<p>It would be really great if Omeir sent me my flight information for the 24-27th CW…everyone was supposed to receive it two days ago. 
E-mailed them, so hopefully I’ll hear back asap.</p>
<p>@hlfinsninsmnc contact the admissions office. they will give a clear answer.
also there is no US travel warning to the UAE (on state.gov)</p>
<p>and in the contracts it says if they will cancel the weekend if it becomes in anyway dangerous</p>
<p>Abu Dhabi and dangerous? NO WAY DUDE! It’s a really really safe place. Did you know that people leave their shops open when they go for prayers. No one steals etc. No drugs, alcohol, extremism( It’s really open and people of all cultures are found there, there’s freedom of religion, race, etc). In a nutshell, Abu Dhabi’s safer than the states and I can bet my life on that one. Also, they understand the parents concerns and have said that they will cancel the candidate weekend IF ANY potential harmful acitivites take place. They have said that they’ll even cancel due to unforeseen circumstances which shows how cautious they really are.
Anyway, I got invited to the march CW as well and cant wait. Can anyone tell me more? What to expect etccc. How many people? What’re the chances of getting in if you’re invited etc. Also, i’ve heard that the candidates get a $200 stipend for spending over there. Is that true? Do we get any sort of ‘pocket money’ from NYUAD? If yes, then that would be AWESOME. I swearrr I can’t waittt. 
Can people who have already been there tell us about their stories and experiences?
New friendships, relationships (;)), new way of thinking, love for abu dhabi, any interesting incidents etccc. :D</p>
<p>The spending allowance has been diminished for this year’s CWs - we now have a 100 dirham (around 20-30 USD) in the form of bookvouchers for the NYUAD bookstore - good for buying postcards and other memorabilia.</p>
<p>To read about people’s recollections, there are heaps of blogs on patel.org (google NYUAD blogging). Some of the posts you have to trawl back a bit to find the CW but they’re there.</p>
<p>@Identity – um as a resident of Abu Dhabi you’re wrong on the part where people leave their shops open, people do close shops here, and its not completely crime-free, BUT crime rates are say 2% and the crime don’t happen all the time, they happen but chances are like 1 crime in 3 months or something. </p>
<p>@hlfinsninsmnc – Abu Dhabi is almost a safe haven (except for that 2 or make it 1% crime part) but IT is really safe, I myself live in Abu Dhabi, you can take my word for it.</p>
<p>I got an invite to the March CW !
So excited !! :)</p>
<p>THAT"S ITTT!!! ONLY $20 
But yeah, anyway, I guess I’ll have to bring my own money
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITEDDDDD</p>
<p>Only $20??? ^and free airfare, and a hotel room, and an incredible experience you will never forget…</p>
<p>Hahahha truee. But I was a little sad because many people told me that we get $200. And i was expecting that much. So yeah. But anyway, I’m really excited. Can anyone please tell me what to write in the candidate writing assessment? I’m blank and do not know how/ where to start.</p>
<p>Do you guys think Abu Dhabi is at risk for political unrest though? Or is the government fair enough that they people won’t have reason to revolt? I think it’s riots, etc. that are freaking my mom out more than every day crime (though she does think I’ll be be jailed for not wearing one of those head coverings <em>sigh</em>).</p>
<p>Yeah I offered to email admissions, but my mom just said “well of course they’ll tell you it’s safe, they’re admissions, they want you to come!” haha which I guess is a little valid.</p>
<p>@hlfinsninsmnc – Abu Dhabi at risk of political unrest, um see this place is kinda like a haven (God know why I’m using this word over and over?) for being “under the radar”. I mean there are rich people literally crawling in this place, but this place also has its share of middle-class (like myself) and poor people. The place is just controlled by the Shiekhs, and this place is more like a, how to describe, “assembly-line workplace” where people live, work, come & go without any political or social revolutionary involvement.</p>
