Lenient MBA admission to undergrad alumni??

Question

I graduated from NYU Stern with BS in Accounting in 2005 with GPA of 3.5

I've been working as a CPA for a big 4 accounting firm for past 3 years and I scored 770 on GMAT.

If I apply for NYU Stern MBA, do you think I will have easier time getting in compared to others because I am an alumni? (Forget my GPA and GMAT score when answering this question)

bostonsparky · Answer

Sounds like you're in good shape - will you be able to get any of your old professors to write you a recommendation?

agold · Answer

There's pros and cons to this, as with every situation:

Pros: You know the school and will not need to spend much time selling your "fit". You know what you are getting into.

Cons: You already have an undergraduate business degree from the same school. You will need to sell the value that an additional business degree is going to add to your career, as well as why you want to get it from the same school as your UG business degree.

Rubashov1 · Answer

Well, if it helps, I have a friend who went to Stern undergrad and is now there as an MBA student and I don't find him particularly intelligent (disclosure: I'm a Stern B.S. '04)

k88 · Answer

Yes I think schools do like to keep it in the family. Your stats are strong anyway.

Sleepy · Answer

I think there's definitely an advantage to going to a similar undergrad institution for some schools, I don't know enough about Stern to know what they do, but I've been told by people at Cornell and Tuck that they like people who went to the new england liberal arts schools because they're familiar with the small school rural campus feel and are more likely to fit since they've spent 4 years in a similar environment. I think it might depend on whether you're looking at a school that emphasises fit.

Regardless with a 3.5 GPA, 4 years of seemingly solid WE, a 770 GMAT....you'd have to do a lot wrong to not get into the school of your choice.

Regardless with a 3.5 GPA, 4 years of seemingly solid WE, a 770 GMAT....you'd have to do a lot wrong to not get into the school of your choice.

nink · Answer

Doubtful,
NYU recycles professors better than Waste Management Inc....

Won't even find a way to contact them anymore....

nink · Answer

Does that mean he didn't have as stellar academic/test score compared to other applicants and he still got in?

agold · Answer

I really don't understand what you're so worried about. Your stats are well above the average for NYU Stern and you have solid work experience. Put together average to above-average essays and you will get in.

If I was in your shoes, I would be working hard on my Columbia/Chicago/Wharton/a couple other M7 school applications and put minimal time and effort into your NYU app.

Raabend · Answer

I would say youre a lock....but Im an idiot.

nink · Answer

I am asking to ignore my stats because I am thinking:

1) My stats are in line or above avg to typical Stern MBA
2) i can use this as leverage and maybe get better financial aid package/scholarship etc etc

I work at Big 4. Unlike i banking, they don't care about MBAs as much. CPA certification is like the top of the totem pole in my profession.

I want to get MBA in strategy or entrepreneurship and do something other than accounting. But I don't want to break the bank either since I have no interest in i banking or consulting (two fields where I can get massive job offers to pay off my debt)

agold · Answer

If you're looking for scholarship money, check out Cornell, Duke, and Darden.

nink · Answer

Thanks....

But when it comes to MBA and finding a job after graduation, NYU Stern ranks above Cornell, Duke, and Darden, no?

solaris1 · Answer

Stats by themselves are meaningless, Stern is, as a business school, more selective than a lot of M7 schools (<15% accepted). 
Put "minimal time and effort" into your NYU application at your own risk.

The fact that you went to Stern undergrad will not count for much. IMO, the Stern undergraduate exprerience is most likely completely different from that of the Stern MBA. So to talk about "fit" with Stern based on your undergraduate years there is going to be just a little bit ridiculous.

Rubashov1 · Answer

For banking certainly. Not sure about other fields. I imagine that Stern MBA recruiting is similar to how it was as an undergrad: 65% banking, 30% accounting, 5% everything else.

k88 · Answer

Do 65% of Stern undergrads really go into banking? I did my summer internship in NY and didn't meet a significant number of Stern undergrad doing bulge bracket.

nink · Answer

Do 65% of Stern undergrads really go into banking? I did my summer internship in NY and didn't meet a significant number of Stern undergrad doing bulge bracket.

That sounds about right. Most popular major was Economics and they all went into banking. Even fellow accounting majors ended up doing banking.

Rubashov1 · Answer

That sounds about right. Most popular major was Economics and they all went into banking. Even fellow accounting majors ended up doing banking.

That was just a random guess on my part, but when I was there for undergrad finance was pretty much the only thing anyone cared about. It was frustrating.

nink · Answer

That was just a random guess on my part, but when I was there for undergrad finance was pretty much the only thing anyone cared about. It was frustrating.

Well NYU is a money whore.....they charged us ridiculous tuition and gave us tiny fin aid. Most people graduate with huge debt. No wonder everyone wants to go into banking. They have no choice if they want to pay off their student debt....

Lenient MBA admission to undergrad alumni??

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