Jennifer Rice comes to NYU Stern with over six years of experience as a Design Director in sustainability and performance brands. After working as a designer for shoes and ready-to-wear at Zero + Maria Cornejo, she went on to start up her own consulting company in 2021, aligning new and established brands with partners across the east coast for brand development and production services. Jennifer is a Graduate Ambassador, AVP of Admissions for SISA, and admissions committee member for SWIB. Aside from work and school, you can find Jennifer at Washington Square Park dog run with her roommates, Meredith and Elizabeth, and their dog, Stella.
Being a Graduate Ambassador, we get loads of questions surrounding the F&L MBA. My parents always told me to live by the mantra to be curious from every angle. I.e. go down the path of research that will fulfill the questions most important to you, personally. Investigating is encouraged when looking at any MBA program you may be interested in applying to, as each program will offer a different set of unique characteristics and offerings that are catered to different candidates. So while there’s no one clear answer, I’m going to do my best to lay out the system I made for myself during my era of MBA research that helped me make my decision!
1. Attend.
Sadly, I don’t mean attending actual Stern quite yet! I mean going on our school’s website (click here) to sign up for “Ask me Anything” sessions with current students (“AMAs”), Info Sessions, and any other school sponsored events. Typically, these sessions are led by students currently in the program, Admissions Members, and sometimes even Professors teaching mock classes! You will not only understand through the presentations what Stern and the Fashion & Luxury program is all about, but you’ll also gain insight to the vibe of the community. For me, this was really important for myself to understand that if Stern was an environment I would not only be successful as a student, but also successful in feeling I could give back to the community.
The AMA’s are great for those burning questions you may have on the student experience and what the course load looks and feels like. You are free to ask questions to a current student and hear the questions from other prospective students as well (this is something I appreciated, as I didn’t always know what to ask, so I liked the opportunity to hear other insightful questions!).
Info Sessions are hosted by an Admissions Member and a Graduate Ambassador. This is great to understand the course schedule, recruitment opportunities, and more information on our immersion programs. Additionally, the Admissions Member will walk you through the application and its requirements. I think every applicant should attend at least one of these sessions for further insight in applying and attending the Fashion & Luxury MBA at Stern.
2. Read, listen, and investigate.
I cannot emphasize this step enough. Read these awesome Fashion & Luxury blog posts, go on other MBA news coverage websites, and watch videos posted by Stern about the program! A lot of times we get questions Stern has already answered (and answered even better than I ever could have) about the culture, scheduling, and opportunities during and after the program. When I was trying to visualize myself in the program, I took to reading about the program from other forums and news outlets to really understand the professors (and their classes offered) and the community Stern encompasses. The videos of students speaking about the International Immersion and the career placement opportunities were a quick google away (and also on the website!) and got me thinking about my own career ambitions post graduation. Just getting back from our Immersion trip in January, my experience was filled with not only meeting with inspiring international industry leaders, but also learning about craftsmanship and luxury supply chain processes.
3. Reach out!
After you’ve done steps 1 & 2, it’s time to reach out to us! (click here). Hot tip: It’s always so impressive when it’s clear a prospective student has done their research before contacting current students. It’s clear through your thoughtful questions that you’re genuinely interested in the program, which makes our time to speak with you that much more helpful! We will always do our best to answer your questions, and can segue to our fellow incredible classmates that may be better suited to answer your questions. This is a great opportunity to get that next level of understanding of the program and professionals it attracts– fulfilling that final piece of the puzzle in your journey of understanding if Stern’s Fashion & Luxury MBA program is right for you.
4. Write it out.
Finally, after all the investigating, I took to writing out my thoughts. I weighed out themes based on how important it was to my MBA experience (i.e. Location: NYC, Score: A+, Importance: 5/5). I know, I know, this might seem excessive to some, but it helped me make my decision that much easier and feel that much more logical because I was able to balance the qualitative and quantitative aspects for choosing the perfect MBA culture for me. As I said in the beginning of this blog post, there really is no perfect way to learn more about a program, as long as you make sure you investigate from every angle, giving you the confidence in making a decision for the next chapter of your career!