NYU Stern MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines [2021-2022]

In addition to its traditional two-year, full-time MBA, NYU Stern offers a menu of options in graduate management education including a one-year Tech MBA and a one-year Fashion and Luxury Goods MBA.

Stern MBA students can select up to three specializations or choose not to specialize at all.

NYU Stern 2021-22 MBA application

Short answer: Professional aspirations

(150 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)

• • What are your short-term career goals?

This is a fairly typical short-term MBA goals question. At the heart of this question: What do you want to do after you graduate that requires an MBA and why is the MBA the best next step for you on this path? You should be able to answer Stern’s short answer question, or you shouldn’t be applying.

Stern last year had a question that was longer (500-word limit) and asked for more information. This year, Stern put your response on a diet. What do you want to do immediately post-MBA?

However, you can answer that question in one sentence and you do have room for more than one sentence. Provide a little context. What motivates you to pursue this post-MBA goal? Was there an experience that shaped it?  Is there some larger or longer-term  goal that motivates the short-term one?  You won’t have room to answer all these questions, but strategically choose those that are most relevant.

NYU Stern MBA essay #1 (Change: _____ It)

In today’s global business environment, the only constant is change. Using NYU Stern’s brand call to action, we want to know how you view change. Change: _____ it. Fill in the blank with a word of your choice. Why does this word resonate with you? How will you embrace your own personal tagline while at Stern? Examples:

• • Change: Dare it.
  • Change: Dream it.
  • Change: Drive it.
  • Change: Empower it.
  • Change: Manifest it.
  • Change: [Any word of your choice.]

(350 word limit)

I interviewed NYU Sterns’s Executive Co-Director of Admissions, Rabia Ahmed for episode 340 of Admission Straight Talk, and she had a different verb from those listed above when I asked her this question. Her response should not be copied, but you might find it inspiring (18:57).

As you approach this question, obviously you have to think about what change means to you. But more important than the specific verb you choose to fill in the blank, is the rest of the question.  Why are you choosing it? Can you provide a succinct example that illustrates its importance? Finally, given your reasons and the verb, how will you embody this motto while at Stern.

To answer the last part of the questions, do you research. What are the curricular and extra-curricular opportunities for you to live your tagline while at NYU Stern?

NYU Stern MBA essay #2 (Personal expression a.k.a “Pick Six”)

Describe yourself to the Admissions Committee and to your future classmates using six images and corresponding captions. Your uploaded PDF should contain all of the following elements:

• • A brief introduction or overview of your “Pick Six” (no more than 3  sentences).
    
    
  • Six images that help illustrate who you are.
    
    
  • A one-sentence caption for each of the six images that helps explain why they were selected and are significant to you.

Note: Your visuals may include photos, infographics, drawings, or any other images that best describe you. Your document must be uploaded as a single PDF. The essay cannot be sent in physical form or be linked to a website.

In my interview with Stern’s Associate Dean of MBA Admissions & Innovation Isser Gallogly, he explained that today images are used for communications as much as words. He strongly feels that images combined with a few sentences and captions may be more comfortable for applicants accustomed to communicating on Instagram, Facebook, etc. So let your visual talents shine. You can go deep into one special interest, or let your six picks show different facets of you and your experience.

You can use word clouds, graphs, infographics, charts, and of course pictures. Basically anything two-dimensional that will go into a PDF for uploading can work for Pick Six.

Where the short answer question is all about your professional goals, the “Pick Six” essay is about personal expression – you as a human being. While you have the option of including something professional or related to your goals, make sure that this essay complements the earlier ones. Let your individuality (not weirdness) shine in this essay. This can be a great place to reveal personal interests, hobbies, or community service commitments.

NYU Stern MBA essay #3 (Additional information – optional)

(250 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)

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, IELTS or TOEFL, or any other relevant information.

Stern provides several suggestions regarding what to include in this essay. However, if you have something significant you would like the admissions committee to know and that topic isn’t mentioned above, this question is open enough so that you still should write this optional essay. Just don’t duplicate what’s found elsewhere.

Watch: Rabia Ahmed, Executive Director of Strategic Marketing and Admissions at NYU Stern talk about what Stern is looking for.

For expert guidance with your NYU Stern MBA application, check out Accepted’s MBA Application Packages, which include comprehensive guidance from an experienced admissions consultant. We’ve helped hundreds of applicants get accepted to NYU Stern’s MBA program and look forward to helping you too!

NYU Stern 2021-22 MBA application deadlines

First deadline:	September 15, 2021
Second deadline:	October 15, 2021
Third deadline:	January 15, 2022
Fourth deadline:	March 15, 2022

Source: NYU Stern website

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***Disclaimer: Information is subject to change. Please check with individual programs to verify the essay questions, instructions and deadlines.***

By Linda Abraham, president and founder of Accepted. Linda earned her bachelors and MBA at UCLA, and has been advising applicants since 1994 when she founded Accepted. Linda is the co-founder and first president of AIGAC. She has written or co-authored 13 e-books on the admissions process, and has been quoted by The Wall Street Journal, U.S. News, Poets & Quants, Bloomberg Businessweek, CBS News, and others. Linda is the host of Admissions Straight Talk, a podcast for graduate school applicants. Want an admissions expert help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related Resources:

• Why MBA?, a guide to writing about your MBA goals
• NYU Stern: An Insider’s Perspective on Getting Accepted, a podcast episode
• Top MBA Programs Get STEM-Certified to Attract Int’l Students