to submit both the regular Common App materials as well as the NYU supplement, which includes a short essay. At its heart, the NYU essay prompt asks you to answer a single straightforward question: why do you want to go to NYU?

In this article, we'll fully analyze the "Why NYU?" essay prompt and what successful essays need to accomplish. We'll also go over potential topics to write about and look at the essay that got me into NYU's College of Arts and Science.

First, however, we'll begin with a quick discussion of why schools ask students to write "why this school?" essays

feature image credit: Sagie /Flickr

Why NYU Essay 2023 Update

NYU has discontinued the "Why NYU" for the 2022-2023 admissions cycle . That means there won't be an NYU-specific writing supplement provided as part of the Common Application process. 

However, students can submit an optional 250-word response as part of NYU's additional questions section. This response deals with students' perspectives on diversity. Here's the prompt for 2023-2024: 

We are looking for peacemakers, changemakers, global citizens, boundary breakers, creatives and innovators. Choose one quote from the following and let us know why it inspires you; or share a short quote and person not on our list who inspires you, and include why.

“We’re used to people telling us there are no solutions, and then creating our own. So we did what we do best. We reached out to each other, and to our allies, and we mobilized across communities to make change, to benefit and include everyone in society.” Judith Heuman, 2022 NYU Commencement Address

“I encourage your discomfort, that you must contribute, that you must make your voice heard. That is the essence of good citizenship.” Sherilynn Ifill, 2015 NYU Honorary Degree Recipient

“You have the right to want things and to want things to change.” Sanna Marin, Former Prime Minister of Finland, 2023 NYU Commencement Address “It’s hard to fight when the fight ain’t fair.” Taylor Swift, Change, Released 2008, 2022 NY Commencement Speaker

Share a short quote and person not on the list and why the quote inspires you.

What's the Point of "Why This School" Essays?

While the Common App essay gives students a chance to showcase something of who they are that might not be evident elsewhere in their application, the "why [school]?" essay allows students space to explicitly state why they are such a good match for the school.

Presumably, if you're applying to the school, your test scores, grades, course rigor and curriculum, extracurriculars, and volunteer experience all put you at least somewhat in line with other students at the school.

The "why this school?" essay is your opportunity to discuss not just why you could excel at the school, but why you are a good fit (and why you want to go there).

"Why this school" essays are also a useful way for schools to judge student interest in a school (which can indicate whether or not a student will attend if admitted). Based on students' "why this school?" essays, colleges can distinguish students who are specifically interested in attending that school from students who clearly applied just because of the school's location or ranking

Writing a strong "why [school]?" essay not only gives you another instance to showcase your writing and reasoning skills, but also tells the school that you care enough to invest time in researching what makes them special. It signifies that you have put in the time to realize whether or not you're a good fit. (And, it secondarily shows that having put in that time, you're more likely to attend if admitted than someone who just wrote some generic statements about why they want to attend college ).

For a more in-depth look at what schools hope to get out of your "Why [This School]?" essays, read this article .

Why NYU Essay Prompt, Analyzed

Here's the complete NYU supplement essay prompt for 2021:

We would like to know more about your interest in NYU. What motivated you to apply to NYU? Why you have applied or expressed interest in a particular campus, school, college, program, and or area of study? If you have applied to more than one, please also tell us why you are interested in these additional areas of study or campuses. We want to understand - Why NYU? (400 word maximum)

Besides the standard "what motivated you to apply to [school]?" question that almost every "why this school" essay asks, the NYU prompt gives you one extra nudge for what to focus on in your essay.

Specifically, NYU wants you to talk about what's drawn you to "a particular campus, school, college, program, and/or area of study?" (or, if you're drawn to more than one, why you're drawn to each campus/school/college/program/area of study).

Keep in mind that you should be discussing all of this in the context of NYU . Obviously, if you're interested in NYU because of one of their 10 undergraduate schools, then that's particular to NYU, but the same goes for their campus locations, programs, and areas of study.

For instance, if you're passionate about studying theater, you wouldn't just write that you want to attend NYU because you love theater and NYU has a theater program and is in New York, a city that has theater; that description could apply to half a dozen schools. Instead, you'd go into the details of what attracts you about specific classes and professors at Tisch, or other opportunities that are unique to NYU (ability to do certain kinds of projects, the potential for interdisciplinary collaboration, etc).

This prompt also hints at a few different directions you can go with your "Why NYU" essay:

Why have you expressed interest in a particular campus, school, college, program, or area of study? If you have applied to more than one, please also tell us why you are interested in these additional areas of study or campuses.

If you're already certain of what you want to study in college or have a " spike ", you'll want to go the "particular" route in your essay . This means mentioning specific classes, professors, programs, or how you see NYU supporting your future career/academic plans.

On the other hand, perhaps you're not at all sure what you want to study in college (AKA me in high school). In that case, you'll shape your essay more around how you believe going to NYU will allow you to explore many different avenues to find your passion .

Finally, if you already know that you want to spend time abroad during college in a place where NYU has a campus, you can emphasize your interest in continuing to receive an NYU-level academic education while living in another country .

Potential "Why NYU?" Essay Topics

Earlier, we briefly touched upon some topics that you might write about in your essay, including specific courses/teachers/programs and study abroad opportunities.

We're now going to take those broad topic categories and go into a little more depth for how to write about them in your "Why NYU?" essay.

Colleges/Programs

NYU has the following 10 undergraduate schools, colleges, and programs:

• College of Arts & Sciences
• Gallatin School of Individualized Study
• Liberal Studies
• Meyers College of Nursing
• School of Professional Studies
• Silver School of Social Work
• Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development
• Stern School of Business
• Tandon School of Engineering
• Tisch School of the Arts

Because there are so many different undergraduate programs within NYU, it's a good idea to identify which program(s) you're applying to and why in your NYU supplement essay.

Since you'll need to decide on a program before applying to NYU anyway, you might as well use the time you spend reading about each college to figure out if there are any programs within particular colleges that call out to you.

For instance, if you're interested in the intersection of different fields (like psychology and computer science, or biology and philosophy/ethics) and are self-motivated to create your own program of study, you should talk about that in your application to the Gallatin School of Individualized Study. If you've spent the last 12 years devoting all your extra time in and out of school to theatre and want to attend a conservatory with opportunities to go see live theatre, then write about that in your application to Tisch.

Courses/Professors

NYU is a world-renowned university for a reason, and it's not just because of its immense real estate holdings; it has a wide variety of courses and professors renowned in their fields. If one of the main reasons you're drawn to NYU is for its academics, then this is a good topic to get into in your supplemental essay.

Flip through the online course catalogs and read about professors in departments you're interested in. Are there any classes you really want to take (that seem particular to NYU)? Or any professors you absolutely have to study with?

You don't need to go so far as to read the professors' research or anything like that (unless you're super excited by it!), but doing even a little research into the courses and professors you'd be learning from and mentioning it in your "Why NYU?" essay will go a long way toward showing the admissions officers that you're serious enough about NYU to check out its specifics.

Extracurricular Opportunities and School Traditions

If there's an extracurricular at NYU that you've been particularly involved in during high school (or are excited to start getting involved in at college), you can write about it, as long as you're clear about why it's something unique to NYU.

In a similar vein, you can also try reading through some of the campus-wide events offered throughout the year and see if there's anything special about them that speaks to you.

NYU Essay: Topics to Avoid

The "Why NYU" essay prompt makes it pretty clear that you should focus your 400 words around a specific college/program/area of study.

What you absolutely should avoid is gushing about NYU's location (whether you're applying to the New York campus or not).

Back when I applied to NYU, the "why NYU?" essay prompt was even more blunt about not centering your essay around New York City:

"Many students decide to apply to NYU because of our New York City location. Apart from the New York City location, please tell us why you feel NYU will be a good match for you."

If New Yorkers have heard it all and seen it all before, NYU admissions officers have certainly read any and all paeans you could care to write to New York City.

It's fine to write about how being in New York gives you access to opportunities relevant to your course at NYU (e.g. you can get amazing internship opportunities for journalism and theatre there that you wouldn't be able to get anywhere else). However, you need to be clear to center your essay around the program at NYU, with the New York location (and its opportunities) being an added bonus.

Unless you have a unique take on why NYU's location is so important to you (e.g. your grandparents used to live in a building that was demolished to make way for Bobst law library and you were brought up on vengeance that has since turned to adoration), stay away from NYU's location in your explanation of why you want to go there.

Brainstorming for the Why NYU Essay

Before you start to narrow in on what angle you'll take in your "Why NYU?" essay, you should first examine your reasons for applying to NYU. By "examine," we don't just mean "list your reasons"—we mean you need to go a few levels deeper into each surface reason that occurs to you.

For example, this is the list of reasons I had for applying to NYU (roughly in order of importance):

• My test scores and grades/course rigor make it likely I'll get in
• NYU has lots of good schools and programs
• It's easy enough to get from NYU to my family, transportation-wise

On the face of it, none of these reasons are very compelling. If I'd just gone on to write my "Why NYU?" essay (or in those days, essays) with those three bullet points, I doubt I would have been accepted.

Instead, I went deeper with each reason to see if there was anything there I could mine for the NYU supplement essay.

Surface Reason 1 : My test scores and grades/course rigor make it likely I'll get in.

• One level deeper : I'm applying to NYU as a safety school, because I'm pretty sure I'll get in there, even if I don't get in anywhere else, and I'd want to go there if I got in.
• Should I write about this in my "why NYU" essay? Definitely not. No school wants to hear that it's a safety (even if it's a safety you would be fine with attending because it's still a good school).

Surface Reason 2 : NYU has lots of good schools and programs.

• One level deeper : I'm extremely undecided about what I want to study—I know that I'm interested in English (Creative Writing), Math, Neuroscience, Chinese, and Music, but I might end up deciding to study something entirely different in college. It's important to me that I go somewhere that I'll have the opportunity to explore all of my interests (and develop more), which I can do at NYU.
• Should I write about this in my "Why NYU" essay? This reason is definitely promising, although I'll need to do more research into the particular programs and courses at NYU so I can namedrop (and in the process, double-check that I'm right about being able to study all these things there!).

