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How to Write the “Why NYU” Essay

This article was written based on the information and opinions presented by Moriah Adeghe in a CollegeVine livestream. You can watch the full livestream for more info. 

What’s Covered:

• How Essays Set You Apart

Writing About NYU’s Campus

• Writing About NYU’s Different Colleges
• Writing About NYU’s Areas of Study

New York University (NYU) asks its applicants to reply to its “Why NYU” supplemental essay . The prompt states:

“We would like to know more about your interest in NYU. What motivated you to apply to NYU? Why have you applied or expressed interest in a particular campus, school, college, program, and/or area of study? If you have applied to more than one, please also tell us why you are interested in these additional areas of study or campuses. We want to understand—Why NYU? (400 words)”

In this article, we discuss how best to respond to this prompt and provide examples of successful essays. For more writing tips and tricks for this prompt, check out our post on how to write a stellar “why this college” essay .

How Essays Set You Apart  

The admissions officers at NYU have to filter through many applicants with similar grades, test scores, and extracurricular activities. Reading essay responses is how the admissions officers learn about your personality and see whether you would be a good fit at NYU. Developing a unique supplemental essay that showcases your personality and values will give admissions officers a chance to get to know you beyond your grades and test scores. As with many essays, the “why NYU” essay differentiates you from other applicants with the same level of qualifications . 

NYU admissions want to see that you actually care about attending their school and that you are not just applying for superficial reasons. You want to convince NYU that you are passionate about the school. The best way to do this is by submitting a highly personal and specific essay response that shows that you’ve done your research and can envision yourself as an NYU student. 

This prompt has a 400-word limit, so instead of writing 400 words about the location and prestige of NYU, you want to dive into the specifics. The length of this essay and the questions in the prompt enable you to go into extensive detail. Admissions officers don’t want to read a general description of the campus; they’re looking for your specific interest in particular areas of the campus and the program that you’re applying to. Make sure to respond in a manner that is specific to you and to NYU. A great tip to keep in mind while you’re writing is this: if you can replace NYU with Columbia or another school in your essay, you haven’t made your essay specific enough. 

There are three buckets that you can write about in your “why NYU” essay: the campus, college, and area of study. Each of these buckets can get broken down into smaller areas. For example, you can write about the New York City, Abu Dhabi, or Shanghai campus for the campus bucket. A weak response to this bucket would be saying that you wanted to attend the NYU Abu Dhabi campus because you visited the area once and want to live in the city. This is a general answer with no specific information about what you will get out of and be a part of by going to NYU. The admissions officers at NYU know exactly what makes their school unique, but they want to read this from your perspective, so be as specific as possible. 

A stronger response would be talking about how you want to study at the Shanghai campus to major in global China studies because it aligns with your interests in working in international marketing. There’s no better place to pursue this major than on a campus located in the heart of a major Chinese city. You can talk about how the Shanghai location would grant you the opportunity to see the topics discussed in the classroom firsthand.

This type of response immediately demonstrates that the student has done their research and is genuinely interested in the program that they’re writing about. This example clearly outlines their trajectory at NYU in a way that is clear to the admissions officers and shows that NYU is their first choice.

Writing About NYU’s Different Colleges 

Like many other schools, NYU is divided into several schools and colleges. The biggest one is the College of Arts and Sciences, which is a general liberal arts college, so you don’t want to spend too much of your essay talking about it. Instead, focus on your area of study or specific extracurricular interests at one of the campuses. 

However, if you are planning to apply to one of NYU’s smaller colleges, you should spend the bulk of your essay writing about the college that you chose. You want to do this because it will automatically set you apart from the other applicants. You will have more specific programs and classes to write about than applicants applying to the larger colleges.

Writing About NYU’s Areas of Study  

Within each school or college of NYU, there are multiple different programs and majors to write about. For this topic, pick the major or program that appeals to you, and write about why you want to be part of it. The unique thing about this essay is that since there is a 400-word limit, which is long for most supplemental essays, you can dive into your motivations a bit more while writing about the area of study that you want to pursue at NYU. 

By going into your background, you can connect your past experiences to your future goals at NYU. This will allow you to differentiate yourself from other applicants by showing your personality and bringing out more of your authentic self.

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College Essays

If you're applying to New York University, you'll need to submit both the regular Common App materials as well as the NYU supplement, which includes a short essay. At its heart, the NYU essay prompt asks you to answer a single straightforward question: why do you want to go to NYU?

In this article, we'll fully analyze the "Why NYU?" essay prompt and what successful essays need to accomplish. We'll also go over potential topics to write about and look at the essay that got me into NYU's College of Arts and Science.

First, however, we'll begin with a quick discussion of why schools ask students to write "why this school?" essays

feature image credit: Sagie /Flickr

Why NYU Essay 2023 Update

NYU has discontinued the "Why NYU" for the 2022-2023 admissions cycle . That means there won't be an NYU-specific writing supplement provided as part of the Common Application process. 

However, students can submit an optional 250-word response as part of NYU's additional questions section. This response deals with students' perspectives on diversity. Here's the prompt for 2023-2024: 

We are looking for peacemakers, changemakers, global citizens, boundary breakers, creatives and innovators. Choose one quote from the following and let us know why it inspires you; or share a short quote and person not on our list who inspires you, and include why.

“We’re used to people telling us there are no solutions, and then creating our own. So we did what we do best. We reached out to each other, and to our allies, and we mobilized across communities to make change, to benefit and include everyone in society.” Judith Heuman, 2022 NYU Commencement Address

“I encourage your discomfort, that you must contribute, that you must make your voice heard. That is the essence of good citizenship.” Sherilynn Ifill, 2015 NYU Honorary Degree Recipient

“You have the right to want things and to want things to change.” Sanna Marin, Former Prime Minister of Finland, 2023 NYU Commencement Address “It’s hard to fight when the fight ain’t fair.” Taylor Swift, Change, Released 2008, 2022 NY Commencement Speaker

Share a short quote and person not on the list and why the quote inspires you.

