Why NYU essay advice?

Answered

Every year NYU admissions gets to read 100,000-105000 applications and the "WHY NYU" essay. I doubt very much that NYU cares deeply about what your impressions of NYC and NYU are and your likes or dislikes. That is not what this essay is about.

Colleges pose the "Why Us" essay as a efficient way to filter out the students that they want at their school, the individuals that are the greatest asset to the school and the best fit for their future incoming Freshman Class versus having to read 100000+ of the same essays over and over about how Washington Square Park is magical or how wonderful being on a urban campus aligns with their desire to have the New York experience. They don't care if you like the facilities, parks, dorms, nightlife, dining halls, and the clout that goes along with attending NYU.

Rather, I propose it will more powerful for you to figure out why you align with NYUs culture, goals, aspirations and find a narrative to write about that makes you into a perfect type of student NYU is looking for. 88000 applicants are all going to right basically the same thing and they will be rejected so think about it. Why submit something that everyone else is going to do in the same manner.

If NYU had a picnic as part of the application process and said, please bring 1 food item to share to our picnic, what do you think applicants would bring?

My guess, the most popular items will be Potato Chips, Soda, some Salad, some Dessert item, Pizza, and some people might bring beer and wine. So the end result is that the huge NYU picnic table is going to have ton of junk food on it. But the person who brings his mom's famous Greek Moussaka or Baklava or their grandmother's Dolmas is probably closer to getting the Golden Ticket than anyone else. Why? Because NYU wants a diverse Class of Cohorts to mix cultures, ideas, ideologies and flavors. They don't want things you can buy in bulk at Walmart or Costco to end up at NYU. Does that make any sense to you?

Good luck.