First of all, Congrats!!!!

Would you mind sharing your background (degrees, work experience, etc.) - if not on this board then privately? I'm asking because I didn't receive any funding from NYU and I am thinking about re-applying next year. In the meantime, I am trying to get some insight into how I can make my scholarship application stronger next year. I would greatly appreciate hearing from you.

Thank you!

Raji20,
I was thinking of doing the exact same thing, but two friends of mine told me that they thought that if I declined admission and reapplied next year, they didn't think it would bode well for me. Neither one knows anything about NYU and their admission process, but they both felt that it would be held against me that I was admitted and rejected the offer. Both felt that I had the option of attending or deferring for a year, but not reapplication. The difference is that if you defer, you cannot apply anywhere else, and I assume you're not likely to get a scholarship. I would love to know if anyone has ever been accepted a second time at NYU after declining an offer.

I was accepted two year in a row to NYU. Decided to complete the BCL at Oxford this last year and will be attending NYU in the summer.

Thanks application2009. I would prefer to decline rather than defer because then I have a better chance at a scholarship, but I was really nervous doing so. Just out of curiosity, why did you decline rather than defer?

rbp

I declined because at the time I did not think that I would want to complete another law masters after the BCL. In retrospect deferral would have been the better option.

Have you thought about deferral and then working to get some money towards NYU in the next year rather than declining?

I was myself worried about my prospects after declining this year, but as I said I still got in. However I did not recieve a scholarship. I would guess that they are unlikely to offer a scholarship to someone who previously turned them down. I have no evidence for this but it seems to make sense that they would want to offer scholarships only to those who will be committed.

I emailed admissions about deferrals and this is the response I got back from them, which is apparently on their website as well. It's quite strict and deferral means you must absolutely be sure you will go to NYU at the end of it all.

"The Committee on Graduate Admissions will grant a request for a deferral of admission only in extraordinary circumstances. If you are unable to enroll in the term to which you were admitted due to extenuating circumstances but would like to enroll in a subsequent term, please send a written request to the Committee on Graduate Admissions at gradlaw@exchange.law.nyu.edu. You may also mail your request to 245 Sullivan Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10012. Your request should state your reasons for wishing to defer. Deferrals are granted only once. If you do not enroll in the term to which you defer enrollment, you must reapply for admission. Please keep in mind that the fall semester is the starting time for all foreign-trained lawyers and for all full-time programs. If we grant your request for a deferral in a full-time program, you will be required to submit the standard $500 deposit to hold your seat and, prior to registration, an additional $500 to reconfirm your enrollment.
Deferrals are not granted to students who plan to enroll in any other graduate law program prior to matriculation at NYU School of Law. Those students who are granted a deferral may not accept another offer of deferred admission to another law school, must decline all other offers of admission, and must withdraw all applications to other law schools. Furthermore, students who are granted a deferral are precluded from applying to other law schools prior to enrolling at NYU School of Law."