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Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm strongly cconsidering doing Ed to nyu, and was wondering if it would be important to tailor my personal statement specifically to nyu. Do I really have to tell them specifically why I want to go to their school, especially if I'm committing to them with Ed? Also, my personal statement as it stands now does not even mention law or why I want to be a lawyer. It is more of a narrative of an important academic accomplishment/working experience and I was hoping to let my skills show through without referring to wanting to be a lawyer (it would be very hard to connect the narrative with my interest in law, and I see nothing better to write about). I've read in some admissions books examples of "good" essays that don't mention law at all. Is this okay?
Thanks!

I think it's okay to not mention "why NYU" in this context. If you're applying ED, they know you're serious about their school. And, since your personal statement doesn't fully discuss law school anyways, it would probably come off pretty forced to add this element.

Moreover, it is my understanding that a "why X" as a personal statement when its not asked for is not a good thing to do, so I don't know why that general rule of thumb would change simply because its ED. I'd just make the best PS you can, and go with that.

I've asked this question to 4-5 different people, one of whom goes to NYU and he said it's essentially redundant, an ED is an action and commitment that physically means more than anything you could write as it has actual implications.

I'm EDing too, good luck!

Thanks for the help and good luck to you too! Everything said so far makes sense. I'm just concerned because I don't want to be left in the dust by someone who writes about how much they specifically want to go to the school...and I'm also a bit nervous that the admissions people won't see why I want to go to law school if I don't specifically say it. I guess I just gotta hope that the things I write about show why I would be a good candidate. Right?
Thanks!

I have the same reprehensions, especially if the why NYU were well written and researched (specifically what programs, how it will help you, why its good for you etc etc etc etc) but like I said many people have told me they will probably consider it redundant.

a current student at nyu told me the following:

" don't write a why nyu if you ED. waste of your time, their time, etc. they know you want to be there, and that's the only reason to write a WHY essay. period."

on asking if it would actually hurt:

"Yes it will hurt. I don't know what you think it could accomplish besides demonstrate that you REALLY want to go there. With ED, they know that. It's just a matter of seeing if you are QUALIFIED at that point. If you absolutely MUST discuss it, you can find a way to work it into a personal statement, but ideally you shouldnt have to. "


It's your call.

I want to apply regular decision (since I need to compare scholarship offers) but NYU is my top choice for regular decision... Should I write a "why X" ? I heard NYU doesn't really want those..

i was a borderline app who applied ed...i didn't tailor mine, but i think i had like one line near the end, just saying how NYU law would help me achieve what i wanted (something kinda like that i think)

Would anyone who is applying ED to NYU please explain your rationale? Based on my numbers I feel that I have about a 40% chance of admission (obviously impossible to quantify exactly). I feel that with my numbers I have the potential to receive some outstanding scholarship offers from very good schools. While not on the same level at NYU, does anyone truly believe that applying ED gives SUCH a boost that its worth giving up all other options to compare? In order to justify such a commitment my belief is that you would have to have an EXTREMELY poor chance at regular decision. Very open and interested in hearing others thoughts on this matter...

bos2clt wrote:Would anyone who is applying ED to NYU please explain your rationale? Based on my numbers I feel that I have about a 40% chance of admission (obviously impossible to quantify exactly). I feel that with my numbers I have the potential to receive some outstanding scholarship offers from very good schools. While not on the same level at NYU, does anyone truly believe that applying ED gives SUCH a boost that its worth giving up all other options to compare? In order to justify such a commitment my belief is that you would have to have an EXTREMELY poor chance at regular decision. Very open and interested in hearing others thoughts on this matter...

i was probably pretty similar in numbers and i think that by applying ed it put me over the edge and helped me get in

bos2clt wrote:Would anyone who is applying ED to NYU please explain your rationale? Based on my numbers I feel that I have about a 40% chance of admission (obviously impossible to quantify exactly). I feel that with my numbers I have the potential to receive some outstanding scholarship offers from very good schools. While not on the same level at NYU, does anyone truly believe that applying ED gives SUCH a boost that its worth giving up all other options to compare? In order to justify such a commitment my belief is that you would have to have an EXTREMELY poor chance at regular decision. Very open and interested in hearing others thoughts on this matter...

I don't believe you need to have an EXTREMELY poor chance at regular decision, it comes down to if you really want to go to NYU. NYU is my absolute first choice and as such I will ED it, if you have the numbers to get into HYS then I wouldn't ED to NYU obviously. If you are ambivalent and are only choosing law schools based on their USNWR rankings then it's probably better to not apply ED as it is a binding decision.


I think it does provide a boost both because you apply early and because you are showing a definite commitment to attending that school.

To Cruelest: Looking at your profile, it looks like you were also accepted to Columbia, Duke, Georgetown...Do you have any regrets EDing to NYU knowing you could have gone to Columbia, or perhaps Duke/GULC with $?

bos2clt wrote:To Cruelest: Looking at your profile, it looks like you were also accepted to Columbia, Duke, Georgetown...Do you have any regrets EDing to NYU knowing you could have gone to Columbia, or perhaps Duke/GULC with $?

umm well it helps withdrawing from other schools before they even send out the financial info so i'm not exactly sure how much i would have gotten (which undoubtedly makes it a little easier)...and for me, i had always wanted to go to nyu...it just came down to fit and feel. if i wasn't dead set on it though...it would definitely have made it a little harder