As last season’s MBA applicants transition to students at their target programs, we are excited to begin introducing them in our Real Humans of the MBA Class of 2021 series! We start in New York City with New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business, and you should stay tuned as we make our way around the world to additional leading business schools.
When asked, “Why the Stern School of Business?” students of the incoming NYU Stern Class of 2021 applauded the customizable curriculum and the school’s New York City location as highest on their list of reasons. Candidates can choose up to 3 specializations from over 20 options and can take up to one quarter of their classes for the degree with NYU Stern’s international partner institutions. In regards to location, Lisa Rios, executive director of MBA admissions at Stern, said, “We make the student experience all about transformation, and we leverage our home in NYC and our deep connection to industry to make that happen.”
Since NYU Stern is situated among titans of various industries in a global financial capital, the school naturally attracts a diverse student body. The school received over 3,500 applications to be a part of the Class of 2021. The 359 students who ultimately matriculated hail from 37 different countries. A third of the group have international citizenship and 36 percent are women. Just under a quarter identify as minorities, and another 9 percent identify as underrepresented minorities. Another seven percent are either military active duty or veterans.
The 2021 cohort also brings a wealth of academic strength and work experience to NYU Stern. The class averaged a GPA of 3.52 during their undergraduate years. Thirty percent of the class had majored in business, while 22 percent had studied engineering, math or science. Another 19 percent had pursued social science, followed by 15 percent who studied economics. The remaining 14 percent had majored in the humanities, arts or other options. Turning to testing, seventy-five percent of the class had only taken the GMAT for b-school admissions, and averaged 721; 17 percent had taken the GRE; 3 percent had taken both of the standard exams while five percent opted for the LSAT/MCAT/DAT. Ninety-seven percent of the class had work experience prior to the MBA program, and overall averaged 5.2 years of work experience. Most have an industry background in financial services (28 percent), followed by consulting at 11 percent and tech at 9 percent. The rest spread across consumer products, nonprofit, entertainment/media and more.
Now, let’s meet a few of the new students at NYU Stern!
