NYU Abu Dhabi Need-Based Financial Aid

For non-Emirati citizens, all institutional financial aid is need-based and determined through the CSS Profile, an internationally used financial-need assessment tool. Up to 100% of admitted students who demonstrate financial need receive scholarships that can cover the full cost of tuition, campus housing, meal plans, health insurance, and in many cases additional support such as textbooks and even travel. Aid packages, once awarded, are generally renewed at the same level for the remainder of the degree rather than being re-evaluated and reduced each year, giving students financial predictability across all four years.

NYUAD's curriculum mirrors NYU's core liberal-arts model, with small class sizes, an internationally diverse student body drawn from more than 120 countries, and access to NYU's global network of study-away sites in New York, London, Shanghai, and other campuses. For a strong Pakistani applicant without the means to pay full private-university fees, NYUAD's need-based model can make what would otherwise be one of the most expensive universities in the region (with a full cost of attendance exceeding $90,000/year for 2026-27) effectively free or nearly free.

Because admission and financial aid decisions are separated - merit decides admission, need decides the aid package - applicants should apply with their strongest possible academic profile and complete the CSS Profile carefully and honestly, since aid is calculated directly from the financial information submitted rather than negotiated afterward.