Is UT Austin or NYU more selective for undergraduate admissions?

The biggest practical tradeoff is that UT Austin’s selectivity changes a lot depending on whether you are an in-state or out-of-state applicant, while NYU is more uniformly selective across its applicant pool. For a Texas resident, UT Austin can be more accessible overall because of the state’s admissions structure, though some majors are still extremely hard to enter. For out-of-state applicants, UT Austin often feels tougher than people expect, especially for high-demand programs, while NYU is consistently viewed as highly selective across schools.

If you want a simple comparison, NYU is usually considered the more selective school overall for undergraduate admission. It draws a very large national and international applicant pool, and admission is competitive across most of the university. UT Austin is also highly selective, but its overall admit picture is shaped heavily by Texas residency and by the fact that some applicants qualify through the state’s automatic admission policy.

The biggest caveat is major. At UT Austin, admission to the university does not mean every major is equally reachable. Programs like business, engineering, computer science, and some other popular areas can be significantly harder than the university’s overall admission level suggests. NYU also varies by school, with places like Stern and Tisch standing out, but the broad perception is still that NYU is the more selective institution overall.