I really love NYU, but I don’t know how much I stand out among so many applicants with the disadvantage of being an out-of-state applicant. I became an Intel STS Semifinalist this year, and a lot of people have been telling me that because New York has so many semifinalists, it would probably mean that NYU is familiar with the award and would likely view the award as an indicator of hard work and dedication to research. However, I think it would mean that the award means less since it’s likely that lots of applicants have it. What do you guys think?