Admission for Undergraduate Students

The New School admits applicants of any race, color, gender, religion, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accounted for, or made available to students at the University. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admission policies, financial aid programs, and other school administrative programs, including its faculty and staff recruitment.

Each of our undergraduate colleges has its own criteria for admission. Below is a list of general application requirements:

• Online Application

• Official high school transcripts and college transcripts (when applicable)

• Letters of recommendation

• A statement of purpose or personal/academic essays

• Creative work (required for Parsons School of Design, Parsons Paris, and College of Performing Arts; more details on the college websites)

• English language proficiency testing is required for some applicants for whom English is not their first language. This requirement may be waived for applicants who attended high school where the language of instruction for all four years of high school was English and they were not enrolled in any ESL coursework, took two semesters of non-ESL college composition, or who have earned a 4-year degree from a U.S. college or university. We permit students to submit results from the TOEFL, IELTS, PTE, Cambridge English, or Duolingo English Test taken within the past two years.

Undergraduate Admission Programs and Priority Deadlines

*Permits summer admission. Priority deadline is April 1.

Early Action Admission

High school seniors can apply for admission to Parsons School of Design, Parsons Paris, Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, and the School of Drama (CoPA) as well as the Parsons/Lang BA-BFA under the Early Action option and receive an admission decision in mid-winter. This decision is non-binding. In some cases, the admission committee may decide to hold off on a final decision in order to review further information, such as first-semester grades, new writing samples, and additional recommendations. In that case, the application is reviewed again with the regular pool of applicants.

Please note the following programs are not eligible for Early Action:

• BFA in Jazz and Contemporary Music (CoPA)

• All undergraduate programs offered through the Mannes School of Music (CoPA)

• Lang/Jazz BA-BFA dual-degree program

Early Decision Admission

High school seniors for whom Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts and The Parsons School of Design is their first college choice may apply under the Early Decision (ED) program and receive an admission decision in mid-December.  This is a binding decision, meaning that students offered admission under the ED program, are expected to enroll at The New School and withdraw applications and refrain from filing new applications to any other universities.  Applicants to The New School through Early Decision will receive an estimated financial aid award at the time of admission.  If a student’s financial aid award does not meet the need of the family to make attending The New School possible, they are encouraged to contact the Office of Admission and the Office of Financial Aid to discuss options.

Please note the following programs are not eligible for Early Decision:

• BFA in Jazz and Contemporary Music (College of Performing Arts)

• BFA in Dramatic Arts (College of Performing Arts)

• All undergraduate programs offered through the Mannes School of Music (College of Performing Arts)

• Lang/Jazz BA-BFA dual-degree program

• Parsons Paris

• Bachelor’s Program for Adults and Transfer Students

• Parsons AAS Programs

Admission for Transfer Students

Students who are attending or have attended another college or university and who wish to complete their education at The New School should apply for transfer admission. Please contact the Office of Admission at admission@newschool.edu or 212.229.5150 to learn if you qualify to apply as a transfer student. Please see the Transfer Credit Policy for undergraduate students in this catalog as well as program descriptions for program-level transfer policies. For more information on transferring credits, please visit the Registrar's Office website.