How competitive is it to get into NYU for MS in Real Estate? Is there a hardcore GMAT score requirement as rigorous as it's MBA program?
Trending Content - Real Estate Forum
Career Resources
WSO Free Modeling Series - Now Open Through
June 30, 2026
9 Free Financial Modeling Lessons
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
+Bonus: Get 27 financial modeling templates in swipe file
+Bonus: Get 27 financial modeling templates in swipe file
High Finance Applications
Guaranteed
Get at least one offer GUARANTEED
- 1:1 support
- 92% success rate
- 2,000+ mentor network
- Unlimited Live bootcamps
- AI for resume + LinkedIn
- Networking automation tools
- HireVue simulation tool
- Full course library
- Private Slack community
- 20hrs of mocks
- + much more...
Not very competitive and you don’t need a GMAT.
And how are the career opportunities coming out of the program? Is there any promise?
Career opportunities coming out of the program are amazing. It’s a well known program in NYC. You can throw a dart at any firm and find a graduation. At my last firm my whole team went to NYU. You need to focus on your classes and networking while you are there and you’ll do fine. The opportunities, while they exist on campus for jobs, will really come from you networking while you’re in school to open up a door for an internship and graduation. The reason the program is so amazing is because it gives you a great network. You’ll learn a lot from the classes if you put in the time, but focus on your network too. Like any school, there are people who leave with great job and people who leave with not great jobs.
Not competitive at all would be an understatement. It's a joke to get in
In that case, are the career opportunities good after graduating? I come from a construction background not knowing much about RE finance.
The program is what you make of it. It's not like going to NYU Stern or M7 MBA where jobs come to you and employers actively recruit. As others have mentioned, the major benefit is that NYC is littered with NYU Schack alum and the program is well known, but there is a lot of leg work you need to put in. I've had friends from the program get into top developers such as SL Green, Tishman, RXR and other top real estate firms such as Ares/Morgan Stanley etc.. I believe in another post i saw from you, you have a construction background but want to transition into development/real estate investing? Development would be a much more feasible route since construction and development go hand in hand, just be very clear to potential employers that you are looking to do development, not project management. If you want to do real estate investing such as REPE, it is a bit of a steeper climb since you do not have any relevant experience. If this is the case, you want to learn how to financial model ASAP and being able to build cash flow models with construction drawdowns, waterfalls, sensitivity analysis etc...do NOT expect to learn anything from NYU Schack. The courses are way too basic for what REPE firms will put you through during the interview process. Regardless if you want to do development or real estate investing, I highly suggest you take night classes so that you can pursue internships during the day. This is the most effective strategy. In my opinion, the point of the program is to attain "student" status again so that you can pursue internships in real estate development/investing and use that work experience to leverage a full time job
I’ll just add a counterpoint. You will learn from the classes at NYU, but you need to put the work in to do so. If you want to get a job on the real estate finance end (lending, acquisitions, etc.), you 100% can do that. I know many many people who came in with 0 experience and left with a real estate finance and/or development job. You will just need to do the leg work - teach yourself to model, study and learn, and network network network. The people who aim to get real estate finance jobs and don’t usually strike out (in my opinion) because they never taught themselves to model and than can’t pass the interview tests. Learning to model is table stakes. Traditionally, the program has not been good at teaching students to model - though you’ll learn finance. It is apparently getting better but you’ll still need to focus on it yourself to really learn it well.
As a point of reference, I did the program. Had zero finance experience. Learned and networked. And got a real estate finance job after the program. While I was there, there was on campus recruiting which students could attend. Most of my friends in the program got their jobs via networking, however. To this day I still use my network from the program and got my current job at a top developer from my network I made at the program.
NYU MSRE is a sensitive subject on WSO since their alumni base dominate this website due to the vast alumni network driven by zero barrier entry to the program. Watch the MS coming my way if you don't believe me, and I didn't even say anything factually incorrect.
Fact is, it's a pretty good program that will teach you useful knowledge and the alum network in NYC is strong. But due to the lack of selectivity, some people are turned off by it.
But. Short answer to your question, no. You just need a pulse in order to get in.
Not sure why butthurt users keep throwing ms for us saying it's easy to get into when that is the truth especially when I am a Schack alum lol. When I applied, I didn't take the GMAT and found an old college app essay I wrote about why business school when I was applying for undergrad and tailored it toward real estate and I got in lol
It's the ego that makes them take things personally. Look, the program is easy to get in and doesn't have a 5% acceptance rate like Harvard College, but who cares. It's a solid RE program in NYC and works for some people. Just accept the truth and move on.
I’ll never understand why people with say 2-3 years RE experience (or even more) already enter the program. To spend $100K at that point is just crazy. If you have no RE experience and want to pivot to the industry, then I would say it’s basically a must to make the transistion.
Fair observation. You are right - a pivot would be essential and the current pricing is just too high. You can get similar degrees for half that price in the UK. But there are very experienced folks who are fully sponsored by their NYC employers (e.g. Blackrock and others; search Linkedin for examples) and require a re grad fin degree to enter more management and the senior roles. This makes good sense. Others are not sponsored and also need a graduate degree credential to climb the ranks and provided the prospective salary and benefit boost that $100k+ outlay (may) make sense. Perhaps a bit hyperbolic but there seems to be a "credential arms race" going on in RE over the last 5-7 years with a msred/msre being referenced more and more in job postings (even for analyst and associate grade roles). I don’t think this trend is going to dissipate.
I entered a similar program with 3 years of experience. Getting an MSRE/D will expose you to areas that you don't touch day to day, since it covers equity, debt, and development. I'd think there are very few positions where you would have that total exposure only 3 years into your career.
You also get to hone your current skill, ask more detailed questions, and take a leading role in grad school. Nevermind it adds to your resume.
It covers the basics, so real world experience should be more valuable and difficult. Although, you will get an education that generally covers everything and you will be more well rounded. You may not absolutely need it, but if you put in the work, it should open doors for you.
That being said, I didn't go to NYU because I wasn't going to pay that price when I could get a similar education cheaper.
Proud alum of the Schack MSRE program. If you can't get in, you're doing something wrong.
Voluptate molestias cumque autem saepe inventore necessitatibus sit ipsam. Laudantium occaecati ea rerum doloribus. Incidunt assumenda aliquam aliquam quam non provident accusantium. Aliquam voluptas cum magnam quos libero a vel. Ipsam recusandae sed earum magnam excepturi rerum. Nesciunt expedita omnis saepe fugiat totam. Autem debitis quaerat velit cum veritatis.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...