stanford gsb application essay

2024-2025 Stanford MBA Essay Tips and Example Essays

Jun 24, 2024

• Who is Stanford GSB looking for?
• How should I answer the Stanford essay questions?
• Essay Length
• Make sure you get into Stanford GSB

UPDATE : This article was originally posted on August 20, 2018. It has been updated with new information and tips below. 

With a mission to “ to create ideas that deepen and advance our understanding of management and with those ideas to develop innovative, principled, and insightful leaders who change the world ,” Stanford Graduate School of Business is at the top of many applicants’ list of dream schools.  

However, with increasing competition over the small number of spots at this haven for innovative thinkers, securing a place at Stanford is more challenging than ever. 

That’s why we’ve prepared this guide to help you use your Stanford GSB admissions essays to stand out . We’ve rounded up our best tips and links to Stanford MBA sample essays to ensure you give your Stanford application your best shot. 

1. Who is Stanford GSB looking for?

“At Stanford, we strive to ensure that a diversity of cultures, races and ethnicities, genders, political and religious beliefs, physical and learning differences, sexual orientations and identities is thriving on campus. Such diversity will inspire new angles of inquiry, new modes of analysis, new discoveries and new solutions … Our diversity ensures our strength as an intellectual community. In today’s world, diversity represents the key to excellence and achievement.” – Persis Drell, Provost, Stanford University

Every year, Stanford GSB’s admissions team selects around 400 students from over 6,000 applications for the honor of joining their prestigious MBA program. Though what “fits” at Stanford is constantly evolving, they do tend to admit slightly younger applicants (with an average of 5.0 years of work experience). Stanford also works hard to admit a highly diverse group of students. 

Applicants offered admission also tend to have outstanding GMAT scores (the average for the Class of 2025 was 738) or exceptional GRE scores (the average for the Class of 2025 was 164Q and 164V) .  

Nonetheless, that does not mean that Stanford looks simply for good test-takers. Instead, they want a talented, principled group of leaders who will use business to positively impact the world. 

According to Stanford’s Admissions team: 

If this sounds like a community in which you’d be right at home, you’ll first have to prove you’ve got what it takes by successfully answering Stanford’s open-ended admissions essay questions. 

2. How should I answer the Stanford essay questions?

Writing any admissions essay is a tough task , however, Stanford raises the bar when it comes to presenting a highly challenging yet open-ended prompt. 

According to Stanford, here’s what they want to see in your admissions essays. 

Keep reading for a more in-depth look at how to turn this rather open-ended task into a standout essay! 

2.1. Essay A

Essay a: what matters most to you, and why.

For this essay, we would like you to reflect deeply and write from the heart. Once you’ve identified what matters most to you, help us understand why. You might consider, for example, what makes this so important to you? What people, insights, or experiences have shaped your perspectives?

Like most excellent admissions essays, this essay begins with in-depth brainstorming. 

Questions like “What matters most to you” are not questions we commonly ask ourselves on a daily basis, so the answer might not be readily apparent to you. 

During this brainstorming period, you should focus on retroactively connecting the dots and thinking about the future. What moments in your life did you feel most engaged or fulfilled? Have you overcome any challenges that marked your identity? What are your values ?

Regardless of which topic you choose, make sure it is genuine and that you can point to specific moments in your life during which you have acted on this value. This is not a purely philosophical essay in which you examine a core value. Instead, it is a picture of your motivations, intentions, and lessons as you have navigated your life’s many ups and downs. As I always tell clients, if you argue that what matters most to you is sustainability but you can’t provide a single example of acting to make your company or community more sustainable, perhaps you should go back to the drawing board or consider how to tweak your examples to tell a clearer, more compelling story.

If you’re having trouble getting started, or aren’t sure you’ve really identified the right path forward, family members and close friends can be an excellent resource to help you zero in on the best topic.

After you choose your theme, you must go about supporting it . This does not mean you should simply copy/paste examples from other essays. This simply won’t work for Stanford. 

Instead, carefully consider times when you clearly acted upon the core value you’ve presented. For example, if you state that being an independent thinker is what matters most, describe a time in your life when you went against the grain — and it paid off. 

In writing your examples, be sure not to lose your theme, as this essay must be a coherent exploration of how your life has centered around what matters most to you. 

TOP TIP : Striking upon a core value that GSB has never heard of before is almost impossible. The admissions committee has read thousands upon thousands of essays. Instead of standing out by choosing a unique (but perhaps under-supported) theme, choose the theme that genuinely demonstrates what you’re all about .

Lastly, be sure to make sure the essay includes you and your personality . The key to this is what we call voice . To help you demonstrate your voice, we suggest you keep the following tips in mind:

• While writing, imagine you were explaining what matters most to you to a good friend or family member. How would you explain it to them? Which words would you use?
• Explain the feelings and emotions you experienced during the events you are describing.
• Think about the tone you want to write in and how it reflects how you feel or felt about the experience you describe.
• Use sensory descriptors like how specific environments, events, people, or objects looked, smelled, tasted, felt, or sounded.
• It’s okay to use informal language (e.g. contractions, slang, exclamations, etc.) in this essay to reinforce your voice! While this is a formal essay, these elements are often a welcome addition.

2.2. Essay B

Essay b: why stanford.

Describe your aspirations and how your Stanford GSB experience will help you realize them. If you are applying to both the MBA and MSx programs, use Essay B to address your interest in both programs.

This question is essentially a goals essay , a common type of essay required of applicants at many elite business schools. 

In this essay, you have a big task. In around 350 words, you need to discuss:

• Any context from your past experience that helps underline your motivation for your goals
• Your specific-post MBA goals
• Why you believe an MBA is necessary to reach these goals
• How a Stanford MBA will help you reach these goals

Each of these elements must be included and must build off of each other.

We suggest beginning your essay with a hook or experience from your past that demonstrates your motivation or past experience with your target industry. For example, if you are looking to go into developing green technologies, you could write about your country’s current green energy capacity; your first experience with sustainability as a teenager; a past work project focused on applying technology effectively; or your experience with sustainable business practices. As long as the story underlines why you care about your goals, it can work as an effective introduction to your essay.

Second of all, many candidates think they do not need to specifically state their goals, or that it’s better to leave “their options open.” If you are applying to elite business schools, however, you must have and present absolutely clarity about your goals. 

Second, you should clearly demonstrate why you need an MBA . 

An MBA is not a catch-all degree that serves a purpose for all career paths. As such, you need to demonstrate that the goals you have set for yourself require the additional training an MBA can provide. 

Be thoughtful about this particular section. If you don’t need to improve in any meaningful way, you might be presenting the argument the admissions committee needs for why you can’t actually benefit from an MBA. 

Furthermore, if you show fluffy or unsupported reasons you need to hone your skills, you’ll also likely see your application tossed aside in favor of an applicant who was able to clearly demonstrate how they plan to leverage their time at business school. 

Third, show how Stanford can specifically help you grow in the areas you’ve identified. Mentioning that you want to go to Stanford because of its ranking or sunny California location will not cut it here. 

Instead, show that you understand the flexibility of Stanford’s curriculum and have done significant, thoughtful research into how the opportunities both inside and outside of the classroom can help you grow. You should also definitely mention how you can contribute to the community. 

Unlike other goals essays, however, you should also keep the theme you’ve presented in your first essay in mind. If you write a goals essay that is completely at odds with what you’ve shown is most important to you in life in your first essay, this inconsistency will likely end your Stanford application journey. However, it is okay if they are not explicitly related.

Finally, if you are applying for the Stanford MSx program , you are given an additional 50 words to also discuss your interest in this particular program. 

2.3. Optional Essays

In addition to the two main essays, Stanford also has four optional short essays. These essays give you additional space to show off different elements of your profile and highlight areas you might not have been able to include in your What Matters Most and Why Stanford essays. 

2.3.1 Optional Impact Essays

Question: Think about a time in the last few years when you’ve created a positive impact, whether in professional, extracurricular, academic, or other settings. What was your impact? What made it significant to you or to others?

If you would like to discuss your contributions more fully, this section is the place to do so. Perhaps you would like to expand upon a bullet item from your resume and tell us more about the “how” or “why” behind the “what.” Or maybe you have had an impact in a way that doesn’t fit neatly in another part of the application. You are welcome to share up to three examples (up to 1,200 characters, or approximately 200 words, for each example).

