Ace Your NYU Supplemental Essay: Expert Advice From a Former Admissions Officer

Students who apply to NYU must submit a required essay based on a Common App essay prompt. They may also submit an optional NYU-specific supplemental essay. This blog post explains why these admissions essays are so important for your NYU application. You’ll also obtain insightful tips and suggestions from a former NYU admissions officer, Joe Picini, making this your chance to get an inside scoop on how to approach the process, what to emphasize in your essays, and common mistakes and missteps to avoid.

With an acceptance rate of 8%, it’s no secret NYU is hard to get into.

NYU is also renowned for its international campuses and its unique and coveted schools and degree programs, such as the Tisch School of the Arts and the Stern School of Business.

Finally, NYU has a bold and well established reputation for catering to diverse students with global interests who are exceptionally outgoing, creative, and innovative.

All of this means your application really needs to hit the mark — highlighting your fit for the NYU community and helping you stand out.

In this process, your college essays are crucial. Admissions officers want to know how you're going to navigate and contribute positively to a diverse academic community.

In this post you’ll learn:

• What essays you need to write for NYU
• Whether you should write and submit the optional essay
• How to make sure your NYU essay stands out, with advice from a former NYU admissions officer
• Tips for decoding and brainstorming the NYU Supplemental Essay prompt

NYU Essay Questions for 2024/25

Students aiming to get into NYU need to consider two admissions essay tasks, one required and one optional:

1. The Common App Essay (required)
2. The NYU Supplemental Essay (optional)

1. The Common App Essay

NYU uses the Common Application. For the essay component, the Common App offers seven essay prompts for first-year applicants, but applicants are only required to respond to ONE of the seven prompts, writing an essay of 300 words or fewer.

While the many prompts to choose from give you freedom to pick the one best tailored to what you want to write about, it can be hard to decide which one to choose and how to approach it.

For tips, ideas, and inspiration on how to navigate the Common App essay and individual prompts, check out this free Crimson resource:

How To Answer The 2024-25 Common App Essay Prompts

2. NYU's Supplemental Essay Question

The 2024–2025 New York University (NYU) supplemental essay needs to be 250 words or fewer and respond to the following prompt:

In a world where disconnection seems to often prevail, we are looking for students who embody the qualities of bridge builders—students who can connect people, groups, and ideas to span divides, foster understanding, and promote collaboration within a dynamic, interconnected, and vibrant global academic community. We are eager to understand how your experiences have prepared you to build the bridges of the future. Please consider one or more of the following questions in your essay:

1. What personal experiences or challenges have shaped you as a bridge builder?
2. How have you been a bridge builder in your school, community, or personal life?
3. What specific actions have you taken to build bridges between diverse groups, ideas, or cultures?
4. How do you envision being a bridge builder during at our university and beyond?

This year, NYU's Supplemental Essay pivots away from the "why NYU" essay theme common in years past, offering students a more ample opportunity to introduce themselves (instead of talking about NYU), but also focuses on a theme crucial to campus life during an era of division and polarization in society, politics, and world affairs.

Why You Should Submit the Optional Supplemental Essay

Although NYU officials insist the NYU Supplemental essay “really is optional,” this year’s prompt aligns with the school’s emphasis on diversity and innovation:

"This prompt offers students a valuable opportunity to make a memorable impression by writing a strong essay about their ability to 'connect people, groups, and ideas…' within a diverse academic community," says Crimson Advisor and former NYU Admissions Officer Joe Picini.

Not only does the prompt encourage applicants to write about their own experiences and values, it makes clear that NYU’s leaders want to attract students who embrace global citizenship and can reflect constructively and honestly on the challenges of bridging cultural diversity and diverse worldviews.

Understanding College Essay Formats

As you begin essay brainstorming, planning, and reflection, it’s important to understand the unique features of the college essay format, features essential for all college essays, not just for NYU — especially because effective college essays are typically not like academic essays. Instead, they're more like reflective essays or personal narratives, writing formats often less familiar to high school students.

To make your essay memorable you'll typically recount personal experiences, anecdotes, and reflections using an authentic personal voice and perspective.

