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I visited NYU today and attended a brief Q&A session followed by a guided tour by a 1L. Most of what was said could be found on TLS, though the adcomm did mention it would be wise to avoid writing a "gimmicky" PS. He said that some people write their PS in the form of a legal brief, which does not impress them. Also, no one ever writes the pseudo-brief properly.

If anyone has any more questions about the event feel free to ask.

I can't believe any applicant would be dumb enough to try and write their PS in the form of a brief

The adcomm says it happens rather freqeuntly, among other gimmicks. NYU gets like 7k applications, right? I bet a good 1-2k personal statements are haikus or something.

Oh! He also said besides looking for interesting, diverse candidates that they actively seek "cool people." I'd always thought this about NYU, but to hear an admissions officer say as much was kind of unnerving. Also explains why everyone was cosplaying Gossip Girl characters. And our 1L was dressed like Steve Jobs.

Good thing I dressed in full hipster garb, from socks to peacoat!

J/k, I know its all numbers.

howlery wrote:The adcomm says it happens rather freqeuntly, among other gimmicks. NYU gets like 7k applications, right? I bet a good 1-2k personal statements are haikus or something.

Oh! He also said besides looking for interesting, diverse candidates that they actively seek "cool people." I'd always thought this about NYU, but to hear an admissions officer say as much was kind of unnerving. Also explains why everyone was cosplaying Gossip Girl characters. And our 1L was dressed like Steve Jobs.

Good thing I dressed in full hipster garb, from socks to peacoat!

J/k, I know its all numbers.

Yep, its all numbers. But if you don't come off like a tool, thats always a good thing.

howlery wrote:I visited NYU today and attended a brief Q&A session followed by a guided tour by a 1L. Most of what was said could be found on TLS, though the adcomm did mention it would be wise to avoid writing a "gimmicky" PS. He said that some people write their PS in the form of a legal brief, which does not impress them. Also, no one ever writes the pseudo-brief properly.

If anyone has any more questions about the event feel free to ask.

To be honest, this bit of advice isn't remotely new. For every admissions book/AdComm interview I've read, don't try and be brilliant (and end up looking like an idiot) is the first thing all of them say regarding the PS.

FryBreadPower wrote:

howlery wrote:I visited NYU today and attended a brief Q&A session followed by a guided tour by a 1L. Most of what was said could be found on TLS, though the adcomm did mention it would be wise to avoid writing a "gimmicky" PS. He said that some people write their PS in the form of a legal brief, which does not impress them. Also, no one ever writes the pseudo-brief properly.

If anyone has any more questions about the event feel free to ask.

To be honest, this bit of advice isn't remotely new. For every admissions book/AdComm interview I've read, don't try and be brilliant (and end up looking like an idiot) is the first thing all of them say regarding the PS.

Ah, my mistake. I suppose since I haven't read as much admissions info/dean blogs it sounded insightful.

Its never a problem stressing the point again though, since tons of people inevitably try to pull these silly stunts every year (and go down in flames because of it).