Though these responses are technically optional, we highly suggest using this space to highlight professional or extracurricular achievements that you may not have been able to address in your What Matters Most essay. In particular, try to show a variety of achievements that complement your stories in other parts of your application and work to include stories with clear outcomes. 

2.3.2 Additional Context Essay

Additional Context: We know that each person is more than a list of facts or pre-defined categories. With this question, we provide you with an optional opportunity to elaborate on how your background or life experiences have helped shape your recent actions or choices. (1,200 characters) 

Stanford GSB values applicants who can contribute to its greater community and the educational experience for all. This question tests how prepared, willing, and capable you are to draw on what you’ve experienced thus far in life to contribute to a project, class discussion, or community or interpersonal challenge. For that reason, it’s important to keep in mind that they are not asking you to show a time when you offered input — instead, they want to see when something about your personal or professional background proved to be the key to winning the day. 

For example, one of our clients, Fabrizio, had a brother who had been unemployed for a long period of time, and he personally witnessed how demoralizing the lack of support he received during this period was. Then, when tasked with working on a workforce transition project at his consulting firm, he made sure to design initiatives that took into consideration how layoffs affect real people. In your essay, similarly look for a time when your previous experience or core values inspired you to take action. 

Keep in mind you must limit yourself to 1,200 characters including spaces . 

2.3.3 Additional Information Essay

Additional Information: We are deliberate in the questions we ask. We believe that we get to know you well through all of the elements of your application. Complete this section only if you have critical information you could not convey elsewhere on your application (e.g., extenuating circumstances affecting academic or work performance). This section should not be used as an additional essay. (1,200 characters

Stanford, like most top business schools, gives you space to explain any gaps or weaknesses in your profile. This should not be a place to discuss why Stanford should admit you, who you know from Stanford, or who you know from Stanford. It most certainly should not be a continuation of your Why Stanford essay. 

Furthermore, just because there is no stated word limit does not mean you should write more than is absolutely necessary here. In my opinion, if you’re writing more than 200 words you might want to revisit your essay to ensure every part is needed. 

If you’d like to learn more about what topics justify an optional essay – and how to write these essays – check out our post on the topic here . 

3. Essay Length (Essays A and B)

Your answers for both essays A and B combined may not exceed 1,000 words.

Each of you has your own story to tell, so please allocate these words between the essays in the way that is most effective for you. In our experience, the recommended 650/350 word length suggestions works very well. 

Looking for Stanford GSB MBA essay examples? Check out our real sample essays that got our clients admitted here .

4. Make sure you get into Stanford GSB

One of the most common mistakes we see in MBA essays is that candidates fail to tell compelling stories . This is important because if your stories are not compelling, they will not be persuasive. At the same time, they must be backed by strong examples that establish a track record of success and prove to the admissions committees why you belong at their school. 

Striking this balance between content and creativity can be tough, however, as succeeding means not only choosing the right stories but ensuring they are told in an optimal manner. 

This is why our iterative developmental feedback process here at Ellin Lolis Consulting helps you mold your message through the application of our storytelling expertise until it reflects exactly what makes your profile stand out and show fit with your target program. 

That’s the approach we took with Giulia, who was admitted to Stanford. In her words, “I will never forget when I told Ellin I wasn’t applying for my dream school because I was sure I wouldn’t be accepted. She encouraged me to apply, and in the end, I was accepted. 

The team is so well prepared to help the applicants with their specific needs. Above all, I felt I invested in mentoring and coaching, more than just help with the MBA process. Ellin and her team balanced perfectly dreaming with having my feet on the ground!”

Not only can you take advantage of our editing expertise through multiple edits – you can also benefit from it after a single review! If your budget is tight, our editors will be happy to help polish your text as much as possible and leave “bonus comments” so you can keep working on it on your own!

No matter how long we work with you, we will always ensure your essays shine . Sign up to work with our team of storytelling experts and get accepted.

5. Deadlines

Here are the 2024-2025 deadlines. You can access the online application here .

Stanford Round 1 Deadlines

Application Deadline : September 10, 2024

Interview Notification : Ongoing

Decisions Released : December 5, 2024

Stanford Round 2 Deadlines

Application Deadline : January 8, 2025

Decisions Released : April 3, 2025

Stanford Round 3 Deadlines

Application Deadline : April 8, 2025

Decisions Released : May 29, 2025

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Stanford GSB MBA Application Essay Tips and Deadlines [2024 – 2025], Class Profile

In this post, we provide guidance and information to support you in creating and submitting your application to the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB):

Stanford GSB application essay tips

Stanford gsb application deadlines, stanford gsb class profile, essay a: what matters most to you, and why.

For this essay, we would like you to reflect deeply and write from the heart. Once you’ve identified what matters most to you, please help us understand why. You might consider, for example, what makes this so important to you. What people, insights, or experiences have shaped your perspectives?

The Stanford GSB’s tried and true essay question “What matters most to you and why?” is one of the most challenging MBA application prompts to respond to (so start early). Unlike most MBA essays, Stanford’s is not about describing your accomplishments, even if “achievement” is what you value most. It is not about highlighting your career, even if “ambition” matters most to you. It is not about revealing your “humble beginnings,” even if your childhood is the stuff about which memoirs are written. The school’s primary essay is about what you value most and, more importantly, why it matters most to you. It requires a level of maturity and introspection that only such a question as this can demand. It gives Stanford insights into who you are and what you can bring to the GSB beyond your academics background, professional accomplishments, and personal attributes. 

So, where do you start? Start with the “what.” Ask yourself, “For what would I walk over hot coals?” Still stuck? Review lists of values that resonate with you. Is it peace, relationships, health, creativity, compassion, expression? The lists go on and on, and you should not worry about being cliché with your “what,” because your why will be unique to you and how you have lived your life.

Moreover, you can choose something symbolic to help you tell your story. I often talk about a ring my mother gave me. The ring is precious to me because of what it represents and how it has motivated me to make the choices I have made. It is a symbol of an unbreakable mother-daughter bond. 

Where do you go after identifying your “what matters most”? Remember that your “why” is more important than your “what.” You need to explain why the values you highlight are essential to you. The best way to illustrate your “why” is by providing specific examples of how these values have shaped your life. Refrain from offering career examples, because you can state your achievements in the optional “impact” essays, resume, and application form. Your recommenders should be writing about your career achievements as well. If your values only motivate you for work, then these values are likely ones that don’t truly matter most to you, despite your spending 60-100 hours per week working.  

• State the value that matters most to you.
• Explain why this value is essential to you.
• Provide specific examples (anecdotes) that illustrate how the value has shaped your life.
• Discuss how your value has influenced your decisions and actions.
• Explain why you are better off by having this value drive you.

The essay requires a level of honesty and authenticity that few others demand. Be specific and concise. The admissions committee wants to get to know the real you, so don’t be afraid to share your personal stories and experiences. 

Essay B: Why Stanford?

Describe your aspirations and how your Stanford GSB experience will help you realize them. If you are applying to both the MBA and MSx programs, use Essay B to address your interest in both programs.

Why Stanford? 

Two words pack quite a punch: why Stanford, indeed? As you approach this essay, consider that Stanford values intellectually curious individuals who can solve problems, see beyond the obvious, and connect the dots. Therefore, I suggest you begin your essay with what you hope to achieve after you graduate from the Stanford GSB. Don’t think about a role as you might with other post-MBA goals essays. Instead, consider the problems you want to solve at the organizations for which you hope to work in the future. It does not matter whether you are considering an MBB consultancy, a Fortune 100 behemoth, a small start-up, a large private equity firm, a midsize family business, or a nonprofit organization. Focus on identifying the problems you can solve with your current skill set and the knowledge you will gain at Stanford.

Next, address the crux of the essay: Why Stanford? Note that the question is not “Why the GSB?” It is “Why Stanford?” While you want most of your essay to be about how the GSB can help you achieve your aspirations, consider how other parts of Stanford can add value to your education. And please don’t state the obvious. Resist the temptation to lift your information directly from the school’s website. The admissions committee already knows that Stanford’s location is perfect for entrepreneurship, tech, and venture capital. They already know they are highly selective and, therefore, highly ranked. They already know the Stanford brand resonates worldwide — they communicated all this to you in their marketing materials. Instead, think about the resources, opportunities, and community Stanford can offer you that will enable you to reach your unique goals. Why does this program make sense for you?

Finally, you will want to discuss how you will contribute to the Stanford GSB community. How will you make a difference at Stanford? What unique skills and experiences do you bring to the table? Why will your peers benefit from having you as a member of their class? 

