When you say their grades are below what anyone on this forum would think would be acceptable to NYU, that is not really the criteria. Anyone can examine the “stats” of the admitted freshmen class at NYU (or any college) and see the ENTIRE range of accepted stats. It is not unheard of that kids are accepted into a university who have below the ballpark of “stats” of that particular college. However, the student’s stats fell within the range of the data reported on the accepted freshmen class profile. But the facts remain that those who fall in the lowest range of accepted academic “stats” for that school’s admitted class, have VERY low odds of being accepted, lower than those who fall into the ballpark more solidly for that school. But SOMEONE has to fall in the lowest end of the accepted profile of the freshmen class. Further, “grades” don’t tell the whole story. NYU uses holistic admissions and grades are just one data point. There may be other compelling factors that stand out in the entire application.
I would not want to scare off any student interested in attending NYU and think if someone wishes to throw their hat in the ring, they should. But I think (perhaps due to my role as a college counselor) that giving a realistic, honest assessment of one’s academic odds at a college is prudent. I have a current advisee who wants to apply to Tisch for Film and his academic profile puts him at very long odds. I have said so and provided the data to back that up. So, he can go into it with eyes wide open. Students with his academic profile may be admitted, but the odds are WAY worse than for an applicant in the ballpark for NYU. The statistics prove that. The percentage of the freshmen class with that academic profile is extremely low. Add in factors like not having taken Honors or AP classes and combining that with a low GPA, for starters. Students with “grades below what anyone on this forum would think would be acceptable to NYU” do get accepted, but they are in the minority, as the freshmen class profile at NYU bears out. This data can be found in many places, but I have used what is reported on US News and World Report (I have a subscription).
And of course, others have pointed out that it is one thing to be admitted, and another to be able to keep up with the significant amount of academics at NYU, as well as even enjoy that type of program and curriculum. I had an acting advisee last year who at first was interested in NYU, but besides not falling into the academic ballpark for NYU, he really didn’t want many academics in college and so NYU would not be a good fit.
Another real life example, one year I was working with a BFA in MT applicant who had NYU on her list. Her math SAT score was 400. Her reading score was 500. This is not even bringing in her low GPA with a very easy high school curriculum lacking any rigor. If one visits the profile of the admitted freshmen class at NYU, I believe 0% are accepted with those SAT scores alone (not counting any other factors in this student’s profile and she was, in fact, a talented MT performer who attended a PA high school). So, the statistics show that her chance of being admitted was nil. I think applicants should be aware of this sort of thing when creating a college list and not just finding MT schools they like without any clear picture of their academic odds of admission to those schools. This student ended up at Roosevelt where the academic bar is not nearly as high.