How to Apply - Undergraduate

Applicants are required to apply online using the Common Application. You must complete all required fields and upload materials before submission. Most materials can be submitted electronically through the Common Application. Submission of required audition materials and/or audition scheduling must be done using The New School’s Online Application Center. Applicants will be given access to the Online Application Center after a complete Common Application has been received.

If you're planning to apply using a school email address, please confirm that you can receive our email first. Some schools block email from outside their domains. 

The application fee for U.S. domestic applicants and international transfer applicants is $50. The application fee for first-year international applicants is $75.

Application fees are paid through the online application and are non-refundable.

If the application fee is a hardship for you or your family, you can request a fee waiver through the Common Application. Additionally, The New School waives application fees for those who meet the eligibility guidelines listed in the Application Fee Waivers section of our university-wide How to Apply page.

Essay 1

In your study or work at The New School, what social issue or system would you make the focus of your efforts to effect change? Please explain your choice and describe how you would go about accomplishing your goal. (200-400 words)

Essay 2

What specific aspects of The New School's academic programs or community drew you to apply? Please pay particular attention to the college and program that you have applied to in your essay. (200-400 words)

Essay 3—Common Application Essay

Transfer applicants are also required to submit the Common Application personal essay. The essay is optional for freshman applicants.

Recommendations may be submitted online through the Common Application. If necessary, the recommendation form may be downloaded and emailed to [email protected].

First Year Applicants
Applicants applying directly from high school must submit one counselor recommendation and one recommendation from a teacher. The Common Application School Report is also required. Recommendation letters may also be written by someone who can speak highly of you as an artist, scholar, or student, like an employer or mentor. They may not be written by family members.

Transfer Applicants
Students transferring from other colleges or universities must submit one recommendation from a professor with whom they have studied. Recommendation letters may also be written by someone who can speak highly of you as an artist, scholar, or student, like an employer or mentor. They may not be written by family members.

These elements of the application will be submitted directly through The New School’s Online Application Center.

All applicants must submit an Artist Portfolio. Please complete the portfolio type that best matches your primary area of artistic practice by meeting the requirements listed below. In addition to submitting your complete portfolio, you may also choose to submit any combination of additional performance, directing, playwriting, dramaturgy, or creative technology work. We want to see as much of your creativity as you can share. Acting applicants are also welcome to submit a partial or complete portfolio of non-acting work, if that applies.

Acting Portfolio
All files must be submitted in PDF format.

• A headshot
• A one-page résumé summarizing your theatrical and/or any other experiences that relate to your field of study
  

Playwriting Portfolio
All files must be submitted in PDF format.

• An original one-act play (20-60 minutes), a full-length play (at least 60 minutes), or two original ten-minute plays
• An additional piece of text in your choice of style and format (prose, poetry, academic writing, memoir, etc.)

Directing Portfolio

• An essay describing your directing process for a specific production, from vision to execution. The production you describe can be one you've directed or one you wish to direct in the future. (Maximum 500 words)
• Materials related to the production described in your essay. Examples include production photographs (if available), excerpts from your director’s notebook or promptbook, script notes or thematic essays, scheduling and administrative materials, and research and inspiration artifacts. Up to 25 files can be uploaded.
  

Creative Technologies Portfolio

• An essay describing your creative process for any one specific project from your portfolio, from concept to execution. (Maximum 500 words)
• A portfolio of your creative work. It can include research, documentation, video files, samples of your design work, administrative materials, and photographic or visual artwork. If you have any time-based media work (film/video, sound, animation, etc.), please be sure to include it. Up to 25 files can be uploaded.
  

All applicants to the BFA in Dramatic Arts are required to interview with faculty. Applicants will be prompted to schedule their auditions and interviews in the Online Application Portal after a complete Common Application and Artist Portfolio have been received. Interviews are brief and informal and cover the applicant's work, interests, and artistic goals.

Actors' interviews will take place at the same appointment as their audition, so there is no need to make a separate appointment. Non-performers are encouraged to schedule a virtual appointment for their interview.

Actors will be asked to prepare a one-minute contemporary theatrical monologue for their audition. Ours is a "working audition," so we encourage performers to prepare a piece on which they'd be excited to collaborate with our faculty during the session. Questions about the audition can be sent to [email protected].

Auditions and/or interview invitations for fall and spring applicants will follow receipt of a complete application and Artist Portfolio. The School of Drama will host audition events on our campus in New York City and at regional events in Chicago and Los Angeles. Dates and details are available on our BFA Audition Schedule page. 

Applicants who submit an application after the priority deadline will be invited to schedule an audition and/or interview on a rolling basis.