With only 1,000 words to use for Essay A (What matters most?) and B (Why Stanford?) together, you need to understand yourself, your goals, what  offers, and your unique value proposition to the Stanford community before tackling this essay. Stanford recommends dedicating up to 650 words for Essay A and 350 for Essay B. With this suggestion, the admissions committee is expressing their desire to see your introspection, but you don’t need to obsess over the suggested word count; just write fewer than 1,001 words for both essays combined.

If you are applying to both the MBA and MSx programs, the school suggests that you use Essay B to discuss why you are interested in both. In your essay, you will want to clearly spell out your reasons for applying to both programs and explain how you believe each one will help you achieve your goals. Also, if you strongly prefer one program over the other, you should express this in your essay.

Additional Context 

We know that each person is more than a list of facts or pre-defined categories. With this space, we provide you with an optional opportunity to elaborate on how your background or life experiences have helped shape your recent actions or choices. (1,200 characters)

Some applicants overlook this question, because Stanford tucks it within the Personal Information section of the application. Reflect on all the drop-downs menus you clicked on, and consider this mini essay a kind of bookend to Essay A, in which you discussed what matters most and why your values are what they are. For this essay, you need to consider how your identity and the uniqueness you bring to the table motivate your actions. Consider cultural upbringing, education, abilities, and life experiences. How have these factors influenced how you view the world? How has your identity – that core of who you are, that core of most significant influences and experiences – expressed itself in your recent actions? This essay is about getting to know you and what motivates you.

Given that you have only a meager 1,200 characters, select one factor that drives your decisions. Then, describe the action. Your action is the evidence you will use to support how and why that factor motivates you. For example, my life was heavily influenced by being the daughter of immigrants and a first-generation college student. It drove the overachiever in me. That background influences every action I take, from preparing clients for their GSB interview to advocating for the rights of disabled and infirm people. That identity is how I tell my story. Now, how will you tell yours?

Optional Short-Answer Question

Think about a time in the last few years when you’ve created a positive impact, whether in professional, extracurricular, academic, or other settings. What was your impact? What made it significant to you or to others? (1,200 characters)

Why does Stanford have optional essays? The school offers these impact essays because too many applicants tried to squeeze their accomplishments into their “what matters most essay.” If you are tempted to write about your achievements in that essay, stop. Then, cut and paste that information here instead. Now you have a space where you can highlight activities and describe your impact on work, extracurriculars, community service, family, or anything else. 

The best approach to writing an impact essay is to use a CAR or STAR with an added Sig (significance) framework. Select each impact to show some variety in your life (in other words, don’t draw all three examples from your daily work).

C = Challenge (What challenge did you face?)

A = Action (How did you address the challenge? What specific steps did you take?)

R = Result (What was the outcome? Quantify the outcome, if possible. Did you increase revenues? Did you decrease costs? Did you increase membership? Did you minimize the danger? If so, by how much?)

Sig = Significance (Why was this important to you? What did it mean for others in your life?)

S = Situation (What background must you describe for the reader to understand your example?)

T = Task (What was your goal?)

A = Action (What steps did you take to achieve your goal?)

R = Result (What was the outcome? Did you achieve the goal? Did you surpass the goal. If so, by how much?)

Sig = Significance (Why was this important to you? What did it mean for others?)

These frameworks will work for any behavioral question that an admissions committee or interviewers asks you. They will help you stay on point, so use them. Finally, be succinct, because the 1,200-character allotment includes spaces. 

Additional Information

We are deliberate in the questions we ask. We believe that we get to know you well through all of the elements of your application. Complete this section only if you have critical information you could not convey elsewhere on your application (e.g., extenuating circumstances affecting academic or work performance). This section should not be used as an additional essay. (1,200 characters)

Additional information “essays” exist so that you don’t have to make the admissions committee guess about any of the following scenarios:

• You had terrible grades your first year of university when your parent became ill, and you flew back and forth to care for your parent, or you worked 30 hours a week to make ends meet.
• You received a subpar GMAT or GRE score because you are not a strong test-taker and can prove it with your inadequate ACT or SAT score and your 4.0 GPA or because you were initially premed and realized after volunteering at a hospital that medicine was not your thing.
• You did not ask an immediate supervisor to recommend you because you have only been with the company for a short time, they do not know you well, or doing so could lead to losing your job.

Stanford also suggests that you use this section to discuss any academic research, because they do not want to see it on your one-page resume.

Additional information does not mean you should add an essay you wrote for another school. Feel free to bullet your reasons, making the section easier to read. If you have many bullets, you might have too many excuses, and many schools, including Stanford, could be a long shot for you.

Finally, no matter what your aspirations are, the Stanford MBA program can help you achieve them.

Your completed application, including your  and , is due at 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time on the deadline date for the round in which you apply.

Source: Stanford GSB website

***Disclaimer: Information is subject to change. Please check with the Stanford GSB to verify its essay questions, instructions, and deadlines.***

Here’s a look at the Stanford GSB’s Class of 2025 (data taken from the Stanford GSB website ):

Applicants: 6,190

New students: 431

U.S. students of color: 50%

International students: 36%

Countries represented: 55

Languages spoken: 53

U.S. students & Permanent Residents (Federal Guidelines)

• White (including Middle Eastern): 47%
• Asian (including Indian subcontinent and Philippines): 24%
• Hispanic/Latino: 12%
• Black or African American (including Africa and Caribbean): 8%
• Multi-race: 7%
• Declined to identify: 3%
• American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Other Pacific Islander: 0%

Undergraduate Degrees

• Engineering: 26%
• Economics: 21%
• Business/Commerce: 20%
• Math/Sciences: 15%
• Social Sciences: 13%
• Arts/Humanities: 5%

Average GPA: 3.77

First-generation college graduate: 11%

Hold advanced degrees: 17%

U.S. institutions: 82

Non-U.S. institutions: 83

Average years of work experience: 5

Industries Represented

• Investment Management/Private Equity/Venture Capital: 19%
• Consulting: 17%
• Technology: 13%
• Government/Education/Nonprofit: 10%
• Consumer Products & Services: 9%
• Healthcare: 7%
• Financial Services: 5%
• Military: 5%
• Arts/Media/Entertainment: 4%
• Cleantech/Energy/Environmental: 4%
• Manufacturing: 3%

Organizations represented: 295

Average GMAT: 738

GMAT range: 630-790

Average GRE Verbal: 164

GRE Verbal range: 149-170

Average GRE Quantitative: 164

GRE Quantitative range: 150-170

Average TOEFL: 113

TOEFL range: 104-120

Our team of MBA admissions experts includes former admissions directors, published authors, and highly experienced business school admissions consultants. We are all primed and ready to help you secure a seat at your dream school, just as we have done for thousands of clients for the past 25 years. Schedule your free consultation , and speak to an expert admissions expert!

By Natalie Grinblatt, a former admissions dean/director at three top business schools. Natalie has reviewed more than 70,000 applications, interviewed more than 2,500 candidates, and trained nearly 700 admissions directors and alumni volunteers to select outstanding candidates for admission. Her clients gain admission to top programs, including those at Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, MIT, Cornell, Columbia, Berkeley, Chicago, Northwestern, and NYU. Natalie holds an MBA from Michigan Ross. Want Natalie to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related Resources:

• M7 MBA Programs: Everything You Need to Know in 2024
• Admissions Straight Talk Podcast
• Five Tips for Applying for Stanford’s Knight-Hennessy Scholarship

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Stanford Graduate School of Business Application Essay Example

How many times have you thought about what truly matters most to you? Or what fuels your drive, or what guides your decisions above all else? There is a good chance that you have never thought deeply about your response to any of these questions. That makes the Stanford GSB’s main essay prompt—What matters most to you, and why?—surprisingly vexing. Answering it well requires a considerable amount of introspection and honesty, something we do not always give ourselves the time to do.

The following essay response to “What matters most to you, and why?”, along with its associated commentary, is one of fifty essays featured in  “What Matters?” and “What More?”: 50 Successful Essays for the Stanford GSB and HBS (and Why They Worked) ,  a book co-authored by our firm’s founder,  Liza Weale .

We have selected Jules’ essay to share here because it captures the reflection and authenticity that can make for a successful GSB essay, at least according to the Stanford GSB admissions committee! We also like the essay because of the absence of any single incredible story. Too often, people assume that the only people accepted by into GSB’s MBA program are those who are running a unicorn start-up or are, as the saying goes, “saving the world.” Yet, even more relatable stories can reveal a tremendously inspiring person worthy of attending the GSB!