• Be authentic and genuine: Even if you decide to get creative in terms of format and expression, you’ll want to write in a personal voice and be sure your essay content is anchored in honest, sincere, and genuine introspection, exploring who you are and your deeper values, goals, and aspirations.
• Connect experiences with reflection: Your college essay will reveal more about you and be more memorable when you convey how your experiences shape your thoughts and worldview, and vice-versa.
• Capacity for growth and transformation: High school and college are not only formative years academically but also socially and personally. Admissions officers are looking for windows into your present maturity but also how you use introspection to turn your own unique lived experiences and life influences into catalysts for authentic reflection and personal growth or transformation.

For a comprehensive overview of the distinct features you can use to make your essay more powerful, check out this free Crimson resource:

How To Format & Structure Your College Application Essay

A Word on Navigating the Common App Essay Prompts When Applying to NYU

The Common App essay offers applicants lots of prompts to choose from, giving you freedom to pick one that makes it easier to share something compelling about your life story and personal values and aspirations.

For tips, ideas, and inspiration on how to navigate the Common App essay task, you can check out this resource:

How To Answer the 2024-25 Common App Essay Prompts

Making Your NYU Essays Stand Out: Advice From Former NYU Admissions Officer Joe Picini

Are you ready to go beyond the basics and uncover insights you can use to connect your essay with NYU’s educational ethos and the school’s unique admissions landscape…?

We sat down with Crimson Advisor and former NYU Admissions Officer Joe Picini to get his take on what students need to consider when writing essays that will really help them get into NYU.

What do admission officers at NYU look for in essays?

The admissions officers at NYU really want to learn about you. By that, I mean they want insights into your point of view on life, learning, and community. Even more, they’re going to be excited to get insights into your larger worldview, how it shapes you, and how you’ll contribute to a vibrant and diverse academic community.

That said, you don't have to connect your worldview or values perfectly with the ethos of the school and program you're applying to, because I’ve also seen students get into NYU who wrote essays that weren't directly connected to their chosen school or major, so that’s okay too.

Another thing I've observed as an Advisor at Crimson is that students often have a lot anxiety from thinking their essay needs to reveal something really insightful or really unusual and never seen before, and that’s just not the case. At NYU we just want to know what matters to students — how they view the world around them and what’s shaping their core values.

Typically, the NYU admissions officers will first read your essay in the context of your local circumstances — the state and region you live in — and then through the lens of the school and major you’re applying for. Then they'll be looking to connect the dots around how these factors will play out for you as a member of the campus community.

For NYU, many applicants are applying to both a specific school and specific major each with their own particular ethos. So if you're on of those applicants, be sure to consider that fact as you write about connections between your own values and aspirations and how they connect with NYU.

Here’s a three-step process for getting started that aligns well with writing a strong NYU essay:

1. Think about what makes your values and worldview meaningful in your local context — two students may have a similar worldview, but depending on their local context — where they live in the US (or abroad) — that worldview may be more common or it may reflect something more unique about an individual's background or values.
2. Consider your essay focus in the context of NYU and the specific NYU school and program you’re applying too. You may want to write about risk-taking, or creativity, or about how you navigate intellectual dilemmas. These are all great college essay themes and all important to your personal growth, but one of these may be more relevant or compelling depending on the school and major you're applying to.
3. How might your values and aspirations look at the level of campus community? You can explore this topic in the context of day-to-day dorm interactions, or in a larger context of campus live, or in terms of cultural diversity as it might impact study groups, classroom discussions, first-amendment conflicts, or navigating leadership roles on campus committees or initiatives.

How would you brainstorm NYU’s essay prompt?

The Common App Essay

I recommend students do some initial brainstorming and then decide which Common App essay prompt to choose, picking one that will help showcase their voice and allow them to demonstrate an important transformation, whether it’s emotional or spiritual... or whatever it is that matters to them.

The admissions officers want to see what it is you’ve learned from the experiences, people, or influences you’re writing about.

There are lots of different Common App prompts to choose from, so I tell students to pick the one that will most help them accomplish this.

If you’re trying to figure out how to approach one of the more open-ended Common App essay prompts, start with what you know and care about. You can even anchor the essay around a memory or experience that stands out for you, just be sure it's genuine and connects with a compelling aspect of personal growth.

