Some schools do.
But, NYU does not include the cost of health insurance in their NPC estimated cost of attendance, even if the student identifies as international. Health insurance is an easy thing to overlook if it’s not top of mind.
1 Like
You’re right. Hm, I am sure they had included it under COA when D19 was there. Good catch!
1 Like
My family is willing to do whatever it takes for my education and would completely stretch their financial limits for me. However, to be on the safe side, a realistic estimate of their annual budget for me would be around $15,000 to $20,000. Additionally, when I first arrive, I will definitely bring a 4 to 5-month financial backup.
I could have looked into other cheaper colleges, but I believe that would not be beneficial for me in the long run. Even though NYC is expensive, I feel it offers incredible networking opportunities.
I plan to apply in November 2027. In the meantime, could you suggest some unique activities (such as specific Extracurricular Activities or others) that would make my profile stand out and look exceptionally strong?"
They can afford to spend half their annual income your education? If that’s affordable that’s an amazing opportunity. But, will it be worth it if you end up back home after your degree because of inability to get a longer-term work visa?
As it is, that budget is going to cut out a lot of colleges for you, it’s not enough for living expenses most places in the US (my kid is going to a fairly out in the sticks college town and even there the non-tuition costs are around $25k a year, of which the estimated living expenses are around $16k (and this is only school year so for 9 months). You are going to have to be realistic about what is feasible.
What do you mean by a “4-5 month financial backup”? As I noted above in the extract from the visa requirements, you will need to show you have the full costs for at least a year readily available.
I don’t think you answered this?
1 Like
What changed in the last few days that this timeline moved by a year?
What have you been doing so far in your high school career?
1 Like
Run NYU’s net price calculator, along with your parents, to get an estimated cost of attendance.
Make sure to denote you are an international student.
OP, I think you may benefit from a chance/match me thread. Fill out the template below and make a new post in https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/c/what-are-my-chances/634
Guidelines
-
Please check back to answer questions.
-
Please do not share identifying information.
-
Please be aware that race and ethnicity by itself cannot be considered in US college admissions, although it may be included to the extent that it is relevant to your experiences described in essays, and it may be relevant for a small number of outside scholarships. For many students, it may not matter at all, and it is typically not important enough to include in the thread title.
Demographics
-
US domestic (US citizen or permanent resident) or international student
-
State/Location of residency:
-
Type of high school (or current college for transfers):
-
Other special factors: (first generation to college, legacy, recruitable athlete, etc.)
Cost Constraints / Budget
(High school students: please get a budget from your parents and use the Net Price Calculators on the web sites of colleges of interest.)
Intended Major(s)
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
-
Unweighted HS GPA: (calculate it yourself if your high school does not calculate it)
-
Weighted HS GPA: (must specify weighting system; note that weighted GPA from the high school is usually not informative, unless aligned with the recalculation used by a college of interest, such as CA, FL, SC public universities)
-
College GPA: (for transfer applicants)
-
Class Rank:
-
ACT/SAT Scores:
List your HS coursework
(Indicate advanced level, such as AP, IB, AICE, A-level, or college, courses as well as specifics in each subject)
-
English:
-
Math: (including highest level course(s) completed)
-
Science: (including which ones, such as biology, chemistry, physics)
-
History and social studies:
-
Language other than English: (including highest level completed)
-
Visual or performing arts:
-
Other academic courses:
College Coursework (Transfer Applicants)
(Include college courses taken while in high school if not included above.)
-
General education course work:
-
Major preparation course work:
Awards
Extracurriculars
(Include leadership, summer activities, competitions, volunteering, and work experience)
Essays/LORs/Other
(Optionally, guess how strong these are and include any other relevant information or circumstances.)
Schools
(List of colleges by your initial chance estimate; designate if applying ED/EA/RD; if unsure, leave them unclassified)
If a scholarship is necessary for affordability, indicate that you are aiming for a scholarship and use the scholarship chance to estimate it into the appropriate group below; also, for colleges that admit by major or division, consider that in chance estimate.
-
Assured (100% chance of admission and affordability):
-
Extremely Likely:
-
Likely:
-
Toss-up:
-
Lower Probability:
-
Low Probability:
1 Like
1.you basically need to be among the best students in your country to be admitted there. Does that describe you?
Ans: I wouldn’t call myself one of the top students in my country, but I have absolute faith in my potential. I am highly self-motivated, resilient, and fully committed to putting in the hard work required to succeed.
2.What changed in the last few days that this timeline moved by a year?
Ans : I actually haven’t shifted my timeline; my plan has always been to apply in November 2027 ha ha . Currently, I am in the 11th grade, and my structured plan is as follows: Taking the SAT in December 2026 $\rightarrow$ Completing my Grade 12 final exams in June 2027 $\rightarrow$ Sitting for the IELTS in August 2027 $\rightarrow$ Submitting my applications in November 2027.