Stand by Me, Stand by You – Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) Application Essay Written by Jules, GSB MBA

Pre-reading commentary from liza weale, founder of gatehouse admissions:.

Jules is a reapplicant to the Stanford GSB. Reapplicants have different strategies they can choose from for their new essay submission, and we reached out to Jules to learn how similar this essay was to the first one she submitted. She shared that in her first GSB application, she had focused on relaying what she wanted the GSB to know about her. Afterward, she realized that she had never actually answered the school’s question (for herself or for the admissions committee), and although she had presented a robust, multidimensional picture of who she was, her essay lacked the singular thrust the prompt demands. This time, rather than trying to control how the school might perceive her, she simply answered the question truthfully and sincerely. Kudos to Jules for recognizing the importance of being authentic in her essay!

In the essay, Jules makes no mention of her earlier application. Instead, she discusses three disparate situations—a classmate’s suicide, a difficult sibling relationship, and a company reorganization—and links them via what matters most to her: relationships. Her essay also conveys a strong sense of discovery and reflection, and each challenge better equips her for the next. Another thing Jules does well is openly admit her shortcomings (notably, her impatience with her brother). As we have said before and will undoubtedly say again, business schools are not expecting, or even seeking, perfection. Jules references her impatience matter-of-factly, with no sense of defensiveness or dramatization, thereby earning the reader’s compassion.

Some applicants might think Jules had the “good fortune” of finding herself in what was surely a very difficult work situation, rife with opportunities to demonstrate commitment, integrity, and empathy. Yet BigBoxCo would not likely have put Jules in the middle of this reorganization had she not already displayed these traits. Throughout her essay, Jules’s actions clearly underscore who she is, ultimately giving the GSB admissions committee compelling and sufficient evidence of its desired Demonstrated Leadership Potential.

What matters most to you, and why?

Stand by Me, Stand by You (written by Jules, GSB MBA)

My cell rings. Victoria. One of my co-mentors to a group of high school underclassmen. “Hi… I think you should sit down for this.” Victoria pauses, “Amit killed himself tonight.” [1]

Amit was one of our 40 freshmen mentees. A few times a week, we’d bring the mentees together, as one or in smaller groups, to provide a “safe space” in the school’s high-pressure environment. I’d only been involved in the program 9 months, but it had become integral to my high school experience.

The news of Amit’s suicide rocked me, and my grieving was intense. The school’s guidance counselors reached out, as did friends and family, but I didn’t know how to accept their help. The only people who I felt understood were other members of our group. With them, I could share my feelings of disbelief and guilt and listen to theirs. We used each other to figure out how to grieve and accept what happened. But we also channeled our pain towards action, organizing a Suicide Prevention gathering, visiting Amit’s family, and creating a field day to inspire some happiness.

These relationships saved me, and saved us, and while it took time, I ultimately got through the worst of this period. I was left with a profound appreciation for the power of relationships. I also gained resolve to fix an important one that I’d let languish.

My twin brother Johnny struggled with depression for much of my childhood. Anything set him off, resulting in hours of hysteria and cries for attention. I tried not to upset him, which essentially meant not interacting at all. In fact, Johnny was why I’d begun mentoring: I felt disconnected from him and ill-equipped to help, so I latched onto mentoring in school to build relationships and have an impact.

But after I’d processed much of my grieving for Amit, I started reevaluating my approach with Johnny. I realized I was angry at Johnny for the state of our relationship without taking any responsibility myself. I’d never tried to understand the reasons behind his outbursts and instead assumed ill-intent. I also realized I had never been upfront with him about how his actions impacted me.

Slowly, I got more comfortable dealing with Johnny when I felt he was irrational. I also tried harder to understand his feelings, and I asked him to be honest right back. This hasn’t been easy, and even now that Johnny is in a good place, we still have to intentionally work on our interactions. [2] But it has gotten us to what I gratefully have today—a relationship that is truly one of the most meaningful in my life.

More recently, the importance of relationships again showed itself. I joined BigBoxCo shortly before the company decided to dismantle a 30-person Product Development team. The tasks would be absorbed by folks in other groups, while the 30 people would be reallocated to different areas across BigBoxCo.

Over the next 18 months, I had to maintain absolute secrecy as I documented everything I could about the processes. Without letting on the reason behind my attendance at meetings or my line of questioning, I spent significant time with people who would be impacted by the reorg. I struggled internally, wondering if I could do my job with integrity, without feeling like I was betraying these people, many of whom I called “friend.” [3] I focused on my belief that the reorg was better for the company and those affected, and I hoped my involvement in the project would help me support them once they began their new roles.

After the changes were announced and we moved into implementation, I prioritized connecting with colleagues whom I couldn’t tell about the reorg. I reached out initially to clear the air about my involvement in the project but continued reaching out when I picked up on their eagerness to ask me for advice on navigating the new structure. Throughout this period, I’ve found no one holds anything against me. Instead, many of my relationships have actually gotten stronger—my colleagues seem to trust me and appreciate how committed I am to their success.

To this day I grieve for Amit and mourn the fact that I couldn’t help him more. But, I take solace in the fact that, since his death, I have realized what matters most to me: that I have and form strong relationships. They fulfill me and give meaning to my actions, and in turn, my actions give meaning back to them. [4]

Additional Commentary from Liza:

[1] Dealing with heavy topics such as suicide in a business school essay can be challenging. Stating the situation clearly and simply, with one or two salient details, will provide enough context for the admissions reader to be able to empathize without thinking you are “playing the sympathy card” (to quote candidates who worry the admissions committee might perceive such topics negatively).

[2] Sometimes, candidates are tempted to shout from the hilltops, “Look! I fixed the issue! Just like that!” The truth, of course, is that change takes time, and because Jules admits that the relationship can sometimes still be challenging, the reader is more likely to appreciate her efforts to improve it.

[3] Jules again reveals her struggles, reassuring the reader that she is like the rest of us—human!

[4] Jules chooses to clearly state what matters most to her at the very end of her essay, but by this point, her answer is a foregone conclusion. By laying out the evidence from the start, she has more than convinced us that relationships matter most to her, and as result, she needs very few words for her conclusion.

If you would like to see more examples of successful HBS and GSB essays, you can purchase the entire guide  here .

For strategies on crafting your response to “What matters most to you, and why?”, read our Essay Analysis for the Stanford GSB .

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Tips for Your Stanford Graduate School of Business Application Essays

June 24, 2024

Melisa Prevost

Stanford GSB Application Essay Tips, 2024-2025

And then there were 1,000… The application essays for the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) are among the more expansive and demanding of those for the top MBA programs; the GSB truly wants to get to know you. With a 650-word essay that necessitates some soul-searching, 350 words on your interest in Stanford specifically, and multiple optional short answers that allow you to reveal purpose and impact, you have plenty of opportunity to paint a more complete picture of yourself that goes well beyond your grades and test scores. The GSB application gives you a chance to think holistically about your goals, your career, and how an MBA fits into those plans. 

Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? (650 words recommended)

This simply worded question often vexes applicants, but that is because many perceive that there is a “right” answer they need to provide. But Stanford is agnostic with respect to topic. For example, it is not better to write about your quest for knowledge or worse to write about your desire to have impact. What matters (those words again!) here is that you share whatever has truly been the driving force, or will be the driving force, within your life — both anecdotally and through clear personal experience. The “why” part of this question is key; dig deep and demonstrate the reasons behind your passion for whatever you say matters most to you.

The GSB admissions committee is seeking authenticity and values, but that doesn’t mean that everything needs to be sunshine. You can show that your values evolved through a failure or by finding inspiration through others’ examples. Feel free to be vulnerable in this essay — to the extent that if you left it in the printer at work, you might feel a little exposed if a colleague were to find it.

We often think of this essay as having three distinct sections, where a theme emerges, manifests through experience, and finally matures and is validated. It isn’t complete heresy to write, “What matters most to me is…” at some point in your essay, but it should be unnecessary, because the reader should fundamentally understand the point of your piece without those words being written. Either way, make sure that your theme is very clear to the reader. 

Essay B: Why Stanford? (350 words recommended)

Unlike many business schools, the GSB notably doesn’t explicitly pose the conventional “What are your goals?” question along with its “Why us?” prompt; it just asks, “Why Stanford?” However, we still think that many applicants can benefit from grounding their essay in a discussion of their goals to help contextualize their “Why Stanford?” answer.

