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NYU Stern MBA Change Essay Example: Education Non-Profit

NYU Stern MBA Essay 1: Change: _________ it (350 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)

In today’s global business environment, the only constant is change. Using NYU Stern’s brand call to action, we want to know how you view change. Change: _____ it. Fill in the blank with a word of your choice. Why does this word resonate with you? How will you embrace your own personal tagline while at Stern? Examples:
Change: Dare it.
Change: Dream it.
Change: Drive it.
Change: Empower it.
Change: Manifest it.
Change: [Any word of your choice.]

******

Background Information: The applicant, a beneficiary of Cincinnati’s Community School, shares the secret of the miraculous transformation of the city’s school from the worst urban public school to the best in holistic growth. He integrates the secret sauce at scale into the community school, addressing the access gap that has plagued the city for over two decades. 

Theme: Creativity, Leadership

Theme (Explained): Creative solutions and a resilience narrative fit into the Dream It slogan. Entrepreneurial initiatives – non-profit and for-profit as tools to address a gap is an additional layer that brings diverse angles to a transformative story.

Profile: Marketing Manager, Entrepreneur

Industry: Education, Retail

MBA Essay Strategy: I wanted to build the narrative with the applicant’s childhood and the transformation in the community before revealing the secret sauce behind the transformation.  

Once the tool is revealed, the narrative shifts to the applicant’s creative solution to integrate the tool in such a way that it satisfies the needs of all stakeholders. 

While I was clear about the outline, I kept the actual problem-solving to the second half of the essay to enhance the impact

Opener: I wanted to start with a gratitude line to disarm the reviewer 

NYU Stern Change Essay Example: Dream It (Violent Neighborhood to EdTech Non-Profit Serving Cincinnati) (342 Words) 

I never imagined I would be working for Gucci in New York City. 

15 years back, the walk to the bus stop was a life and death choice. After 2 consecutive days of nervously walking beside the echoes of gunshots, my mother decided to switch to a school 1-hour away. 

In 2009, something magical happened. Cincinnati embraced community schools. 

The neighborhood violence stopped. 

Communities, businesses, and non-profits ..

.....
 

Download F1GMAT's NYU Stern MBA Essay Guide for the Complete Sample Essay

NYU Stern MBA Essay Guide

Short Answer: What are your short-term career goals?

Question 1: Change: _________ it (350 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)

In today’s global business environment, the only constant is change. Using NYU Stern’s brand call to action, we want to know how you view change. Change: _____ it. Fill in the blank with a word of your choice. Why does this word resonate with you? 

How will you embrace your own personal tagline while at Stern? Examples:
•    Change: Dare it.
•    Change: Dream it.
•    Change: Drive it.
•    Change: Empower it.
•    Change: Manifest it.
•    Change: [Any word of your choice] it.

Question 2: Personal Expression (a.k.a. "Pick Six")

Download F1GMAT's NYU Stern MBA Essay Guide

About the Author 

Atul Jose

I am Atul Jose, Founding Consultant of F1GMAT, an MBA admissions consultancy that has worked with applicants since 2009.

 

For the past 15 years I have edited the application files of admits to the M7 programs: Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Wharton School, MIT Sloan, Chicago Booth, Kellogg School of Management, and Columbia Business School, together with admits to Berkeley Haas, Yale School of Management, NYU Stern, Michigan Ross, Duke Fuqua, Darden, Tuck, IMD, London Business School, INSEAD, SDA Bocconi, IESE Business School, HEC Paris, McCombs, and Tepper, plus other programs inside the global top 30.

 

My work covers the full MBA application deliverable: career planning and profile evaluation, application essay editing, recommendation letter editing, mock interviews and interview preparation, scholarship and fellowship essay editing, and cover letter editing for funding applications. Full bio with credentials and admit history is here.

 

I am the author of the Winning MBA Essay Guide, the best-selling essay guide covering M7 MBA programs. I have written and updated the guide annually since 2013, which makes the 2026 edition the thirteenth.

 

The reason I still write and edit essays every cycle: a good MBA essay carries a real applicant's voice. Writing essays for F1GMAT's Books and Editing essays weekly is how I stay calibrated to what current admissions committees respond to.

 

Contact me for school selection, career planning, essay strategy, narrative development, essay editing, interview preparation, scholarship essay editing, or guidance documents for recommendation letters.