Calling all NYU Stern Applicants (2016 Intake) Class of 2018!!

As the NYU Stern MBA website states, “Stern develops leaders who make an impact on business and beyond.” Evolving from a pure finance school into one that focuses on areas like entertainment and technology, Stern takes advantage of the vibrant and changing business opportunities in New York City.

The individual components of your application will be academic ability, professional achievements and career aspirations, and personal characteristics. Stern provides podcasts to describe each component on the admissions website, and it’s worth starting your research there. While your academics will be evaluated mainly through your GMAT and GPA, the essays are a crucial part of your application strategy.

After making the personal expression part of the application optional last year, NYU Stern has added it back as a required essay this year. The personal expression essay offers you the opportunity to present yourself creatively, but requires you to apply structure to a completely open-ended question. It’s a great test for a life solving business problems after your MBA.

Essay 1: Professional Aspirations
(750 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)
• Why pursue an MBA (or dual degree) at this point in your life?
• What actions have you taken to determine that Stern is the best fit for your MBA experience?
• What do you see yourself doing professionally upon graduation?

Why MBA, why now, is an important question to answer. While many people seek an MBA degree, NYU wants to invest in those who can use it most effectively. Perhaps you’re seeking an MBA for networking or professional credibility, or maybe you want an MBA to learn specific skills to change careers. Whatever your own personal reasons may be, make sure you can point to specific aspects of the MBA education both generally and specifically at Stern that are necessary to achieve your goals.

Note that this question specifically asks about your interest in pursuing an MBA at this point in your life. Why is now the right time for you, both personally and professionally? What will an MBA add to your already successful career trajectory to get you to the next level? If you are an older applicant you will need to spend time carefully communicating that you realize what an MBA can and can’t do for you at your professional level, and that you have a plan to leverage the MBA professionally in your next job.

This essay also offers an opportunity to demonstrate your fit with NYU Stern and describe why NYU Stern is the right place for you to spend the next two years of your life. Certainly personal experience of the campus through visits or student touch points would be ideal, but even if you are halfway around the world you can illustrate the many ways in which you learned about the NYU Stern experience.

Your post MBA goal should be both achievable and demonstrate the need for an MBA. An MBA from NYU Stern will open professional doors for you, and you should demonstrate that you are ready to take advantage of those opportunities. Think about a logical sequence that starts with your past work experience, then your MBA education and ends with your immediate post MBA goal. Ideally your goal pulls from both your current work experience and the skills you will gain in the NYU MBA program.

Essay 2: Personal Expression
Please describe yourself to your MBA classmates. You may use almost any method to convey your message (e.g. words, illustrations). Feel free to be creative.

If you submit a non-written piece for this essay (i.e., artwork or multimedia) or if you submit this essay via mail, please upload a brief description of your submission with your online application.

Open-ended essays like this one can be intimidating. You are allowed any method to introduce yourself to your classmates, and you’re probably wondering what the best medium for your message is.

However, your content is king in this essay. The best first step is to brainstorm the information you want to convey. Reflect upon your unique personal qualities and what is valued most by your friends and family. How would you want your classmates to see you? What are some of the personal stories you would share with a new friend?

Once you have established the content you want to use for the NYU Stern essay 3, it’s time to consider the medium. If you are a visual person you may chose a drawing, painting or photo series. If you are a creative writer perhaps it’s a poem or short story. If none of the “creative” approaches feel right to you, feel free to write a standard essay where you explain who you are and introduce yourself to your classmates. The medium is not the most important aspect of this essay. What is most important is the message and content of your composition to demonstrate your motivations and who you are to the admissions committee.

***

If you are looking for guidance on your Stern MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with hourly and comprehensive consulting services. Contact us to learn more. Visit the website for Stacy Blackman Reviews, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.

Last year Stern gave you a choice for its second question. This year all three questions are required and what I call Stern's "signature question" (#2) is once again required.

Your essays will need to highlight your qualities as a successful, leadership-driven, creative thinker and businessperson. For NYU Stern, you’ll want to reveal that you are a perfect fit with the program, the Stern community, and the global business world at large. Keep in mind that Stern is a place that values EQ as much as IQ.

At Accepted, we have advised clients successfully through the NYU Stern application process for approximately twenty years. We would be happy to help you you too. Please explore our services to see how we can guide you.

My tips are in blue below.

Our Stern essay questions give you the opportunity to more fully present yourself to the Admissions Committee and to provide insight into your experiences, goals and thought processes.

Please note the following details when completing your essays.
• All written essays must be typed and submitted using the standard U.S. 8 1/2” x 11” format, double-spaced, in 12-point font.

• Word limits apply to the total question. For example, your response to Essay 1 should answer all parts of the question with a total maximum of 750 words.

