Admit rate has ranged 57%–69% over the last 5 years — notably volatile. Source: IPEDS via Urban Institute.
Acceptance & SAT from Common Data Set / IPEDS; net price, earnings & graduation from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. Figures lag ~1–2 years — verify with the school.
The New School is not a typical university; it's a progressive, decentralized intellectual ecosystem in the heart of Greenwich Village, born from a 1919 commitment to academic freedom and radical inquiry. Its identity is a vibrant, sometimes chaotic, fusion of its world-renowned Parsons School of Design, the socially-engaged Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, and a constellation of performing arts and critical studies programs, all united by a mandate for creative problem-solving. This is a place for self-directed, iconoclastic students who want to build their education within the kinetic energy of New York City, not just attend classes there.
Admission requirements
Test-blind — scores not considered
Required
High school transcript
Grade point average
Letters of recommendation
Demonstrated competencies
TOEFL (non-native English)
Considered (not required)
Class rank
College-prep program
Source: IPEDS Admissions survey (2022) via Urban Institute. Covers formal factors only — it does not reflect essays, extracurriculars, or other holistic criteria.
More details
Undergrad enrollment
6,563
In-state tuition
$58,694
Out-of-state tuition
$58,694
Popular Major
Visual & Performing Arts (71%)
No-Loan Policy
No
Graduation Rate
69%
Meets Full Need
Not stated in sources
First-Year Retention
Not stated in sources
Demonstrated Interest
Not considered
Median Earnings (10yr)
$52,901
Early Decision Share of Class
Not stated in sources
Outcomes & value
Outcomes & value
Median earnings (10 yr)
$52,901
Value (earnings ÷ net price)
0.9×
Median debt at graduation
$22,266
Graduation rate
69%
First-year retention
85%
Reducing loan balance (3 yr)
62%
Pell (lower-income) share
15%
First-gen share (among federal-aid recipients)
19%
Top-earning majors
Median earnings by field of study (highest credential), ~2 years after completion.
Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management$46,217
Architecture and Related Services, Other$42,682
Design and Applied Arts$35,630
Radio, Television, and Digital Communication$35,060
Communication and Media Studies$34,420
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities
Applicants here also applied to
The schools that most often appear alongside The New School on applicants’ lists, from our self-reported outcomes corpus.
Co-application frequency from self-reported results — directional peer discovery, not a recommendation.
Campus & location
Campus safety
On-campus violent crimes (2024)
5
Per 1,000 students
0.55
On-campus criminal offenses classed as violent (murder/non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, aggravated assault) for the most recent reported year. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education Campus Safety and Security (Clery Act). Counts reflect what’s reported to the school, and urban campuses often report more partly due to non-student incidents nearby — read alongside campus size and setting, not as a standalone safety verdict.
Climate
Pleasant days / yr
90
Summer high
83°F
Winter low
29°F
Annual rain
54.4"
Annual snow
18.3"
Natural-hazard risk
Relatively High
Pleasant days counts days per year with a mean temperature of 55–75°F, a high at or below 90°F, a low at or above 45°F, and little precipitation — a transparent comfort measure, not a weighting we invented. Computed from Open-Meteo ERA5 daily history (2019–2023). Natural-hazard risk is the county’s composite rating from the FEMA National Risk Index.
Deep dive — research, future-scholar output & economic mobility▾
Research output
Institutional h-index
243
Scholarly works
10,629
Institutional research volume and impact from OpenAlex. The h-index reflects large research universities and will be low for teaching-focused liberal-arts colleges — not a measure of undergraduate quality.
Quick answers
What is the acceptance rate at The New School?
The New School's acceptance rate is approximately 63% (New York, NY), based on the most recent figures we compiled from public and primary sources.
How much does The New School cost?
At The New School, the average net price (after aid) is about $58,741 per year. Actual cost varies with financial aid and residency.
How many undergraduates attend The New School?
The New School enrolls approximately 6,563 undergraduate students.
Where is The New School located?
The New School is located in New York, NY.
Admissions
The New School's admissions process is characterized by its policy and a notable early decision advantage, reflecting its search for self-motivated, creatively inclined applicants. The university does not require submission of SAT, SAT Subject Tests, or ACT scores for consideration, placing greater emphasis on the portfolio, essay, and academic record. While the overall is moderately selective, applying via Early Decision—a binding option with a November 15 deadline—significantly increases an applicant's chances. The early acceptance rate is reported to be 93.7%, a stark contrast to the regular decision pool. The indicates that the level of an applicant's demonstrated interest is "Not Considered" in admissions decisions, meaning campus visits or communications with the admissions office are not factored into evaluations. For the admitted class, the middle 50% SAT range for those who submitted scores falls between 1140-1360, with a corresponding ACT range of 24-30.