What's the Point of "Why This School" Essays?

While the Common App essay gives students a chance to showcase something of who they are that might not be evident elsewhere in their application, the "why [school]?" essay allows students space to explicitly state why they are such a good match for the school.

Presumably, if you're applying to the school, your test scores, grades, course rigor and curriculum, extracurriculars, and volunteer experience all put you at least somewhat in line with other students at the school.

The "why this school?" essay is your opportunity to discuss not just why you could excel at the school, but why you are a good fit (and why you want to go there).

"Why this school" essays are also a useful way for schools to judge student interest in a school (which can indicate whether or not a student will attend if admitted). Based on students' "why this school?" essays, colleges can distinguish students who are specifically interested in attending that school from students who clearly applied just because of the school's location or ranking

Writing a strong "why [school]?" essay not only gives you another instance to showcase your writing and reasoning skills, but also tells the school that you care enough to invest time in researching what makes them special. It signifies that you have put in the time to realize whether or not you're a good fit. (And, it secondarily shows that having put in that time, you're more likely to attend if admitted than someone who just wrote some generic statements about why they want to attend college ).

For a more in-depth look at what schools hope to get out of your "Why [This School]?" essays, read this article .

Why NYU Essay Prompt, Analyzed

Here's the complete NYU supplement essay prompt for 2021:

We would like to know more about your interest in NYU. What motivated you to apply to NYU? Why you have applied or expressed interest in a particular campus, school, college, program, and or area of study? If you have applied to more than one, please also tell us why you are interested in these additional areas of study or campuses. We want to understand - Why NYU? (400 word maximum)

Besides the standard "what motivated you to apply to [school]?" question that almost every "why this school" essay asks, the NYU prompt gives you one extra nudge for what to focus on in your essay.

Specifically, NYU wants you to talk about what's drawn you to "a particular campus, school, college, program, and/or area of study?" (or, if you're drawn to more than one, why you're drawn to each campus/school/college/program/area of study).

Keep in mind that you should be discussing all of this in the context of NYU . Obviously, if you're interested in NYU because of one of their 10 undergraduate schools, then that's particular to NYU, but the same goes for their campus locations, programs, and areas of study.

For instance, if you're passionate about studying theater, you wouldn't just write that you want to attend NYU because you love theater and NYU has a theater program and is in New York, a city that has theater; that description could apply to half a dozen schools. Instead, you'd go into the details of what attracts you about specific classes and professors at Tisch, or other opportunities that are unique to NYU (ability to do certain kinds of projects, the potential for interdisciplinary collaboration, etc).

This prompt also hints at a few different directions you can go with your "Why NYU" essay:

Why have you expressed interest in a particular campus, school, college, program, or area of study? If you have applied to more than one, please also tell us why you are interested in these additional areas of study or campuses.

If you're already certain of what you want to study in college or have a " spike ", you'll want to go the "particular" route in your essay . This means mentioning specific classes, professors, programs, or how you see NYU supporting your future career/academic plans.

On the other hand, perhaps you're not at all sure what you want to study in college (AKA me in high school). In that case, you'll shape your essay more around how you believe going to NYU will allow you to explore many different avenues to find your passion .

Finally, if you already know that you want to spend time abroad during college in a place where NYU has a campus, you can emphasize your interest in continuing to receive an NYU-level academic education while living in another country .

Potential "Why NYU?" Essay Topics

Earlier, we briefly touched upon some topics that you might write about in your essay, including specific courses/teachers/programs and study abroad opportunities.

We're now going to take those broad topic categories and go into a little more depth for how to write about them in your "Why NYU?" essay.

Colleges/Programs

NYU has the following 10 undergraduate schools, colleges, and programs:

• College of Arts & Sciences
• Gallatin School of Individualized Study
• Liberal Studies
• Meyers College of Nursing
• School of Professional Studies
• Silver School of Social Work
• Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development
• Stern School of Business
• Tandon School of Engineering
• Tisch School of the Arts

Because there are so many different undergraduate programs within NYU, it's a good idea to identify which program(s) you're applying to and why in your NYU supplement essay.

Since you'll need to decide on a program before applying to NYU anyway, you might as well use the time you spend reading about each college to figure out if there are any programs within particular colleges that call out to you.

For instance, if you're interested in the intersection of different fields (like psychology and computer science, or biology and philosophy/ethics) and are self-motivated to create your own program of study, you should talk about that in your application to the Gallatin School of Individualized Study. If you've spent the last 12 years devoting all your extra time in and out of school to theatre and want to attend a conservatory with opportunities to go see live theatre, then write about that in your application to Tisch.

Courses/Professors

NYU is a world-renowned university for a reason, and it's not just because of its immense real estate holdings; it has a wide variety of courses and professors renowned in their fields. If one of the main reasons you're drawn to NYU is for its academics, then this is a good topic to get into in your supplemental essay.

Flip through the online course catalogs and read about professors in departments you're interested in. Are there any classes you really want to take (that seem particular to NYU)? Or any professors you absolutely have to study with?

You don't need to go so far as to read the professors' research or anything like that (unless you're super excited by it!), but doing even a little research into the courses and professors you'd be learning from and mentioning it in your "Why NYU?" essay will go a long way toward showing the admissions officers that you're serious enough about NYU to check out its specifics.

Extracurricular Opportunities and School Traditions

If there's an extracurricular at NYU that you've been particularly involved in during high school (or are excited to start getting involved in at college), you can write about it, as long as you're clear about why it's something unique to NYU.

