Get to know NYU Stern's top-notch MBA programs, and find out what Stern adcom looks for in applicants [Show summary]

Lisa Rios, NYU Stern’s newly appointed Assistant Dean of MBA Admissions, describes NYU’s innovative MBA program and the COVID adaptations that have been made to elements of the program and its application process. 

Interview with Lisa Rios, Assistant Dean of MBA Admissions at NYU Stern [Show notes]

Are you interested in NYU Stern? Well, today we're interviewing the brand new assistant dean of MBA admissions at NYU Stern so tune in.

Welcome to the 431st episode of Admissions Straight Talk, Accepted's podcast. Thanks for joining us. 

Are you ready to apply to your dream business school? Are you competitive at your target programs? Accepted MBA admissions calculator can give you a quick reality check, just go to accepted.com/mbaquiz, complete the quiz, and you'll not only get an assessment but tips on how to improve your chances of acceptance -- plus it's all free. Again, use the calculator at accepted.com/mbaquiz, and you can obtain your free assessment right there. 

It gives me great pleasure to have on Admissions Straight Talk for the first time Lisa Rios, Assistant Dean of MBA Admissions at NYU Stern. Lisa has been a member of the admissions team since 2008 and leads admissions for the full-time MBA programs. She has evaluated nearly 50,000 MBA applications and seen nearly 5,000 new full-time MBA students start their MBA journey during her time at Stern.

According to Lisa, the best part of her role is that it does not feel like a job; she loves what she does. The biggest reason for this is the Sternies she works with every day. The second is the fast pace at which Stern innovates and challenges its people, including the admissions team, to ideate, try new things and continue to learn. Lisa also enjoys the travel that is part of her job, at least before COVID, and the chance to explore other cultures that comes along with it. Bombay, London, Istanbul, Tokyo, Toronto, and Beijing, are just a few of her recruiting stops, and the places that she doesn't get to visit in person, especially during the last year, she experiences through applicants’ vivid images and descriptions in their “Pick Six” visual personal expression admissions essays. Lisa, welcome to Admissions Straight Talk and congratulations on your recent promotion to Assistant Dean.

Stern has a pretty impressive menu of MBA options. I think that's part of its innovative nature, can you give an overview of the different options? [2:43]

Absolutely. Thank you for asking. So you're right, Stern does have a large portfolio of MBA program options available to prospective students. It runs the gamut from executive MBA, including a TRIUM program that partners with two schools on the other side of the globe to give a global experience to our students, as well as a part-time MBA program. And the areas that fall under my purview are the full-time MBA programs, which include the two year full-time MBA as well as two focused MBA programs, one in tech and one in fashion and luxury.

Can you give an overview of the full-time program focusing on the more distinctive elements?