3.What have you been doing so far in your high school career?
Ans :
Education: I have a strong academic foundation, securing a perfect GPA of 5.00 out of 5.00. I am currently aiming for a 1520 on the SAT (presently scoring 1200+ in mock tests) and targeting a 7.5 in IELTS. While English is an area I am actively working to improve, I am dedicated to bridging that gap.
Biography/Background: My personal essay highlights a unique journey. After Grade 3, I transitioned into full-time religious education. Later, I transitioned back to mainstream schooling, directly jumping into Grade 8. Despite this significant gap and academic shift, I managed to secure a GPA of 5.00 in Grade 10. My time in religious studies taught me deep discipline and core values that still guide me today.
Extracurricular Activities (ECAs): While I consider my ECA profile to be developing, I have consistent leadership and community involvement. I was the school debate champion from Grade 8 to 10 and currently serve as the President of the Debate Club in college (Grade 11). Since 2026, I have been actively volunteering with the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society. Additionally, I served in the Scouts, volunteered in community traffic management, and provide free daily tutoring to three underprivileged juniors.
I reached out to several people for guidance but rarely received a response. The way you have been guiding me makes me feel like family. If I make it to the US in the future, I would love to treat you to coffee as a token of my gratitude.
Could you please evaluate my profile and give me your honest feedback? I would highly appreciate your advice on where I need to improve and what specific steps I should take next.
There is a huge gap between 1200 and 1520. Your score is going to be crucial in your admissions chances. It’s going to be really difficult to give any indication until there is a more certain test outcome.
Please understand that the advice we give may sound discouraging, but we are really here to help you as best we can so have to be realistic. That may mean guiding you to less competitive, more affordable colleges than the ones you have on your list so far.
3 Likes
“I could have looked into other cheaper colleges, but I believe that would not be beneficial for me in the long run. Even though NYC is expensive, I feel it offers incredible networking opportunities.”
You need a reset. NYU is a huge stretch for you, both admissions-wise and financially. And the networking opportunities won’t be of much value if you cannot find a job in the US.
There are hundreds of great colleges in the US. Please put your NYU planning on hold for now and develop a realistic list!!! Getting in to NYU won’t help you if you cannot afford to attend.
Please take an hour and review the immigration requirements for a student visa, the work limitations, etc.
1 Like
Thinking about this again (sorry for taking above post rather than original quote) , the frame of reference might be wrong. Rather than “they are not as good as NYU for me” - a question that is totally moot unless and until OP actually gets into NYU - the question should be: “are they better than my home country option?”
4 Likes
I am taking the risk of transferring to prestigious universities because time is on my side (I have a long window of 1 year). This will likely give me enough time to get everything organized.
While my home country has top-tier universities (like BUET, Dhaka University, Brac University, and others), they unfortunately lack genuine global networking and proper exposure. As you probably know, in the business world, **“Your network is your net worth.”
“There are hundreds of great colleges in the US”**—please tell me which other great colleges I should include in my college list. Often, international students like us are unaware of the hidden great universities in the US. Therefore, please suggest a list of top-tier colleges and detail their undergraduate business programs.
Note: As an international student, I will definitely not struggle and move to the US just to study at a random college or a standard liberal arts college. Please suggest only the best and highest-ranked institutions.
OP, posters can’t really help you until you run NYU’s NPC to get a cost estimate. For example, if that shows your family would have to pay $40K+ there’s no point in applying.
Regarding your HS curriculum, what math class are you taking senior year? What other classes will you have senior year? Any other details you can share regarding the rigor of your curriculum will be helpful. What foreign language do you take and for how many years will you have taken it in HS?
I agree with this. Also, make sure you are practicing the SAT using Collegeboard’s practice tests in the Bluebook app. Other practice tests do not reflect the SAT’s current format. If your score is in the 1200 range, NYU will not be possible.
Hidden gems by definition are not the best and/or highest ranked colleges. Beyond NYU, what other colleges have you researched that might work for you? It sounds like you only want to apply to reaches in the US, which means you must also apply to schools that are likely to admit you in your home country.
Fundamentally, the onus is on you to research US (and ex-US colleges) as well as understand student visa requirements.
These statements are why people are confused over your timeline. You complete grade 12 in June 2027, correct? Are you applying for college for Fall 2028 entry? Spring 2028?
2 Likes
1.I haven’t used the calculator yet (though I plan to very soon). However, based on what I’ve gathered from the internet, the average total cost at NYU is around $94K per year, with tuition alone accounting for $66K. Excluding tuition, the remaining expenses come down to $28K:
-
Food & Housing: $23K
-
Books and supplies: $1.5K
-
Transport: $2K
-
Personal expenses: $1.5K
In reality, it might be possible to reduce the food and housing costs by living off-campus and cooking my own meals. But if we stick to the current standard gap of $28K, my safe affordable limit is around $17K. Even if I conservatively budget my affordability at $15K, I would still need an extra $13K.