In a similar vein, you can also try reading through some of the campus-wide events offered throughout the year and see if there's anything special about them that speaks to you.

NYU Essay: Topics to Avoid

The "Why NYU" essay prompt makes it pretty clear that you should focus your 400 words around a specific college/program/area of study.

What you absolutely should avoid is gushing about NYU's location (whether you're applying to the New York campus or not).

Back when I applied to NYU, the "why NYU?" essay prompt was even more blunt about not centering your essay around New York City:

"Many students decide to apply to NYU because of our New York City location. Apart from the New York City location, please tell us why you feel NYU will be a good match for you."

If New Yorkers have heard it all and seen it all before, NYU admissions officers have certainly read any and all paeans you could care to write to New York City.

It's fine to write about how being in New York gives you access to opportunities relevant to your course at NYU (e.g. you can get amazing internship opportunities for journalism and theatre there that you wouldn't be able to get anywhere else). However, you need to be clear to center your essay around the program at NYU, with the New York location (and its opportunities) being an added bonus.

Unless you have a unique take on why NYU's location is so important to you (e.g. your grandparents used to live in a building that was demolished to make way for Bobst law library and you were brought up on vengeance that has since turned to adoration), stay away from NYU's location in your explanation of why you want to go there.

Brainstorming for the Why NYU Essay

Before you start to narrow in on what angle you'll take in your "Why NYU?" essay, you should first examine your reasons for applying to NYU. By "examine," we don't just mean "list your reasons"—we mean you need to go a few levels deeper into each surface reason that occurs to you.

For example, this is the list of reasons I had for applying to NYU (roughly in order of importance):

• My test scores and grades/course rigor make it likely I'll get in
• NYU has lots of good schools and programs
• It's easy enough to get from NYU to my family, transportation-wise

On the face of it, none of these reasons are very compelling. If I'd just gone on to write my "Why NYU?" essay (or in those days, essays) with those three bullet points, I doubt I would have been accepted.

Instead, I went deeper with each reason to see if there was anything there I could mine for the NYU supplement essay.

Surface Reason 1 : My test scores and grades/course rigor make it likely I'll get in.

• One level deeper : I'm applying to NYU as a safety school, because I'm pretty sure I'll get in there, even if I don't get in anywhere else, and I'd want to go there if I got in.
• Should I write about this in my "why NYU" essay? Definitely not. No school wants to hear that it's a safety (even if it's a safety you would be fine with attending because it's still a good school).

Surface Reason 2 : NYU has lots of good schools and programs.

• One level deeper : I'm extremely undecided about what I want to study—I know that I'm interested in English (Creative Writing), Math, Neuroscience, Chinese, and Music, but I might end up deciding to study something entirely different in college. It's important to me that I go somewhere that I'll have the opportunity to explore all of my interests (and develop more), which I can do at NYU.
• Should I write about this in my "Why NYU" essay? This reason is definitely promising, although I'll need to do more research into the particular programs and courses at NYU so I can namedrop (and in the process, double-check that I'm right about being able to study all these things there!).

Surface Reason 3 : It's easy enough to get from NYU to my family, transportation-wise.

• One level deeper : My parents want there to be good transportation options for me visiting home (or them visiting me). NYU's location (New York City) definitely makes that possible (there's easy access to planes, trains, buses, rental cars, fixed-gear bikes…).
• Should I write about this in my "Why NYU" essay? Probably not. The prompt asks me about why I've expressed interest in a particular campus, school, college, program, and/or area of study, not a geographic area. Plus, it's not like there aren't plenty of other New York schools. I maybe could throw in this reason if I'm running short on things to say, but as it is, it looks like my second reason is going to be the best bet for the "Why NYU?" essay.

Why NYU Essay Sample

Below, I've created a "Why NYU?" essay example that draws verbatim from what I used in my (successful) NYU application. (The essay requirements were slightly different then, with different word counts, so I had to expand a little upon what I originally wrote.)

I feel NYU would be a good match for me because of the number and kinds of programs it has. I am very interested in a variety of subjects, and NYU seems to encompass everything. In fact, I'm applying to the College of Arts and Sciences because I can’t specify my interests any more than that at this time. I have so many things that I want to learn that I can’t imagine limiting myself before I even enter college.

Take Chinese, for example. I'm learning Mandarin now (and have been for the last five years), but I would also like to learn Cantonese. There are not many other schools that offer Cantonese classes that can boast trips into Chinatown as part of the curriculum! Furthermore, I am excited by the possibility of studying abroad at NYU Shanghai. I'd not only be able to go to China for a semester for a year and immerse myself in the language and culture, but I'd be able to do so with the continuity of being on an NYU campus, even halfway across the world.

The music theory program in the College of Arts and Sciences also really interests me. I've picked up some theory here and there, but I haven't had all that much formal training. I'm also really intrigued by NYU's early music ensemble and the chance to explore different modes and tunings. At the other end of the spectrum, while I've written a few pieces on my own and taught myself a little bit about MIDI, I have not really had a chance to experiment very much with computer/electronic composition, and would really like to use those Steinhardt facilities that would be available to me at NYU to help remedy this.

Finally, I cannot stress enough how important reading and creative writing are to me. Because of how much the two feed into one another, I'm excited by NYU's Reading Series and the potential to be able to attend organized events for interacting with other writers outside the classroom.

The opportunity to expand my Chinese language abilities beyond Mandarin (and have the chance for practical application) is what first intrigued me; the chance to explore computer music and get my hands on NYU's facilities was the next breadcrumb; but the breadth and depth of the courses for writing lure me in even more, until I can resist no further.

