Essay 1. Professional Aspirations
(750 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)
(a) Why pursue an MBA (or dual degree) at this point in your life?
(b) What actions have you taken to determine that Stern is the best fit for your MBA experience?
(c) What do you see yourself doing professionally upon graduation?
Stern’s essays are broken up into 3 separate parts, probably because they do not want you to miss out on any component that make up a complete career goals essay.
For answering why you need an MBA degree, you will have to go back to your past and present career. Explain how you have progressed so far. What have been the highlights or achievements? What have been the motivations behind you to take up new projects or new jobs? What have you learned along the way?
And most important, what do you still lack in order to reach the next level? This is the essence of part (a) – you would do an MBA because you lack certain skills and knowledge, which only an MBA can provide. But to understand what is missing, one needs to understand what is present, that’s why its advisable to talk about your career progression.
When applicants ask b-schools when they should apply, the usual answer they get from the adcom is “when you are ready”. Stern wants to know why you are ready NOW?
(b). What “actions” have you taken to know Stern? This is an excellent way to weed out the non serious applicants- those who have not done their research to understand what Stern is all about and how it fits in their scheme. Or those applicants , who are recycling essays between schools. There are tons of ways you can find out about the b-school, other than reading the website- Sign up to receive newsletters and updates , Visit the campus, watch online videos, podcasts, or contact students. Make sure your answer offers some insights that are personal to you, and that go beyond the regular advantage of the NY location (unless of course you are rooting or a financial services career) and the school’s BusinessWeek ranking.
(c) – this part ties in the first two- so far, you have explained why you want the MBA and why from Stern. But the MBA is only a means to an end, which are the career objectives. Focus upon the short term goals here as the questions specifies “after graduation” and we also have the next essay dedicated to the long term goals.
Do ensure that your goals are aligned with the career you have built so far. Even if you are looking for a career change, you are able to transfer some of you previously built skills and knowledge to the next inning.
Essay 2. Your Two Paths
(500 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)
The mission of the Stern School of Business is to develop people and ideas that transform the challenges of the 21st century into opportunities to create value for business and society. Given today’s ever-changing global landscape, Stern seeks and develops leaders who thrive in ambiguity, embrace a broad perspective and think creatively about the range of ways they can have impact.
(a) Describe two different and distinct paths you could see your career taking long term. How do you see your two paths unfolding?
(b) How do your paths tie to the mission of NYU Stern?
(c) What factors will most determine which path you will take?
In the words of Dean Peter Henry, “ At NYU Stern, we develop people and ideas that transform the challenges of the 21st century into opportunities to create value for business and society.” –
Stern acknowledges that we are living in a dynamic world- the speed of change is much faster than it was, say 10 years ago, and we have to keep pace with it. This may result in you having to alter your plans and make the best of the opportunities available to you in that time and age.
If you have to alter your plans, which are the two paths you are likely to tread? Get into some details here – talk about industry, role and the kind of work you will be doing in the long term.
Whatever these two paths be, they should still be relevant to you and should use the skill base that you have built in the time preceding this. Two completely unrelated paths – say an IT consultant and a derivatives trader will sound the adcom out that you have not done your research well.
Naturally, Stern should have prepared you well to make this transition and that’s part b of the question. How will the stuff you have learned at Stern help you fit into your new career paths? Or how did it help develop your personality in-order to take on new challenges in life?
Essay 3. 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.
You have a free ground here. Focus on the topic of this essay- “personal expressions” . Suffice to say you will talk about or demonstrate your personal aspects, not professional ones.
This is the first essay in Stern’s essay kitty that asks about your personal side. A good starting point for brainstorming this essay is to list down all the things that matter to you or you are passionate about. Which of these would you talk about if you were meeting a new group at a party? Which of them really define you as a person?
You are also free to select the medium. There are some great You Tube videos out there which will give you an idea about the high standards of videos. You can also send across an object. For example, if you have travelled extensively, it will be relevant to send out a quaint looking map in a cylindrical box, that showcases your travails and has short write-ups for interesting anecdotes.
Some don’t are:
1. Don’t recycle another b-school’s essay (example Cornell’s Table of contents essay/ Duke’s 25 random things essay or ISB’s video essay)
2. Make it relevant to your candidacy. The admissions committee should not be left wondering why you are telling them about a particular thing because you have not joined the dots for them.