We’d like to challenge you in this essay. What if you did not write about the popular “Touchy Feely” course (“Interpersonal Dynamics”) or “Startup Garage” course? So many applicants write about these Stanford experiences! Take a step back, connect with students or recent alumni, go beyond the program’s most popular offerings, and really dig in and share your reason for wanting to be at the Stanford GSB more than any other program. 

Do your homework! Beyond just sharing a list of programs and classes, be specific about how you might take advantage of nonacademic features of the GSB and perhaps of some broader Stanford University resources and how you would contribute to those experiences. Show that you really, fundamentally understand the culture and spirit of the program. When you write this essay, don’t be afraid to go high-minded and “big picture” if that makes sense for you. Stanford doesn’t mind dreamers as long as they are grounded in reality in some way. The GSB likes to think of itself as a place where people go to embrace world-changing ideas (check out the school’s motto), and you can paint yourself as such a person as long as you do so with sincerity. Even if you are on a conventional path, such as consulting or private equity, there can absolutely be a place for you at the GSB. You can present your shorter-term goal as a means of achieving your bigger, longer-term dream — or as just your big, long-term dream itself. Either way, whatever goals you share, you need to think carefully about how the GSB will be your catalyst and then “prove” that in your essay.  

Optional Short Answer Question

Optional question 1: think about a time in the last few years when you’ve created a positive impact, whether in professional, extracurricular, academic, or other settings. what was your impact what made it significant to you or to others (1,200 characters), if you would like to discuss your contributions more fully, this section is the place to do so. perhaps you would like to expand upon a bullet item from your resume and tell us more about the “how” or “why” behind the “what.” or maybe you have had an impact in a way that doesn’t fit neatly in another part of the application. you are welcome to share up to three examples. (up to 1,200 characters, or approximately 200 words, for each example).

Do you need to provide three examples for this prompt? The answer is basically “Yes!” unless you simply don’t have three examples of impact. The goal here is for the admissions committee to get to this point in your application, read your three stories, and say, “Wow! I can’t believe how much more there is still to learn about this applicant!” Ideally, you will share three examples that all include new information about you. What hasn’t the committee learned about your personal life, community experience, professional successes, or academic triumphs elsewhere in your application? Although you might be tempted to write three generally awesome stories about yourself, don’t lose sight of the fact that you need to discuss moments when your actions had a direct impact on others. 

Even in such a short submission, you still have room to share a full anecdote that provides sufficient color to make the experience “real” for the admissions reader. Do not just write, “My greatest moment of impact was when I….” That kind of writing is almost always boring and minimizes the reader’s suspense and attention. Instead, set the stage, present a moment of conflict, and then drive home that you were able to positively change the experience for the better. Demonstrate your impact! 

The GSB application gives you the opportunity to share multiple experiences. Take the time to be strategic and think what stories you want to share across the essays. Be strategic in how you approach each essay, and be sure to not be redundant by sharing the same story in multiple areas of the application.

In Stratus Admissions’ How to Get into Stanford Graduate School of Business , you will find information on a variety of the MBA program’s offerings, such as the Startup Garage, “Interpersonal Dynamics” class, Global Management Immersion Experience, and the MBA Challenge for Charity. 

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Stanford GSB MBA Essays: Prompts, Tips, & Examples

Craft compelling Stanford GSB MBA essays with our expert prompts, tips, and real-life examples.

Posted August 14, 2024

Featuring Matt P.

Planning Your MBA Application

Starting friday, september 6.

12:00 AM UTC · 45 minutes

Table of Contents

Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) is renowned for its rigorous and selective MBA program. As part of the application process, prospective students are required to submit essays that provide insights into their personal and professional backgrounds, as well as their aspirations. In this article, we will delve into the importance of Stanford GSB MBA essays , analyze the essay prompts, offer valuable tips for writing effective essays, and discuss common mistakes to avoid. Lastly, we will emphasize the significance of a final review and provide guidance on seeking feedback. Let's begin!

Stanford GSB MBA Essays Overview

Stanford GSB MBA essays provide a broader context for evaluating applicants by offering additional insights into their motivations, values, and goals. Admissions committees carefully review these essays to better understand an applicant's fit with the program, as well as their potential impact on the Stanford GSB community. Essays allow candidates to present their unique perspectives and highlight experiences that might not be evident through other parts of the application.

For example, imagine a candidate who has a strong academic background and impressive professional achievements. While these accomplishments are certainly noteworthy, they may not fully capture the candidate's personal journey, challenges faced, or the values that drive them. Essays provide an avenue for applicants to delve deeper into their stories, offering a more holistic view of their character and potential.

Moreover, essays give applicants the opportunity to demonstrate their writing skills , critical thinking abilities, and their capacity to articulate complex ideas. These are essential skills for success in business school and beyond. Admissions committees are not only interested in the content of the essays but also in the way candidates present their thoughts and ideas.

Essays play a crucial role in the Stanford GSB MBA application process. They offer applicants a unique opportunity to showcase their experiences, values, and aspirations to the admissions committee. Through essays, candidates can make a compelling case for their admission, supplementing the quantitative information present in their application form. Therefore, investing time and effort into crafting exceptional essays is of utmost importance.

What Stanford GSB Looks for in Essays

When evaluating essays, Stanford GSB seeks to assess an applicant's intellectual vitality, demonstrated leadership potential, and personal qualities such as authenticity and self-awareness. Admissions officers also explore how candidates have transformed their experiences into valuable insights, showcasing their ability to contribute meaningfully to the MBA cohort.

Intellectual vitality is a key aspect that Stanford GSB looks for in essays. The program values candidates who have a curiosity for learning, a passion for exploring new ideas, and a willingness to challenge the status quo. Through their essays, applicants have the opportunity to demonstrate their intellectual curiosity by discussing their academic pursuits, research interests, or innovative solutions to real-world problems.

Leadership potential is another important criterion that Stanford GSB evaluates in essays. The program seeks candidates who have the ability to inspire and motivate others, to navigate complex situations, and to make a positive impact on their organizations and communities. Essays provide a platform for applicants to showcase their leadership experiences, highlighting instances where they have taken initiative, influenced others, or led teams to achieve significant results.

Authenticity and self-awareness are highly valued qualities at Stanford GSB. Admissions officers are interested in understanding the genuine motivations and values that drive applicants. Through their essays, candidates can share personal anecdotes, reflect on their experiences, and provide insights into their core beliefs and principles. This level of self-awareness not only helps the admissions committee assess an applicant's fit with the program but also enables candidates to present a more authentic and compelling narrative.

In conclusion, Stanford GSB MBA essays play a vital role in the application process. They provide applicants with an opportunity to go beyond their academic and professional achievements, allowing them to present a more holistic view of their character, motivations, and potential. By investing time and effort into crafting exceptional essays, candidates can effectively communicate their unique perspectives and experiences, increasing their chances of securing admission to the Stanford GSB MBA program.

Breaking Down the Stanford GSB MBA Essay Prompts

Stanford GSB provides applicants with a set of essay prompts, designed to elicit thoughtful and reflective responses. Let's analyze each prompt to understand what the admissions committee is looking for:

Analyzing Each Prompt

1. Prompt 1: "What matters most to you, and why?" This prompt encourages applicants to reflect on their core values and motivations that have shaped their lives. It seeks to understand what truly drives and inspires them.

2. Prompt 2: "Why Stanford? Enlighten us on how earning your MBA at Stanford will enable you to realize your ambitions." This prompt aims to evaluate how well applicants understand the unique aspects of Stanford GSB and how they envision leveraging the program to achieve their goals.

4 Common Themes in Stanford GSB Prompts

Although the essay prompts may vary each year, there are recurring themes that tend to emerge:

• Self-reflection and personal values
• Leadership and impact
• Passion and authenticity
• Desire for growth and learning

Understanding these common themes can help applicants craft powerful and cohesive essays that align with Stanford GSB's values and philosophies.

Read : 3 Things You Need for Successful Stanford MBA Essays

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Tips for Writing Effective Stanford GSB MBA Essays

Writing standout essays requires careful planning and attention to detail. Here are some tips to help you create impactful narratives:

Structure Your Essay

Start with a captivating introduction that hooks the reader and clearly states your central theme. Develop the body of your essay coherently, using paragraphs to explore different aspects of your experiences and perspectives. Finally, end with a memorable conclusion that reinforces your main points and leaves a lasting impression.