This essay isn't necessarily the best piece of writing I've ever done. However, it still effectively conveys my desire to attend NYU because I mention a few key reasons I want to attend NYU:

• The variety of courses available . I began by stating that I'm undecided and part of what attracts me to NYU is the opportunity to get to do lots of different things. I then go on to discuss several different examples.
• Specific NYU opportunities . I looked up various courses, events, and opportunities offered by different departments and mentioned a couple of them specifically (the Reading Studies program for creative writing, Cantonese classes, studying abroad in China).
• While I did mention a New York City thing (going into Chinatown), it was linked with something that's relatively NYU-specific (the opportunity to study Cantonese as well as Mandarin).

Tips for the Why NYU Essay

To wrap up, we've summarized our top four tips for writing the "Why NYU?" essay.

#1: Look over the descriptions of the different schools/programs. This will help you figure out both which one you want to apply to as well as what makes those schools interesting for you to apply to.

#2: Read through the course catalog and look up professors in departments you're interested in. As the NYU Admission blog states , you don't have to go overboard in stating exactly what course you want to take with what professor at what time, but you should demonstrate that you're aware of what kinds of things you will be able to do and learn while at NYU

#3: Look into whether there are any extracurricular activities or NYU traditions that particularly appeal to you--and explain why they matter specifically to you.

#4: Avoid writing odes to New York City. If there are particular opportunities you're interested in that are only available in New York (e.g. internships at the American Museum of Natural History, research into immigration history at Ellis Island) you can mention it, but don't lean too heavily on the location.

#5: Remember that while you should make it clear why you want to attend NYU with your essay, you don't need to agonize for hours over it. Ultimately, other parts of your application (including your test scores and grades/course rigor, letters of recommendation, and personal statement) are more important factors to your acceptance than your NYU supplement essay is. You just need to show that you've done at least a little research into NYU and why you want to apply there in particular.

And if along the way you find that you don't really have a super good reason that's getting you excited to apply to NYU? It might be worth reconsidering whether or not you should apply there.

What's Next?

Have a bunch more college-specific supplement essays to write? Be sure to check out our overview of the "why this college" essay .

Looking for application tips for other selective schools? Read our complete guides to the University of California system and to the Georgetown application .

Should you apply early or regular decision to college? Find out the pros and cons of early decision in this article . ( And read up on the distinctions between early decision, early action, and the different kinds of each here. )

Laura graduated magna cum laude from Wellesley College with a BA in Music and Psychology, and earned a Master's degree in Composition from the Longy School of Music of Bard College. She scored 99 percentile scores on the SAT and GRE and loves advising students on how to excel in high school.

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Home — Application Essay — National Universities — Why NYU Dental School

Why NYU Dental School

• University: New York University

About this sample

Words: 526 |

Published: Feb 15, 2024

Words: 526 | Pages: 1 | 3 min read

I am excited to apply to the NYU Dental School. The renowned reputation of NYU Dental School and its commitment to excellence in dental education make it the perfect institution for me to pursue my professional and educational goals.

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First and foremost, I am drawn to NYU Dental School because of its strong academic program. The school's comprehensive curriculum encompasses a wide range of dental disciplines, from oral pathology to periodontics. The faculty members at NYU Dental School are renowned experts in their fields, and their expertise and dedication to teaching will undoubtedly provide me with a solid foundation in dentistry.

Additionally, NYU Dental School's commitment to innovation and cutting-edge research aligns with my own passion for staying abreast of the latest advancements in the field. I am particularly interested in the school's emphasis on biomaterials and its research in regenerative dentistry. I believe that by attending NYU Dental School, I will have the opportunity to contribute to groundbreaking research and be at the forefront of dental innovation.

Furthermore, NYU Dental School's urban location in the heart of New York City presents numerous advantages. The city's diverse population and multicultural environment will expose me to a wide range of dental cases and help me develop cultural competency, an essential skill in today's globalized world. Additionally, the city's vibrant dental community offers ample opportunities for networking and professional growth, which will be invaluable as I embark on my dental career.

Aside from the academic and professional opportunities, NYU Dental School also fosters a supportive and inclusive community. The school's commitment to diversity is evident in its student body, faculty, and staff. I believe that learning alongside individuals from diverse backgrounds will enrich my education and broaden my perspective on oral health care. Furthermore, the school's emphasis on community service resonates with my own values. I am eager to participate in the various outreach programs offered by NYU Dental School, providing dental care to underserved populations and making a positive impact on the community.

In addition to NYU Dental School's academic and community offerings, the school's state-of-the-art facilities and advanced technology make it an ideal place to hone my skills. The simulation labs equipped with the latest dental technology will allow me to gain hands-on experience and develop my clinical expertise. Furthermore, the school's clinics, where students provide dental care under faculty supervision, will provide me with the opportunity to apply my knowledge and skills in a real-world setting.

Lastly, NYU Dental School's alumni network is unmatched. The vast number of successful professionals who have graduated from NYU Dental School reflects the school's ability to produce competent and accomplished dentists. The opportunity to connect with and learn from these esteemed professionals will undoubtedly contribute to my personal and professional growth.

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In conclusion, NYU Dental School offers a comprehensive and cutting-edge dental education that aligns perfectly with my educational and professional goals. The school's strong academic program, commitment to innovation, urban location, inclusive community, advanced facilities, and prestigious alumni network make it the perfect institution for me to achieve my aspirations in the field of dentistry. I am eager to become a part of the NYU Dental School community and contribute to its legacy of excellence.

