On the evening of October 11th, Shlomit Narotzky, Director of Graduate Admissions for NYU Stern - NYU Shanghai MS Programs shared tips on how to prepare a competitive application for admissions. The key is to remember that the admissions committee will look into your academic and professional journey and assess the feasibility of your goals based on what you told us about yourself and your goals. This is your “fit” to the program. 

Shlomit was sharing during the webinar

Preparation + Execution + Engagement & Connection

The preparation and the execution are significant before applying to our programs. While, the engagement & connection accompanies the prior two parts. Here are some tips about how you can prepare better with your application. 

1. Preparation: Submit your application when it is the strongest

Before applying to our programs, you may consider the following questions: why are you applying? What is the program structure? What is the curriculum? Who is going to be teaching? What information from the website could I use to enrich my application to showcase my research? 

During the preparation phase, you may consider the engagement and connection with faculty and our admissions office. Our information webinar is a great start. Engaging with the admissions officers by scheduling a consultation with our program, and chatting with our current students via our website are great ways of connecting with us. In the meantime, you can join one of our in-person events, come and introduce yourself to the admissions officers who will be reading your application. You may also connect with a faculty if you find their work interesting, which will also help you to have a better understanding of our program’s faculty resources.  

Here is a small tip that you should take into consideration: Since many of the interactions are noted, please be mindful of your interaction with anyone in the program community. It is a great opportunity to showcase your communication skills and to create positive engagement with the program. 

2. Execution: Content and Presentation Matter

What does it mean to execute well and to showcase your professionalism? 

1. Follow the directions for word counts and essay headers, and please make sure that you answer the prompts. For instance, if we ask for a minimum grade of a B, but you write that your grade is a B minus, it shows that you may not be aware of the instructions and our expectations for pre-enrollment requirements. 

2. Proofread. The admissions committee may have questions regarding your application material if we find spelling mistakes in your applications.

3. Be consistent. We ask similar questions in different places of the application. Please be consistent with the answers in the application. For instance, if you answer at the beginning of your application that you want to work in the healthcare industry, but your professional essay is about your passion for the finance industry, and mention in your interview that internet companies are your thing, this does not show consistency or seriousness towards your career goals.

If you change industries during the application process, you may consider how to explain this and showcase your thought process and your reasoning. 

1. Essays 

The application requires two essays, a professional essay and a personal expression essay. For the professional essay, it is not a one-size-fits all. You may firstly identify what is unique about our program, your application and professional essay could showcase your research. 

Check the file you are uploading before you upload it to your application. Every cycle, there are candidates who submit a professional essay with a watermark that says “draft,” the wrong program name, or the wrong school name. Please spend another minute to make sure you are uploading the right file, as we want to see serious, committed, and professional candidates. 

2. Recommendation letter

We only ask for one recommendation, please choose your recommender based on who can best attest to your skills and potential so their letter adds value to your application. In the meantime, please ask yourself a few questions: Will my recommender happily discuss my application for a few minutes, know something about the program, and write a solid recommendation based on this information? Will this person follow the instructions? 

Our system requires your recommender to do some grading, and answer a few questions. If your recommender ignores all the questions and attaches a letter, or makes a mistake with your name, the recommendation letter will not be able to add any value to your application. 

3. Resume or CV

Our program is tailored to students who are new graduates or early career professionals. If you include an internship in your resume or CV, please make sure that you mention if this is onsite or remote. We want to see internships that have some connection with your career goals, so you can demonstrate your passion and commitment to your career goals with these experiences. In the interview, you will be asked detailed questions regarding your internship experiences, please make sure that you are familiar with your resume and can elaborate on these experiences. 

4. Accomplishments

Please include your professional accomplishments in the relevant sections in the application. If it is a personal achievement or a hobby, you can feature it in your personal expression essay as well. 

We hope that this information provides you with a more in-depth look into the admissions process. If you wish to learn more about our programs, you can also register for upcoming events and reach out with any questions.