• Label the top of each essay with the following: Name, Date of Birth (month, day, year), Essay Number and Page Number (e.g.: Joe Applicant, January 1, 1988, Essay 1, Page 1).

• Your essays should be written entirely by you. An offer of admission will be revoked if you did not write your essays.

Essays:

1. Professional Aspirations (750 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)
• Why pursue an MBA (or dual degree) at this point in your life?
• What actions have you taken to determine that Stern is the best fit for your MBA experience?
• What do you see yourself doing professionally upon graduation?

Stern states explicitly that it seeks students with a “well-articulated plan to achieve their career aspirations.”

Stern’s #1 is an MBA goals question with a couple of small twists. A and C are fairly typical of this genre, only C doesn’t ask about long-term goals.  At the heart of this question: What do you want to do after you graduate that requires an MBA and A asks why is now the right time to get it?  You should be able to answer Stern's #1, or you shouldn’t be applying.

Another small twist occurs in B: Have you done your homework about Stern? What have you done to research the program, its curriculum, career opportunities, and student life? What aspects of the program will help you achieve the goals you provide in C?

The part of the question asking about your career goal “upon graduation” is critical. Are you realistic about where your past experience plus a Stern MBA can take you? Stern doesn’t want people in la-la-land who will be impossible to place.

Finally make sure you answer all elements of the question while staying within the word limits (not guidelines). No adcom member sits there and counts words, but the readers can tell when you are significantly over. “Significantly” in my book is more than 10%. Write succinctly.

2.  Personal Expression

Please describe yourself to your MBA classmates. You may use almost any method to convey your message (e.g. words, illustrations). Feel free to be creative.

If you submit a non-written piece for this essay (i.e., artwork or multimedia) or if you submit this essay via mail, please upload a brief description of your submission with your online application.

Please note the following guidelines and restrictions:
• Your submission becomes the property of NYU Stern and cannot be returned for any reason.
• If you submit a written essay, it should be 500 words maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font.
• If you submit a video or audio file, it should be five minutes maximum. NYU Stern accepts most common video formats.
• The Admissions Committee reserves the right to request an alternate essay if we are unable to view your submission.
• Do not submit anything perishable (e.g. food), or any item that has been worn (e.g. clothing).
• Mailed materials must be postmarked by the application deadline date. Please follow our mail and labeling instructions.

Please note that mailed packages are subject to size restrictions. Submissions that exceed the stated size restrictions will not be accepted for review by the Admissions Committee. Please see the table below for the maximum package size guidelines:

Packaging Type                        
Dimensions: Metric                           
Dimensions: Non-metric                      

Box
36cm x 31cm x 8cm
14” x 12” x 3”

Cylindrical tube
8cm x 91cm
3” x 36”

Triangular tube
97cm x 16cm x 16 cm x 16 cm
38” x 6” x 6” x 6”

Candidates can get very creative with this essay and use different media (other than edibles and worn attire), but many of you will convey your ideas in words. Think of how you describe yourself in a social setting when meeting people for the first time.

If it’s the first day of class or a mixer early in the pre-term, how would you break the ice? Would you try to set up a tennis game or golf match? Would you find someone to explore NYC’s museums? Or do you hate museums and prefer hiking through the woods? What would you say if you were in the campus coffee shop and sat down with some new classmates? Could you create a dialog? A short skit?

NYU Stern also permits the use of multimedia in response to this question. While the media may vary, the point again is to introduce yourself to friends. Given the other questions, this can be a great venue for hobbies, extra-curricular interests, and community service.

When I visited NYU Stern a few years ago, the admissions officer I met with proudly showed me several "personal expressions." Her faves. They were incredibly creative, but much less slick than you might imagine. A year ago, Stern hosted AIGAC for a day and again presented two of the videos filmed in response to this question.  They were thoughtful introductions to the applicants who created them. But neither one was super-slick or professional. Just revealing, creative, and clever.

If you want to submit something three-dimensional or multi-media, don’t worry if you aren’t ready for the Louvre or the Academy Awards as long as your creation is authentically yours, introduces you, and sticks to the above requirements. It will be taken seriously and appreciated.

If you are considering video, download Audio/Video in Admissions: Get Ready for Prime Time, a free special report.

3. Additional Information (optional)

Please provide any additional information that you would like to bring to the attention of the Admissions Committee. This may include current or past gaps in employment, further explanation of your undergraduate record or self-reported academic transcript(s), plans to retake the GMAT, GRE and/or TOEFL or any other relevant information.

If you are unable to submit a recommendation from your current supervisor, you must explain your reason, even if you are a re-applicant.

If you are a re-applicant from last year, please explain how your candidacy has improved since your last application.

Obviously if you fit into one of the categories described in the three points above, you need to write this essay. If you don’t fit into the above categories and have something you want the admissions committee to know that isn’t part of the required essays, then you still should write this optional essay.