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NYU Dentistry is the third oldest and the largest dental school in the United States, educating nearly 10 percent of our nation's dentists. The College has over 1,900 students in its various pre- and postdoctoral programs from all over the United States and 40 foreign countries. NYU Dentistry offers specialty training in the following dental specialty areas: endodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics, and prosthodontics, as well as in implant dentistry; conducts an extensive continuing education program; and is home to the only dental school-affiliated dental hygiene program in New York State.

Patient Care

In addition to educating health professionals, NYU Dentistry endeavors through its faculty, students, and alumni to improve the health of the highly diverse populations in New York City and around the world. The College provides approximately 300,000 visits annually to the most multiethnic, multicultural patient population in the nation. NYU Dentistry conducts a mobile dental care program, Smiling Faces, Going Places, which travels to dentally underserved areas throughout New York City to provide critically needed dental services; sponsors free oral health and oral cancer screenings for thousands of New Yorkers annually; and has established a global outreach model that delivers essential care to populations in need and provides participants with a unique service-learning experience, opportunities to conduct critically-needed research, and an increased awareness of access to care issues, while fostering a passion for volunteerism and social responsibility.  

Research & Innovation

NYU College of Dentistry has one of the strongest, largest and most rapidly growing research programs in the country. At the heart of the College’s research program is a commitment to collaboration. An important part of our research strategy is translational research. We firmly believe that in today's world, groups of researchers must work together synergistically in order to move fundamental basic science research into practice. This collaborative, integrated approach drives the majority of the research conducted today at the NYU College of Dentistry.

The College’s distinguished dental faculty includes more than 735 full- and part-time clinicians and researchers, including many who have made pioneering contributions in the areas of caries research across the age spectrum, salivary diagnostics, cancer, especially oral cancer, bone health, especially osteoporosis research, behavioral research, HIV research, pain control, implant dentistry, the development of new dental materials, the use of fluoride and dental sealants to prevent caries, bonding techniques to restore the appearance of damaged teeth, the correction of facial deformities, and orthodontic services for adults.

ABOVE AND BEYOND

Only at nyu do you find a community of scholars, scientists, clinicians, and researchers who contribute so significantly to the dental profession, public health, and oral health worldwide..

The initiatives featured below speak to the innovative thinking and creativity they bring to our academic community and to the public we serve.

• NYU Dentistry Oral Health Center for People with Disabilities
• NYU Oral Cancer Center
• WHO Collaborating Center for Quality-improvement, Evidence-based Dentistry at NYU Dentistry
• NYU Dentistry's Personalized Learning Platform: Leveraging Memory Science to Benefit Students' Learning and Retention
• HEED: NYU Dentistry’s Innovative Model of Dental Education
• Metro Community Health Center at NYU Dentistry

Institutional Commitment to a Diverse and Inclusive Environment

Since the founding of New York University in 1831, the Institution has held a mission that is in and of the City and in and of the world. The College of Dentistry shares this philosophy and commitment to continually strive to foster a dynamic and rigorous teaching and learning environment that represents a diversity of perspectives, experiences, and approaches to engage in ongoing systematic and focused efforts to attract and retain students, faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds, and to systematically evaluate comprehensive strategies to further enhance the institutional climate for diversity. The College has a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion within the structure, curriculum, and institutional climate of the College, and works intentionally across the many areas of the institution to provide resources, programs, and support services that help to cultivate and maintain an educational environment that is inclusive of divergent backgrounds and historically underrepresented groups across the areas of race, ethnicity, culture, age, religion, ability, sexual orientation, gender and gender identity, socioeconomic status, national origin, and educational background.

NYU Dentistry articulates its expectations regarding diversity across its academic community in the context of local and national responsibilities through its mission statement, "to partner with students in achieving academic excellence, providing the best oral health care, and engaging in research, scholarship, and creative endeavors to improve the health of the highly diverse populations in New York City and around the world."

• Dental School

How to Answer “Why This Dental School”

How to answer, “why this dental school?” can be a puzzle for aspiring dental professionals. It’s an important question – up there with the “why do you want to be a dentist?” and “tell me about yourself” dental school interview questions in terms of its ability to convey your suitability for a career as a health professional. On the surface, it seems like an obvious question any school would want to ask. At its most basic level, admissions committees use this question to weed out applicants who are indifferent to which school they attend or who diverge from their program’s values, curriculum, and culture in important ways. But it can also be a great opportunity for you to stand out from the crowd. With dental school acceptance rates being so competitive, schools can afford to be exclusive, and it’s your job to convince them that you’re worthy of their trust. In this article, we show you how to do just that.

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Article Contents 11 min read

When to expect the “why this dental school” question.

You are most likely to encounter this question in your dental school interview for several dental schools in Canada and most in the US. It’s possible that you could come across it in your dental school supplemental application as a short answer or essay question as well, but this is much less likely. If you are using a centralized application service, such as AADSAS or TMDSAS , you will certainly not face it in your primary application, where the dental school personal statement will take precedence and focus on why you want to go to dental school.

I’m ambitious. My fascination with technology and design has influenced my academic pursuits and hobbies since high school, where I took every technology and science course available to me, in addition to joining the Coding Club and volunteering as a mathematics tutor. As someone who had a natural aptitude for academics, these extracurriculars taught me the importance of teamwork and compassion for those who are struggling.

During my undergrad, I leveraged my leadership and engagement to apply to a biomedical engineering firm for a two-year internship in software engineering and was accepted. After being involved in several research projects developing model prostheses in miniature, I became fascinated with the small machines we created using digital printing and soon realized that I was very good at manipulating tiny mechanisms with precision in confined spaces. Simultaneously, a discussion with one of my biology professors led to her suggestion that I consider oral and maxillofacial surgery as a profession. She told me that it was rare to come across a student who seemed to possess the “whole package” needed for this exacting specialty, and the notion of pursuing this expertise has intrigued me ever since.