Surface Reason 3 : It's easy enough to get from NYU to my family, transportation-wise.

• One level deeper : My parents want there to be good transportation options for me visiting home (or them visiting me). NYU's location (New York City) definitely makes that possible (there's easy access to planes, trains, buses, rental cars, fixed-gear bikes…).
• Should I write about this in my "Why NYU" essay? Probably not. The prompt asks me about why I've expressed interest in a particular campus, school, college, program, and/or area of study, not a geographic area. Plus, it's not like there aren't plenty of other New York schools. I maybe could throw in this reason if I'm running short on things to say, but as it is, it looks like my second reason is going to be the best bet for the "Why NYU?" essay.

Why NYU Essay Sample

Below, I've created a "Why NYU?" essay example that draws verbatim from what I used in my (successful) NYU application. (The essay requirements were slightly different then, with different word counts, so I had to expand a little upon what I originally wrote.)

I feel NYU would be a good match for me because of the number and kinds of programs it has. I am very interested in a variety of subjects, and NYU seems to encompass everything. In fact, I'm applying to the College of Arts and Sciences because I can’t specify my interests any more than that at this time. I have so many things that I want to learn that I can’t imagine limiting myself before I even enter college.

Take Chinese, for example. I'm learning Mandarin now (and have been for the last five years), but I would also like to learn Cantonese. There are not many other schools that offer Cantonese classes that can boast trips into Chinatown as part of the curriculum! Furthermore, I am excited by the possibility of studying abroad at NYU Shanghai. I'd not only be able to go to China for a semester for a year and immerse myself in the language and culture, but I'd be able to do so with the continuity of being on an NYU campus, even halfway across the world.

The music theory program in the College of Arts and Sciences also really interests me. I've picked up some theory here and there, but I haven't had all that much formal training. I'm also really intrigued by NYU's early music ensemble and the chance to explore different modes and tunings. At the other end of the spectrum, while I've written a few pieces on my own and taught myself a little bit about MIDI, I have not really had a chance to experiment very much with computer/electronic composition, and would really like to use those Steinhardt facilities that would be available to me at NYU to help remedy this.

Finally, I cannot stress enough how important reading and creative writing are to me. Because of how much the two feed into one another, I'm excited by NYU's Reading Series and the potential to be able to attend organized events for interacting with other writers outside the classroom.

The opportunity to expand my Chinese language abilities beyond Mandarin (and have the chance for practical application) is what first intrigued me; the chance to explore computer music and get my hands on NYU's facilities was the next breadcrumb; but the breadth and depth of the courses for writing lure me in even more, until I can resist no further.

This essay isn't necessarily the best piece of writing I've ever done. However, it still effectively conveys my desire to attend NYU because I mention a few key reasons I want to attend NYU:

• The variety of courses available . I began by stating that I'm undecided and part of what attracts me to NYU is the opportunity to get to do lots of different things. I then go on to discuss several different examples.
• Specific NYU opportunities . I looked up various courses, events, and opportunities offered by different departments and mentioned a couple of them specifically (the Reading Studies program for creative writing, Cantonese classes, studying abroad in China).
• While I did mention a New York City thing (going into Chinatown), it was linked with something that's relatively NYU-specific (the opportunity to study Cantonese as well as Mandarin).

Tips for the Why NYU Essay

To wrap up, we've summarized our top four tips for writing the "Why NYU?" essay.

#1: Look over the descriptions of the different schools/programs. This will help you figure out both which one you want to apply to as well as what makes those schools interesting for you to apply to.

#2: Read through the course catalog and look up professors in departments you're interested in. As the NYU Admission blog states , you don't have to go overboard in stating exactly what course you want to take with what professor at what time, but you should demonstrate that you're aware of what kinds of things you will be able to do and learn while at NYU

#3: Look into whether there are any extracurricular activities or NYU traditions that particularly appeal to you--and explain why they matter specifically to you.

#4: Avoid writing odes to New York City. If there are particular opportunities you're interested in that are only available in New York (e.g. internships at the American Museum of Natural History, research into immigration history at Ellis Island) you can mention it, but don't lean too heavily on the location.

#5: Remember that while you should make it clear why you want to attend NYU with your essay, you don't need to agonize for hours over it. Ultimately, other parts of your application (including your test scores and grades/course rigor, letters of recommendation, and personal statement) are more important factors to your acceptance than your NYU supplement essay is. You just need to show that you've done at least a little research into NYU and why you want to apply there in particular.

And if along the way you find that you don't really have a super good reason that's getting you excited to apply to NYU? It might be worth reconsidering whether or not you should apply there.

What's Next?

Have a bunch more college-specific supplement essays to write? Be sure to check out our overview of the "why this college" essay .

Looking for application tips for other selective schools? Read our complete guides to the University of California system and to the Georgetown application .

Should you apply early or regular decision to college? Find out the pros and cons of early decision in this article . ( And read up on the distinctions between early decision, early action, and the different kinds of each here. )

Laura graduated magna cum laude from Wellesley College with a BA in Music and Psychology, and earned a Master's degree in Composition from the Longy School of Music of Bard College. She scored 99 percentile scores on the SAT and GRE and loves advising students on how to excel in high school.

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NYU Supplemental Essays 2023-24

NYU Supplemental Essays

New York University, also known as NYU , is in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan. NYU is not only one of the best universities in New York but one of the world’s most elite schools. With the NYU acceptance rate at 13%, NYU is highly competitive , meaning you need a stellar NYU essay when applying. Finely crafted NYU supplemental essays will almost certainly make or break your admissions hopes for NYU.

Are you wondering how to get into NYU? NYU considers various components of your college application; you should understand how these requirements are evaluated. Most students know about high school transcripts and letters of recommendation, but have you thought about the NYU supplemental essays? NYU supplemental essays are designed to gather additional information that the admissions committee is most interested in. In this guide, we will cover NYU supplemental essays, NYU essay prompts, and NYU admission requirements.

New York University Essay: Quick Facts

Nyu essay: quick facts.

• NYU Acceptance Rate: 13%
• Early Decision I: November 1
• Early Decision II: January 1
• Regular Decision: January 5
• The New York University application is hosted exclusively on the Common App.
• The Common App allows students to submit supporting documents on the Common App. Review a list of supporting documents here .
• You can also submit your documents directly to the NYU admissions office. 
• After you submit your application on the Common App, you can check the status of your application on the NYU Admissions website . 
• 1 required Common App personal essay. 
• 1 optional NYU supplemental essay. 
• New York University Essay Tip: In addition to the Common App personal essay, NYU has one optional NYU essay. While this essay is optional, this is your chance to give the admissions committee more evidence of your writing skills and who you are.

Please note that essay requirements are subject to change each admissions cycle, and portions of this article may have been written before the final publication of the most recent guidelines. For the most up-to-date information on essay requirements, check the university’s admissions website. 

Does NYU have supplemental essays?

The NYU admission requirements include one optional supplemental NYU essay. But don’t be fooled by the “optional” label. Even though this NYU essay is not required, completing the optional NYU essay can be beneficial to your holistic application review. Essayless applications aren’t penalized, but you are missing out on a valuable opportunity to add additional context to your application. NYU supplemental essays are highly recommended for any student serious about getting into NYU.

To understand how the admissions committee reviews optional NYU supplemental essays, it is important to understand holistic application reviews . A holistic application review considers the metrics, attributes, and experiences of applicants in its admissions decisions. Holistic review does not assign numeric weights to your transcript, essay, or letters of recommendation. Instead, this approach looks at the collective story between all your application materials.

Holistic reviews understand that you’re much more than your GPA and your SAT scores. Admissions committees are interested in what makes you unique. One of the best platforms to showcase your unique experiences and point of view is your NYU supplemental essays. You can tell the admissions committee who you are and what you value in your own words.

What happened to the Why NYU essay?

Essay guides from years past go in-depth about the “why NYU” essay, but not this year. In fact, changes to the NYU essay prompts are common, as with many universities. Each year, admissions offices make updates to their admissions applications based on their goals. For instance, NYU—like many other schools—continues to be test-optional this year, so don’t fret if you don’t have standardized test scores .

This year the “why NYU” essay was removed, and another NYU essay was added. The essays for each application cycle are announced on August 1 st . This gives you plenty of time to read through the NYU essay prompts and prepare your NYU essay. Preparation and research are essential! Having a solid understanding of why you are interested in a college allows you to prepare a more intentional application.

Even though the “why NYU” essay is no longer one of the required NYU supplemental essays, don’t discount it. There are still some important takeaways from the “why NYU” essay that you can apply to other NYU supplemental essays. Writing a strong “why school” essay requires you to do your research and explore exactly why you would be a good fit for that institution.

Being able to articulate why you are a good fit in your NYU supplemental essays is critical. To set yourself up for success, make sure you thoroughly research NYU and why you want to attend. Later, we will discuss how to incorporate the same approach used in the “why NYU” essay into your other NYU supplemental essays. 

NYU Common App Essay

The Common Application is one of the largest college application platforms. There are thousands of colleges that use the Common App, including New York University. The Common App allows students to apply for multiple institutions using the same platform. The New York University essay portion is separate and discussed further down.

One of the application components that is common to all colleges on the platform is the Common App personal essay .  Also called the personal statement, this essay will go to NYU and any other colleges on your Common App portal. The Common App personal essay must be a minimum of 250 words and a maximum of 650 words. All applicants using the Common App write according to the same requirements. 

The Common App instructs students to choose one of the personal essay prompts below. These prompts allow you to write about yourself, your personality, and your values through thought-provoking topics. The prompts usually change slightly year-to-year, but the intention behind them is the same.

The personal essay prompts are very broad which gives applicants the opportunity to discuss anything they are interested in. There is no “best” prompt to choose. You should choose the prompt that most resonates with you and shows off your writing skills. There is even an option to submit an original piece of writing on any topic you choose. However, while the prompts ask about experiences or topics, you should ultimately reveal something of yourself in your essay.

2023-2024 Common App Personal Essay Prompts

Here are the Common App prompts for this application cycle:

Common App Essay Prompts

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. if this sounds like you, then please share your story., the lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. how did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience, reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. what prompted your thinking what was the outcome, reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. how has this gratitude affected or motivated you, discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others., describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. why does it captivate you what or who do you turn to when you want to learn more, share an essay on any topic of your choice. it can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design..

