Is NYU harder to get into than UConn?

Yes. NYU is widely considered harder to get into than UConn overall, and that shows up in both applicant demand and admissions expectations. NYU draws a very large national and international pool, gets especially heavy interest for programs like Stern, Tisch, and certain majors in CAS, and is usually treated as a more selective private research university. UConn is a solid and well-regarded public flagship, but its overall admissions bar is typically less intense than NYU’s.

One big reason is the applicant pool itself. NYU attracts huge numbers of students from across the country and abroad who are targeting a highly urban, globally recognized campus in Manhattan. That level of demand raises the competition across much of the university, even before you get into especially selective schools or majors.

Another difference is how each school functions in practice for admissions. UConn admits many strong students, but as a state flagship it also serves a broader in-state population and has a wider range of entry points across colleges and programs. NYU, by contrast, tends to have less room relative to demand, so strong grades and activities that might make someone competitive at UConn do not necessarily make them competitive at NYU.

It is still worth noting that some UConn programs can be quite competitive, and residency can matter a lot there, especially for Connecticut applicants. But if the question is simply which school is more selective overall, NYU is the tougher admit.