The NYU Supplemental Essay Prompt

Remember that the NYU supplemental essay prompt has often changed from one year to the next, so always check for the most recent prompt.

For 24-25, the key theme is navigating diversity and group differences in constructive ways.

Reading this year's prompt carefully is important.

You’ll see it restricts you to a specific theme but also offers you lots of latitude for how you approach it and personalize your response.

I would tell students not to worry if you don’t have an established track record of “connecting people, groups, and ideas, and spanning divides..." etc.

Remember, this isn't a resume you're writing. It's your deeper viewpoints on life, your guiding values, and your reflective processes that need to shine through.

What are some tips to stand out when writing essays for NYU?

Remembering that admissions officers will have a big stack of essays on their desk, I tell students it’s important your essay's core idea is not only about you, but clear and well defined at the start of the essay.

Get off to a strong start: Avoid a formal introduction or anything that's overly general in nature. While this might be suitable for an academic essay, you want to be sure your college essay makes a strong impression, with a really clear core idea and a strong launch!

Core ideas should be easy to track: With each paragraph, make sure your reader can scan you essay quickly if they need to and capture the main ideas. Here are some tips to help:

• Use a conversational voice, with simple words.
• Make the first sentence of each paragraph do the work of conveying the core idea for the paragraph.
• Make sure the admissions officer will know what you want them to know as soon as they’ve finished reading your essay one time.

What are some common mistakes to avoid when writing the essays for this university?

According to Joe Picini, there are some definite pitfalls to avoid — mistakes he sees often that can really sink your essay (and your application).

Here are four missteps Joe Picini warns students to avoid when writing their NYU essays:

Misstep 1: Burying the lead

While a personal essay format can allow for lots of creativity, don’t put off getting to the point. Whatever you want them to know about you should jump off the page from the start of your essay.

Misstep 2: Showcasing academic prowess

When students hear the word “essay” — as in college essay — it often conjures up a formal, academic writing style. It’s crucial to remember that a college essay is not an academic essay, not an expository essay, not a five-paragraph essay or a show-off-my-vocabulary essay!

Of course you do want a strong writing sample, so be sure to revise and polish your essay to show you can shape your writing to make your ideas stand out and that you understand nuances of word choice and grammar. That said, an admissions essay will typically use an authentic personal voice and often it's fitting to write as if you're speaking directly to the reader.

Misstep 3: Putting the spotlight on someone (or something) else

Remember, you’re the one we admissions officers are looking to admit to NYU, so when writing about an important person, event, or influence in your life, don't go off track. While it’s important to give a revealing glimpse of the person or event that influenced you, it’s crucial to stay focused on introducing yourself and on what the specific person or influence meant to you — to your values, worldview, or story of personal growth.

Misstep 4: Writing about New York

It’s true New York is an amazing city. But you can go to any number of schools there, so is it relevant to talk about New York?

Rather than talking about how good a fit you are with New York City, zero in on your own interests and aspirations and how they influenced your decision to make the NYU campus (NY, Abu Dhabi, or Shanghai) and school/major you're applying to a top choice for your college journey.

A Closer Look: How To Answer the 24/25 NYU Supplemental Essay

The 2024–2025 New York University (NYU) supplemental essay asks you to write a concise essay (250 words or fewer) about your ability to “connect people, groups, and ideas…” within a diverse academic community.

Decoding the Prompt

The NYU admissions office says it designed the prompt with the goal of providing applicants a greater opportunity to share about themselves:

Earlier versions of the NYU supplemental essay prompts were essentially “Why NYU” questions. Now, NYU admissions officers emphasize that they want the supplemental essay to help students share important information about their personal values and experiences.

NYU is also telling applicants to talk about themselves in the context of specific challenges of living together in a diverse academic community, putting a spotlight on how you are equipped to build community in the midst of lots of diversity.

The 2023-24 academic year was marked by political polarization and protest encampments, fueled by domestic politics and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. These dynamic and divisive forces colored students’ experiences on many campuses.

It’s no wonder admissions officers are looking for students who will be ready to reflect on and engage with principles and perspectives related to bridging and healing divisions amid diversity.

