Columbia Business School (CBS) and New York University’s Stern School of Business (NYU Stern) have something special in common, and it sets them apart from other business schools across the United States and globally—their New York City (NYC) location! Both programs benefit from being on the island of Manhattan, which makes connecting with alumni and recruiters much easier for their MBA students. Being in the heart of NYC also means that industry leaders can readily serve as adjunct professors and on-campus speakers, and that students can bolster their resumes with a variety of in-semester internships that might not be available in any other city.
CBS and NYU Stern both have a strong focus on finance, and their students often hail from similar backgrounds, share common experiences, and target the same post-MBA goals. But not everything about these two schools stacks up so similarly. In this post, we will walk you through some of the programs’ main similarities and differences.
To get into either CBS or NYU Stern, you need strong stats. The average GPA for the schools’ students comes in at roughly 3.6, and the average GMAT score hovers at approximately 730. Both programs accept the GRE and the Executive Assessment (EA), in addition to the GMAT. NYU Stern is a bit more forthcoming about how many students take each test. For its Class of 2025, 45% submitted GMAT scores, 22% submitted GRE scores, and 14% submitted EA scores. The remaining 19% of students fell into the “other circumstances” category, most likely having pursued a test waiver.
As for application numbers and class sizes, CBS received more than 6,000 applications for the Class of 2024, and 850 students enrolled across its September and January entry dates, combined. NYU Stern had 3,500 applicants and enrolled 320 students. At CBS, the most common undergrad major was business, claimed by 33% of students, followed by economics (20%) and engineering (16%). Of NYU Stern’s Class of 2024, 27% came with a combined engineering, math, and science major, and 27% with a business degree—accounting for a combined total of 54% of the class.
Approximately one-quarter of the incoming students at both schools worked in financial services before starting their MBA, with the second most common pre-MBA industry being consulting, though only 12% of students at NYU Stern worked in consulting, versus 22% at CBS. The rest of the incoming class at both schools represents a wide range of industries, showing that the programs are looking for diversity in their applicants’ backgrounds and experiences.
At CBS and NYU Stern alike, nearly one-half of the incoming class is made up of women, and both programs are very focused on having strong international representation. At CBS, 51% of the Class of 2024 is international, compared to 44% at NYU Stern. These schools have prioritized including a diversity, equity, and inclusion focus in their curricula, and both support The Consortium, an admissions organization with the goal of enhancing diversity at U.S. MBA programs and in business.
As for recruiting, finance and consulting top the employment lists at both schools. In fact, roughly one-third of students go into each of these industries. But when you dig into the numbers, some differentiators appear. For instance, more NYU Stern students tend to enter investment banking; approximately 27% of NYU Stern’s Class of 2023 did so, compared with approximately 17% at CBS. However, with respect to prestige jobs in private equity, less than 1% of NYU Stern’s 2023 graduates entered that field, compared with roughly 5% of CBS’s.
Both CBS and NYU Stern have their unique points, too. CBS’s January intake, also known as J-Term, allows students to start their studies at the beginning of the spring semester, continue taking classes over summer semester, and then go right into their second year. This accelerated program best suits individuals who do not need a summer internship to help them reach their post-MBA goals. Many J-Term students come from family businesses and tend to be older and more experienced than students in the school’s September intake. J-Term has a large international population, as well. CBS’s Family Business Program is also notable, bringing together students who plan to work in their family businesses after graduating and offering related clubs and specialized coursework. In addition, CBS attracts students who are interested in careers in retail and luxury goods as well as in media; strong career-focused clubs connect students to the plethora of companies in these industries in NYC.
Meanwhile, NYU Stern offers several accelerated MBA programs. Its Fashion and Luxury MBA is a one-year program, running continuously from May of one year to May of the next, in which students complete 52 credits. These include a general business–focused core, courses focused specifically on the fashion and luxury goods industries, experiential learning opportunities, and related electives. Similar in structure is Stern’s Andre Koo Tech MBA, which is also one year in length and includes a winter term that students complete on the West Coast of the United States. Like CBS, NYU Stern offers a strong roster of courses in media and entertainment and has ties to the many powerhouse media companies located in NYC.
Overall, CBS and NYU Stern share the terrific advantage of their NYC location. Students who want their MBA experience to extend into this global business hub will find plenty of offerings both on campus and off.
If you are interested in learning more, we offer “Learning about” modules for both CBS and NYU Stern, as well as many other MBA programs, in onTrack by mbaMission, our on-demand and highly customizable admissions course. We go deep into the reasons someone might opt to attend the different schools, the reasons someone might not attend them, their curricula, their career opportunities, and a number of school-specific special topics. These onTrack modules can also facilitate your essay writing, short-answer strategy, interview preparation, and other important application tasks.
