The 2024-2025 NYU Stern MBA essays have been released, so it’s a good idea to start preparing now! Most MBA programs will highly value the personal statement in your application. So don’t slack on it! Writing a unique essay that captures your individuality while responding to the prompt is a challenging task, but here at Menlo Coaching, we have a comprehensive guide to perfect it.
Stern is looking for students with a well-rounded background and lots of experience that can be translated into a succinct and compelling statement. One of the essential tips for an impactful essay is asking yourself why you chose to highlight a particular experience. Did it show significant professional development? Did it show how you overcame a personal struggle? Connecting your essay to the prompt, especially how it shows why you are pursuing an MBA, will make your essay stand out. No matter what the essay prompt is, these tips are broadly applicable. With that being said, the three different types of essays you will see on Stern’s application are personal, career goals, and behavioral.
At Menlo Coaching, we noticed that most MBA essays will fall into one of a number of categories: personal essays, career goals essays, behavioral essays, etc.. Read ahead for our expert guide on approaching these essays for NYU Stern School of Business.
Personal essays encompass your moral character, passions in and out of work, and the relationships you have fostered with friends and mentors. This essay type is where you can show the MBA program who you are as an individual and the intrapersonal impacts you have made on people around you. Stern is looking to recruit students who show compassion and enthusiasm in the office and with the people in their lives. Make sure to emphasize where you have shown empathy in your life while explaining how you will contribute positively to the on-campus experience. One of the biggest mistakes students make when writing a personal essay is focusing too much on their professional expertise.
This essay is where you can move away from talking about your work and speak about who you are outside of your job. Stern’s core values include empathy, emotional intelligence, leadership, and strong interpersonal skills. Speaking with current students and faculty to capture the essence of the program. Tailoring which attributes you write about to each program is important. Stern students usually enter the financial services, asset management, and insurance fields, so emphasize your findings in the essay to show you’re genuinely interested.
The career goals essay is the space to emphasize your post-MBA plans. MBA programs want to accept students who have concrete, achievable career plans and a roadmap to success. MBA programs want a glowing post-grad report that proves they produce successful graduates with many job prospects (and who will donate money in the future)! Stern also wants students to promote their program to friends, co-workers, and prospective applicants. The career goals essay combines your hard statistics (ex: GMAT score) with your interpersonal skills (ex: recommendations) to formulate the case for getting an MBA.
Make sure to state your achievable short-term and long-term goals explicitly. Explain why an MBA would help you achieve these goals and how Stern is essential to your plan. Connecting the positive attributes from your personal essay to your career goals essay is critical to forming a well-rounded application.
The final type is the behavioral essay, which might sound similar to the personal essay. However, instead of analyzing your individual attributes outside the workplace, this prompt asks you to reflect on your professional leadership skills. This could mean recalling a time when you’ve led a team to success or recovered after a failure and what you learned. Be honest with this essay, and don’t downplay the story; AdCom can tell if you’re disingenuous. Showing growth is essential to a constructive essay and shows development that you can easily apply to on-campus activities.
Say what mistakes you made and how you remedied them; if there is a situation where you used the lessons you learned from the failures, be sure to include that. Having the bravery to express your failures shows that you are willing to admit your mistakes.
Once you’ve completed your application, the optional Stern essay gives you an additional opportunity to provide the AdCom with any additional information or clarity that you feel would enhance your application.
One trap that MBA applicants fall into is using the additional space provided by this essay to write on a whole new topic. However, this is not always the best idea.
You should only make use of this essay if you what you write will provide context to an element of your application to improve your candidacy—you don’t want to jeopardize your chances by adding unnecessary noise to your application.
Overall, honesty and growth are the most important parts of a successful MBA application essay. In addition, applying the lessons you learned shows improvement in your interpersonal and professional skills, making you a more attractive candidate for MBA programs.
Feeling overwhelmed by Stern MBA admissions essays? Our experienced consultants are here to provide personalized guidance on tackling each prompt effectively. Connect with a dedicated MBA admissions consultant to elevate your application.
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Our five-hour package starts at $2,500, and you can work with our MBA admissions consultants on anything you like, including:
✓ Essay and Resume Edits
✓ Recommender Support
✓ Application Form Reviews
✓ Interview Preparation