Keeping these real-life challenges in mind can help you introspect more deeply and genuinely. What values, perspectives, understandings, experiences, or aptitudes truly reflect who you are and will help you make positive contributions to community building amid differences and diversity?

Selecting the Best Guiding Question(s) for Your Essay

Tackling such an open-ended question on a complex theme, is no small task. Fortunately, NYU decided to add guiding questions that you can use to narrow the scope of your essay, encouraging applicants to respond to one or more of the following:

1. What personal experiences or challenges have shaped you as a bridge builder?
2. How have you been a bridge builder in your school, community, or personal life?
3. What specific actions have you taken to build bridges between diverse groups, ideas, or cultures?
4. How do you envision being a bridge builder during your time at our university and beyond?

1. What personal experiences or challenges have shaped you as a bridge builder?

This question is a great opportunity to do what NYU FAO Joe Picini suggested: tell how your life experiences shaped who you are, your worldview, and aspirations.

You may want to use a personal narrative format to describe with vivid action and dialogue (or inner dialogue) a formative experience, event, or challenge.

• What was the setting or context?
• What was the experience or challenge and what kind of division needed to be bridged?
• How did you respond?
• What did you learn from the experience? What values or commitments did the experience or challenge instill in you, related to helping overcome differences and build unity and community?
• Is there any connection between your academic aspirations and your commitment to building community or resolving conflict?

2. How have you been a bridge builder in your school, community, or personal life?

This guiding question is an opportunity to demonstrate a skill or aptitude you’ve already developed, or to spotlight some genuine and practical accomplishments as a bridge builder. Some noteworthy accomplishments can provide a strong anchor for navigating the NYU supplemental essay. 

• Is there a club activity or research project you engaged in that relates to building community or promoting diversity, inclusion, and cooperation?
• Is there a leadership role you played that involved improving group collaboration or helping team members get along better?

As an alternative to talking about relevant extracurricular achievements, you could instead spotlight some small ways you build bridges in different social or family contexts.

• How did these small wins over time reveal traits or aptitudes preparing you to bridge differences when you get into college?
• How you might apply what you’ve learned about yourself on a bigger stage in the future?

3. What specific actions have you taken to build bridges between diverse groups, ideas, or cultures?

This question is similar to the previous one. But the prior question focuses on experiences drawn from a fairly close circle of personal interactions (school, community, personal life). While quite open-ended, this question points to a larger stage: diverse groups, ideas, or cultures.

For applicants with relevant experiences or the right resume, so to speak, this is an opportunity to showcase substantive achievements in a larger social context.

Types of experiences or extracurricular activities that might align with this question include:

• Leading or participating in a school-sanctioned and school-wide climate and culture initiative or committee
• Participating in a Model UN program
• Volunteering or interning in a relevant international affairs initiative or NGO program, or in nonprofit organizations in the field of conflict resolution or policy development
• Experiences involving social research in topics such as peace education, conflict resolution, immigration policy or advocacy

While experiences in one or more of these kinds of activities, or similar ones, should align well with NYU’s 24/25 supplemental essay themes, you’ll still need to be strategic in how you construct your response.

• Detail the specific actions: Start by describing a particular situation where there was a need to bridge differences. What was the issue or division? Who were the groups, ideas, or cultures involved? Explain the steps you took to address these challenges and why you chose that approach.
• Highlight the outcome: Reflect on the results of your actions. Did you help create a more inclusive environment? Were you able to bring people together in a meaningful way? Sharing the tangible outcomes of your efforts can demonstrate your effectiveness as a bridge builder.
• Show personal growth: Discuss what these actions taught you about yourself and others. How did these experiences influence your understanding of diversity and community? Did they inspire you to take further action or shape your goals for the future?
• Connect to your future at NYU: Consider how the skills and insights you gained from these experiences will contribute to your role as a bridge builder at NYU. How will you continue to foster connections between diverse groups on campus?

4. How do you envision being a bridge builder during your time at our university and beyond?

This question invites you to project your aspirations into your time at NYU and your future career or community involvement. It's an opportunity to align your goals with NYU’s values and demonstrate your forward-thinking approach.