After choosing a Common App prompt, you should carve out several weeks to review and revise your essay. Since this is the only required essay,  you should view it as a critical piece of your college application. After all, New York University and all of the other colleges you apply to will be reading your personal essay.

Many students spend all their energy on trying to come up with a unique topic . Remember that what’s most important is not what you say but how you say it and what you reveal about yourself. What makes your essay unique is your unique point of view. You should channel the words, details, and stories that feel most authentic to you. This is how you stand out . 

Other articles cover this year’s Common App essay in more depth—our main focus is the NYU essay. Keep reading to learn more about the NYU supplemental essays. 

NYU Supplemental Essay

Although there is no longer a “why NYU” Essay, students may answer another supplemental New York University essay. While this New York University essay is optional, answering it can show your interest in NYU and bolster your application.

Considering the 13% NYU acceptance rate, a successful NYU supplemental essay may decide if you get into NYU . Supplemental essay prompts are designed for the admissions committee to learn additional details about the applicant. Choosing to answer an optional essay is just another opportunity to put your best self forward for the committee.

Check out the optional NYU essay prompts below. Then, we’ll discuss how to go about choosing the best NYU essay prompt for you.

NYU Essay Prompt for 2023–2024

We are looking for peacemakers, changemakers, global citizens, boundary breakers, creatives, and innovators – choose one quote from the following and let us know why it inspires you, or share a short quote and person not on our list who inspires you, and include why., 1. “we’re used to people telling us there are no solutions, and then creating our own. so we did what we do best. we reached out to each other, and to our allies, and we mobilized across communities to make change, to benefit and include everyone in society.” judith heuman, 2022 nyu commencement address, 2. “i encourage your discomfort, that you must contribute, that you must make your voice heard. that is the essence of good citizenship.” sherilynn ifill, 2015 nyu commencement address, 3. “if you know how to fly but you never knew how to walk, wouldn’t that be sad” lang lang, 2015 nyu honorary degree recipient, 4. “you have the right to want things and to want things to change.” sanna marin, former prime minister of finland, 2023 nyu commencement address, 5. “it’s hard to fight when the fight ain’t fair.” taylor swift, change, released 2008, 2022 nyu commencement speaker, applicants may also share a short quote and person not on this list, and why the quote inspires them. of course, they may also choose not to answer the question at all., choosing a quote for your nyu supplemental essay.

The optional NYU essay gives students several quotes to choose from. With so many options, you are probably wondering what quote you should choose. Let’s think about how to approach this prompt and the quotes it gives you.

First, identify the quotes that most resonate with you—choosing several is fine. You can consider how each quote relates to your background and life experiences. You may even find some commonalities between you and the person quoted. No matter what draws you to a specific quote, it is critical that you find a quote that best suits you. While no quote is bad, there are undoubtedly some quotes that will feel more relatable to you than others. 

As an exercise, you can choose your top two quotes and brainstorm NYU supplemental essays about them. This includes making an outline, adding details you’d like to incorporate, and deciding on the structure of your NYU essay. Don’t forget about incorporating why you would be a good fit for NYU. This can be done explicitly or subtly by drawing parallels between your personal values and the institution’s values. 

Like the Common App personal essay, if you don’t love any of the quotes, you can always choose your own. If you go this route, consider the quotes provided as inspiration. Each of these quotes encourages you to think critically and explore your thoughts and beliefs beyond the surface. The NYU admissions team chose these quotes for a reason. They can be great clues to the type of information that NYU is hoping to gather through the NYU supplemental essays. 

How long should the NYU supplemental essays be?

The NYU supplemental essays have a maximum word count of 250 words. Typically, that results in two to three paragraphs. There is no minimum word count for the NYU supplemental essays. Students should focus on addressing the prompt in its entirety instead of focusing solely on how long the essay should be. If you’ve said everything you wanted to and haven’t hit the word limit, don’t sweat it. There are great 100-word NYU supplemental essays and other NYU supplemental essays that use the entire word limit. No matter how long your NYU supplemental essays are, you should feel confident that you addressed the prompt fully.

What does NYU admissions look for in essays?

Are you wondering how to get into NYU with a strong essay? NYU supplemental essays continue to be an important part of your admissions application. A strong NYU essay allows the admissions committee to envision you on the campus of NYU. To best answer your NYU essay prompts, applicants should have a strong understanding of NYU’s mission and values.

NYU’s history is steeped in innovation and trailblazing. NYU alumni are often change agents and pacesetters in their respective fields. NYU also values global education—many NYU alumni go on to contribute to the global community in their discipline. If you read through past and present NYU essay prompts, you will see evidence of these values.

#1: Can you contribute to NYU?

The first thing NYU is looking for is you! The admissions committee uses the Common App essay and NYU supplemental essays to get to know you as a person. They are interested in your interests, motivations, experiences, and unique point of view. Your NYU supplemental essays are your chance to be your most authentic self.

Even though this prompt is not a “why school” essay, you should be finding parallels between NYU’s and your own personal values. Writing about your passions and motivations should answer the question “Why NYU?” for the admissions committee. Ultimately this allows them to see you on their campus making contributions in the classroom and beyond. 

#2: Did you answer the prompt?

Second, you should always be sure that you are answering the NYU essay prompts in their entirety. The reader should walk away feeling as though you fully understood the NYU essay prompts and presented an organized and structured response. Thorough planning, drafting, and revising can make sure your essays are logically sound and comprehensible.

Don’t discount style in conveying your answer to the prompt. One of the best ways to get your message across is by adding in detailed descriptions and anecdotes. Your essay should feel inviting and authentic. Sometimes describing the sound, smell, and feel of a moment can help invite the reader into your world. 

#3: Does your NYU essay highlight you ?

Finally, your NYU essay is less about testing your spelling and grammar and more about producing a compelling narrative. Many high school students are overly concerned with impressing the admissions committee with large words and complicated concepts. While the quality of your writing, grammar, and spelling are important, these elements are seen as a baseline.

Certainly, the admissions committee is looking for writing that is at the college level. But more than that, your perspective, tone, and language should be authentically yours. You should focus on communicating your unique viewpoint and values by answering this prompt. This is what will truly set you apart.

What is the application deadline for NYU?

NYU has three deadlines to choose from: Early Decision I, Early Decision II, and Regular Decision. The NYU application deadline for Early Decision I is November 1 st and the NYU application deadline for Early Decision II is January 1 st . The final NYU application deadline, Regular Decision,  is January 5 th . There are pros and cons to each NYU application deadline, so it is important to find out which NYU deadline is best for you.

Regular Decision

First of all, Regular Decision is the typical deadline for college applications. Most students apply through Regular Decision, meaning more time to prepare but a much larger applicant pool. 

Obviously, having more time can be a great asset if you need to work on your essays more. Furthermore, some applicants may benefit from their first-semester senior grades being available at the time of their application review. These students may also have additional time to retake standardized tests.

On the other hand, the larger applicant pool in Regular Decision means a lower chance of admittance. Another downside of applying for Regular Decision is you won’t receive your admissions decision until April 1 st . This leaves students with limited time to decide where they will enroll in the fall. 

Early Decision at NYU

The Early Decision I and Early Decision II plans are binding admissions offers. Should a student be admitted during either Early Decision round, they are expected to enroll at NYU. The ED I deadline is very early in the senior year. However, these students benefit by finding out their admissions decision on December 15 th .

Students aiming for ED I should be prepared to begin working on their application and NYU supplemental essays on August 1 st . ED I applicants should also note that the committee will only see what senior year courses they are registered for and not their final grades. If your grades weren’t great through junior year, ED I may not be for you.

The Early Decision II application deadline is later than Early Decision I. Many ED II applicants applied to other selective schools early but were not admitted. Like Regular Decision, ED II’s later deadline gives applicants more time to revise NYU supplemental essays or take tests. ED II applicants are notified of their admissions decision on February 15 th .

How to choose your application strategy

Both early rounds have smaller applicant pools than Regular Decision, which may be a plus. At the same time, early applicants typically have very strong NYU supplemental essays, so it’s a more competitive environment. Nevertheless, early admission rounds often have higher acceptance rates than Regular Decision. Furthermore, there is the fact that these are binding—you must be certain you want to attend NYU. If a binding application is not the right plan for you, you can of course apply Regular Decision.

No matter what application plan you choose, the importance of your NYU supplemental essays remains the same. Starting your NYU essay early is critical to having enough time to properly review and revise your work. You should also work in enough time to let a trusted teacher or college advisor review your essay and share feedback. 

For more insight into what NYU is looking for in its students, check out this video below from NYU Admissions:

More NYU Essay Resources from CollegeAdvisor

CollegeAdvisor is here to help you learn more about NYU admission requirements and how to get into NYU.  As you are preparing to write your NYU supplemental essays, review this guide of example NYU supplemental essays and why they worked. While these essays answer old NYU essay prompts, they may provide inspiration for other college essays.

NYU supplemental essays are just one component of your New York University application. In addition to guides about how to get into NYU, CollegeAdvisor also hosts weekly webinars like this NYU panel webinar . We also have a wealth of Common App resources, covering everything from extracurriculars to recommendation letters .

NYU Supplemental Essays – Takeaways

Are you still wondering how to get into NYU?

Here are some NYU essay takeaways to help you write strong NYU supplemental essays. 

• NYU requires the Common App essay and has one optional supplemental essay. Serious applicants should complete the optional NYU essay.
• Even though the “why NYU” essay is no longer on the application, strategies for approaching that essay still apply. You should always incorporate why you are interested in the school in your NYU supplemental essays.
• The Common App personal essay is just as important as your NYU supplemental essay, especially because it goes to every school on your final college list ! 
• Both the Common App personal essay and the optional NYU supplemental essay have a maximum word count. You don’t have to reach that maximum word count, but you must answer the prompt in a thorough and structured way. 
• There are no bad quotes to choose for your NYU supplemental essay, but some may better fit you than others. 
• If the Common App essay prompts or NYU supplemental essay quotes don’t appeal to you, come up with your own. Just make sure you are sharing the same type of insight that the given prompts are requesting. 
• Pay close attention to the application deadlines to make sure you have ample time to write your NYU supplemental essays.
• Focus less on trying to impress the admissions committee and more on being your authentic self in your essay. 

