The ask in this essay is clear – the school wants to know what your goals are and how an MBA would help you in achieving them. Even though the prompt doesn’t specifically ask “Why Stern”, it is somewhat implicit in the question, and while explaining how an MBA will achieve your goals, it will be a good idea to blend it with “MBA at Stern”.

For the goals part of the essay, remember to be realistic and keep at least the short-term goal very achievable and practical. While it is okay to be more ambitious with your long-term goals, it will be important to present them keeping your short-term plans in perspective. After exploring your goals, discuss why an MBA makes sense for you at this point in your career. It could be a combination of reasons including, but not limited to, honing your range of skills, developing a diverse network, learning about new (and relevant) areas of business, gaining expertise in specific business functions etc. This is also the space to talk about the specific opportunities or resources available at Stern that will help you in achieving your professional goals.

One of the most creative essays in this year’s application cycle, the “pick six” prompt is made for the millennials.

The world is becoming more visual with each passing day and images are used as a communication tool as much as words. In this spirit, Stern introduced a new “pick six” essay format last year and given the fact that the essay remains unchanged this year too demonstrates that the school is happy with the responses it has been receiving.

Non-traditional essays have a way of inducing panic in the hearts of aspirants – especially if you are not the creative type. The important thing to remember in this case is that the school is not looking particularly for great visual projects. They are instead looking for authenticity and an honest expression. You can use any type of image here – personal photos, stock photos, infographics, word clouds, graphs, charts etc., so the possibilities are endless.

In terms of content too, you can take one of many approaches. These images can represent different aspects of your personality, your different interests, your life progression or your dreams and aspirations. Ideally, each one of these images will reveal something new about you to the admissions committee. Think closely about the captions for these images and make sure that the narrative you build is coherent and interesting. The 3-sentence Introduction may present the overall theme and reason behind your choices, whereas the 1-sentence Caption can help corelate the picture with what you want to communicate about yourself.