Going to an Admit Weekend at NYU’s Stern

This past weekend, I attended NYU Stern’s admitted student weekend. Unlike most other schools it seems, NYU Stern held a combined admitted student weekend for both Round 1 and Round 2 admitted applicants, instead of a separate weekend for each. One benefit is that the admitted applicants I met are a pretty accurate representation of the entire class that will enter this fall. That’s a good thing, since everyone I met was really friendly and down to earth.

Overall, I had a great time, and could see myself attending Stern and making meaningful connections with my classmates and the rest of the community. The one remaining question mark I have is Stern’s recruiting strength in my intended industry, but I think that with a little bit more effort, I could have an opportunity to get to where I want, or at least close to it. Of course, that begs the larger question, but I’ll save that for another time.

I have not experienced any other admitted student weekends to compare Stern’s against, but the weekend’s activities felt like a good balance between getting information and socializing. The weekend kicked-off with a reception at NASDAQ’s headquarters with Dean Peter Henry and other folks from the Stern community, and then an informal happy hour afterward. The rest of the weekend consisted of meeting more classmates and alumni, and learning about the school.

While the weekend was about Stern selling the school, it was not overwhelming. Stern didn’t put on a full-court press to convince admitted applicants to attend; instead, the purpose of the weekend was to give all of the admitted applicants opportunities to meet the people and get the information we would need to make our decisions. As one current student put it, “Stern wants people who want to be there.”

One of my favorite parts of the weekend was the organized dinner with admitted and current applicants. Sitting in small groups of about 4-10 people, it was a great chance to get to know a handful of potential classmates in an intimate and informal setting. The happy hour at Amity Hall afterward was fun too, although it was harder to talk there. As Stern considers its community one of its greatest assets, it was a smart move on their part to leave the entering class to its own devices for part of the time.

All in all, it was a great weekend, and I’m glad I went. If I decide to go to business school, I know that Stern is a great choice and the two years in New York would fly by. Still, the hefty tuition payment is not due until July 7th, so I’m going to use all the time I have left. After all, I paid for it.

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