About me

My name is Pooja Manoj; I am an 18 year old Indian girl born and raised in UAE, and I got accepted in NYU Abu Dhabi as a business major.

Why NYU Abu Dhabi?

I first learned about NYU through the Science Lab Program, which I had the opportunity to attend in May. For three days, I worked with like-minded people on solving problems and experienced everything the program had to offer.

It was through this program that I fell in love with NYU Abu Dhabi. Even though I spent a brief time with my peers, I felt a strong connection with them.

As someone who studied at an Indian high school under the CBSE curriculum, one that I find rigid, I came to the realization that the way the program encouraged learning through technical challenges was the kind of learning I want to pursue long-term.

Finally, NYU is a liberal arts school which allows its students to explore subjects in various fields. As someone who desires to learn things in order to develop a body of knowledge, this attracted me even more to the school.

My stats

I attended an Indian high school in the UAE, and studied under the CBSE curriculum, where my grades typically ranged from 94/100 to 95/100 in 9th and 10th grade. In 10th grade, I took a national final exam and scored a 97.6/100. And in 11th and 12th grade, my grades ranged from 95/100 to 96/100.

I also passed the IELTS exam with a band score of 8, and took the SAT exam scoring 1500. However, I decided to not submit it because NYU Abu Dhabi’s median SAT score is around 1530-1540, which discouraged me. Since NYU Abu Dhabi allows high school students in the UAE to submit their national exam scores instead of SAT scores, I ended up submitting my national exam score instead.

Revising for the SAT

To revise for the SAT, I initially applied to a prep institute, which I do not recommend. The strategy they followed was completely unhelpful to me. This led me to count on myself and study independently for the SAT by focusing on doing as many practice tests as possible from October until May, when I took the exam.

Personally, the biggest struggle for me was sitting in one place for such a long time, especially during the reading passages, where I felt my attention span was rapidly decreasing. Because of this, I recommend anyone studying for the SAT exam to work on as many practice tests as possible under exam-like conditions.

Extracurricular Activities

Since I applied as a business major, my high school extracurricular activities have been centered around entrepreneurship.  My main project was a startup idea for an Arabic learning app, which a few of my peers and I founded and presented at GITEX, the biggest startup festival in the world. My team and I also participated in a competition, where we won 12,500 Dirhams to help develop our business.

On top of that, I have been practicing Indian classical dance for around 8 years. I am also very passionate about writing and have published articles in several magazines.

My college essay

The topic of my college essay focused on a personal experience in my family that led me to develop a love for writing. I also linked my essay to my passion for etymology, connecting each section to a particular word and its origin.

Preparing my application

I began researching colleges and preparing my college list around May of my junior year, which took a while. I then started brainstorming ideas for my college essays in July and August.

One of the main resources that helped me succeed in my college application was having a private counselor, who guided me through process, from how essay writing to applying and navigating through the Common App.

I also used free and accessible resources like Reddit, as well as Borderless, which was an extremely helpful platform for me. Additionally, I recommend using and setting up a LinkedIn profile as early as possible. Thanks to this platform I was able to find and participate in numerous competitions in my region, as well as collaborate with many like-minded people on business projects.

Using Borderless during the application process

Because Borderless works with many students who attend NYU Abu Dhabi and publishes stories about their acceptance, I was able to read several of them and discover what life is like at NYU Abu Dhabi. Additionally, receiving a scholarship was a big factor for me, and Borderless played a key role in helping me with that.

Financial aid

I received around $56,000 in financial aid, and I’ll need around $25,000 (including the total cost) to cover my expenses. However, since I was born and raised in the UAE, the cost comes to around $20,000.

The cost of applying

Because I attended the Science Lab Program in May, I was offered a fee waiver under the college access program.

After NYU Abu Dhabi

As of now, I want to become an entrepreneur, particularly in the education field, but I would also like pursue something related to teaching.

Advice that I would give to someone who’s applying for next year

The hardest part is generally the essays, which is why I recommend brainstorming ideas early on. Even though supplemental essays might seem easy and quick to write, and even if you start in July or August, you’ll most likely not finish by September, because coming up with creative ideas can take a long time. But don’t panic if you’re not done after a month or two. It took me the entire summer vacation just to think about my essay’s topic, while I heard others who started later had their essays completed, which shows that the college application is a process that can vary from person to person.

Additionally, I recommend reading other people’s essays and works, but don’t emulate them. Their story is not your story, so write in your own voice.

Finally, I recommend not trying to match your personality with a specific university. Instead, look for a university that matches your personality. I’ve seen many people work on certain extracurricular projects, thinking they’ll increase their chances of getting into a certain university. But the truth is, when looking for schools, don’t choose one based on its prestige, choose one because it matches with your interests.