• Set the stage with your vision: Begin by describing how you see yourself contributing to the NYU community as a bridge builder. What unique perspectives, skills, or experiences will you bring to the table? How do you plan to engage with the university's diverse student body, faculty, and initiatives?
• Link to specific opportunities at NYU: Research NYU’s programs, clubs, or initiatives that align with your interests in diversity and community building. Mention how you plan to get involved in these opportunities and what you hope to achieve through them. This shows that you’ve thought deeply about how you can make a meaningful impact at NYU.
• Think beyond college: Consider how your experiences at NYU will prepare you to continue building bridges after graduation. What long-term goals do you have in mind? Whether it’s through career aspirations, community service, or global engagement, demonstrate your commitment to building bridges to understanding and cooperation in the broader world.

While you could build your entire  essay around this one question, you might also respond to it as an extension of one of the three previous questions, if indeed you have the kind of vocational and aspirational interests that connect to these themes, but it’s not something you have to do in your essay.

Be Authentic

Don’t let the thematic focus on bridge building deceive you. While it's important to be guided by the prompt, you want to approach it in a way that ensures you’re exploring facets of your identity and aspirations that are more deeply meaningful to you, that are authentic, rather than thinking you have to billboard some kind of elevated bridge-building credentials!

Speak Into the Challenges of Diversity

NYU's prompt certainly doesn't mean the school's leaders are trying to recruit only one stamp of student. However, admissions officers probably are keen to gain insights into how today's young scholars understand and navigate fundamental differences in culture and worldview.

This collective reflection process may help NYU leaders build a campus community that is more socially resilient and adaptive. In addition, students’ own introspection on these themes may mean they'll come to NYU more open to navigating group conflicts, cultural diversity, and competing worldviews.

On one level at least, your NYU supplemental essay is an exciting invitation from school leaders for you to speak into these big questions in a way that's unique to your experiences and values.

Making Sure Your Essay Is Ready for Submission

By taking time to read and apply the insights from former NYU Admissions Officer Joe Picini, you’re setting yourself up to write the kind of essay that top applicants will submit.

To make the most of this opportunity, lets quickly review the final steps in the essay writing process — remembering that good writing won’t happen in a rush, and grows out of several stages of revision, rewording, and proofreading.

Check for Depth & Relevance

• Depth means delving into your experiences, thoughts, and emotions, while relevance ensures every part of your essay ties back to your main theme and demonstrates why you’re a great fit for NYU.
• Ask yourself if your essay provides meaningful insights into who you are. Are you sharing specific anecdotes that reveal your character, values, and aspirations?
• Avoid generic statements and clichés; focus on unique experiences that illustrate your growth and potential.
• Ensure each paragraph contributes to your overall narrative and aligns with NYU’s values. Highlight how your experiences and goals connect with NYU’s mission, programs, and community.

Seek Feedback

Before finalizing your essay, seek feedback from trusted teachers, mentors, or peers. They can offer valuable perspectives, identify areas needing clarity, suggest improvements, and catch errors you might have missed.

Incorporating feedback effectively, if it's relevant, while balancing external input with your own vision is key to creating a compelling essay.

Polish & Proofread Your Writing

Once you’re satisfied with the substance of your essay, shift your attention to refining the structure, flow, and clarity.

• Is your essay well-organized?
• Does it have a clear beginning, middle, and end?
• Are your ideas presented logically and cohesively?
• Have you and an outside pair of eyes looked it over carefully, to correct any errors in spelling, mechanics, and punctuation?

Final Thoughts

Crafting a standout admissions essay for NYU is no small feat, but it’s an opportunity to showcase your unique voice, experiences, and aspirations.

Remember, your essay is not intended to be academic or be a “writing sample.” It should honestly and vividly present important insights into selective and important aspects of your personality and identity, revealing important values, viewpoints, formative experiences, or aspirations.

It connects these aspects of who you are with how you’ll contribute to the vibrant, diverse, and innovative community at NYU.

For those seeking additional guidance, Crimson Education offers a holistic, personalized, and proven approach, with expert essay reviewing and mentoring services.

Students taking advantage of our tailored strategies will discover a comprehensive approach to the college essay process that can get them results far beyond their initial expectations. Schedule a free feedback session today and let's discuss your individual goals and next steps!

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