All applicants must provide official high school and/or college transcripts from all institutions attended. Undergraduate applicants who have attended multiple high schools can submit only the graduating school’s official transcript as long as all prior coursework is listed on that transcript.

First Year Applicants

First-year applicants must provide official high school and/or college transcripts. If you are currently in school, submit transcripts for all coursework taken to date. Transcripts that are not in English must be accompanied by a certified translation.

Applicants who have attended multiple high schools may submit only the transcript from the school from which they are graduating as long as all prior coursework is listed on that transcript. All academic credentials for homeschool students must be submitted as indicated in the Additional Information for Specific Applicant Populations section below.

Transfer Applicants
Transfer applicants must submit an official high school/secondary school transcript with graduation date or General Education Diploma (GED). Transfer applicants who have completed 24 U.S. college credits in a degree-granting program, or the equivalent, are not required to submit their high school transcripts. Official transcripts are also required for each college or university you have previously attended.

Applicants with High School Equivalency Tests

Students may submit one of the following in lieu of official high school transcripts: General Education Development (GED), Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC), High School Equivalency Test (HiSET), or California High School Proficiency Exam (CHSPE) exam results. Final results must be sent directly from the testing agency.

How to Submit Electronic Transcripts

Transcripts can be submitted through an approved electronic vendor (see below), submitted via email by a school official, from an official school email address, to [email protected], or through postal mail. Transcripts will be considered unofficial if forwarded in an email.

Approved electronic vendors: BridgeU, Common Application, Cialfo, Credentials eScrip-Safe, Kuder, MaiaLearning, MEFA Pathway, National Student Clearinghouse, Naviance, OverGrad, Parchment Exchange, UniFrog, SCOIR, SchooLinks, Xello).

If your school does not use any of these vendors and your school official is not able to email them from an official school email address, transcripts must be sent directly via postal mail by a school official in a sealed envelope.

Whenever possible, please send all official communication electronically, including transcripts, letters of recommendation, and tuition deposits.

In rare circumstances where items must be mailed, please send to:

The New School
Office of Admission
55 West 13th Street
New York, NY 10011

All materials and documents submitted in association with a New School application become the property of the New School and cannot be returned to you or transmitted to a third party.

All admitted students are automatically considered for scholarship awards. No separate application is required. International students are typically eligible only for merit scholarships. 

If you are a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen, you must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in order to be considered for need-based financial aid. The FAFSA is typically available each year on October 1, but will be delayed in 2025. The New School’s federal school code is 002780. You don’t need to wait for an admission decision to apply for federal aid. Our Financial Aid staff are available to guide you through the process of applying for financial aid.

Students who wish to further supplement their financial resources should consider applying for external scholarships.

Instructions for Early Decision Applicants

Domestic students, permanent residents, and other students eligible to submit the FAFSA who are applying Early Decision must submit the Net Price Calculator by November 10 in order to receive a need-based aid package with their Early Decision admission offer. Additional information about the Net Price Calculator will be shared with Early Decision applicants after they submit the application.

The New School does not require submission of SAT or ACT scores, and they do not play a part in our review process. If you choose to share your scores, our SAT institution code is 2521, and our ACT code is 2828.

All applicants whose first language is not English must submit valid English language proficiency test results taken within the past two years.

We permit applicants to submit one of the following tests: TOEFL, IELTS, PTE, Duolingo English Test, or Cambridge English C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency.

Minimum required scores are:

• TOEFL iBT — 100
• IELTS — 7.5
• PTE — 68
• Duolingo English Test — 120
• Cambridge English — 191

Our TOEFL institution code is 2521. IELTS test takers should electronically submit their test results to The New School.

The New School does not accept English language proficiency test results from IELTS Indicator, IELTS for UKVI, iTEP, TOEFL Essentials, TOEFL ITP Plus for China, TOEFL My Best Score, or the University College London preparatory certificate program.

The New School does not require TOEFL, IELTS, PTE, Duolingo English Test, or Cambridge English scores for applicants who have:

• Studied in English as the primary language of instruction for all four consecutive years of high school/secondary school. However, students who have taken any English as a Second Language (ESL) courses while in high school, regardless of how long they have been in high school, must submit TOEFL, IELTS, PTE, or Duolingo English Test results.
  
• Successfully completed two full semesters of college-level coursework while taking non-ESL college-level expository writing or equivalent courses (transfer students only).
• Earned a four-year degree from a U.S. college or university or from a university where English is the primary language of instruction, with a minimum of three years' attendance (transfer students only).

After reviewing your application, the Office of Admission may require you to submit an English language proficiency test score to evaluate your candidacy.