Dental school interview questions take different forms, and the way you respond depends on the type and purpose of the question. Keeping in mind that your main objective with your “why this dental school?” answer is to show how you align with the school, the following strategies (used in the above example) will be effective.

Captivating intro: as with any response to a prompt, whether in the form of a short answer, essay, or interview question, you should start with a hook. In the above example, the candidate immediately grabs your attention with the words, “ I’m ambitious. ” The brevity of this statement is almost guaranteed to take the interviewers by surprise, as the topic of the question lends itself to what could otherwise be a stiff, wordy response. Students tend to be naturally intimidated by the idea of telling a school’s representatives what is good about their institution. So, by centering themselves from the get-go, the candidate avoids the usual awkwardness. Be careful to avoid empty claims, however; if you make an assertion about a quality or skill you possess, follow up with an example to illustrate how this is true. In the example above, the candidate describes how they took a wide range of advanced classes in high school, joined clubs that were relevant to their academic interests, and landed an internship during their undergrad.

States your goals: the answer lays out the candidate’s long-term objectives and links them to the ways the school can help the student achieve the anticipated outcomes. Although the candidate has an unconventional background, they are able to clearly show how their education, interests, and employment are perfectly aligned with the dental program to which they are applying.

Shows, doesn’t tell: the candidate provides actual examples of their experiences to connect their dental school ambitions with their previous employment and research experience. If it is an open interview, this will remind the interviewers of what they read in the employment section of the student’s centralized or school-specific application. And if it is a closed interview, this will introduce the interviewers to the candidate personally. The story about how the student’s AutoCAD career led them indirectly to dentistry is unique and intellectually intriguing. Crucially, it sets the candidate apart and will be memorable. Moreover, it highlights their manual dexterity – an essential ability for any dentist and a skill you should draw attention to during the application process, as testing for this skill has been suspended due to restrictions initiated by COVID-19. 

Demonstrates your competency for dental school: compassion, communication, problem solving, and teamwork are all key qualities of an aspiring dental professional. Moreover, they are among the ADEA’s entry-level competencies :

Demonstrating their knowledge and application of these competencies is another way the candidate in our example signals their readiness for dental school. Note that the student also avoids a potential red flag by being transparent about not having much clinical or patient care experience. Although having dental school extracurriculars is recommended, if it happens that you do not, you should not hide this fact. In the example, the candidate does not have many professional experiences that are related to health care per se, but they manage to highlight skills one might use in dentistry; thus, they ensure that their distinctive background is seen as a feature, not a bug. 

Demonstrates what you know about the school: you do not have to flatter the interviewers or tout the merits of the dental program to be effective. In fact, that will have the opposite effect. The school’s prestige should never be the focus of your interview. Instead, tell them exactly why you applied: you will have picked their school out of a list of many for good reasons, so convey those reasons humbly and authentically.

When thinking about how to become a dentist , each student will have an idea of the type of campus, field of dentistry, curriculum, faculty, and many other aspects of their education that they might like; all these aspects of a school can be discussed when answering the “why this dental school” question.

Ask yourself:

• Why do I want to attend this specific school?
• What do I appreciate about the program and its curriculum?
• What distinguishes this program from that of a different school offering a comparable one?
• Is there a particular degree, program, certificate, department, teaching approach, or research project that makes attending this specific school ideal? 

Then, research the program until you know it inside and out.

In the example, the candidate’s answer brings up a specific certificate the student is interested in, which shows that they did their research. Their answer also includes a nod to the school’s website, where it mentions the desired student profile: “ highly motivated applicants who want to contribute to research. ” If there is a key phrase in the school’s mission or values that really called out to you, be sure to mention it in your answer to “why this dental school.”

Underscores your potential contribution: although the student in the example has not decided on a specific path or specialty yet, they nevertheless show that they have central interests and a clear direction. They describe what they will bring to the school, even before starting their formal training. By emphasizing the win-win dynamic of being able to both learn from and work for the school in a research capacity, they virtually guarantee a mutually beneficial fit.

Finishes strong: much like the "why this college" essay , your interview answer should have a beginning, middle, and end. But you do not have to use a formal-sounding conclusion in an interview answer or necessarily refer back to your opening statement. Remember that an interview answer, unless otherwise specified, should not run over 3 minutes: that’s about 400 words or less. So, you should endeavor to say everything you want to in the body of your answer and continue right to the end. Your last sentence can be an open-ended, brief statement that you deliver with a smile. Although what you say here is less important than the mood you set and the tone, the way you conclude your answer must leave no question in the interviewers’ minds that you did your research, that you know what you want, what the school can give you, and what you can contribute. Your conclusion should also sound every bit as assertive as your opener, convey that you are eager to continue talking, and leave the interviewers plenty of room for their choice of follow-up questions. Your final statement should reiterate the reasons for why you are the perfect candidate and the school is the perfect place for you.

We have already covered many of the elements you should include in your “why this dental school?” answer by pointing them out in the sample above. But does that really tell you how to answer?

 First, remember these tips for preparing your answer:

• Research the school you’re applying to/interviewing with. What qualities and experiences do they value most?
• Based on research, brainstorm stories, aspects of the school, or personal qualities you will highlight in your answer.
• Use stories and examples to showcase relevant qualities and confidence.
• Use bullet points to practice. Don’t memorize a script, or you will come off sounding stiff and robotic.
• Use mock interviews based on the model of mock medical school interviews to practice.
• Pay attention to tone. For example, by starting off their answer with the words, “ I’m ambitious ,” the candidate expresses their confidence from the first moment. It’s not difficult to picture the scene: this candidate is assertive, knows the reputation of the school they are applying to, and has well-defined objectives. They’re probably grinning – because to deliver this bold first line in an overly serious tone might just sound boastful. As they continue to speak, the candidate weaves in anecdotes that express their personality and highlight their qualities.

