NYU or apply again next year

Question

Hi I just got my acceptance to Stern. I am very happy and relieved (6 dings and I was waitlisted at Stenr). 
Should I go to Stern or apply again in the fall? If i do apply next year

I would apply to Wharton, Harvard, Booth , MIT and Columbia. (I had interviewed with Wharton and Booth this year.)

I graduted from IVY school engineering 3.6 gpa. 730 gmat ( will retake to get 760+ if I dont go to Stern), 2 years of WE in a boutique IB in eastern europe (i am an international applicant)
I want to do IB at a top bank like JP or Goldman or try PE (i know its very hard) after MBA.

So what do you think, does it worth taking the risk? Assuming i would get into 1-2 of the schools above how much of a difference would that make in terms of recruiting after school..

Futuremba1 · Answer

Unless you didn't like Stern for some reason or really don't want to go back to school yet, I think you should go to Stern this year. "Holding out" for a better school is a fairly large risk, especially after a school has already denied you. Plus, you'll have one year less earning a post MBA salary (assuming that this would be much higher than your current salary).

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jordanhendrix · Answer

you prob got dinged cause you only have the 2 years experience, your stats are stellar, dont worry about retaking the GMAT, if you dont get 760+ it could be a negative. No offense but adcoms will wonder what the hell is wrong with you. And what if you get a 720?...
If you wanna wait, do it but dont take the gmat again. And of course stern will be great for IB.

ravsg · Answer

Congrats on the admit.
If you can add work ex and show a substantial difference to the schools who have denied you admit this year ... I would say you can take the risk
Otherwise, I think just go for it.

3underscore · Answer

For your career path it doesn't matter where you go. Getting into IB is a ten-a-penny career path for MBAs, especially Stern. It sounds like you are more into some rankings nonsense and perceived "value" which you can only work out for yourself.

ua87 · Answer

thanks you all for the replies. I have made my mind and going to Stern next year.

the only schools I would choose over Stern would be as I said
Harvard ( there is no guarantee I will be admitted next year)
Wharton (I already had my undergrad. there and took 9 courses from Wharton. In addition, living in nyc is an important plus for NYU. So evenif I am admitted to Wharton, still I may choose NYU over Wharton next year)
MIT and Chicago => I want to work in NYC so I think in terms of recruiting in Wall Street there is not much of a difference between Stern or MIT or Booth. I would prefer living in NYC over both Boston and Chicago. 
Columbia . in terms of recruiting Columbia I think has a slight advantage over Stern but I did not like the campus when I visited it.

So even if I get into all of the schools I mentioned above next year, there is a chance that I would still choose NYU (expect for Harvard of course) over them.

Also I am not even sure if I can show a drastic improvement in my essays next year. I had applied in Jan so between now and then not much has changed in my professional life.

So I am ready to go to Stern =))

dibblebun · Answer

why would you apply again. it's a great school. if you applied to begin with I would assume you would attend. unless you have some reason to believe you will become a much more attractive candidate in the next 8 months...

3underscore · Answer

With your career aspirations it is probably amongst the more ideal-fit schools there is. I get the temptation and consideration of the higher prestige schools, but Stern if extremely effective for certain career paths and a lot of fun to boot.

ua87 · Answer

I have been doing some additional due diligence on NYU and I became more comfortable on my decision of choosing Stern. I will be paying my deposit on monday.

As far as I read and hear, NYU is a great finance school and all of the large banks (goldman, JP, morgan stanley etc.) recruit from Stern. So even if I go to Wharton, I would be aiming these same companies and being in Wharton does not help much after a certain point in the recruitment process. Both schools would give me the opportunities to get interviews at these companies and after that it would be me getting the job, not the schools name.

NYU or apply again next year

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