Earnings = median of students working ~10 years after entry; debt = median of graduates. Value divides 10-yr earnings by one year’s net price — read it as earnings per dollar of annual cost, not a full lifetime ROI; it favors lower-cost schools. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. Figures lag ~2 years and reflect all students, not your intended major.
$27,947
Film/Video and Photographic Arts$26,739
International/Globalization Studies$25,194
Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (field-of-study earnings). Figures cover graduates who received federal aid and lag ~2 years; not all programs report data.
Academics at The New School are defined by a multidisciplinary, studio-based, and critically engaged approach that prioritizes creative problem-solving. The institution is a federation of distinct colleges, each with a powerful identity. The undergraduate academic landscape is dominated by the visual and performing arts, which constitute 71% of all majors. The most prominent division is the Parsons School of Design, a global leader in art and design education. Alongside Parsons sits Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, described as "a close-knit community of free thinkers" where small seminar-style classes foster debate on social justice and contemporary thought. The College of Performing Arts, which houses the Mannes School of Music, rounds out the core undergraduate experience. The foundational ethos dates to its 1919 founding as The New School for Social Research, with a mission dedicated to academic freedom, intellectual inquiry, and progressive thought. The university's official literature consistently emphasizes that students graduate with skills that "change how they investigate, contribute to, and live in the world."
Student life is intrinsically woven into the fabric of New York City's Greenwich Village, offering an urban, non-traditional campus experience. There is no sprawling quad or insulated college town; instead, the university's academic, housing, and dining facilities are integrated into the historic neighborhood, placing students in the heart of one of the city's most creative and activist enclaves. The vibe is self-directed and community-oriented, with campus life described as a place that "celebrates distinctive voices" where students build "lifelong friendships with fellow students who share your interests." At Parsons, student life is "animated by a vision of progressive creativity and social activism and energized by its kinetic urban environment." At Lang, the emphasis is on a "close-knit community of free thinkers." The experience is less about tailgates and more about gallery openings, independent projects, and engaging with the city itself as a classroom and social space. Resources and events are centralized through official channels like the @newschoolstudentlife Instagram hub.
Outcomes for New School graduates reflect the diverse, often entrepreneurial paths of arts and liberal arts professionals, with earnings that typically grow substantially a decade into a career. The four-year graduation rate is reported at 52%, while the six-year rate aligns with the canonical figure of 69%. Early-career earnings for graduates are modest, with sources citing averages around $38,210 six years after graduation. However, earnings show significant growth over time, increasing to a median of $52,901 ten years after entry. This trajectory suggests that New School alumni often embark on freelance, artistic, or unconventional career paths that may have lower starting wages but greater long-term financial and professional fulfillment as they establish themselves.
The at The New School is high, consistent with a private institution in New York City, and the university maintains a traditional financial aid model that includes loans. The average after aid—the out-of-pocket cost for students receiving financial aid—is substantial. The Financial Aid Office assists students in planning to cover both direct and indirect costs, utilizing tools like a net price calculator for estimates. Aid packages are need-based, determined by the FAFSA, and include federal direct loans for undergraduate students who demonstrate financial need. Unlike a growing number of elite institutions, The New School is not listed among colleges with a "no-loan" policy, where loans are eliminated from aid packages. Its policy is conventional: financial need is met through a combination of grants, scholarships, work-study, and federal loans.
The New School stands out as a defiantly unconventional institution, a of its founding by progressive scholars like John Dewey and Thorstein Vebelen. Its singularity lies in its decentralized structure—it feels less like one university and more like a curated alliance of powerhouse schools (Parsons, Lang, Mannes) sharing a ZIP code and a philosophy. There is no core curriculum in the traditional sense; the core is a mindset of critical inquiry and creative making. It attracts and cultivates a specific type of student: the autonomous, often politically or artistically radical thinker who is as comfortable in a Greenwich Village coffee shop or a Chelsea gallery as in a classroom. The trade-off is clear: you forgo the pastoral, structured campus life for total immersion in New York City's creative industries and intellectual debates. It's not for everyone, but for the right student, it offers an education that is less about absorbing a canon and more about building your own toolkit to interrogate and reshape the world.
The New School seal · sourceThe New School University Center / SOM | ArchDaily · sourceThe New School – University Center – SOM · sourceUniversity Center (The New School) - Wikipedia · source