Balance Personal and Professional Information

While it is important to provide insights into both your personal and professional life, strike a balance to ensure that your essays are holistic and reflective of your overall candidacy. Be mindful of not reiterating information already present in your resume or other parts of the application.

Avoiding Common Mistakes in Stanford GSB MBA Essays

As you compose your essays, watch out for these common pitfalls:

Overused Phrases to Avoid

Steer clear of clichés and generic phrases that fail to reveal your true character and unique perspective. Admissions officers seek authenticity, so express yourself in an original and genuine manner.

Pitfalls of Being Too Generic or Vague

Avoid being vague or overly general in your essays. Instead, focus on specific examples and provide concrete evidence to substantiate your assertions. Share stories that demonstrate your actions, impact, and growth.

The Final Review: Polishing Your Stanford GSB MBA Essay

Before submitting your essays, remember to give them a final review:

Importance of Proofreading

Read through your essays multiple times, meticulously checking for grammatical errors, typos, and inconsistencies. Ensure that your thoughts flow logically and that your essay maintains a consistent tone and style.

Seeking Feedback on Your Essay

Share your essays with trusted friends, mentors, or admissions consultants to gain valuable perspectives. Constructive feedback can help you refine your essays and ensure they resonate with the admissions committee.

In conclusion, Stanford GSB MBA essays offer applicants a priceless opportunity to express their unique attributes, motivations, and aspirations. By understanding the importance of these essays, analyzing the prompts, incorporating valuable tips, and avoiding common mistakes, you can craft persuasive essays that enhance your chances of being admitted to this prestigious program. Remember, a well-written essay can be the differentiating factor that sets you apart from other candidates and propels you towards your goals. Good luck!

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Stanford GSB Essay Questions & Tips

Applying to Stanford GSB ? If so, you’ve likely begun thinking about how to approach the Stanford GSB essay questions and, more specifically, pondering ‘what matters most to you and why’. Who knew you would be doing so much soul searching during the MBA application process, right? We’ve got you covered. Read on for the Stanford GSB essay questions and tips to ensure your responses are as strong as possible.

Stanford GSB Essay Questions

• Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? For this essay, we would like you to reflect deeply and write from the heart. Once you’ve identified what matters most to you, help us understand why. You might consider, for example, what makes this so important to you? What people, insights, or experiences have shaped your perspectives?
• Essay B: Why Stanford? Describe your aspirations and how your Stanford GSB experience will help you realize them. If you are applying to both the MBA and MSx programs, use Essay B to address your interest in both programs.

Both essays combined may not exceed 1,050 words. Stanford GSB admissions recommends up to 650 words for Essay A and up to 400 words for Essay B.

Note that Stanford’s application also includes two optional short answer questions – see our advice on these at the end of this article:

• We know that each person is more than a list of facts or pre-defined categories. Please feel free to elaborate on how your background or life experiences have helped shape your recent actions or choices- (up to 1,200 characters, or approximately 200 words).
• Think about times you’ve created a positive impact, whether in professional, extracurricular, academic, or other settings. What was your impact? What made it significant to you or to others? You are welcome to share up to three examples (up to 1,200 characters, or approximately 200 words, for each example).

Before you think about putting pen to paper (or fingers to keys, as the case may be), it’s critical to take the time to truly understand Stanford GSB and what it looks for in successful applicants. To us, the best encapsulation of this can be found in the GSB’s mission statement: “Change lives. Change organizations. Change the world.”

While many business schools aspire to educate leaders that will make a difference in the world, there is a reason that ‘change lives’ comes first in this motto. The GSB embraces a strong belief that change originates from people. People with different perspectives interacting, challenging each other, and ultimately joining forces to push the limits of what seems possible. No man or woman can create change in a vacuum.

In practice, we find that successful applicants personify this mission statement by displaying the following characteristics:

• A belief that EQ and people are just as important as IQ and profits – While demonstrating impact is critical, Stanford GSB seeks those who deliver it through collaboration with and/or for the benefit of others.
• Strong self-awareness – The essay prompt says it all, Stanford GSB cares what matters to you and how it has influenced your choices in life. Scratching the surface of self-awareness is not enough; beyond articulating your emotions in a given situation, they want to see that you can connect situations to your core values and underlying motivations.
• A willingness to take risks – Change is impossible without some level of risk and change is the crux of the GSB’s mission. They want to see that you don’t let fear stand in the way of progress – for yourself and for others.

How to Answer the Stanford GSB Essay Questions

How do i uncover ‘what matters most to me’.

Attempting to crystallize what matters most to you is incredibly intimidating! If you’re digging deep enough, figuring this out is not something that can be done in a day or even a week. That’s why starting early is critical.

To begin, we love suggesting that clients read two great books, True North by Bill George and What You’re Really Meant to Do by Robert Kaplan.  Give thought to where you dream of taking your career (and life more broadly) and why.

From there, it can be helpful to think back to each major decision you’ve made in your life and reflect on why you made the choice you did. Are there any commonalities? Lastly, think about influential people or events in your life stretching back to childhood. What or who has made you who you are and why?

Once you’ve done all this reflection (and written it down!), look for points of intersection and interrelation. Sometimes another set of eyes from a trusted friend or family member can be helpful here. More times than not, there is a common passion, motivation, value, or trait that connects what you’ve done in the past and what you hope to do in the future. This common thread can serve as your overarching theme and answer to ‘what matters most to you’.

Turning Your Theme into a Strong Essay A

The essay itself should prove that this ‘thing’ is truly what matters most to you by laying out 2-3 stories and describing how they connect back to it. While the stories are typically told in chronological order, the essay should not read as your memoir. Be thoughtful and strategic, choosing only your most powerful examples.

Many times, successful essays begin with what we refer to as a ‘superhero origin story’. By this we mean the time in your life or experience that first brought your ‘thing’ (i.e., what matters most to you) into play for you. It is the defining moment that triggered a shift in your thinking or approach in a way that has stuck with you from then on out, influencing who you’ve become and who you hope to be in the future.

The balance of the essay should focus on one or two other situations from your life since the ‘superhero origin’ where the thing that matters most to you influenced your actions or choices. One of these (or a third topical area if you have space) can be devoted to your vision of the future. You have space to further spell out your plans in Essay B, but you should lay out, in broad strokes, how your ‘thing’ influences where you want to take your life in Essay A. 

Once you have the backbone of your essay in place, our advice is to go back and add stylistic nuances that demonstrate you possess the characteristics the GSB seeks. Describe interpersonal dynamics within each story and how you successfully navigated them. Layer in emotion and insights about yourself that demonstrate self-awareness.  Importantly, write so that the adcom feels your authentic passion for the topic you have chosen to discuss.

If this sounds difficult, that’s because it is. Writing a strong Stanford essay takes upfront investment in introspection and time to iterate (and then iterate again). It’s not uncommon for us to work through 10-20 drafts of this essay with clients because, even with professional help, that’s how long it takes to make it perfect.

Essay B is Straightforward but Not ‘Easy’

Once you’ve outlined generally where you want to take your life in Essay A, Essay B is your opportunity to get tactical. Share your specific post-MBA goals and describe why an MBA and the GSB’s program in particular are necessary to help you achieve them.

The keys here are specificity and personalization. If someone could blindly read your essay and think it applies to another MBA program, you are not being specific enough. If they could read it and think the ‘why Stanford’ you describe could help someone achieve different goals than those you are targeting, you are not personalizing your reasons sufficiently.

Writing a successful Essay B requires more than just perusing the GSB’s website for classes and its own description of why the program is unique. Talk to alums and current students, attend webinars, stroll campus if you can, and, critically, reflect on the specific skillsets (hard or soft) you need to build to achieve your most aspirational goals.

How to Answer Stanford’s Short Answer Questions

While these are truly optional, it seems like a missed opportunity not to highlight your unique perspective as well as a few of your best accomplishments. View these as a place to fill in any gaps – in other words, parts of your personal brand or ‘story portfolio’ that you haven’t covered in the main essays. It may help to write a list of all the stories you want to cover upfront and then move the puzzle pieces around, prioritizing the main essays.

A blend of personal and professional is best, both here and in the main essays – the adcom wants to understand the entirety of who you are as a person. Additionally, your short answers should be complementary but not repetitive with your main essays. Remember, you are trying to highlight personal qualities, experiences, and accomplishments that you haven’t been able to cover elsewhere.

Lastly, don’t grasp for straws here, so if you only have two accomplishments to share instead of three in short answer #2, that is ok. But do you best to answer both questions as thoroughly and thoughtfully as possible.