In other words, how to answer “why this dental school?” does not mean just listing a series of facts you know about the school or reciting a memorized speech. Although you will want to prepare and rehearse the major parts of your answer by writing down your ideas in bullet-point form, you should seek to remember the content but not the script. For one thing, “why this dental school?” can arrive in disguise: you might instead be asked, for example, “what are the top three aspects of our program that appeal to you?” or “how will you decide which school to attend if you receive more than one offer?”. You can see how you could get easily caught out by these different takes on the question if you prepared a memorized response.

At BeMo Academic Consulting, we privilege strategies over rote learning in our dental school interview prep to help students prepare for and answer any question. We provide mock interviews, MMI prep tips , and simulations to introduce you to the structure of behavioral interviews and situational judgment tests like those used by dental schools. When you feel ready for anything, your confidence is high, and you can consider a brave opening statement like the one presented above.

Indeed, the “why this dental school?” question is one you can prepare for, and you can expect some version of it if you make it through to the interview. Not only do you have to come across as sincere, but your answer must have substance and depth. In a dental school interview, eye contact, body language, posture, tone, and a pleasant demeanor are all aspects of your presentation to assess. With a strong start, you’ll likely capture and hold your audience’s attention throughout your answer and interview.  

Dental school interviews will usually take one of four forms: one-on-one, panel, group, or multiple mini-interview (MMI). Although the “why this dental school?” question might be asked as a personal question in an MMI, it’s much more likely to come up during a one-on-one. You might be asked it during an in-person or virtual interview, such as a video interview or Kira Talent interview, depending on the options provided by the school.

While many schools prefer a “closed file” interview format, most use “open file” interviews. In an open interview, the interviewers have access to and are generally acquainted with the information in your application. A closed interview is one in which the interviewers have no access to material such as your GPA, DAT, personal statement, etc.

Keep in mind that it is your responsibility to provide the entire context for the interviewers in your answer. The more information you provide, the more likely it is that the interview will swing in your favor. Remember that it is your interview, and how it unfurls is largely within your control.

Although this may seem like a simple question, it is more important than you might think, so your answer needs to be carefully considered. Your response will help interviewers get a better sense of you as a person as well as your objectives. They will want to know why you wish to attend their school specifically, based on your goals, interests, and passions, to determine whether will you be a good fit with their program.

This question will usually only come up during your interview, but it could also appear as a short answer question or essay in the ADEA AADSAS supplemental application, in similar sections in other centralized applications, or as part of a school’s internal admission requirements. In any case, the content of your answer will not change – only the length of your response.

Invitations to interviews are sent out by schools for slots beginning in November and running to March.

This depends entirely on the particular school. Some will let you know within a couple of weeks of your interview, while others will wait until late March after they have interviewed all candidates.

Not really. Of course, you can mention it if it is part of what attracted you to a school. For example, if they are the only school offering a specific program for which they are renowned, and that is the program you are interested in, it would be essential to discuss it. However, if you’re applying to Columbia University College of Dental Medicine just because you’re looking for the easiest Ivy League school to get into , this will be obvious and turn off the interviewers.

Focus on your goals, interests, and passions that align with the school’s program.

Red flags in a dental school interview include making a poor first impression, not preparing an introduction, using a lot of filler words, like “ums” and uhs," making political comments, blaming others for past performance, partially or dishonestly explaining gaps in your academic or employment information, being arrogant or lacking self-awareness, and finishing the interview unprofessionally (rushing, forgetting the interviewer’s name, or failing to smile and thank them).

Engaging a dental school advisor is always a great idea, especially when preparing for interviews. Your interview is what will decide whether you get in to dental school or not, and proper preparation is key. Why not invest in this most crucial moment in your dental school journey?

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A Life Overtaken by Conspiracy Theories Explodes in Flames as the Public Looks On

Friends of Max Azzarello, who set himself on fire outside Donald J. Trump’s trial, said he was a caring person whose paranoia had led him down a dark path.

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By Michael Wilson ,  Tracey Tully and Jan Ransom

The journey that ended with a man setting himself on fire on Friday outside the Manhattan courthouse where Donald J. Trump was being tried seemed to have begun in Florida, with a series of increasingly bizarre outbursts.

Standing in the afternoon chill, the man, Max Azzarello, 37, of St. Augustine, Fla., threw pamphlets into the air before dousing himself with an accelerant and setting his body ablaze. The police hurried to extinguish the flames, and he was taken to a hospital burn unit, gravely injured. He died on Friday night.

The fire just a block or two from the courthouse appeared calculated to draw widespread attention, horrifying bystanders and temporarily overshadowing the momentous trial of a former president.

But a closer look at the path the man had traveled to this moment of self-destruction revealed a recent spiral into volatility, one marked by a worldview that had become increasingly confusing and disjointed — and appeared to be unattached to any political party. His social media postings and arrest records suggest the immolation stemmed instead from a place of conspiracy theories and paranoia.

Until last summer, Mr. Azzarello seemed to have lived a relatively quiet life. After high school, where he was a member of a bowling team, he graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2009, with degrees in anthropology and public policy.

As a student at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., where he received a master’s degree in city and regional planning in 2012, he was known for leaving supportive Post-it notes for classmates in the hallways and for his karaoke performances of Frank Sinatra and Disney tunes, said a former classmate, Katie Brennan.

“He was super curious about social justice and the way things ‘could’ be,” Ms. Brennan said. “He was creative and adventurous.”

