How will you spend your Thanksgiving break?
ABU DHABI — Almost every university offers its prospective students a guided tour around campus. But most don't fly students across the globe for a weekend trip.
That is what NYU Abu Dhabi, NYU's new satellite campus in the United Arab Emirates, did for 46 candidates from 17 countries this weekend.
During the mandatory candidate weekend, selected prospective students were given a taste of NYUAD through information sessions, tours of the residence halls, a visit to the Grand Mosque, an evening in the desert, sample classes, dinner at the Emirates Palace Hotel and an interview with a faculty member.
The weekend, like NYUAD itself, is funded by the Abu Dhabi government.
Since October 2009, NYUAD has brought 181 candidates to visit the school on similar trips. Though some are local students from Dubai or Abu Dhabi, the majority are flown in on Etihad Airways, which is owned by the Abu Dhabi government. Each student is given about $200 for transportation and spending money.
Last Friday morning, the applicants who visited Abu Dhabi this weekend attended a Q-and-A session with NYU administrators. The applicants asked about the purpose of the weekend, wondering whether it played a role in NYUAD's admissions decisions.
"We've already gotten through most of the [admissions criteria]" one candidate said, reflecting the nerves and worries surrounding the admissions process. "What exactly is left?"
Vice provost for international education and outreach Carol Brandt responded by saying the weekends provide an opportunity for the faculty and admissions team to get to know applicants. Professors give their feedback on candidates based on a range of experiences, from participation in sample classes to lunchtime conversations.
"We're interested in talking to you," Brandt said.
As for the admissions process: "It's not so scientific," she said. "[After the weekend] we'll sit down and talk through our impressions."
The weekend is the final step in the admissions process and decisions for these students will be sent around April 1.
The university initially estimated that the school's first freshman class would near 100 students, but administrators now say they may enroll as many as 150. Some of those spots are already filled with early admission candidates, who were offered spots in December after visiting the school on weekends in October and November.
Although administrators have not yet disclosed the school's yield numbers or the number of admission offers that have been made, they say the yield has been "very high."
There were 56 students in the NYU Abu Dhabi Class of 2014 Facebook group as of press time.
And for these prospective students, Brandt said she hoped that this weekend would serve as a proper introduction to what NYUAD will be like.
"[We want to] make sure you know the place, [that] you know what you're getting into," Brandt said. "We can't afford to give away a spot to someone who isn't absolutely sure that this is the place."
This is the first piece in the WSN series "Going Global: An inside look at NYUAD."
