Hello again! The semester has picked up a lot this week, and not just in classes. Admissions is getting pretty busy as the third deadline is approaching (only one month left – get on it), and the current students are working with the administration to plan out Pre-View Weekend for admitted students. Word to the wise – if you are admitted, and you can make it to Pre-View Weekend, I highly recommend you do. It’s a great chance to meet your actual future classmates, instead of just guessing based on how awesome they will be based on how awesome my fellow Graduate Ambassadors are. I’ll be in attendance this year for the third year straight, including when I was a prospective student and an MBA1.
It feels like a really long time ago that I was in your shoes, considering whether Stern was the right choice for me. I was fortunate to work with a number of alumni from Stern, as well as from many other top MBA programs, so I had heard a lot of great things about the school from people who had lived through it. Of course, Stern isn’t the only great school out there, so I had heard similarly awesome things from alumni of other schools I was considering. I figured that the best way to decide where I would rather spend my two years and many many dollars would be to get a first-hand experience at each school I had been admitted to, and see which one I clicked with.
Before Stern’s Pre-View Weekend, I attended the admitted student’s day at another school I was considering. I met a lot of really cool people, sat in on a mock lecture that I found really interesting, and heard from some students and alums who had come up with brilliant entrepreneurial ideas, and had turned them into great businesses. All in all the weekend was a success. I came away thinking that I could make a lot of great friends at that school, get a great education, and really enjoy myself. Awesome.
The next weekend I came to Stern for Pre-View Weekend. Just for some context, Pre-View took place over three days, starting with a reception on Friday night, a full day of activities on Saturday, and some programming on Sunday morning. By Friday night, I felt like not only could I make friends here, but I already had. Saturday and Sunday were awesome, and when I finally left at the end, I genuinely felt bad that I had to wait from April to August to actually start. Fortunately, I had enjoyed the weekend so much that by midday Saturday, between hearing from some of the Deans and taking a mock class with Professor Okun, I went onto my phone and paid my deposit.
The next year, I got to participate in Pre-View in a totally new way. Prior to the opening reception for Pre-View, which took place in Times Square at the Nasdaq building, I was extremely lucky to take part in the closing bell ceremony at the Nasdaq, with Dean Peter Henry, a few Stern professors, and Stern administrators. My mother tells me I was briefly on TV, so that’s something. On Saturday, I got to help out with a few programs that were ran for students, and got to meet a few people who I’ve gotten to know as they become MBA1s.
So for anyone who has gotten some good news about Stern already, congratulations, and for anyone who is admitted and has a chance, I hope to see you at Pre-View Weekend in April.