If you are an MBA reapplicant, please realize that the question posed here by NYU Stern is THE key question you need to answer as a reapplicant. What have you done to improve your candidacy that should change the outcome?

NYU Stern 2016 Application Deadlines:

Deadline
Initial Notification

1st Deadline         
October 15, 2015
December 15, 2015

2nd Deadline
November 15, 2015
February 15, 2016

3rd Deadline
January 15, 2016
April 1, 2016

4th Deadline
March 15, 2016
June 1, 2016

If you would like professional guidance with your NYU Stern MBA application, please consider Accepted’s MBA essay editing and MBA admissions consulting or our MBA Application Packages, which include advising, editing, interview coaching, and a resume edit for the NUY Stern MBA application. 





By Linda Abraham, president and founder of Accepted.com and co-author of the new, definitive book on MBA admissions, MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business SchoolsMore School Specific Essay Tips
• Tips For Video MBA Essay Questions
• Exploring the Part-Time MBA Options at NYU Stern

This article originally appeared on blog.accepted.com.

Accepted.com's experienced admissions consultants can help you create the most impressive application possible with comprehensive packages, or provide targeted assistance from picking perfect programs to designing a dazzling resume, constructing engaging essays, or preparing for intense interviews…and more! Accepted.com has guided thousands of applicants to acceptances at top programs since 1994 – we know what works and what doesn't, so contact us to get started now!

Accepted.com    ~ The Premier Admissions Consultancy

FROM NYU Stern Admissions Blog: That’s a Wrap! Reflections From My Summer Internship

Happy summer, everyone! Wow, I can’t believe that it has been a year since I moved to New York City to attend NYU Stern. For those of you who have Read More

in RD1 ... application submitted waiting for interview invite now. Good luck all

I know it is vague but is the GMAT score of very high 600s like right below 700 too low for Stern? considering for round 1. Let's assume that my other credentials are fine.

Guys, I heard from a few last year applicants that Stern conducts interviews in India only in the month of March. In that case, are Indian applicants receiving interview invites in R1 expected to interview on campus / any other location / Skype ?

Would really appreciate some clarity on the same. TIA.

Guys,

Can you please provide me some insight on the Master of Science in Business Analytics course in stern.
What are the job opportunities, average GMAT score, selectivity %.

I spoke to them during the info session and they don't do off campus interviews till March. Skype interviews happen only for people in remote areas and specific cases. The only other way is to go to New York and have it done, if you do not want to wait till April to know your fate.

Folks, I'd really appreciate any insights anyone may have about Sterns treatment of re applicants.

So... yah... Applied R4 last year, got an interview invite, and rejected after interview.

two major changes in my application this time around will be

(1) New GRE score and,

(2) Entrepreneurship: Traveled to India this summer to intern for a startup as the "Lead FinTech Consultant". Startup did considerably well, and now we're planning to expand in the States, where I will be Partner.

I am planning to apply R1 this year. Again, I'd really appreciate any insights on reapplicants. I'm hearing mixed messages.

Hello would like to connect to NYU Stern students. Have some specific questions in mind.
Heres my profile:
GMAT 760 (50/42)
Work ex - 48 months at the time of matriculation
Experience in strategy in one of the big 4 audit firms - in their consulting arm
Want to move to strategy consulting
Thanks!

FROM NYU Stern Admissions Blog: Allow Me to Introduce … Part 1

Hello everyone! September at NYU Stern means … navigating classes, corporate presentations, coffee chats, informational interviews all within the first few weeks of school. What is an MBA student to Read More

As the Stern thread master, I invite all applicants to NY Stern R1/R2/R3 applicants to post their application experience till now as the R1 deadline is still a couple of weeks away.

Please keep us all posted on developments on your application. All the best.

I dont think this is the correct forum for this question. Why dont you post your query in admission-consultants-124/?fl=menu to get a useful answer.

FROM NYU Stern Admissions Blog: One Month In – Reflecting On My Summer Internship Experience

It has almost been a month since the semester begun and I am definitely overdue for a post.  This semester has been quite busy. Once again, I somehow ended up Read More

Stern has the following full-time MBA deadlines:

1st Deadline October 15, 2015
2nd Deadline November 15, 2015
3rd Deadline January 15, 2016
4th Deadline March 15, 2016

Is Stern's R3 as impossible as other school's third round (even though it is in January)? I am a traditional applicant from consulting and I am not sure if I can make the November Deadline. Is the January deadline a lost cause for traditional applicants like it is at other schools?

No. R3 at Stern is more like R2 at other schools that have only three rounds. Plenty of applicants are successful during the third round, though earlier the better with Stern so once the application is ready, send it in! Good luck.