Hi guys,
i am currently a high school senior and am seriously considering about applying to NYUAD. Since this is a new university, i do not have a lot of seniors to talk to about what the university is really like. If anyone is currently attending NYUAD or has graduated, please tell me about the university with regards to the overall atmosphere; the faculty and pretty much everything you like about NYUAD.
Hey I’m a freshman at NYUAD and I can say pretty safely 3 months in that it’s a great place. It is an intense school though, as long as you’re ready to work then you’ll love it. That being said there is always so much to be doing that you will never find yourself without something interesting to do. A big thing that I know I found difficult to adjust to here and a lot of others did too was that we are all the best of where we came from so are used to standing out whereas here you are no longer exceptional, you are average. You’re going to have to work a lot harder to stand out, which in all honesty once you get used to it, is a great thing because the people around you can teach you so much. The faculty here varies just as in every other school, I would imagine, my math teacher is very bleh but the rest of my teachers are great. In terms of what kind of faculty are around, they really are the best of the best, every day I hear about a professor with some insane credentials about degrees from everywhere and teaching experience at the best places.
Let me put it this way, NYUAD is not a very conventional place. It’s small. My freshman class is 330-ish people, there are sophomores and juniors away doing their semesters abroad and we have students from NY and Shanghai in all the time. The weekends are always buzzing, you’re never going to find yourself without anything to do but likewise so is the library… at all times it’s buzzing. I can tell you this, the opportunities you will get here are truly amazing. I’ve been here for a mere few months and already have been on a trip to Jordan for a class and multiple trips to Dubai. I’ve listened to Gordon Brown speak and attend a class weekly with the President of NYU (Sexton). It’s an adventure but it’s worth it to me.
If you have more specific questions that I didn’t answer please ask!! I know if I were you I would have loved to have someone on the inside to feed me information, so hmu with anything really. 
Good luck
My D just graduated from NYUAD. From a parent’s perspective, I agree with everything @sarrahhdaherr says. The school is incredible. My D was close to her professors and to the staff. The opportunities for travel were amazing - my D went to Oman, New York, Paris, London, Berlin, Shanghai, Egypt, Thailand, Jordan, Indonesia. She made wonderful friends from all around the globe, all with very different perspectives. The students work very hard there, but they are also a welcoming and interesting group of people. The school is obviously not for everyone. But if you are willing to take on the adventure, it truly is an adventure. There were good outcomes from her class and the previous graduating class (the first): Rhodes scholars, Fulbright scholars, med school, law school, employment all over the world.
bump Any current NYUAD students or alum out there??