Is NYU Need Blind | Top 60 Need-Blind Colleges in the United States

Published April 2, 2023 · · Updated May 11, 2024 · 5 minutes · by Kamerpower ·

Is NYU Need Blind | Top 60 Need-Blind Colleges in the United States. NYU is a very competitive and selective school that ranks high in college rankings. Although it’s not an Ivy League, NYU is considered as a New Ivy. 

Need-blind admission simply means that an applicant’s ability to pay for their education will not be a factor in the admission decision. In other words, a candidate’s financial need will not be taken into consideration when deciding to admit, wait list, or deny an applicant.

Are NYU Students Happy?

There are many things NYU is known for. Some of them include contemporary programs, smart professors and world-class students. NYU students, including especially those who are willing to pay big bucks in exchange for top-notch education and thrive better in a megacity such as New York City, are happy. Due to the school’s location, its students have many places to visit and activities to partake in during their free time.

What Is a Need Aware College?

Rising costs and reduced budgets have forced many colleges to take financial need into account. Need aware colleges are those that take students’ ability to pay college tuition into consideration. That is, if a school is trying to decide between two students, they may choose the one who requires less or no financial aid because that’s cheaper for them.

What Is a Need-Blind College?

The opposite of need aware schools are need blind schools, which don’t take applicants’ financial needs into account at all during the application process. Need-blind colleges are schools where a student’s ability to pay tuition costs is not factored into the admissions decision. 

These universities only consider the non-financial parts of your application like your transcript, essays, and letters of recommendation when deciding whether to offer you admission.

Is NYU need-blind?

Yes, New York University is need blind, along with all eight Ivy League schools, and other top-tier schools like Stanford, Duke, and MIT. There is a common misconception that colleges that are need blind also offer students who cannot pay a full ride. That is not true: just because a university is need-blind does not mean that tuition is free! In other words, just because you get into a need-blind college does not mean you are guaranteed a free ride.

List of Need-Blind Colleges in the United States

• Bowdoin College
• University of Chicago.
• Lafayette College. 
• University of Florida
• Brown University.
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
• Amherst College
• Harvard University
• Stanford University
• Swarthmore College.
• Duke University.
• New York University (NYU)
• Wesleyan University.
• Williams College.
• Rice University.
• Tulane University
• University of Pennsylvania
• Columbia University.
• Dartmouth College
• Davidson College
• Pomona College
• University of Richmond.
• Cornell University.
• Northwestern University
• Princeton University.
• Lewis & Clark College
• University of New Hampshire.
• Carnegie Mellon University
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
• Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
• Claremont McKenna College
• Marlboro College.
• University of Notre Dame.
• Lehigh University
• University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business.
• California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
• Chapman University
• Marist College.
• University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.
• University of Washington
• Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU)
• Salem College
• Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering
• Santa Clara University  
• Georgetown University.
• Southern Methodist University (SMU)
• Yeshiva University
• Florida State University
• Saint Louis University.  
• Fordham University
• North Carolina State University (NCSU)
• University of Vermont
• Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art.
• North Central College.
• University of Virginia
• Cornell College Northeastern University.
• San Jose State University.

Types of Need-Blind Financial Aid Policies

1. No Guaranteed Financial Aid Schools

This type of need-blind universities are schools that use need-blind policies for admissions but offer no guarantee for financial aid. As we mentioned before, most students can expect to receive some amount of financial aid from a need-blind university. But in this case, the financial aid is not guaranteed to cover a student’s demonstrated financial need, and it will often leave a gap that a student will have to fill beyond their already-determined family contribution.

2. Full Need With Loans Schools

A need-blind university that is full need with loans is very similar to their “no loans” counterparts. These schools also guarantee to cover 100% of a student’s demonstrated financial need through a financial aid package—the only difference is that this package might include loans alongside grant, scholarship, and work opportunities.

3. Full Need, No Loans Schools

Full need schools are universities that promise to make sure that a student’s demonstrated financial need will be covered through financial aid opportunities without requiring student loans. That is, a full need, no loans school will offer a 100% financial aid package that does not include loans

Eligibility to Apply to NYU

If you will have completed your country’s pre-university education (equivalent to U.S. 12th Grade) before arriving on-campus for the fall semester, or if any of the following apply to you, you are eligible to apply to NYU as a first-year applicant:

• You are currently enrolled in a foundation year program outside of the United States and have completed secondary school graduation requirements from your country as outlined in the International Qualifications Tool; or
• Your highest degree earned by the time you plan to enroll at NYU is either a certificate or diploma.
• You are completing an internationally-recognized equivalent, such as the IB Diploma; or
• You are applying from countries with school leaving qualifications based on the British educational model, and will have completed the A-level equivalent (neither O-levels nor (I)GCSE results will be sufficient for admission).

Recommendation 

• NYU Tisch Acceptance Rate | Undergraduate Admission, Tuition
• New York University NYU transfer acceptance rate | Application deadline, requirements

How do I apply to NYU?

All students can apply to NYU using the Common Application. On the Common Application and any supporting documents, be sure to use your name as it appears on your passport or birth certificate.

• First-Year Application Guide.
• Transfer Application Guide.