We know that the low NYU acceptance rate can be intimidating—highly selective schools are daunting in the college application process. But we’re here to help, with articles and webinars and even one-on-one advising. Take advantage of all the resources on CollegeAdvisor.com to help you put your best foot forward.

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New York University (NYU) 2020-21 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

Regular Decision: 

The Requirements:  1 essay of 400 words.

Supplemental Essay Type(s): Why

New York University (NYU) 2020-21 Application Essay Explanations

Ladies and gentlemen, you are about to witness an optical illusion. The lengthy paragraph below comprises one (1), and only one (1) college essay prompt. While the read may be a bit of a slog, you’re also in luck because this prompt is the one (1) and only supplemental essay NYU hopefuls are expected to write! Laying out the requirements for a 400-word personal statement, the prompt itself clocks in at nearly a quarter of that length. Knowing that your application time is precious, NYU must have had some reason to pen a prompt of this size, so it’s important to note each specific requirement and every minute detail that could give you some inkling as to how to tell your own story. Let’s break it down.

Why NYU? We would like to know more about your interest in NYU. What motivated you to apply to NYU? Why have you applied or expressed interest in a particular campus, school, college, program, and or area of study? If you have applied to more than one, please also tell us why you are interested in these additional areas of study or campuses. We want to understand – Why NYU? (400 word maximum)

This meandering paragraph asks the most straightforward supplemental question you’ll find: Why here? But before you let the words, “Why wouldn’t I want to spend the next four years of my life in the greatest city in the world?” cross your lips, take a closer look. In addition to offering your unique take on why an NYU education is right for you, you’ll also need to make sure your answer ticks off a few specific boxes. Firstly, NYU wants a drill down of your reasoning from your campus selection all the way to your specific program of choice. The question isn’t just “Why NYU,” but “Why do YOU want to study this topic at this  time in this geographical context via NYU?” And, of course, if you’ve applied to more than one campus, you’ll want to explain how each location can meet your needs in ways that are both unique and somehow equivalent. You wouldn’t apply to Abu Dhabi if Paris was the only place for you, right? The nice thing about being able to focus on geography is that you don’t have to have a fully fleshed out plan for your major; instead, you can focus on the experiential and cultural elements that will feed into your education. How will living in New York or abroad affect you as a person? As a student? How will you grow?

Your answer should be personal to you and, if possible, surprising. Remember that while you have a free reign to gush about how much you want to live in New York, New York, a lot of your potential peers probably feel the same way. So, try not to focus on what you’d like to do or see. Instead, explain what your desire to move from your hometown to New York says about you. Whether you’re trying to be courageous by leaving your small homogenous town or hoping to stay close to your family in Brooklyn, what is your personal reason? And don’t forget that you’re still writing about a school! Is there a professor in your department who has done research you admire that you hope to work with? Is there a program that combines your unique interests that is not offered at any other school? Get specific, but don’t worry about being comprehensive. You’ve only got 400 words, after all!

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December 12, 2021

Tips for Answering the NYU Supplemental Essay Prompt [2021 – 2022]

Located in the middle of bustling lower Manhattan, New York, NYU’s campus is intertwined with the city. It is not a campus in a traditional sense – its buildings and lifestyle are organized around Washington Square Park, enabling students and faculty alike to take advantage of everything offered by this energetic area.

NYU grants degrees from its NYC campus along with campuses in Abu Dhabi and Shanghai. In addition, it has satellite campuses in London, Accra, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Tel Aviv, Sydney and more; access to these locations around the world provide opportunities for a truly global undergraduate educational experience. Many students are particularly attracted to the ease with which they can study abroad and remain under the larger intellectual umbrella of the University.

Get a free consultation: Click here to schedule a call to find out how our admissions expert can help YOU get accepted to NYU!

NYU offers several admissions options including binding Early Decision I (November 1st deadline) and Early Decision II (January 1st deadline), as well as Regular Decision (January 5th deadline). In addition to the main Common Application essay, NYU requires only one additional essay response.

The admissions committee is already aware of your grades, test scores, letters of recommendation, honors/awards, activities and whatever you wrote about in your main Common Application essay. Now is your chance to share your passion for NYU! Be careful not to repeat information you shared in your main essay. Use your NYU response to convince the admissions committee that NYU is the best place for you and to show how you might contribute to the diverse community at NYU.

NYU’s supplemental essay question

We would like to know more about your interest in NYU. What motivated you to apply to NYU? Why have you applied or expressed interest in a particular campus, school, college, program, and/or area of study? If you have applied to more than one, please also tell us why you are interested in these additional areas of study or campuses. We want to understand – Why NYU? (400 word maximum)

The sole purpose of this prompt is to provide an opportunity for you to demonstrate your fit with NYU. You will want to do this in 3 ways (and all 3!): prove an intimate knowledge of NYU and its offerings, of NYC and all it has to offer, and of what makes you stand out as a diverse contributor to the NYU community. 

You only have 400 words to communicate what draws you to NYU specifically- to the campus, school, college, program and/or specific area of study. Think about your personal connection to the school and the city. Don’t just list interesting things about the city—you are not a tour guide. Instead, explain why those things are so important to you and your potential growth. 

Consider your values and how the unique qualities/opportunities at NYU appeal to you. In short, make a personal connection. How might the approach to education at NYU support your learning? This might include: studying abroad, potential experience with internships, relationships with people from around the world, specific academic requirements or programs, career-related opportunities, or anything else you feel is important to your success. Ultimately, you want to prove, not only your own qualifications, but your informed knowledge of NYU and the research you’ve done to be certain NYU would be the perfect fit for you.

In addition to demonstrating an intimate knowledge of NYU as a university, this essay also offers you a chance to think about what living and learning in a fast paced city like New York might be like: how is it similar to what you are accustomed to, or perhaps different? What are the particular reasons you find this setting appealing? Once you’ve explained the appeal of the city, you must also demonstrate your independence because you will need to be independent in order to navigate the NYU world. How will you survive, contribute to and thrive in this atmosphere. How will you embrace this environment? How can you benefit from this experience? Why is studying at NYU your true calling?

Keep in mind that NYU is assembling a first-year class that represents regional, global, and cultural diversity. NYU values difference and supports students of all identities and backgrounds. Don’t underestimate yourself and your story. Each applicant has something to offer that can enrich this distinct cohort. How might you utilize this opportunity to grow as a person, as a global citizen, as a future leader?

Final thoughts on applying to NYU

To offer some context for where you might stand: NYU’s Fall 2020 acceptance rate was 21%. Although NYU offers one of the most flexible standardized testing policies (see NYU admission website for details), the average SAT scores are 738 for Math and 701 for Evidence-Based Reading and Writing. The average ACT score is 32. This is a competitive applicant pool.

Although it is wise to keep these statistics in mind, take a moment to relax and plan. Make sure you meet all deadlines and allow yourself adequate time to write and revise your essays. Consider the best way to reflect your personal experiences, convey your interests, express your enthusiasm for learning, and demonstrate how and why NYU is the best place for you!

If you’re applying to NYU, you already know you’re up against tight competition. Don’t be overwhelmed. Get the guidance of an experienced admissions specialist who will help you stand out from a highly competitive applicant pool so you can apply with confidence, and get accepted! Click here to get started!

***Disclaimer: Information is subject to change. Please check with individual programs to verify the essay questions, instructions and deadlines.***

Related Resources:

• School-Specific Supplemental Essay Tips
• The Essay Whisperer: How to Write a College Application Essay
• Focus on Fit , a podcast episode

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How to Respond to the 2023-2024 NYU Supplemental Essay

Cece Gilmore is a Content Writer at Scholarships360. Cece earned her undergraduate degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from Arizona State University. While at ASU, she was the education editor as well as a published staff reporter at Downtown Devil. Cece was also the co-host of her own radio show on Blaze Radio ASU.

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Bill Jack has over a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. Since 2008, he has worked at Colby College, Wesleyan University, University of Maine at Farmington, and Bates College.

Maria Geiger is Director of Content at Scholarships360. She is a former online educational technology instructor and adjunct writing instructor. In addition to education reform, Maria’s interests include viewpoint diversity, blended/flipped learning, digital communication, and integrating media/web tools into the curriculum to better facilitate student engagement. Maria earned both a B.A. and an M.A. in English Literature from Monmouth University, an M. Ed. in Education from Monmouth University, and a Virtual Online Teaching Certificate (VOLT) from the University of Pennsylvania.

New York University is located in the heart of the city that never sleeps, New York City! Due to its ideal location in the Big Apple, NYU has an acceptance rate of 13% . Your NYU application will need to impress if you want to gain an education in NYC!

NYU applicants are offered the opportunity to submit an optional essay to better showcase who they are. NYU states that students who do not submit the optional essay will not be penalized in their admissions review process. Students who are set on NYU might want to take this extra step to impress. Keep reading to learn how to ace the NYU supplemental essay question!

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The NYU supplemental essay: The prompts

Get excited, because NYU only requires one optional supplemental essay response! Students will respond to the following statement from NYU:

We are looking for peacemakers, changemakers, global citizens, boundary breakers, creatives and innovators. Choose one quote from the following and let us know why it inspires you; or share a short quote and person not on our list who inspires you, and include why. (250 words) 

Applicants may choose from the following list:

1. “We’re used to people telling us there are no solutions, and then creating our own. So we did what we do best. We reached out to each other, and to our allies, and we mobilized across communities to make change, to benefit and include everyone in society.” Judith Heuman, 2022 NYU Commencement Address

This quote can be a little overwhelming due to its length but ultimately it is just stating that teamwork can create beneficial solutions. So, if you have any experience working with others whether it be an organization or just one other person to help you solve a problem, this is the perfect quote for you! To begin responding to this essay prompt you should firstly describe what this quote means to you. How do you interpret this quote? Next, you should detail a story from your life in which you came together with others to solve a problem. Be creative and descriptive in detailing this experience! You want the admissions officer to understand your situation and get a good gauge of the type of person you are especially in difficult situations in which a problem needs to be solved. Don’t forget that this response is only 250 words so be as detailed in as few words as possible! 

