Every year, NYU Shanghai hosts Admitted Students Weekend at the end of April. The weekend serves as an opportunity for admitted students to get a better look at where they could be spending their next four years. This year’s ASW took place from April 25th to April 28th. The NYUSH admissions staff, headed by Anna Cheng and Luis Pena, planned a weekend full of activities for the admitted students to get a sense of what their time in Shanghai would be like. 145 students from thirty countries were split into groups assigned by Chinese zodiac signs. Each group was led by two current NYU Shanghai students and one staff ambassador. Students began their weekend with remarks from Chancellor Yu and concluded their weekend dancing on the Huangpu River cruise. They toured the Jin Qiao residence halls, explored Tianzifang, saw Shanghai blossom at the Urban Planning Museum, strolled down East Nanjing Road, and made friends they’ll never forget. This year’s group of students seemed particularly eager and excited to potentially embark on the NYU Shanghai journey. They constantly posed questions to their group leaders throughout the weekend; from student life to academics to sports and everything in between. Many expressed how much they appreciated the cross cultural learning environment that is unique to NYU Shanghai. Evan Xie, from Massachusetts, shared with his zodiac group how he felt NYUSH offered not just the opportunity to become fluent in Mandarin, but also an integration of China with the rest of the world.Sophomore group leader Yaman Maarrawi asked some of his students what motivated them to choose NYU Shanghai. One student noted,“Although NYU Shanghai is a small community, it is very diverse and offers many opportunities for us. I, as a Mongolian student, don’t have much experience about cultures outside of Asia, so I thought NYUSH would be the perfect place for me to learn and interact with lots of international students. Also, one of the reasons I chose NYUSH was its study away program. I really want to experience all continents, and by attending NYUSH I have that opportunity.”The Class of 2022 is shaping up to be a class brimming with excitement and ready to take on all NYU Shanghai has to offer. This article was written by Isabel Adler. Please send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Isabel Adler