Overwhelmed? We get it – the Stanford GSB application is perhaps the most challenging MBA application out there. If you need assistance, feel free to reach out to schedule a free consultation. 

Katie is a passionate mentor and coach, helping her clients craft a unique, compelling story by leveraging her experience as a corporate executive, alumni interviewer, and campus recruiter. Before completing her MBA at Kellogg, Katie spent five years in banking where she learned practical finance skills as well as how to operate in a demanding, high pressure environment. She pursued an MBA in order to transition to an industry role where she could utilize her finance knowledge to drive change within an organization. Post-MBA, she worked in finance and strategy for a leading CPG firm, progressing to an executive role leading the finance function for a $2B business segment. Her experience managing diverse teams led to a passion for developing others. In addition to her day-to-day responsibilities, she led her firm’s MBA recruiting efforts and served as an alumni admissions interviewer for Kellogg.

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Stanford GSB Essay Advice and Application Deadlines: 2024-2025

Stanford GSB ‘s 2024-2025 MBA application is now live. It appears that this year Stanford lowered the word count for essay B. It is suggested to allocate up to 650 words on Essay A and up to 350 words on Essay B.

Stanford had already shortened the combined word limit a few years ago, a sign that the school encourages applicants to remain focused and concise in their answers. Below, please find Personal MBA Coach’s advice on how to approach the two Stanford GSB essay questions.

The Upcoming Stanford GSB Application Deadlines 2024-2025 Are:

Round 1: September 10, 2024

Round 2: January 8, 2025

Round 3: April 8, 2025

2024-2025 Stanford GSB Essays:

Stanford gsb essay a: what matters most to you, and why  (650 words suggested).

For this essay, we would like you to reflect deeply and write from the heart. Once you’ve identified what matters most to you, help us understand why. You might consider, for example, what makes this so important to you? What people, insights, or experiences have shaped your perspectives?

This first Stanford MBA essay is arguably one of the hardest MBA application questions across all schools. This challenging question requires candidates to speak from the heart.

As Stanford advises, think more about your values here and WHY you made the choices you have made than WHAT you have done. Personal MBA Coach recommends you do some serious soul searching before starting. Think about what you are most passionate about. What drives you to get out of bed each morning? If you could spend your time as you wish, what would you do? Ideally, you have acted on this passion, and it extends throughout multiple aspects of your life.

Then, think carefully about why this matters to you. Did you have an experience as a child? Are you following a passion held by others in your family?

Finally, once you have established the why, you should include some WHAT here. After all, a passion or cause that you have done nothing with will not be very believable. Remember though, this is only PART of this personal essay.

Stanford GSB Essay B: Why Stanford? (350 words suggested)

Describe your aspirations and how your Stanford GSB experience will help you realize them. If you are applying to both the MBA and MSx programs, use Essay B to address your interest in both programs.

In this short Stanford MBA essay, candidates have a lot to cover. First, you should set up why you want an MBA. Naturally, this would include what your goals are and what skills you need to develop to achieve these goals.

Then, establish how Stanford will help you to fill these skill gaps. Once again, be specific! Name classes, clubs, programs, etc. and how they will help. Finally, be sure to articulate what attracts you to Stanford’s culture. We realize this is a tall order with a suggested word count of only 350 words, so be succinct.

Unlike other schools, Stanford gives the candidate discretion on how to divide the 1000 words across the two essays. The breakdown above is a suggestion and, in general, this is an ideal breakdown for most candidates.

In addition, there is one optional question in the Stanford GSB application.

Stanford GSB Optional Question: Think about times you’ve created a positive impact, whether in professional, extracurricular, academic, or other settings. What was your impact? What made it significant to you or to others?

In the Essays section of the application, we ask you to tell us about who you are and how you think Stanford will help you achieve your aspirations. We are also interested in learning about the things you have done that are most meaningful to you. If you would like to go beyond your resume to discuss some of your contributions more fully, you are welcome to share up to three examples.  (Up to 1,200 characters, or approximately 200 words, for each example)

For many other top MBA programs, Personal MBA Coach advises clients to answer optional essays only to discuss unique circumstances. Take a look at  our blog  on optional essay questions to learn more.

However, the requirements for addressing one or more of the optional Stanford MBA essays are not quite as stringent. You can use these optional essays to share other aspects of your candidacy not included in your essays.

That said, use these Stanford MBA essays sparingly. Less continues to be more here.

Answer these questions only if you have something very powerful to add that is not already included elsewhere in your Stanford GSB application.

Looking help developing your Stanford GSB essays? Find out how we can help with our comprehensive packages . Plus, for more information on the full-time Stanford MBA program, check out Personal MBA Coach’s Stanford guide .

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2024-2025 Stanford MBA essay analysis and tips

Admit expert.

• July 23, 2024

The Stanford Graduate School of Business is one of the world’s leading business schools. Located in Silicon Valley, the school is known for its highly selective admissions process, strong academic programs, and close ties to the tech industry. The school offers a variety of MBA and Ph.D. programs, as well as executive education courses. In recent years, the school has been ranked highly by Businessweek and the Financial Times. With its strong reputation and close connection to the tech industry, the Stanford Graduate School of Business is an excellent choice for any business student.

Since Stanford GSB is one of the most selective Business Schools in the US it becomes really important that you should be able to impress the MBA admissions committee with your essay.

In this article, we’ll share helpful tips for the Stanford GSB MBA essay for the 2025 admissions:

Why are essays important for Stanford GSB admissions?

Essays convey more about you as a person than just what you have accomplished.

Your academic and professional accomplishments are covered in other sections of the application, but the essays show who you are as a person.

The Stanford Graduate School of Business, as in previous years, requires MBA applicants to submit the same two required essay questions . 

For 2025 admissions, the word limit has been set to 1,000 words, with the recommendation of 650 words for Essay A and 350 words for Essay B.

Essay prompts for Stanford GSB MBA 2025 intake

You will write two essays for the Stanford GSB as part of your application.

Essay A: What matters most to you, and why?

For this essay, Stanford GSB asks you to reflect deeply and write from the heart. Once you’ve identified what matters most to you, help them understand why. You might consider, for example, what makes this so important to you? What people, insights, or experiences have shaped your perspectives?

Essay B: Why Stanford?

Essay B poses the question, “Why Stanford?” to applicants.

You have the chance to discuss your post-MBA goals and how Stanford can support them in this essay. If you are applying to both the MBA and MSx programs, use Essay B to address your interest in both programs.

Optional essays

You can also submit an optional short response essay question to Stanford GSB. This question is entirely optional and provides you more space to talk about subjects that you might not have been able to in other parts of your application. 

The essay prompt is as follows:

Think about times you’ve created a positive impact, whether in professional, extracurricular, academic, or other settings. What was your impact? What made it significant to you or to others?

You can share up to three examples – up to 1,200 characters, or approximately 200 words, for each example.

Stanford GSB MBA application deadlines

Stanford GSB Round 1 deadlines in

Stanford MBA Essay Analysis and Tips

This infamous question, which has come to represent the Stanford GSB essays, is known for tying up applicants as they attempt to come up with an answer they feel is smart, eye-catching, or even meaningful. 

Stanford GSB seeks students who are not only exceptionally bright and accomplished but also who have strong moral principles and a desire to make a meaningful contribution to society. The ‘true you’ that emerges from this introspection helps the GSB assess your fit for the class. Taking the time to thoroughly consider this question will provide you with significant insight into your life’s purpose and beliefs.

In short, This essay is an opportunity to demonstrate who you are, what motivates you, and why.

Essay tips from Stanford MBA adcom

If you’re starting from scratch, perhaps we can start with some of the advice provided by Stanford GSB. They advise you to consider who you are, the lessons and insights that have shaped your perspectives, and the events that have influenced you. They also encourage you to write from your heart.

The admissions committee at Stanford looks for authenticity. While you may not be able to completely control your uniqueness because another candidate’s profile may be similar to yours, you can control your authenticity by telling your true story.

