Can someone who went to SUNY Purchase get into NYU Stern?
Hello everyone,
I’m currently a junior at Purchase College who’s majoring in Sociology. Next semester I’ll be a senior so I’ve been thinking about grad school A LOT. I’ve always had an interest in marketing and advertising and ever since I took this class last semester called “Culture, Consumption and the City” I’m really starting to think an MBA would be right for me.
I’m a pretty good student with a 3.5 GPA. I’ve spoken to my adviser and he advised me to make sure I take micro and macro economics and accounting before applying so this winter I’m taking micro online. Then hopefully I can take macro my last semester. I’m also interested in taking accounting at Columbia or NYU as a visiting student while I intern some place in the city.
To those who are knowledgeable does this sound like a reasonable plan to help me get accepted? I’m really nervous because I know I’m going to be competing with some very elite individuals who went to top schools and have been employed for a long time.
I know maybe I’m getting my hopes up and I do have other options but I would really like to go to Stern! Can anyone point me in the right direction?
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3 Answers
It’s a reasonable plan. It demonstrates your interest and commitment. I hope you are planning to apply to more than one B school. Stern is great, of course, but there are many other good ones within a couple of hours of NYC. In my city Wharton is, of course, one of the top ten in the nation, but there is also Temple, which is very good, as well, although not top ten. Think about where else you might want to go. Don’t put all your eggs in one baseball cap.
I am very familiar with NYU Stern though I never went there but I did attend other schools at NYU for 6 years – it is a difficult, cut throat place both in terms of the faculty and in terms of the students. This is just my opinion so please please take it with a heap of salt but they wouldn’t consider a 3.5 GPA from a SUNY school and a sociology major as good enough for them (even though I think that’s a wonderful GPA and a great major) and your adviser is absolutely right in advising you to take those ‘proper’ courses. I think you should also arrange a tour, to meet with admissions staff, ask them what your realistic chances are – it’s tough to get in but even more than that, it’s tough to stay in and to keep your soul – all I can tell you is that there are many schools at NYU and we all graduate together and when they announce Stern, all the other schools (who compete with each other) boo them in solidarity because (and I’m generalizing, there are some Stern kids with a heart out there) when you talk to a Stern kid, you know they’re a corporatist soul-less creature who doesn’t give a damn about what a student of sociology would given a damn about. We used to joke that one never sees a happy Stern student and if they are, they’re massively medicating.
I am under the impression that many business schools want you to have some real life experience working in business before going for the MBA so that might be a stumbling block. I think the idea of making an appointment there as part of a tour and talking to someone in admissions about your aspirations and chances is a great idea. I do believe in going for what you want in life so find out all you can and if it seems reasonable, than go for it. Good luck!
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