Some people regard NYU as a “trap school”. It looks wonderful and elite and seductive, but a lot of prospective students don’t seem to realize that NYU actually lacks one important thing: money.
Columbia, for example, has a $9 billion endowment for 31,000 students. That’s about $300,000 per student. Average net price for Columbia, according to College Navigator: $17,678. They meet full need.
NYU has a $3.5 billion endowment for 50,000 students. That’s about $70,000 per student, which is a low number for a private university. Average net price for NYU: $35,106. According to their own financial aid page: “NYU is not able to meet the full need of every student.”
https://www.nyu.edu/admissions/financial-aid-and-scholarships.html
So NYU tends to be a very expensive option, even by the standards of other top private universities and LACs. Depending on your financial situation, it may not be worth it. Only 32% of accepted NYU applicants actually enroll (compared to, for example, 63% at Columbia), and part of the reason for that low yield is the “sticker shock” that accepted students experience when they see what the cost is actually going to be.