<p>Protesting itself is illegal in the country, and on that, the government here is an absolute monarchy. But really no worries, you’re not prosecuted for not wearing a head-scarf. This place is really liberal than what you perceive it to be. A lot of people confuse UAE with having the same standards as say, Saudi Arabia or Yemen (they’ve serious problems in my opinion). UAE is pretty liberal, and yeah pretty liberal. They’re really vying for more Western influence and its virtually safe. From an official survey by the government, 97% people of the country described this place as “safe & secure”.</p>
<p>The social unrest has not spread to UAE because its citizens are happy (they have huge govt subsidies, etc). mind you, only like 25% of UAE’s POPULATION are CITIZENS. For the other 75%, the poorer people (labourers etc) are happy because they need their jobs to be able to remit money home. As for the middle class… well, there is very little reason for them to be making a revolution… and as a final point, foreign citizens residing in another country are least likely to try and create political upheaval in a foreign country (cos if they don’t like it they can just leave)</p>
<p>For the kids talking about money, the 100 dirhams were plenty for buying some memorabilia. I wouldn’t bring any pocket money on a CW at all. When I first got there, I took out 200 dirhams and found myself desperately trying to spend it at the airport on my way out of the country. You really don’t have time for shopping, unless you are one of the wicked lucky kids who arrives early or leaves late. DON’T WORRY ABOUT MONEY ON A CW.</p>
<p>Also, only 10 days until ED2 notification guys!!! :D</p>
<p>I have a question directed to those who have already gone.</p>
<p>Is there time for sightseeing and other such leisure activities? Or are we too busy with the sample classes and activities?</p>
<p>Are all our meals taken together at the hotel? Or do we get to go out and experience the cuisine?</p>
<p>My parents agreed!! Now I just have to get all my forms in and do my writing sample by tonight. :)</p>
<p>Anyone from America–what airline did you take to your CW, what city did your flight leave from, and did you land in Abu Dhabi or Dubai? I want to look up flights to try to figure out how many days of school I’ll miss.</p>
<p>That’s greatttttttttttt to hear!!!
Why were they so hesitant in the first place? Are you a girl?
Anyway, I’ve heard that there are more spots open for this years freshman class. Approx. how many people get invited to the CW and how many get accepted?
Also, what types of clothes should I pack andd what stuff should I take with? Costume, sunscreen, etccc. I AM SO EXCITED. YOU HAVE NO IDEA! :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D</p>
<p>@hlfinsninsmnc I am going on the CW weekend from Feb. 24-27, and I am flying from Boston to NYC on American Airlines 4:45pm-6:00pm on Wednesday the 23, then NYC to Abu Dhabi on Etihad Airlines 9:45pm-7:45pm (AD local time) on Thursday the 24th.</p>
<p>I’m leaving school early on Wednesday, so for me I miss half of Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.</p>
<p>@Telperien: I fly from NYC on Etihad Airlines 9:45-7:45 on Wednesday. Alas, not the same flight.</p>
<p>I actually don’t miss school 'cause we have the whole week off.</p>
<p>To answer all your questions (I was at the Dec CW) - you wil most likely fly Etihad as that is the national carrier of Abu Dhabi (though, depending on your location, you may need to fly Emirates as the alternative. And connecting flights could be any airline). </p>
<p>Your meals are with everyone else in the hotel/NYUAD campus. If you arrive really early or leave really late (this is out of your control, but your flight details will tell you this) you may have the opportunity to take tours of the city. I personally didn’t but no matter, I have plenty of time in August :D</p>
<p>Around 50-60 people were at the Nov/Dec weekends but last year some figures went as high as 80 I think so it really depends. And admits are not done by CW but by the application programme, so if you went ED-II or RD. And even then I can’t really estimate. I can tell you that there were 59 people accepted ED-I out of 214 (note that ED-I rates are often much higher than RD rates though) so a similar proportion should be expected for ED-II/RD.</p>
<p>[NYUAD’s</a> Freshman Applications Soar (Salaam)](<a href=“Latest News - NYU Abu Dhabi”>Latest News - NYU Abu Dhabi) will tell you the stats.</p>