Questions to consider

• When was a time in which you had to work with others to solve a problem? 
• Does collaboration help you solve a problem more effectively? 
• What problems are you passionate about solving? What steps would you take to ensure that you can solve these issues? 

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2. “I encourage your discomfort, that you must contribute, that you must make your voice heard. That is the essence of good citizenship.” Sherilynn Ifill, 2015 NYU Commencement Address

This quote is very similar to the first one in that it wants to know how you have benefited your community. To begin, try and think about a time in which you stood up for something or someone that was against the grain or norm for your community. Or, think of a time in which you made your voice heard within your community. Once you decide on a moment no matter how big or small, describe it! You should detail what led up to you sparking a change and how exactly you went about it. Additionally, you should describe what happened after the fact. Did you spark a movement in your community? Did you get ridiculed? Would you stand up again despite the discomfort you faced? This reflection is the most important part of your response as this will show the admissions officer what you have learned from your experience. You want to prove to the admissions officer that you will better the NYU community due to your prior experiences and lessons learned. Don’t forget that this response is only 250 words so be as detailed in as few words as possible! 

• Have you ever stood up for something in your community? 
• What have you learned about yourself from making your voice heard? 
• Do you think people should stand up for what they believe despite the uncomfortableness they may feel? 

3. “If you know how to fly but you never knew how to walk, wouldn’t that be sad?” Lang Lang, 2015 NYU Honorary Degree Recipient

This is a hard quote to digest! Lang Lang is a musician and said this quote in response to an interview question about how he likes to tackle the most difficult music pieces first. Knowing this background, it is easier to digest the quote! Ultimately, Lang is detailing that learning the basics and not jumping ahead to the difficult and rewarding parts first can be extremely valuable. Therefore, try to think of a time in which you may have started something ambitious without gaining a good understanding of the topic. Or perhaps a time in which your own pride got in the way of you succeeding because you wanted to skip ahead without going over the mundane intro-leveled steps. No matter what this activity or skill is, it is important that you focus on what you learned in your essay response. You should be detailing how learning the basics actually could provide you with a solid foundation to become an expert in this skill despite not realizing this at the moment. Additionally, you should describe what you learned from this experience and how you will take this skill of learning to walk before flying with you to NYU in order to succeed. Don’t forget that this response is only 250 words so be as detailed in as few words as possible! 

• Can you describe a time in which you learned to fly before walking? 
• Have you ever been ambitious and tried to complete something with no prior background experience in the topic? 
• What have you learned from trying something without practicing the basics first? Would you do it again? 

4. “You have the right to want things and to want things to change.” Sanna Marin, Former Prime Minister of Finland, 2023 NYU Commencement Address

There are a lot of things you may want to change whether that be something small in your personal life or something large in the world. So, for this response you should try to narrow down your options to selecting a problem that you have taken action to change within your community and life. Meaning, this may not be the best time to discuss a large problem that humans are nowhere near solving. Rather, choosing something you are passionate about that you have actively tried to change in your life can show admissions officers the type of person you are. Remember, this problem can be something as small as wanting to exercise more or something a little bigger such as wanting there to be less litter in your neighborhood. Once you select your problem, you should describe what you have done or are planning to do to change it. You can and should even discuss any obstacles you have faced or criticisms to show that you truly want this change to occur despite any setbacks. Ultimately, make sure that you are detailing your want to change something in your life or community and how you go about actually creating change. Don’t forget that this response is only 250 words so be as detailed in as few words as possible!  

• What is something you have been actively involved in trying to change in your life or community? 
• Is wanting to change enough? Or do you believe you need to act in order to initiate change? 
• What have you learned from creating change in your life? Will you continue to fight for change at NYU? 

5. “It’s hard to fight when the fight ain’t fair.” Taylor Swift, Change, Released 2008, 2022 NYU Commencement Speaker

If you’re a Swiftie then this may be the quote option for you! This quote is from a Taylor Swift song called “Change” that she wrote in 2008 that is still just as applicable to 2023. Change is a song all about overcoming obstacles while still being hopeful. So, try to think of a time when you had to overcome a challenge that felt too big for you to overcome. How did you manage to overcome this challenge? Was it an easy or difficult path? What did you learn from this experience? Describe in greater detail about how this unfair fight made you feel and what you did to overcome those feelings. Ultimately, you want to show the admissions officer that you are a strong individual who can overcome even unfair obstacles or at least have a positive attitude about it similar to the way Taylor Swift does in her song “Change.” Don’t forget that this response is only 250 words so be as detailed in as few words as possible!  

• Have you ever had to overcome an obstacle that seemed insurmountable?
• What have you learned about yourself from unfair situations? 
• Do you believe that someone can win a fight that isn’t even? 

6. Share a short quote and person not on this list, and why the quote inspires you

If another Taylor Swift song lyrics speaks to you or you read a specific quote every morning, this is the essay option for you! However, it is important to note that NYU went out of their way to provide you with a list of prior commencement speaker’s quotes that demonstrates their values. Therefore, unless you are super excited and passionate about a different quote, you should select one from their list. This will ensure you are providing an answer that NYU wants to hear from its candidates. If you end up selecting this option, just ensure that you are detailing new information about yourself and revealing some below-the-surface attributes you demonstrate. Additionally, make sure you are describing characteristics you will bring to NYU if you are accepted and how you plan to make NYU a better place. 

7. Not answering this optional question.

This is an optional question!! Therefore, you will not be penalized for not responding to this prompt by NYU. However, if NYU is a dream school or high on your college list, you should definitely be responding to this prompt. These 250 words could be the difference between an acceptance letter and a rejection letter. Here are some benefits to responding to this optional prompt: 

• You can highlight desirable traits and experiences that can make your application well-rounded
• You can mitigate any weaknesses in your application such as a low GPA or test score
• You can form a connection with the admissions officer based on your heartfelt response

A helpful tip on choosing your prompt 

When choosing your prompt, you should also be noting what you have already discussed in your application. If you already wrote your Common App essay about one piece of your identity or theme – do not write about this again! Rather, choose something else in order to emphasize who you are and your broad range of interests. 

Next steps after applying to NYU

Congratulations! Your NYU supplemental essay question is completed! Be thankful that NYU was so kind in only making applicants answer one question. Now, what should you do next? Instead of waiting what feels like a lifetime for NYU to reach a decision on your application, be proactive! Show demonstrated interest in NYU to prove that you are committed to attending their university. 

How can you show demonstrated interest ? Well, it is quite simple! Follow any NYU social media accounts, reach out to an admissions officer about any questions you may have and schedule a tour! Doing this will show NYU that you truly want to attend their university because you are making the effort. 

Best of luck and enjoy New York City – it is famous for a reason! (Grab a slice of $1 pizza–you will not regret it!)

Additional resources

As a student working on college applications, you’ve got a lot on your plate. Fortunately, we have resources to help you through every step of the way. Check out our guides on how to write an essay about yourself , how to respond to the Common App prompts , and how to write 250 and 500 word essays. We can also help you decide how many schools to apply to and how to find safety, reach, and match schools .

If you’re wondering whether to send test scores to test-optional schools , we’ve got a guide for that as well. And once you start hearing back, we can help you create a college comparison spreadsheet to make your college choice. Finally, check out our free scholarship search tool to help fund your education and keep all of your college options open. Good luck!

Other colleges to consider

• Boston University (Boston, MA)
• Barnard College (New York, NY)
• Columbia University (New York, NY)
• University of Chicago (Chicago, IL)

Frequently asked questions about the New York University supplemental essay

Should you answer nyu optional supplemental essay, is the nyu supplemental really optional, did the nyu supplemental essay change, how many supplemental essay prompts does nyu have, when are the application deadlines for nyu, are there any helpful tips for making my essay stand out from other applicants, is there a right quote option to select for the nyu essay prompt, scholarships360 recommended.

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NYU Supplemental Essays 2023-24 Prompt and Advice

Embarking on the journey to higher education is not merely a pursuit of academic excellence; it is a transformative experience that shapes individuals into peacemakers, changemakers, global citizens, boundary breakers, creatives, and innovators. As prospective students contemplate their path to NYU, the university’s commitment to fostering a diverse and dynamic community comes to the forefront. The NYU supplemental essay prompt encapsulates this ethos, challenging applicants to explore their inspirations, values, and potential contributions in a mere 250 words.

In this exploration of the NYU supplemental essay prompt, we will unravel the intricacies of the task at hand. From dissecting the provided quotes to understanding the underlying expectations, we will guide you through a strategic approach that not only aligns with NYU’s vision but also elevates your unique narrative. As we navigate the art of crafting a compelling response, we’ll delve into the significance of personal connections, reflections on NYU’s ethos, and the impact of incorporating a unique perspective.

NYU Supplemental Essays Prompt

We are looking for peacemakers, changemakers, global citizens, boundary breakers, creatives and innovators – Choose one quote from the following and let us know why it inspires you, or share a short quote and person not on our list who inspires you, and include why. (250 words)

“We’re used to people telling us there are no solutions, and then creating our own. So we did what we do best. We reached out to each other, and to our allies, and we mobilized across communities to make change, to benefit and include everyone in society.”

Judith Heuman , 2022 NYU Commencement Address

“I encourage your discomfort, that you must contribute, that you must make your voice heard. That is the essence of good citizenship.”

Sherilynn Ifill , 2015 NYU Commencement Address

“If you know how to fly but you never knew how to walk, wouldn’t that be sad?”

Lang Lang , 2015 NYU Honorary Degree Recipient

“You have the right to want things and to want things to change.” Sanna Marin, Former Prime Minister of Finland, 2023 NYU Commencement Address

“It’s hard to fight when the fight ain’t fair.”

Taylor Swift , Change, Released 2008, 2022 NYU Commencement Speaker

Share a short quote and person not on this list, and why the quote inspires you.

