What is the biggest challenge you think applicants face at presenting a compelling case for acceptance at Emily Stern's MBA programs?
I think they hear this a lot, but it may not always settle in.
Being their most authentic self, to be completely honest.
I think people feel like they have to fit into a persona or there's like a specific type of
person that schools are looking for, that
we're looking for at Stern. And what I think makes our program so rich is the
different types of people that we have in in the program, with varying interests with varying desires and with varying
superpowers, if I might call it.
And I think like, that authenticity
comes through when you're true to yourself in asking, why do I want the MBA?
How can a Stern MBA really help me?
And they share that with their endorsers and say, this is really why I want to get an MBA.
Not, I mean, I don't want to get MBA because I know Stern's gonna help me get a job,
but I want to get an MBA because I know the Stern MBA in New York City can help me with X or Y.
And so I think it's like being true to themselves, being authentic, not getting a recommendation
or an endorsement from someone who they think is very senior,
but getting one from someone that actually can be honest about who they are.
We know, we know that we all have areas that we need to work on,
but what have we done towards those goals?
What have we done, how have we changed and evolved? And then in our, in the essays like, beyond what you want to do,
what is your path to get there
and how can we be, how does Stern fit into that journey? So I think authenticity is really really important.
All of the schools, we all have
class profiles that we post up there that have like a lot of averages on them and people get really really stuck on those averages
instead of looking at the ranges. That's eighty percent of our students get within those ranges. And so,
you know, think of, ask the questions of the schools, think of how you fit into any one school, do your research.
Talk to our students, talk to our alumni, come meet with us and find a way to articulate your most authentic self.
And that's really, those authentic moments really do come through in the applications. When you're reading thousands and thousands of
essays each year, you know the ones that are like genuine, and you know
the ones that are like, there's like a cut-and-paste situation happening because
it was just a format someone handed to them and they're like inserting themselves here.
That just does not work, does not work at all.
Yeah, I think listeners would be surprised at how easy it is to tell when you're reading them.
You do.
Sometimes I think, it's not even so much that they're intentionally trying to fit into some template or present themselves in a false way,
I think sometimes they answer the question on a very superficial level and
they need to kind of peel the onion a little bit and go deeper.
Why are you saying that? You know, almost like a four-year-old will say, why why, why, why, you know?
Yeah.
That's what they have to do themselves
when they're answering some of these questions.
I mean as I mentioned before, I have two young children, and one of the things that's
fascinating about young kids is watching them become little human beings and the different interests that they have.
So like, my daughter loves puzzles, and she loves problem-solving and she loves piecing things together.
And so she asks questions and makes these connections. And as an admissions officer, it's unfortunate, like an occupational hazard, because I'm like,
oh, you'd be really good at consulting because you like problem-solving.
Whereas she really just want to know like, how the door is stuck to the wall or something like that.
But I think that what's interesting as an admissions officer, having that lens, is you can see,
you can see the foundation of that at so many points in the application, right?
You can see like what you majored in in college, what activities you were a part of, you can see in the pick six
essay, like what's inspired you and made you excited about about what you want to do,
how have you gotten to the place that you've gotten?
And I say, I give this example about my daughter and puzzles a lot and people are like, that makes so much sense. Because when
I was a kid, I really liked X and now I'm doing Y. And they're making these connections and in admissions, that's what we're doing
We're making the connections to see like, is this person ready for the classroom? Will they be successful in our program?
Will they be able to like, get the type of position that they want?
How are they going to be as a leader when they graduate?
So we're connecting those dots as we're reviewing the application, and the best applications are the ones where the applicants are self-aware enough to say
okay, yes, I I know why this is a story. I've always been like,
tangentially interested in the future and now I want to become a product manager at a small start-up, and makes the story make sense.
And they've done these things sort of like unknowingly or knowingly along the way to like really help them get there,
and then the MBA is like what will help them to solidify that foundation to help them make that change or that switch.
So it's always, being an admissions officer is a really really exciting way to get to know a lot of people's stories and journeys
And we always feel lucky to be, really lucky to be a part of that.
