NYU acceptance rate drops to 8% for the class of 2027

NYU acceptance rate drops to 8% for the class of 2027 On Tuesday, NYU handed acceptance letters to the most exclusive class in its history...

NYU acceptance rate drops to 8% for the class of 2027

On Tuesday, NYU handed acceptance letters to the most exclusive class in its history after scrutinizing more than 120,000 applicants.

Mar. 28, 2023 Arnav Binaykia, Editor-in-Chief

The freshly admitted class of 2027 had an admission rate of just 8%, which was the lowest ever seen at the New York campus of the university. On Tuesday night, the university's newest class received their acceptance letters. During this admissions cycle, more than 120,000 students applied to the university, which is a record-high number of applications and a record-breaking 16th consecutive year.

According to a press release from Jonathan Williams, the vice president of NYU responsible for undergraduate admissions, "NYU's admitted class of 2027 reaffirms the university's commitment to higher education access and our enduring position as a university that is 'open to all, regardless of national origin, religious beliefs, or social background'." The fact that so many exceptional young people from all over the world selected NYU as their educational institution in hopes of achieving their academic and career objectives is humbling.

According to NYU, the class of 2027 will include students from 88 different nations as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 50 other states. The university will satisfy all students in the first-year class's verified financial needs to the fullest extent possible in accordance with the financial aid policy it established in 2021.

Colleges all around the United States have reported significant increases in the number of applications they get each year since the start of the pandemic, in part because many institutions chose to do away with their standardized exam requirements. The overall number of applications it processes each year has increased by 30% since 2019, according to the Common Application, the standardized form used by more than 1,000 schools countrywide.

The rate this year makes the newest class at NYU more selective than the class of 2021, which was admitted six years ago. 27% of those who applied to NYU for that class received acceptances. The admission percentage for the class of 2026 at NYU last year was 12.2%.

The U.S. Supreme Court will rule on two issues later this year regarding the legality of affirmative action measures, which are popularly known as race-sensitive college admissions decisions. Affirmative action measures have drawn the scrutiny of Supreme Court justices during oral arguments in both cases, and it is widely anticipated that the court would rule that such practices are unconstitutional. Williams made mention of the upcoming decision in the press release announcing applicant decisions, stating that NYU's class of 2027 illustrates its capacity to reconcile diversity and selectivity.

Williams stated that NYU "continues to demonstrate that selectivity and an exceptionally talented student body are not mutually exclusive to upholding values of diversity and access which so deeply enrich a university education" as we look to the future under new legal directives regarding diversity in higher education.

Andrew Hamilton, the president of NYU, has referred to the affirmative action decision as the "most consequential case for higher education in nearly 20 years," and the university was represented in the amicus brief supporting the practice that was submitted to the Supreme Court.

"Overturning the long-standing precedents that have governed these issues would be a major step backward for this nation's higher education system and its role as an engine of opportunity, as well as a troubling and unwarranted intervention in universities' ability to make considered, educational judgments about admissions," Hamilton stated in a statement last October.