New York University is one of several highly selective colleges that admit a small number of first-years in the spring. The practice dates back to 2016, when NYU ostensibly sought to expand its accessibility to a greater number of students. According to reporting by NYU’s student-run newspaper, Washington Square News:

“NYU defers some of its early decision applicants to determine how their applications compare to students who apply through Regular Decision. Assistant Vice President of Admissions Jonathan Williams explained in an email to WSN why the university began the spring admission process three years ago. 

‘Spring Admission was developed as a way to offer more opportunities for students to enter the [first-year] class,” Williams wrote. “We can accommodate them in the spring because of the number of students that take advantage of study away programs during the spring semester.’

Students admitted in the spring are required to take summer classes in order to graduate with their peers accepted in the fall. Liberal Studies; the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development; and the Tandon School of Engineering are the only programs that admit in the spring semester.”

The cohort of spring admits might be small, but it creates a big impact for those affected by it. Imagine how difficult it would be to integrate into a campus community one semester ahead of you! And anyways, is the rationale touted by the Assistant VP of Admissions the real reason NYU conducts a spring admission program? We at Ivy Coach think not!

Spring Admits Get the Short End of the Stick

Spring admits to NYU are not allowed their choice of major in every single department. Only a select number of majors are accessible to these students. For example, the same Washington Square News article relates the case of a student who sought to major in Mechanical Engineering, “but was advised to major in Civil, Computer or Electrical Engineering — the only tracks available for spring admits.” So much for increased opportunity!

Spring admits at NYU can choose to spend their would-be fall semester any way they please. Some simply take it easy, while others take advantage of an internship or work opportunity to get some professional experience before they depart for lower Manhattan. Others choose to enroll at another university just for the fall to keep pace with their fall-admit counterparts. In any event, all spring admits must stay on campus during the summer to make up for their lost fall coursework at NYU and stay on track with the rest of their peers. They effectively lose an entire semester of full campus life!

Why Does NYU Conduct Spring Admission?

Given the detriments to spring admits, why does NYU continue with the practice? The VP of Admissions might claim that it’s all about expanding opportunity, but we at Ivy Coach know better! For one thing, more students means more tuition dollars in NYU’s coffers. But perhaps even more importantly, spring admits are not tallied into the admission statistics published in places like the U.S. News & World Report ranking — they’re data ghosts. They might deny it, but highly selective colleges like NYU really care about how they are evaluated by such publications, since these days prestige is largely the product of admission competitiveness!

Admitting a student with a subpar standardized test score or a lacking academic profile in the fall semester will count against NYU’s statistical track record. The same student admitted during the spring semester will have no such impact. For this reason, it’s highly likely that the pool of spring admits is full of the children of major donors and legacies. These prime candidates for spring admission often do not contribute to the academic distinction of an incoming class, but are still prized by admissions officers. Does this mean that all spring admits fall into one of these categories? Of course not. But what the VP won’t tell you is that many do!

NYU is Not the Only School To Defer First-Year Admits

Boston University, Cornell University, UC Berkeley, and the University of Southern California all conduct spring admission programs. It’s unlikely that NYU’s policy is going anywhere, considering that the private university’s huge application pools in recent years have broken records while the acceptance rate has dwindled to record-lows. NYU’s performance on college rankings, as well as its accessibility to privileged applicants, is just too important to the institution!