Understanding the Quotes

Judith Heuman:

“We’re used to people telling us there are no solutions, and then creating our own…”

• Key Themes : Resilience, Creativity, Community Mobilization, Social Change.
• Implication : This quote emphasizes the power of resilience and creativity in the face of challenges. It speaks to the proactive approach of creating solutions, fostering a sense of community, and mobilizing for social change.

Sherilynn Ifill:

“I encourage your discomfort, that you must contribute, that you must make your voice heard…”

• Key Themes: Citizenship, Discomfort, Contribution, Voice.
• Implication: Ifill’s words underscore the importance of embracing discomfort as a catalyst for positive change. It encourages active citizenship, emphasizing the necessity of contributing and making one’s voice heard for the greater good.
• Key Themes: Balance, Comprehensive Growth, Fundamental Skills.
• Implication: Lang Lang’s quote invokes the significance of a balanced and comprehensive approach to personal development. It suggests that possessing advanced skills without a foundation in fundamental aspects is incomplete.

Sanna Marin:

“You have the right to want things and to want things to change.”

• Key Themes: Rights, Desire for Change, Agency.
• Implication: Marin’s quote underscores the importance of individual agency and the right to aspire for change. It empowers individuals to have desires and actively work towards positive transformations.

Taylor Swift:

“It’s hard to fight when the fight ain’t fair.”

• Key Themes: Fairness, Challenges, Struggle.
• Implication: Taylor Swift’s lyrics highlight the difficulty of fighting against injustice or challenges when the conditions are not fair. It speaks to the resilience required in the face of adversity.

Common Threads:

• Resilience: Several quotes emphasize the importance of resilience in the face of challenges. Whether creating solutions, contributing to change, or fighting unfair battles, resilience is a recurring theme.
• Community and Collaboration: The quotes by Heuman and Swift emphasize reaching out to others, mobilizing communities, and understanding the challenges of fighting alone. Collaboration is seen as a key element in driving change.
• Active Citizenship: Ifill’s quote specifically addresses the essence of good citizenship, encouraging individuals to contribute actively and make their voices heard for the collective good.
• Desire for Change: Both Marin and Swift’s quotes touch upon the desire for change, whether it’s asserting the right to want change or acknowledging the difficulty in fighting for change when conditions are unfair.

Implications for the Essay:

• When crafting your response, consider how these themes align with your personal experiences, values, and aspirations.
• Reflect on moments in your life where you exhibited resilience, contributed to positive change, collaborated with others, or advocated for fairness.
• Ensure that your essay communicates a sense of personal growth, active citizenship, and a commitment to making a positive impact.

By analyzing these quotes, you gain insights into the core values that NYU values and seeks in its prospective students. Use these insights to shape a compelling narrative that aligns with the university’s vision.

NYU 2023-24 Prompt Analysis:

The NYU supplemental essay prompt is designed to reveal the qualities of applicants that align with NYU’s vision of fostering peacemakers, changemakers, global citizens, boundary breakers, creatives, and innovators. The university seeks to understand the inspiration behind your values and actions. Here’s a breakdown of the key components:

• Quotations from Diverse Speakers: The prompt provides a curated list of quotes from various speakers, including a disability rights activist, a civil rights lawyer, a renowned pianist, a former Prime Minister, and a global pop sensation. Each quote reflects a unique perspective on change, citizenship, personal growth, rights, and the challenges of fighting unfair battles.
• Focus on Inspiration: The primary emphasis is on your inspiration and the values you hold dear. NYU wants to know what motivates you, what principles guide your actions, and how you connect with the sentiments expressed in the provided quotes.
• Option for Personalization: While the prompt suggests choosing from the provided list, it also offers the flexibility to share a short quote and a person not on the list. This allows you to bring in a personal touch and showcase a broader range of influences that shape your worldview.
• Word Limit (250 words): The brevity of the response is crucial. You have a limited word count, so every word must contribute meaningfully to convey your thoughts. Be concise and focused, ensuring that your response is impactful within the given constraints.
• Understanding NYU’s Values: The prompt indirectly asks you to align your response with NYU’s values. The university is looking for students who not only excel academically but also embody qualities that contribute to a vibrant and diverse campus community.

How to write the NYU 2023-24 Supplemental Essays

Choosing a Quote Reflecting Your Values:

Begin by carefully examining the provided quotes. Each quote encapsulates a distinct perspective on important themes such as change, citizenship, personal growth, rights, and resilience. Take the time to reflect on your own values and experiences. Choose a quote that resonates with you on a personal level, as this will allow you to authentically express your connection to the prompt.

For instance, if you resonate with Judith Heuman’s quote about creating solutions, think about instances in your life where you’ve encountered challenges and, like Heuman, took the initiative to find solutions. This could be a moment where you collaborated with others to address a community issue or found innovative ways to make a positive impact.

Personal Connection:

Once you’ve selected a quote, the next step is to share a personal story or experience that illustrates why this quote inspires you. Dive into the details of a specific event or series of events that shaped your perspective. For example, if you choose Sherilynn Ifill’s quote on embracing discomfort and contributing to good citizenship, recount a time when you stepped out of your comfort zone to make a meaningful contribution. This could involve actively participating in a community project, voicing your opinion on a pressing issue, or taking a leadership role in a challenging situation.

Reflecting on NYU’s Ethos:

As you craft your response, it’s crucial to tie in your personal experiences with NYU’s ethos. NYU is seeking students who not only excel academically but also embody qualities that contribute to a vibrant and diverse campus community. Consider how the qualities highlighted in your essay align with what NYU values in its student body. This could involve referencing specific programs, initiatives, or values that NYU holds dear and explaining how your experiences align with those.

Incorporating a Unique Perspective:

If you decide to share a short quote and a person not on the list, ensure that you provide a thoughtful explanation of why this specific quote and person inspire you. This is an opportunity to showcase the diversity of your influences and the unique perspective you bring to the NYU community. Whether it’s a quote from a lesser-known figure or a personal mentor, elaborate on how this source of inspiration has shaped your values and contributed to your personal growth.

Being Concise and Specific:

Given the 250-word limit, every word in your response should contribute meaningfully to convey your thoughts. Avoid unnecessary details and get straight to the heart of your narrative. Be specific in illustrating your connection to the chosen quote and person, ensuring that your response is clear, focused, and impactful.

Proofreading and Editing:

Finally, before submitting your essay, take the time to proofread and edit. Ensure that your response is free from grammatical errors and flows smoothly. Consider seeking feedback from teachers, peers, or mentors to gain additional perspectives on the clarity and effectiveness of your essay.

Remember, this essay is a chance to showcase your authentic self and provide insights into the values that drive you. By carefully selecting a quote, sharing a personal connection, aligning with NYU’s ethos, incorporating a unique perspective, and being concise, you’ll craft a compelling response that stands out to the admissions committee.

Tips for Excelling in NYU Supplemental Essays: Unlocking Success

When venturing into the realm of NYU supplemental essays, armed with a keen understanding of the prompts and a strategic approach, success is within reach. Here are valuable tips tailored to ensure your NYU application essays stand out:

• Embrace Prompt Analysis: Begin your journey with a thorough analysis of NYU essay prompts. Understand the underlying ethos of the university and tailor your responses to align seamlessly with their vision of peacemakers, changemakers, global citizens, boundary breakers, creatives, and innovators.
• Craft an Authentic Narrative: NYU values authenticity. Use your essays as a canvas to paint a genuine picture of yourself. Share personal experiences, challenges, and growth, ensuring that each narrative resonates with sincerity.
• Choose Quotes Thoughtfully: When presented with a selection of quotes, choose one that deeply resonates with your values and experiences. Ensure that the chosen quote becomes a powerful thread weaving through your essay, connecting your story to broader themes.
• Reflect on NYU’s Values: Your response should reflect not only who you are but also how your journey aligns with NYU’s values. Showcase your understanding of specific aspects of NYU’s community, programs, or initiatives that resonate with your narrative.
• Be Concise and Purposeful: Given the limited word count, every sentence should serve a purpose. Be concise, ensuring that each word contributes to the overall impact of your essay. Avoid unnecessary details and get straight to the core of your narrative.
• Leverage Storytelling Techniques: Make your essays memorable by incorporating storytelling techniques. Capture the reader’s attention with engaging narratives that illustrate your journey, challenges faced, and lessons learned. A well-told story can leave a lasting impression.
• Utilize Diverse Influences: If provided with the option to share a quote and person not on the list, embrace diversity in your influences. Showcase a broad range of inspirations that have shaped your perspective, adding depth to your essay and highlighting the richness of your worldview.
• Proofread and Edit Diligently: Your essays are a reflection of your commitment to quality. After crafting your response, proofread and edit diligently. Ensure clarity, correct any grammatical errors, and verify that your essay effectively communicates your message.
• Address Optional Prompts: Seize the opportunity to address optional prompts. This demonstrates your eagerness to share more about yourself and provides additional insights into your character, experiences, or aspirations.
• Seek Feedback: Before finalizing your essays, seek feedback from peers, teachers, or mentors. External perspectives can provide valuable insights, helping you refine your narrative and enhance the overall quality of your response.

By integrating these tips into your writing process, you embark on a journey of self-expression and resonance. Your NYU supplemental essays become a testament to your authenticity, aligning seamlessly with the university’s ethos and setting the stage for a compelling application. Good luck with your NYU 2023-24 Supplemental Essays.

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New York University – NYU Grossman Secondary Application Tips & Prompts

• Cracking Med School Admissions

NOTE: NYU Grossman changed its essays from previous years in the current application cycle. It removed the COVID-19 secondary essay prompt. This is not a secondary we would immediately pre-write, but you can start working on some of the questions that don’t change year-over-year.

Ever since NYU Grossman Medical School went tuition free, getting accepted has been increasingly tough. Other than a strong academic background, the way to differentiate yourself is through submitting phenomenal NYU secondaries and acing the NYU Multiple Mini Interview. You’re in good hands though with Dr. Rachel Rizal and Dr. Rishi Mediratta !

Our Cracking Med School Admissions team has a track record of helping our mentees receive acceptances to NYU Grossman and NYU Long Island. Get started and read our NYU Medical School secondary application tips  below.

>> To learn more about student life, read our NYU Medical School Profile . 

