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NYU Stern MBA Sample Essays

NYU Stern MBA Application Essays: 2023-2024

Short Answer: Professional Aspirations (150 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)

What are your short-term career goals?

Essay 1: Change: _________ it
(350 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)

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] it.

Essay 2: Personal Expression (a.k.a. “Pick Six”)

Introduce yourself to the Admissions Committee and to your future classmates using six images and corresponding captions. The Pick Six is a way to share more about the qualities you will bring to the Stern community, beyond your professional and academic achievements. 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 your interests, values, motivations, perspective and/or personality. 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. Your document must be uploaded as a single PDF. The essay cannot be sent in physical form or be linked to a website.

Essay 3: Additional Information (optional) (500 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 and/or give context to your application. This may include important aspects of yourself not otherwise apparent in your application, including but not limited to: hardships you have encountered, current or past gaps in employment, further explanation of your undergraduate record or self-reported academic transcript(s), plans to retake the GMAT, GRE, Executive Assessment, IELTS or TOEFL, or any other relevant information.

NYU Stern MBA Winning Sample Essay – 1

NYU Stern MBA Essay 1: What are your short and long-term career goals? How will the MBA help you achieve them? (500 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)

I am the founder and CEO of ‘#Mensch’. It is a digital media communications agency that works exclusively with socially conscious organizations. We like to develop ‘deep partnerships’ with our clients by working on performance-based contract structures. We currently reach 100,000 people every month on behalf of the six brands we work with. Going forward, our partner brands are increasingly looking to target an international audience. We are keen to follow the success of our client partners and pursue international markets over the short-term. Hence, over the next five years, my co-founder and I have decided to establish an international presence in addition to building our base here in India. Over the long term, we want to build #Mensch as THE agency for any socially conscious brand that’s looking to reach out to the conscious consumers worldwide.

My entrepreneurial adventure started at IIT Delhi, where I led the entrepreneurship cell. After graduation, I started an operations consulting business that I was able to build into a six-figure business over three years and made a successful exit before starting #Mensch. Now, to grow #Mensch into a successful nine-figure business or more, I feel the need to develop more competencies and strengthen my network. It is here that I see the value of a full-time MBA program. An MBA from Stern will be a perfect fit because of the specializations that the school offers in Digital Marketing and Entertainment Media and Technology.

Communicating efficiently with a digitally-native audience requires me to stay abreast of the latest developments where courses like Digital Media Innovation can help me. Moreover, communications with socially conscious consumers often veer into the domain of moral psychology and business ethics. I’m intrigued by the works of Bruce Buchanan and Jonathan Haidt in this space and will like to use my time at Stern to learn from and collaborate with them. 

Outside of academics, I really like the specialized immersion programs at Stern, especially the one for entertainment & media. The program could offer me the opportunity to develop first-hand insights into the operations of big media agencies which will be practically helpful for my business. As I work with my clients to build their brands globally, I can use the branding frameworks and concepts I will learn in ‘The Consulting Lab: Branding + Innovation’.

Immediately after graduation, I intend to establish the US office for #Mensch and hence it is important for me to continue to build my venture at school. This is where I can particularly leverage the resources available to the Ignite Fellows and the Stern Venture Fellows.

All these factors combined with the school’s location in the media capital of the world, that is New York City, make Stern a perfect fit for me to build the skills and confidence I can use to lead and grow my company effectively. 

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NYU Stern MBA Winning Sample Essay – 2

NYU Stern MBA Essay 1 – What are your short and long-term career goals? How will the MBA help you achieve them? (500 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)

I was born and raised in Sri Lanka, a tropical island part of bustling trade routes for centuries. My family is of Moroccan ancestry, they established businesses in gems and spices, which still today are some of the oldest firms in the country. Sadly, during my teenage years, my father passed away. I witnessed first-hand the trials that came with the loss of a family member and business partner. As I put my life back together, I worked hard and won a scholarship to a prestigious international high school graduating top of my class. Post high school, I applied to NYU Abu Dhabi as a first-generation college student and attended with a full scholarship. There I sharpened my quantitative and analytical skills, worked with peers from over 100 counties, and studied across the NYU global network.

I currently work at Tamkeen, the government partner of NYU Abu Dhabi as a Business Development and Finance Analyst, a highly competitive management consultancy role for ex-pats such as myself. I work directly with the HOD & CFO and am responsible for the commercialization of over 30 assets – an initiative I have been responsible for from scratch. This role not only ensured that my collective past experiences working with the UAE space agency and Microsoft were harnessed but also positioned me on an ideal platform to apply my analytical skills to business scenarios. 

As part of my mandate, I work very closely with colleagues at NYU to ensure effective commercial operations and that revenue targets are met, having achieved a 150% increase from 2018-2019. Here I have gained invaluable skills such as client management, financial modeling,  business operations, financial and management controls, extensive understanding of ERP products across business functions, all while managing teams from across the globe.

 After my MBA at Stern, I plan on transitioning into the field of management consulting in a tech function at a global firm such as McKinsey, Accenture, or PWC. In the long term, I plan on leveraging my acquired experience to start my own consultancy firm providing advisory services in developing countries.

Having been part of NYU for over 6 years, both as a student and as a colleague, I am well aware of the incredible alumni network. At Stern, I am excited to be able to have multiple specialties including Strategy, which will train me in advanced strategic thinking and inform me on essential areas such as corporate governance and hands-on problem solving – especially through courses such as Creative Destruction Lab. Having reached out to Stern alumni  (Armaghan Ahmed ‘16), I am eager to immerse myself in the Experiential Learning courses at Stern, to truly leverage the gains of putting knowledge into practice in a global metropolis.  This coupled with the Summer Fellowship Program that would enable me to pursue an opportunity that aligns with my career goals. Drawing from the analytical background and business experience, I plan on leveraging these opportunities at Stern to not only build my own legacy but contribute back to the community.

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