Winter Recess FAQs for 2026 Applicants

All New York University operations are closed for winter recess from 4:00 PM Eastern Time on Friday, December 19 through Sunday, January 4. Our office is unavailable by phone or email while we are closed. We will reopen on Monday, January 5.

If you are a 2026 applicant experiencing issues completing your application, please find answers to some frequently asked questions below. If your question is not answered below, please write to us at tisch.gradadmissions@nyu.edu and we will respond to you when we reopen on January 5.

 

application submission questions

what time does the application close?

The application closes at 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the date of each application deadline listed, except for Grad Acting which closes at 12:00 PM noon Eastern Time on January 5.

Don't forget to take your time zone into account when planning to submit your application: the application closure is in Eastern Time.

how can i apply for an application fee waiver?

Please contact our Director of Graduate Admissions, Joe Miserendino, at jm7@nyu.edu to request a fee waiver. Please include an explanation of how the $65 application fee poses a significant financial hardship for you, and attach any relevant documentation that could support your waiver request.

If you have sent an application fee waiver request and are waiting to hear back, do not pay the application fee. Paid application fees cannot be refunded.

Grad Acting applicants: please note that while we can waive the $65 application fee, the $50 audition fee is required from all Grad Acting applicants and cannot be waived.

the payment page for my application fee isn't working, what do I do?

If you're seeing an error that reads "This page is not accessible from anonymous networks," please disconnect from your VPN. After disconnecting, you may need to try a different browser or an incognito window to access the page. 

If you're able to access the page, but you're seeing a "Payment failed" error, please make sure the name and billing address you're entering exactly matches the details your bank has (capitalization, abbreviations, etc). Billing address mismatch is the most common reason for failed payment attempts.

what is the deadline for recommendations and/or English language proficiency scores?

All required materials, including recommendation letters and English language proficiency test scores, are due by your program's application deadline. Your application will not be discarded if you are missing materials after the deadline, but it will sit in a separate bin until it is complete, while the complete applications proceed to review by the department. To prevent a disadvantage to your application, it's in your best interest to make sure your recommendations and/or test scores are submitted before or as close to the deadline as possible.

i just submitted my english language proficiency score/credential evaluation, why hasn't it shown as received on my application checklist yet?

Our staff manually processes TOEFL, IELTS, and PTE scores and academic credential evaluations. While the university is closed for winter recess, these materials are not being processed. Please check your application checklist on January 6 after we have returned from winter recess to see if your material has been added to your application. If it still hasn't, write to us at tisch.gradadmissions@nyu.edu.

recommender questions

my recommender hasn't received the email invitation to upload their letter.

You can use the hyperlinked text under the checklist on your application status page to revisit your recommendations tab. Here, you can send your recommender a reminder email to upload their recommendation. If you need to update any details for a recommender, like a typo in the email address, you will have to "exclude" the recommender and re-add them.

can i remove a recommender and add a new one?

Yes: use the hyperlinked text under the checklist on your application status page to revisit your recommendations tab. Here, you can "exclude" a recommender to remove them and/or add a new recommender. You can add a maximum of 3 recommenders, but only 2 are required. If you need to update any details for a recommender, like a typo in the email address, you will have to "exclude" the recommender and re-add them.

what does "waiving my right to access this report" mean?

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) gives you the right to request access to your educational records, including recommendation letters submitted as part of your application, if you enroll as a student. If you choose to waive your right to access your recommendations, you will never be able to request access to the recommendations submitted in your application.

Your decision to waive or not waive your right to access has no bearing on the review of your application, but some recommenders will not submit a recommendation unless you have chosen to waive your right. You should discuss whether your recommender would prefer that you waive your right to access the recommendation before you add them to your application. If you choose not to waive your right and your recommender asks you to change your election to waive your right, you will need to "exclude" them as a recommender and re-add them, this time choosing to waive your right.

Please note that regardless of whether or not you choose to waive your right to your recommendations, FERPA only applies to enrolled students at an institution. This means that if you choose not to waive your right but you are denied admission or you decline to enroll, you still cannot request access to your recommendations.

grad acting questions

I scheduled an audition, but now i need to change it to a different date/time. how do i change it?

Please visit the "Schedule your audition" link on your application status page. First, you must go into the audition date and time slot that you originally scheduled and cancel that audition registration. After canceling, you can select a new audition slot. 

If you want to change the mode of your audition (in other words, change from a virtual audition to an in-person audition or vice versa) you'll need a staff member to do this manually for you. Please write to gradacting@nyu.edu to request an audition modality change. University offices re-open after winter recess on January 5.

i was told i could apply for grad acting without a bachelor's degree, but i can't submit my application without entering bachelor's degree information. what do i do?

Officially, a bachelor's degree is required for admission into any master's degree programs at NYU. However, Grad Acting will consider applicants for admission even if they do not have a bachelor's degree and will not earn one by the time of enrollment. Please note that this applies to Grad Acting applicants only: all other master's programs at NYU require applicants to have earned or be expected to earn a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited university by the time they would enroll to be eligible for admission.

If you are a Grad Acting applicant who has not and will not earn a bachelor's degree, please enter any institution and any bachelor's degree as an Academic History entry. This will be required to submit your application. As soon as you submit your application, write to tisch.gradadmissions@nyu.edu to confirm that your Academic History entry was just a placeholder and that you have not and will not earn a bachelor's degree. Our staff will then remove the false entry from your application.