Applications become complete and ready for review once all required items have been received by the Office of Admission. You can check your application status in the Admission Hub.

Allow at least 14 days from the date you submitted your application for items to be marked as received in your Admission Hub. Applicants are responsible for following up with schools and recommenders to confirm that transcripts and recommendations have been sent.

The Office of Admission will periodically notify applicants by email if their file is missing any documents and again when their file is complete for review. These notifications are sent to the email address provided in the online application.

If you need to change your email address, mailing address, or other contact information, email the Office of Admission.

Spring admission decisions are released on a rolling basis starting in November.

Fall early action and early decision first-year admission decisions will be released in late December and early January.

Fall regular decision first-year admission decisions will be released by April 1 for high school applicants. 

Fall transfer admission decisions will be released on a rolling basis starting in April.

The New School welcomes applicants from all over the world. To be competitive for admission, applicants must be on track to complete required coursework to earn a high school diploma within their home country that qualifies them for university entry. Below are some of the most common international secondary school curriculums that we see students applying from and helpful guidance for each one.

• Advanced Levels (A-Levels): Students who are most competitive for admission will have completed or be in the process of completing A Levels from three subjects at the time of application.
• Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) or Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE): Submission of both Standard X (SSC) and completed or predicted Standard XII (HSC) exam marks is required.
• International Baccalaureate (IB): Students can pursue either the IB Diploma Program (DP) or IB Career-related Program (CP). Applicants who are taking individual IB courses as a supplement to a national curriculum are permitted to pursue individual IB courses rather than the DP or CP. 

For more information about submission requirements see the Submitting Transcripts section above. Applicants with questions about their secondary school transcripts as they relate to admission can email [email protected].

Some international secondary school coursework will qualify for pre-matriculation credit, awarded by the Registrar upon enrollment.

Upon completion of the homeschool curriculum, students must provide proof of high school graduation or an equivalent. We will accept an official transcript from a state homeschool association or sponsoring public high school; GED, TASC, or HiSET exam results; individual homeschool transcripts with date of completion; and certificates of completion recognized by local homeschool associations.

Homeschool applicants must provide the equivalent of a high school transcript with course or subject titles, duration of study for each title, content of study for each title, and an assessment of performance or “grade” at the time of application. Preferably, the courses completed at home are part of a curriculum developed and evaluated by a nationally recognized diploma-granting organization or agency. 

Upon review, applicants may be required to submit additional application materials.

Applicants who have enrolled in a university degree program for any amount of time before application must apply as transfer applicants, regardless of whether credits or the degree will be completed at the time of application.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree in Dramatic Arts is a full-time course of study designed to be completed in four years (eight semesters). The program must be completed within six years. BFA students normally take between 12 and 17 credits a semester. Drama admits first- and second-year transfers, including international transfers. 

Students can transfer up to 36 credits, but the required sequences of coursework in Portfolio, Collaborative Research Studio, and your Capstone Project mean that completion of your degree will take at least eight semesters, though you may be eligible for part-time study in your final semester with no effect on your financial aid.

We will consider students for shorter residency on a case-by-case basis during the admission review process.

We invite you to learn more about the way transfer credits are evaluated by contacting the Registrar's Office.  

The Internal Transfer Application is required for all current New School students who wish to transfer from one New School college to another. If you would like to apply as an internal applicant, review the deadlines and requirements in the Undergraduate Internal Transfer Policy section of our University Admission How to Apply page. Students who wish to change departments or majors within the same college should speak with their academic advisor. Internal transfer applicants should connect with a Financial Aid Counselor. Financial aid packages, including scholarships, will change as a result of changing programs.

Students currently enrolled at another college who wish to take classes at The New School for one semester should apply as a visiting student.

The Application for Readmission should be completed by students who wish to return after an absence of four semesters (fall and spring). If you would like to apply for readmission, review the readmission deadlines and requirements in the Readmission section of our university How to Apply page. If you have enrolled at another institution as a degree seeking student since you were last enrolled at The New School, you should apply for admission as a transfer student according to the instructions outlined above.

In any given academic year, a student can apply to only one department or program within The New School. Applicants who file more than one application in an academic year will be required to withdraw one of the applications, and application fees will not be refunded.

The New School welcomes undocumented students and students who hold Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status to apply—such status does not affect the admissions process. When completing the Common Application related to Citizenship status, you may select “DACA, undocumented, Deferred Enforced Departure, or Temporary Protected Status.”

For questions about financial aid, please contact the Office of Financial Aid at [email protected].

Additional information about how we support undocumented students can be found on our Student Support website.