NYU Stern MBA Essay Analysis 2021

Are you looking to apply to the NYU Stern MBA program this year? Similar to other business school applications, Stern requires you to tell them a compelling story over and above a good GMAT score. 

If you are wondering what’s great about NYU Stern, here’s what you need to know:

1. NYU Stern is known for Finance. Similar to Columbia Business School, Stern attracts a lot of candidates from Wall Street. They join the MBA program, acquire more knowledge, experience, and return to Wall Street. They later come back to recruit fresh graduates from the business school.

2. The most obvious and relevant point about NYU Stern is its location – New York. There are very few colleges that are located in the heart of New York. This just means one thing for the students – easy access to numerous companies! You name a company and you can be almost certain that it will have an office in New York.

These are two of the main points that you need to note before you apply to an MBA program at NYU Stern.

Getting things straight

While NYU Stern is known for Finance and Accounting, the college offers a course, the Andre Koo Tech MBA Program. As you might know, technology is integrated into almost every business these days. The one-year tech MBA program at NYU Stern is the perfect course for people with a tech background.

Imparting knowledge the right way

If you are someone who is looking to make a career change post MBA, NYU Stern might be the right place for you. Here’s why. At Stern, they will try to pair you with a mentor who has experience in the industry you wish to enter. This will help you gain more knowledge of the industry and opportunities you can expect.

Moreover, at Stern, you will get to learn from world-class faculty members, of which three are Nobel Prize winners.

What NYU Stern is looking for

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, you cannot expect to get into Stern because you got a high GMAT score. They are looking for team players. They want candidates who have interpersonal strengths and teamwork skills.

If you look at the essay questions below, you will realize that they are not only testing your IQ but also your EQ. They want to know how you will fit into the vibrant, cosmopolitan community.

With respect to personal skills, Stern looks for candidates who are team-oriented and has great leadership potential. So, if you get to the interview round, make sure that you don’t let go of any chance you get to interact with the students.  

What’s in it for you

With students joining the course from more than 63 countries, Stern boasts of thriving with the energy of a global hub. So, if you want to build a global network of amazing individuals, Stern is the place to go.

Stern also has an alumni community that includes more than 100,000 members in more than 125 countries! How many business schools, do you think, will offer that? This is a result of having been home to so many students over the years since 1900.

NYU Stern MBA Essay Analysis 2020-21 

You need to answer two essay questions to complete the NYU Stern MBA application. You also have an optional third essay question if there is anything more that you want to inform the AdCom. We will now look at the questions, how to go about answering the questions, and also the word limits that you need to keep in mind. 

You might have an idea of your short-term and long-term career goals. But do you a precise post-MBA career plan? If not, you might want to have that plan before you answer this essay question.

To answer the essay post-MBA career question, you should know:

1. The job role you want to take up
2. The job function
3. The industry you want to join
4. The domain that you want to work in
5. The companies that will recruit you
6. The transferable skills you bring from the previous jobs you have held, and
7. The work that you will do on a day-to-day basis

And will this give you a perfect essay? Not yet. You need to put in your energy into it. The essay should tell them why you would be a perfect fit for the role. They need to know why this career goal excites you. 

You should have a definite short-term goal. Your long-term goal need not necessarily be that specific. But to answer the second part of the essay question, “ How will the MBA help you achieve them?”, you need to show what it will take you to achieve the long-term goal. This is where an MBA will help you.

Consider this an opportunity to tell them about how you can make use of an MBA to achieve your dream goal. And you have 500 words to tell a perfect story! You can use about 200 words to talk about your journey and your goals, another 200 words to talk about how an MBA will help you achieve them. 

They have asked for images. You don’t have to worry about being there in all the pictures. It could be an image of a certificate. You don’t have to take the trouble of getting a picture in which you are holding it.

So, how do you pick these pictures?

This is the essay in which you can speak about yourself. So, make sure that you pick the right pictures to portray the image to the AdCom. You can choose pictures from your education, personal life, or experiences. But remember: Every picture has to tell a story and get them closer to knowing you better.

You choose an image and write a caption that makes the viewer think. While writing the caption, be careful not to say what the image already shows. Tell them something else. Tell them about how you felt when that picture was being taken or the impact of the situation on your life. This is how you can tell stories through the six pictures.

You also have to give an introduction to these stories. You can use three sentences to do this. Make sure that you give a compelling introduction. You want them to read the three sentences and be curious about you as a person. They should want to browse your pictures and know more about you.

Tip: If you are scanning pictures, make sure that there is no reflection. You can also use Google Photos to choose the six pictures.

As we always say, write the essay only if you feel that you need to explain something that is in your profile. If you have a gap year, you can use this essay to provide an explanation.

NYU Stern MBA Application Deadlines

If you really want to get into NYU Stern, you might want to keep these deadlines in mind. Moreover, with these deadlines, you can now plan your MBA application process better.

So, here we leave you with the most important points and dates that will help you get into NYU Stern. As you have seen, you just need to submit two essays. And you might want to be creative and on point when you work on the second essay question.

Want to know what advice our GMAT Expert, Arun Jagannathan, has to share with you? Watch the video to make notes of all the relevant points you need to keep in mind while drafting your NYU Stern application essays.

If you feel that you need more help in drafting your essays or reviewing your application or let’s say, even brainstorming your ideas, you can always reach out to us.

You can click on the image below and get in touch with our expert.