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NYU Grossman Secondary Application Essays: 2023-2024

NOTE: NYU Grossman changed its essays from previous years in the current application cycle. It removed the COVID-19 secondary essay. 

• If applicable, please comment on significant fluctuations in your academic record which are not explained elsewhere on your application. (No limit)
• If you have taken any time off from your studies, either during or after college, please describe what you have done during this time and your reasons for doing so. (No limit)
• The Admissions Committee uses a holistic approach to evaluate a wide range of student qualities and life experiences that are complementary to demonstrated academic excellence, strong interpersonal skills, and leadership potential. What unique qualities or experiences do you possess that would contribute specifically to the NYU Grossman School of Medicine community? (2,500 characters max)
• The most meaningful achievements are often non-academic in nature. Describe the personal accomplishment that makes you most proud. Why is this important to you?
• Conflicts arise daily from differences in perspectives, priorities, worldviews and traditions. How do you define respect? Describe a situation in which you found it challenging to remain respectful while facing differences?
• Describe a situation in which working with a colleague, family member or friend has been challenging. How did you resolve, if at all, the situation as a team and what did you gain from the experience that will benefit you as a future health care provider?
• New essay – NYU Grossman School of Medicine strives to provide our students with the option of accelerating their medical educational training. In order to guide our curricular efforts to provide additional opportunities for early career exploration for our students, please select up to three residency specialties that are currently of interest to you. Please note that your selection in no way impacts your admissions decision (i.e., there are no right or wrong selections), that it is not binding in any way, and that you may select “Undecided” if you are unsure of your future career path. 
• This is a new requirement this year. Upload a CV

Tips to Answer NYU Secondaries

NYU Secondaries Pre-Writing Guidance: NYU Grossman changed its essays from previous years in the current application cycle. And, it has changed its secondary quite a lot the past few years. This is not a secondary we would immediately pre-write, but you can start working on some of the questions that don’t change year-over-year. 

• Read all our secondary essay tips:  Secondary Essay Guide – Cracking Med School Admissions

NYU Secondary Application Tip #1: NYU Grossman wants to recruit medical students with ample research and clinical experiences. As much as possible on the NYU secondary application, highlight your clinical experiences and research work. Show your direct impact on patients. Explain how you’ve advanced your research project. For example, you can write about research in the NYU secondaries question, “T he Admissions Committee uses a holistic approach to evaluate a wide range of student qualities and life experiences that are complementary to demonstrated academic excellence, strong interpersonal skills, and leadership potential. What unique qualities or experiences do you possess that would contribute specifically to the NYU Grossman School of Medicine community? “

• You can read more advice from Dr. Rachel Rizal:  Research That Impresses Medical Schools

NYU Secondary Application Tip #2:  To answer the NYU Grossman secondary application question, “T he Admissions Committee uses a holistic approach to evaluate a wide range of student qualities and life experiences that are complementary to demonstrated academic excellence, strong interpersonal skills, and leadership potential. What unique qualities or experiences do you possess that would contribute specifically to the NYU Grossman School of Medicine community?” you DO NOT have to necessarily talk about your ethnic background. We recommend students write about their strengths, including exceptional extracurricular activity endeavors. As mentioned in NYU secondary application tip #1 above, we recommend you talk about research and clinical experiences if these are your strengths.

• Read important blog post on how to answer medical school diversity essays:  Medical School Diversity Essay Examples and Tips  

NYU Secondary Application Tip #3: Include patient stories throughout your NYU secondaries. This is very important and will bring you – the applicant – to life! Discuss what insights you gained from these clinical experiences. You can easily include patient stories in almost all the secondary essay questions! We would include at least 2 patient stories throughout. Additionally, you can write stories from your research experiences. One last tip – remember that your NYU Grossman secondaries should complement your primary application personal statement. Do not repeat any stories. 

NYU Secondary Application Tip #4:  Take advantage of the unlimited character limit to discuss your gap years. Be thorough and include all your endeavors. While there is no correct way to format and write the gap year essay, contact us to discuss how to best format it. This is a good essay to write 1-2 patient stories and discuss what you learned. Additionally, if you did research . Finally, you can connect your gap year experiences to what you want to do at NYU Langone Health and NYU Grossman School of Medicine. 

NYU Secondary Application Tip #5:  The NYU secondaries added a CV upload this year. Note that this is a CV and not a resume? What’s the difference? A CV is longer and has  all your activities + research + poster presentations + publications + leadership. Don’t forget any of your activities.

• Tips on CVs and Resumes:  Build A Resume and CV That Stands Out

NYU Secondary Application Tip #6: For the NYU secondaries about academic fluctuations, do not feel compelled that you have to answer it. DO NOT explain any B’s or B+’s (we are talking to you – applicant with mostly A’s). 

Students do write about the following on NYU secondary essay #1:

• Upward trends in their GPA
• C’s and lower  on their transcripts
• Lower GPA during college when they were not pre-med and then discuss how their post-bacc GPA is a lot higher
• Fluctuations in academic records due to personal circumstances, including challenges during COVID-19.

NYU Secondary Application Tip #7:  If you are interested in doing the 3-year track at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and are open to completing residency at NYU Langone Health, then it is in your best interest to answer the new NYU Grossman secondaries question, “ NYU Grossman School of Medicine strives to provide our students with the option of accelerating their medical educational training. In order to guide our curricular efforts to provide additional opportunities for early career exploration for our students, please select up to three residency specialties that are currently of interest to you. Please note that your selection in no way impacts your admissions decision (i.e., there are no right or wrong selections), that it is not binding in any way, and that you may select “Undecided” if you are unsure of your future career path. ” Strategically, you should position yourself as a medical school applicant who wants to practice in New York City and continue to thrive clinically at NYU Langone / NYU Grossman. 

NYU Secondary Application Tip #7: Have questions about how your NYU secondaries can stand out? We have helped several students get accepted since NYU became tuition-free – we can help you strengthen your application to NYU too! Contact us  below. Need editing help on your secondary?  Dr. Mediratta and Dr. Rizal  can personally help you through our  secondary essay packages . 

[NYULI] If you’re looking for the NYU Long Island essays, click the link for the  NYULI Secondary Application Tips & Prompts . New York University Long Island focuses on primary care. Discuss your experiences and your aspirations in primary care settings. On the other hand, New York University Grossman is in the heart of New York City. Make sure to discuss your insights about urban health issues. 

[Read Secondary Tips From Other Schools: Cornell , Columbia , Harvard , Mt Sinai (Icahn)]

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NYU Grossman Secondary Application Essays: 2022-2023

Nyu grossman secondary essay prompts.

• The ultimate goal of our institution is to produce a population of physicians with a collective desire to improve health of all segments of our society through the outstanding patient care, research and education. In this context, where do you see your future medical career and why? If your plans require that you complete a dual degree program, please elaborate here. (2,500 characters max)

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NYU Grossman Secondary Application Essays: 2021-2022

• In light of the COVID-19 public health emergency, how do you view your potential role as a frontline healthcare provider? (2,500 characters max)

NYU Grossman Secondary Application Essays: 2020-2021

• If you have taken any time off from your studies, either during or after college, please describe what you have done during this time and your reasons for doing so.  (No limit)
• The Admissions Committee uses a holistic approach to evaluate a wide range of student qualities and life experiences that are complementary to demonstrated academic excellence, strong interpersonal skills and leadership potential. What unique qualities or experiences do you possess that would contribute specifically to the NYU Grossman School of Medicine Community?  (2,500 characters max)
• In light of the public health emergency that was the COVID-19 pandemic, how do you view your potential role as a frontline healthcare provider?

NYU Grossman Secondary Application Essays: 2019-2020

• If applicable, please comment on significant fluctuations in your academic record which are not explained elsewhere on your application.
• If you have taken any time off from your studies, either during or after college, please describe what you have done during this time and your reasons for doing so.
• The Admissions Committee uses a holistic approach to evaluate a wide range of student qualities and life experiences that are complementary to demonstrated academic excellence, strong interpersonal skills and leadership potential. What unique qualities or experiences do you possess that would contribute specifically to the NYU School of Medicine community?

NYU School of Medicine is committed to enrolling a diverse student body. At your option, please provide the following information not contained in the AMCAS application: Single or Married? Do you identify as a member of the LGBTQ+ community? Are you a First Generation College student? Are you a child of a physician?

MSTP Essay Prompts:

• Dropdowns to choose 5 faculty with whom you could see yourself working with in the future.
• How many months of full-time research experience have you completed? When estimating this amount, you may convert part-time research into its full-time equivalent. For example, if you conducted part-time research for 1 year for ~50% of the time, this would equal 6 months of full-time research. Please do not include lab experiences associated with a course (e.g., organic chemistry course with lab).

NYU Grossman Secondary Application Essays: 2018-2019

Nyu grossman secondary essay prompts .

• The Admissions Committee uses a holistic approach to evaluate a wide range of student qualities and life experiences that are complementary to demonstrated academic excellence, strong interpersonal skills and leadership potential. What unique qualities or experiences do you possess that would contribute specifically to the NYU School of Medicine community? (2,500 characters max)
• The ultimate goal of our institution is to produce a population of physicians with a collective desire to improve health of all segments of our society through the outstanding patient care, research and education. In this context, where do you see your future medical career (academic medicine, research, public health, primary care, business/law, etc.) and why? Your answer need not be restricted to one category. If your plans require that you complete a dual degree program, please elaborate here. (2,500 characters max)

Please answer only one of the following three questions (2,500 characters max) :

The most meaningful achievements are often non-academic in nature. Describe the personal accomplishment that makes you most proud. Why is this important to you

3 YR MD Tertiary Essay Prompts:

The Three-Year MD Pathway provides an accelerated track for a select group of eligible students. All students graduating from the Three-Year MD Pathway will be offered acceptance into the NYU Langone Medical Center residency program they selected at the time of admission by way of the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP).

You can apply to the Three-Year MD Pathway at any time during your initial application to medical school. The application deadline is November 15, 2018 at 11:59 PM EST. That said, your application will only be reviewed by the admissions committee and the residency programs if you are first accepted into the Four-Year MD Pathway.

