During the desert trip for Early Decision applicants, a candidate sandboards across the dunes at sunset. Allowing candidates to bond with their peers in an informal setting, the desert trip is a favorite memory for many students.

Yumi Gambrill from the United States speaks to her future classmates about the object that reminds her of home most — her violin. “At that time I was practically living and breathing music. I don't know what I'd bring now… Perhaps a whisk or something cooking-related, as I've found that cooking and baking is the best cure for homesickness,” said Gambrill.

During his Early Decision Candidate Weekend, Zane Mountcastle listens while students introduce their objects from home. Despite applying as an Engineering major, Mountcastle will graduate this academic year with a degree in Computer Science. “It’s okay to be unsure about what you're studying or what your plans are,” he said. “More than likely, everyone around you is feeling the same thing,” he added.

“When I came to Abu Dhabi for Candidate Weekend,” said Daniel Carelli, “[NYUAD] was still centered around the Downtown Campus and Sama Tower.” The Class of 2018 is the last class to have attended Candidate Weekend before the completion of the Saadiyat campus. “Our new home has been a project. It’s still young, so it’s totally open for us to mold and define for generations to come,” emphasized Carelli.

After a day of speeches and sample classes in the Downtown Campus, Early Decision applicants walk back to the Cristal Hotel to prepare for the evening’s activities. Just a few minutes away from the Sama Tower residence, the Downtown Campus served as the academic center for NYUAD between 2009 and 2014.

Rosy Tahan (Syria) smiles during the presentation by John Sexton, who then served as the President of New York University. In his speech, Sexton encouraged candidates to challenge themselves and to embrace failure. After three years at NYUAD, Tahan found truth in Sexton’s advice. “I've become a lot less sure of myself, and I'm okay with that,” said Tahan. “Though it's hard to doubt who you are as a person, I think it's probably not a good idea to go through life thinking you know it all. I'll figure out who I am eventually,” she added.

Rising senior Simon Wilkes sits with newfound friends and future classmates from around the world. “I think I have become more accepting of the fact that some things are not as simple as I would like to believe, and often, there are many sides to an issue that I might be able to see if I simply take the time to step back and listen,” said Wilkes. Now on a leave of absence in his home country of Trinidad and Tobago, Wilkes hopes that taking a year off before starting senior year will give him the chance to relearn self care so that he could “enjoy what little time [he has] left in this final chapter of [his] adventure.”

On the desert trip, Peer Ambassadors – now graduates – dance with candidates after the dinner. “This memory stands out to me simply because it was a rare moment in which I allowed myself to let go of my own self-consciousness and worries around the weekend," said Wilkes. “The conversations I had that night were simple, entertaining and thrilling, and it was these feelings of joy that followed me through the remainder of the weekend. I don’t know many other places that include a dance party as part of the admissions consideration, but I truly hope [NYUAD] never changes it,” he added.

Yasmin Farhan smiles for a photo during her Candidate Weekend. “I had moved to the UAE from Jordan a few months prior and my idea of home was a little shaky,” she said. After a year abroad, Farhan is excited to return to Abu Dhabi for her senior year. “Stepping outside of [NYUAD] for a while emphasizes what a unique place it is and how mentally transformative it can be when you spend a good chunk of your young adult life there,” she concluded.

Alens Juns, pictured in white, dances with other candidates at the desert trip. Like other seniors returning from a semester or year abroad, Juns is excited to reunite with his classmates and to take on the challenge of senior year. “Seniors don't get afraid. [We] have seen it all,” Juns said.

For John Scaccia, Candidate Weekend marked his first time out of the United States, his first plane ride and his first camel ride. “I don't think that I would even recognize the ‘me’ from Candidate Weekend,” he said. “NYUAD has exposed my mind to ideas that I would have never considered had I stayed in the small city that I was born in. In simplest terms, I have acquired a more mature, dynamic, and global world view, the one that I first became exposed to during my Candidate Weekend,” Scaccia explained.