If NYU grants me a full tuition waiver and covers this additional $13K gap through other scholarships or financial aid, only then will I enroll. Otherwise, I won’t be able to join.
2.As a science background student, my proficiency in Physics, Chemistry, Math, and Biology ranges from normal to advanced. Currently, the Math section of the SAT isn’t a major obstacle for me, as most of the questions are at a 10th-grade level.
My main challenge, however, is English. Since English is my second language, I am facing some difficulties with it, though I am continuously improving. I find analyzing long English passages quite boring, and there are many technical terms or expressions that I struggle to understand.
- Apologies for the confusion in my previous message. To clarify, I will actually be applying in November 2027 for the Fall 2028 intake
Could you suggest some more universities that match my preferences?
The NPC will tell you how much you are likely to receive in financial aid. NYU primarily offers need based aid rather than merit aid.
As I noted above, add in $4.5K for mandatory health insurance. Note also these costs will increase 5% per year. Always use the school’s site for costs: Cost of Attendance
Not sure about that, especially if you want to live relatively close to campus. New York rents are among the most expensive in the world.
Again, what math will you take senior year? What other classes are on your schedule?
I don’t understand why you aren’t applying for Fall 2027, if you will complete HS grade 12 in June 2027 (is that correct?) What will you do during your gap year?
I understand that learning English is challenging. However, because of where you are at with the language and what you say about struggles with reading and technical terms, I don’t think attending a ‘high ranking’ US college is likely, at least at this point.
2 Likes
OP- I’m still not convinced you should be looking at a Business major based on what you’ve posted about your interests- and have no idea if any of these will be affordable (or within reach based on your current SAT score) but as a first cut- and if something business focused with a solid reputation is the goal, take a look at these. I’m focusing my list on the Northeast and Midwest USA– there are others with better knowledge about the Southern states.
Fordham
Fairfield
Marist
Stonehill
SUNY Albany
Baruch
Queens College
Providence
Johnson and Wales
De Paul
Loyola Chicago
U Cincinnati
Xavier
University of Dayton
In addition to my suggestion that you spend time researching the US immigration system and how student visas work, spend some time understanding how financial aid works. Your math on NYU is double-counting (for example). There is no such thing as a “tuition waiver”. There IS financial aid– either need based aid (they will calculate how much money you need, you don’t get to tell them how much you need) or merit aid. So your category of other scholarships- what exactly is that? Any outside money you receive will be used to reduce your need based aid (since if you get a 10K scholarship from your own government to study abroad) you now need 10K less. Right? Spend time understanding how the system works before you assume….
I know many kids who think they can live cheaper in NYC than NYU, Columbia, etc. will charge them for room and board. Maybe by junior year– but right now, you don’t have four friends with a two bedroom apartment who are looking for a fifth to live on their couch to split expenses.
Good luck. You sound like a terrific student. But you’ve got a lot of assumptions going right now which are distracting you from reality. And if you really don’t like studying finance, ANY business degree is going to be painful for you. They will all require some finance. That’s just reality. And if you find reading long English passages boring, you are really going to struggle at any four year university here!
2 Likes
My daughter went to NYU for undergrad (and is about to go back for grad school), so I know this college well. Not only is it not cheaper to live off campus, but you would be expected to sign a 12-month lease with a security deposit, adding to the cost. And most landlords in NYC want to see (US) guarantor earning 80x rent. There are other ways to get guarantees, but they cost. Also, the financial guarantees that nyu will want to see before they issue the documents necessary for your visa will be based on their calculations of the required cost of attendance funds, not yours.
NYU’s merit scholarships were rare before and they have almost disappeared entirely with the shift to the NYU Promise and focus on meeting need.
You also left the health insurance that had been mentioned above off. I think that’s about $4k. That is mandatory. It will be added to your bill.
Can you clarify what you mean here by “get everything organized “?
I don’t really know how else to get across to you that focusing your energy on schools with low single digit admit rates and refusing to look at others that are not “prestigious” is a strategy that may leave you with no options. I have to assume you will apply to local universities as a backup.
I did ask OP to fill out a chance me/match me template but I think that got ignored? Unless I missed another post
2 Likes
OP, your next step is to run the net price calculators for the schools that blossom listed above. You will also have to decide whether attending any of those US colleges is more appealing to you than studying at one of the top-tier colleges in your country that you noted above:
Are those schools likely admits for you? Will they be affordable?
2 Likes
Have you looked at the curriculum map? A number of these courses will involve a lot of reading and writing in English, particularly the area studies, social core and politics ones and required electives. Students from other countries are sometimes surprised by the breadth requirements of US degrees.
3 Likes