Please note that we have an additional entry point into the Three-Year MD Pathway. Should you decide you are not ready to enter the pathway at this time, we have provided our matriculated first year medical students with the opportunity to opt into the Three-Year Pathway in available residency programs towards the end of their first year of medical school at NYU.

Finally, we are piloting an addition to our Three-Year MD Pathway for those applicants to medical school who already have a PhD and wish to obtain their MD to facilitate their research endeavors. This Three-Year PhD-MD Pathway is linked to research-focused residency tracks in some of our residency programs and provides unique benefits to those who wish to develop tomorrow’s biomedical discoveries as our future physician scientists.

• Please select the residency program you wish to apply to:
• Please describe your motivation for pursuing a residency, detailing how past experiences have shaped your desire to pursue this career path. (2,500 characters max)
• What do you believe the three most important qualities are that make for not only a successful resident, but ultimately an ideal physician in this field? (2,500 characters max)

NYU Grossman Secondary Application Essays: 2017-2018

• The ultimate goal of our institution is to produce a population of physicians with a collective desire to improve health of all segments of our society through the outstanding patient care, research and education. In this context, where do you see your future medical career (academic medicine, research, public health, primary care, business/law, etc.) and why? Your answer need not be restricted to one category . If your plans require that you complete a dual degree program, please elaborate here.

NYU Grossman Secondary Application Essays: 2016-2017

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Mount Everest was the riskiest place I had practiced medicine until I became an OB/GYN in the South

In post-dobbs georgia, unlike on everest, i didn't choose the restrictions and threats i now practice under, by mimi zieman.

On the eastern glacier of Everest in Tibet, where avalanches boomed in the distance and icy winds blew through my nylon tent, I tucked in at night within a cocoon of uncertainty. I kept my stethoscope and blood pressure cuff nestled by my thighs to keep them warm and ready to use. Months stretched out in isolation with me on high alert — alone in my medical role — fearing I’d fail when most needed. Most nights I shivered as I donned my down layers, slept with two hats, and tucked a hot water bottle beside my feet for warmth. I envied the rest of the all-male team who slept bare.

In the middle of one night, my fears became reality. Two severely injured climbers crawled over uneven rocks to stumble into camp. They shouted our names for help, piercing the black air. Half asleep, with shoelaces untied and blades of hail stinging my face, I stumbled toward the sound of their voices, then helped them back to our tents, and began a marathon of care. At 18,000 feet, the thin air mirrored my nascent experience as a 25-year-old medical student. I worried about their conditions and the care I was delivering. Was I doing everything correctly? Remembering the protocols? What else should I be doing?  

My journey to Everest was a leap of faith. I was raised a New York City girl and felt like an unlikely candidate for a Himalayan expedition, but I couldn’t resist the call of the mountains. Once I joined the team as the Medical Officer, I dove into mountaineering medicine, sought counsel from experts, and armed myself with knowledge. Yet nothing could prepare me for how isolated we’d be. We saw no outsiders for months and knew there was no chance for rescue on the East Face of the mountain in Tibet. 

A few days later, back in Base Camp, I laid out packages of gauze, tape, scissors, antiseptic and checked the antibiotics on hand. While tending to a climber with severe frostbite injuries affecting both hands and feet, I tipped his hat over his eyes and suggested he look away. I removed the bandage I’d placed at Advanced Base Camp from his first finger. A shrunken black stub of a distal phalanx — the whole tip of his finger — stared back. He lifted his hat, saw his finger, and looked up at me with wide eyes. Then he rounded his back away from me like an animal curled up in defense. More unwrapping, more fingers, more rocking with sobs, digit after digit, dead, inch-long black fingertips. He wailed, shook his head, and his sobs pierced my heart. I wished I could protect him from this pain. His eyes were pleading, but I had no answers. I, too, was surprised at how rapidly his shredded fingers had turned to coal.

Since the Dobbs decision, I don’t have the autonomy I had on the mountain to deliver the best care possible.

“Will I ever be able to climb again?” he asked. The gauze adhered to his final two fingers. 

I didn’t have an answer.

My only motivation was to provide the best care possible while being present with compassion. We were all at the knife edge of our limits and digging deeply for strength.

Each of us on that mountain had weighed our risks and vulnerabilities and had chosen to be there. The climbers had chosen the extreme challenge of Everest and did everything in their power to remain alive. I had chosen to work in these circumstances and was delivering the best care I could under difficult conditions.

Not so in my OB/GYN practice in Georgia. Since the Dobbs decision, I don’t have the autonomy I had on the mountain to deliver the best care possible. This is a different kind of isolation, and it’s more unnerving. Despite years of medical training and a commitment to evidence-based care, physicians are hamstrung by state laws, and our patients are suffering. 

A few weeks ago, I entered an exam room to find a young woman staring at her phone, wearing a college sweatshirt and crocs decked out with charms. She had driven alone to Georgia from Tennessee seeking an abortion. Georgia law permits abortions  until approximately two weeks after a missed period, whereas Tennessee bans all procedures with narrow medical emergency exceptions .

After discussing how she felt and clarifying information in her medical history, I said, “Your ultrasound doesn’t show a pregnancy in the uterus, which can happen for a few reasons, most commonly because it’s too early in pregnancy. But the level of pregnancy hormone in your blood and medical history makes me concerned you could have an ectopic pregnancy — one that grows outside the uterus, typically in the fallopian tubes.”

Here, the peaks are legal hurdles, the valleys emotional.

We discussed what might be going on and the next steps we could take, but this young woman dissolved into tears. Getting advanced care to rule out an ectopic pregnancy would require involving her health insurance, which would alert her parents, something she wanted to avoid. I left the room to give her space and time to compose herself while I went to investigate options for care. 

Sobbing patients overwhelmed by difficult decisions resulting from abortion restrictions are now part of our everyday practice as OB/GYNs. We’re not discussing plans of care based on science — we’re sorting out travel, logistics, time off work, childcare, emotional distress, and legal ramifications. Here, the peaks are legal hurdles, the valleys emotional.

This is taking a toll on us. A recent survey by EL Sabbath et al. of OB/GYNs in states with bans documents immense personal impacts “including distress at having to delay essential patient care, fears of legal ramifications, mental health effects, and planned or actual attrition.” The majority reported symptoms of anxiety or depression as a direct consequence of Dobbs. Ninety-three percent of respondents had situations where they or their colleagues could not follow standard of care. Eleven percent had already moved to another state without restrictions, and 60% considered leaving but have family and other obligations making them stay for now.

Although we’ve spent years in medical training, our expertise has been erased by politicians with no medical background. Not being able to practice in accordance with the ethical principles of respecting patient privacy and autonomy in the decision-making process is wounding us.

A May 2023 survey found that 55% of Idaho OB-GYNs were seriously or somewhat considering leaving the state due to the abortion ban, and a hospital there was forced to close its labor and delivery unit due to related staffing issues. Fewer OB/GYNS means less maternal care and yet many of the states with abortion restrictions have the highest maternal mortality rates.

Take this a step back and medical trainees are being affected. Abortion bans are affecting almost half of OB/GYN training programs. A recent survey of medical students in Indiana found 70% were less likely to pursue residency in a state with abortion bans. With decreased training — and diminishing numbers of OB/GYNs willing to practice in these states —  maternal mortality will rise. Care of other gynecological conditions such as endometriosis, infertility, fibroids and cancer will suffer. This affects the most vulnerable among us, low-income and minority patients.

My patient’s insurance would only work in Tennessee. She reminded me of my youngest daughter. I couldn’t picture her processing this information on her own. I was most worried that my patient would need to drive herself back across state lines in this fraught emotional state.

Unlike my experience on Everest, I am not choosing these risks — to my patients or to myself — of practicing under untenable circumstances where I cannot deliver optimal care.

She returned to Tennessee, where her bloodwork confirmed an ectopic pregnancy. Even though treatment of ectopic pregnancies is permitted in that state, the hospital released her without immediate treatment. Delayed care could put her at risk for impaired future fertility, emergency rather than elective surgery, and even death. I can only hope none of that happened. Treating people crossing state lines, who we cannot adequately care for ourselves, is stressful. I still think of her.

I’ve also been thinking a lot about the decision I made to go to Everest with the risks involved and the potential for trauma. I’d joined the team to experience the majesty of the Himalayas. To wake up to fine blue mountain light, live within vastness, and quell the warnings from girlhood to stay small and be safe. To this end, I made peace with the risks I was taking and ultimately grew from facing my fears. When trauma beset us, each team member grew into the best version of themselves.

My family moved to Georgia almost three decades ago, a different kind of unlikely for this city-raised girl. I grew to love the rolling hills of north Georgia, the breathtaking palette of autumn, the scent of apple cider and boiled peanuts. I learned how to cook collards — without ham — their rough stems of veins running through me.

But in the South now, we are not expanding and growing; we are shrinking, boxed in by medical practice governed by legislators, lawyers and hospital administrators. 

Unlike my experience on Everest, I am not choosing these risks — to my patients or to myself — of practicing under untenable circumstances where I cannot deliver optimal care. If I were finishing my training today and choosing somewhere to practice, I would not come to this state or anywhere with these restrictions on practice. 

I would never have predicted, when I was shivering, afraid, and alone providing care on the mountain, that I would feel threatened 36 years later by simply practicing basic healthcare in America. I couldn’t have known that after studying and working hard, I would not be able to put my education, knowledge, and skills to their best use. That I would be hampered when fulfilling the essence of my dream to care for women with skill and compassion. I couldn’t have known how alone, isolated and abandoned I would feel. Right here, at home. 

about this topic

• As more abortion bans occur, many patients must travel hundreds of miles for care — or be stranded
• Yes, some medication abortion patients go to the ER — but it may not be for what you think
• Supreme Court restricting mifepristone would be a "slippery slope" for future drugs

Mimi Zieman MD is the author of " Tap Dancing on Everest " (Falcon, April 2024), and "The Post-Roe Monologues," a play that has been performed in multiple cities. A physician, she has also co-authored sixteen editions of "Managing Contraception." Her writing has appeared in Newsweek, The Sun Magazine, Ms. Magazine, The Forward, NBC News THINK, Dorothy Parker’s Ashes, and other publications.

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