He began a career in which, according to his LinkedIn profile, he moved among jobs in marketing, sales and technology. In 2013, he worked on the campaign of Representative Tom Suozzi of Long Island, who was then running for Nassau County executive.

An old friend from high school, Steven Waldman, called Mr. Azzarello one of the smartest people he knew.

“He was a good friend and person and cared about the world,” he said.

But there was cause for concern, too.

By last year, he had apparently settled in St. Augustine, where he lived in a modest apartment near the Matanzas River in that historic city. He was a pleasant if sometimes peculiar neighbor.

“An extremely nice person,” said Larry Altman, the property manager at his apartment building, who added: “He had political views that I would not consider mainstream. He called our government and the world government a Ponzi scheme.”

But there were no signs that he was harboring an urge to harm himself, Mr. Altman said.

“If you met Max, he’d shake your hand, and you’d have a nice conversation,” he said. “He’d treat you with respect.”

He was clearly deeply affected by the loss of his mother, however. Elizabeth Azzarello died on April 6, 2022, near Sea Cliff, N.Y., on Long Island, where she had fought pulmonary disease, Mr. Azzarello wrote on Instagram in April 2022.

“I am immensely proud to say that she navigated the awful challenges of this disease with strength, dignity and spirit through the very end,” he wrote.

After this loss, his old friends saw a change. “That was around the time when he became more outspoken,” Mr. Waldman said. “They were close, and they had a good relationship. He was heartbroken.”

By the following year, the clarity Mr. Azzarello had shown in writing of his grief was gone, and a troubled image emerged.

In March 2023, he listed his profession on LinkedIn as “Research Investigator,” self-employed. In June of that year, he tagged Ms. Brennan and several others to make sure they had seen something he had written. She described it as a “manifesto” and called him immediately and tried to intervene. Eventually she wrote to one of his family members to make sure that they were aware that he was in crisis, she said.

About five months later, in early August 2023, he posted on Facebook about visiting a mental health treatment facility: “Three days in the psych ward, and all I got were my new favorite socks.”

Days later, in picturesque St. Augustine, he went for dinner at the Casa Monica Hotel on Cordova Street. Afterward, Mr. Azzarello walked into the lobby, approached an autograph left by former President Bill Clinton, who had signed the wall several years earlier, and threw a glass of wine at it, the police said. He admitted what he had done to officers, the police said. The episode was most likely written off as one man’s bad night.

Two days later, he was back, standing outside the hotel in just his underwear, ranting and cursing into a bullhorn, the police said. And just three days after that, he vandalized a sign outside a nearby United Way office before climbing into the bed of a stranger’s truck and rifling its contents, the police said.

All these events played out within walking distance of the apartment where even his most far-afield views had only recently been delivered politely.

In the months that followed, Mr. Azzarello promoted his disjointed preoccupations in a document he posted on Facebook. The pages attacked fascism and the general complacency of the public. They espoused general anti-government sentiment but did not seem directed at a discernible political party.

“Like frogs in water coming to a boil, the public didn’t notice the rotten truth behind the illusion of freedom,” the writings state. The man who had written fondly of his mother just a year earlier — “gracious and warm, silly and catty, compassionate and supportive” — and their time together seemed to have disappeared.

His greatest vexation appeared to be cryptocurrency, which he cast as a threat to humanity.

It was unclear when he arrived in New York, taking a room at the Soho 54 Hotel on Watts Street in Lower Manhattan and making his way to the running sideshow outside the downtown criminal courthouse.

The area he chose, Collect Pond Park, has been an on-and-off stage for supporters and opponents of Mr. Trump for months. Mr. Azzarello was there by Thursday, holding a sign and speaking in ways that, perhaps bizarre elsewhere, fit in with the disparate voices of the park.

On Friday, the crowd in the park had thinned. At about 1:35 p.m., people began to scream. A blur followed: a man on fire, bright flames licking his clothing and hair; officers scrambling over barricades; a departing ambulance.

His oldest friends were left struggling to make sense of this act.

“He was kind and a gentle soul,” said Carol Waldman, the mother of his childhood friend. “A real wonderful, terrific young guy. Who had his whole life ahead of him.”

If you are having thoughts of suicide, you can call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.

Nate Schweber , Stefanos Chen , Nichole Manna , Nicholas Fandos , Chelsia Rose Marcius and Claire Fahy contributed reporting. Susan C. Beachy contributed research.

Michael Wilson , who covers New York City, has been a Times reporter for more than two decades. More about Michael Wilson

Tracey Tully is a reporter for The Times who covers New Jersey, where she has lived for more than 20 years. More about Tracey Tully

Jan Ransom is an investigative reporter on the Metro desk focusing on criminal justice issues, law enforcement and incarceration in New York. More about Jan Ransom

Our Coverage of the Trump Hush-Money Trial

News and Analysis

As the final jurors  for Donald Trump’s criminal trial were selected and lawyers finalized their opening statements,  a man set himself aflame  outside the courthouse .

Fame creates its own gravity and Trump, who for decades sought to project an image of power, is usually at the center of it, but the mundanity of the courtroom  has all but swallowed him. And in his courtroom, Justice Juan Merchan also has pull .

Two prospective jurors who were excused  contacted The New York Times to describe their experience  in the fraught environment  of an unprecedented trial.

More on Trump’s Legal Troubles

Key Inquiries: Trump faces several investigations  at both the state and the federal levels, into matters related to his business and political careers.

Case Tracker:  Keep track of the developments in the criminal cases  involving the former president.

What if Trump Is Convicted?: Will any of the proceedings hinder Trump’s presidential campaign? Here is what we know , and what we don’t know .

Trump on Trial Newsletter: Sign up here  to get the latest news and analysis  on the cases in New York, Florida, Georgia and Washington, D.C.