This is also voiced by Lisa Giannangeli, Stanford MBA admissions director who advises

“Don’t sweat too much trying to find things about yourself that no one before has done. Instead, focus on telling the MBA admissions committee who you are and differentiation will occur naturally”

Stanford’s Assistant Dean of MBA Admissions, Derrick Bolton has been quoted to say, ‘please think of the Stanford essays as conversations on paper ‒ when we read files, we feel that we meet people, also known as our “flat friends” ‒ and tell us your story in a natural, genuine way.” If you look up ‘story’ in the dictionary, you will find a definition along the lines of “an account of imaginary or real people and events told in an entertaining way.” The best essays are told in a compelling ‘story-like’ way that may involve emotion, humor, inspiration, wit, insight, honesty, and simply – being yourself. A Stanford GSB admissions officer may be reading 20 applications today, 30 tomorrow, and hundreds more in the following weeks. So how can you make an impact, sound intelligent, be original, and engage your reader? This is no easy task but it’s time to put on your thinking hat and reach inwards to tell the story that you are the best qualified to write.

Think about all the important events of your life and try to find an underlying theme among all these events. 

Things to do before writing your essay

According to Jayce Hafner ,  (Stanford class of 2019), “Before you sit down to write your personal statement, spend some good time thinking about the moments in your life that have been meaningful and transformative. Write down these scenes individually and consider them in the larger trajectory of your past and your intended future.” She goes on to say, “Own up to your sense of self: your quirks, your decisions, your beliefs. In this way, you are not only creating an authentic essay but you’re also giving yourself permission to show up completely in the later stages of your application process: during your interview, your school visits, and your chats with students, faculty, and alumni.”

Here are a few questions that will help you get started.

• How was growing up like? How did your parents or guardians, as well as your environment, mold you?
• How did school feel? Did you pay attention? What impact did your buddies have on you? What sort of individuals did you associate with? What emotions did you experience as a teenager?
• How has your professional life been? Are you satisfied with your decisions? Any remorse? What aspects of your employment do you like or dislike, and why?
• What extracurricular activities do you participate in and what hobbies do you have, and why?
• What about life do you love or hate? What makes you joyful or depressed, angry or frustrated?
• What causes you to wake up in the morning? What do you actually care about in this life?
• If you knew that you’d die in the next 1 week, what would you do?

How to approach essay A?

Here’s how you should approach this essay:

• Find a person, occasion, or experience that had a significant impact on you to start.
• What lessons, principles, and values have you learned from this experience?
• How do these principles, values, and lessons affect your drive, motivation, and worldview today? How do you employ them? (Keep in mind that the aim of Stanford is to “transform lives, change organizations, and change the world.”)
• How has the progression of your career been related to the aforementioned?
• Reiterate the connection between your values and your career goals and explain why these objectives are significant to you.

Remember that this essay is one of the most personalized essays asked by any business school. Therefore, focus on your life stories and weave them to convey ‘what matters to you the most and why?’

Focus on the “why” rather than the “what.”

Derrick Bolton, the former Stanford admissions director, has been quoted saying that your essay should “… be so personal that if you were working on it at 2 AM and accidentally printed a copy to your office printer, you would break out in a cold sweat, grab the keys, floor it and drive as fast as you could to the office to snatch the essay before anyone could read it.”

To learn more about what Stanford GSB is looking for and how to make your application stand out, get in touch with us at [email protected]

How to write Essay A?

• Pick a theme

Selecting a theme is the first stage in writing any essay.

The ideal strategy for the Stanford GSB essay A is to brainstorm; consider all the things that are significant to you and why you think they are significant. Consider your accomplishments as well as the motivation behind your goals. Find a common theme among those experiences.

• Create a layout

Once you’ve made a list, you can focus on one aspect of your subject and start writing. You can create a general framework for your Stanford MBA essay by creating a list of relevant bullet points that you would expand in your essay.

• Start writing

Start expanding on the bullet points based on the accomplishments that you have chosen. Use specific examples to make your case.

• Revise, Redraft, Revise

Create multiple drafts and revise each draft and make sure there are no spelling or grammatical mistakes.

Describe your aspirations and how your Stanford GSB experience will help you realize them. If you are applying to both the MBA and MSx programs, use Essay B to address your interest in both programs.

If the first essay focuses on your past and present, the second “Why Stanford” essay focuses on your future. 

There are just two words. That’s all. This question is succinct and expresses exactly what the Stanford GSB adcom wants to know.

To properly answer this question, two pieces of information are required: A well-defined MBA goal and a thorough understanding of the Stanford GSB curriculum, clubs, competitions, placements, professors, location, etc.

In essence, Stanford asks you to explain your decision to pursue an MBA and the unique opportunities you will pursue at Stanford in this essay. 

If you want to excel at writing this essay then your school research must be excellent. What classes, clubs, events, or other programme and community elements will catalyze the impact you want to make in the short, medium, and long term? 

Show Stanford that you’ve done more than just read about the various programmes on the GSB website by digging deep and getting specific.

If you don’t know what makes the Stanford MBA programme unique, you won’t be able to respond to the question. Understand how Stanford’s curriculum flexibility, integrated approach to management education, entrepreneurial culture, and other features will help you gain the skills you need to achieve your goals. Recognize that the curriculum can be customized based on your objectives and prior experiences, particularly any business education you may have had.

Let us help you get into Stanford GSB

We will help you write essays that portray your unique strengths and experiences in the most favorable light so that your application shines above the rest. We have helped hundreds of students get into top US business schools. Let us help you too.

Do you want to get into your dream business school?

Take the first step towards your MBA dream and schedule a free 1 on 1 application strategy call with us.

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Guide to MBA Essays and Interviews in the US • MBA

How to Write the Stanford GSB Essays: Analysis, Examples and Strategies That Work

POSTED ON 06/27/2022 BY The Red Pen

The Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) looks for candidates with ambition, confidence and empathy to visualise outcomes that impact humanity and change the world. Ask yourself:

• Are these traits well represented in your application?
• How have you impacted communities or even countries?
• Do your interests and career trajectory demonstrate your intellectual curiosity?
• Does your resume reflect your demonstrated leadership qualities (whether through leading a team or enabling outcomes for organisations)?
• Do your personal qualities and achievements shine through during your diverse engagements with other individuals and society?

While applying, you need to speak of instances where you stood by your values, demonstrated a knack for building connections and made a lasting impact.

Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) Essay Analysis

A crucial part of the application process; Stanford GSB clearly defines what it expects from your essays . The essays section of the application page starts with a clear mission statement – “Essays help us learn about who you are rather than solely what you have done.”

Current Stanford GSB admission director Kirsten Moss once said, “The only common mistake I can think of is not taking the time to read the guidance we offer on our website and in the application.”

How to Tackle the Stanford GSB MBA Essays

Essay prompts – essay a.

“What matters most to you and why?” (Recommended Maximum Word Limit – 650 words)

Essay A is a challenge because it is open-ended. Unlike other schools, you are not expected to talk about what you will contribute to the school or why you want to pursue an MBA. In an interview , Kirsten Moss said that Essay A “…is the best assignment we could ever give as it will help you guide your trajectory from this moment forward”.

Tips on Brainstorming for the Essay:

1) Reflect deeply: John Dewey , the American philosopher and education reformist, said, “We do not learn from experience; we learn from reflecting on experience”. Writing this essay requires consistent and mindful reflection. A great habit to foster deep reflection is maintaining a journal where you note significant events, behaviours and values that have impacted your life. Start the process of reflection by thinking about positive and negative experiences in your life. Ask yourself:

• What was it like living that experience?
• Did it leave an impact on you?
• Did you learn a lesson that will stick with you for life?
• Did it result in a perspective shift for you?
• Think about the people involved – how has your relationship with them evolved?
• What impact did they leave on you and vice-versa?

For example, you may have experienced a pivotal moment as a child with the death of a beloved grandparent. While such an incident is bound to have an emotional impact, it may have also caused you to reflect back on the time you spent with the person and how you learned important life lessons that shaped your outlook and your core beliefs, thereby influencing how you interact with and interpret the world around you.

During such focussed self-reflection, carefully identify what matters the most to you. This is a tricky part. If you have not engaged in self-reflection for a while now – it is never too late. Making detailed notes of your journey will lead to the emergence of behaviour patterns and values that guide your actions and interactions. You now have the building blocks of your essay.

2) Write from the heart: Now that you have the essential elements to describe what matters to you – put pen to paper. The Stanford GSB admission committee’s advice is to write from the heart, which simply means that you need to be personal. Your self-reflection has shown you what values you hold dear and what matters to you. Now think about how it has shaped you and helped you evolve personally. Communicate what you are passionate about through examples and experiences and use them to illustrate your personality to the reader. By giving your thoughts direction, you will be able to write from your heart in a manner that gives your essay substance and a clear focus on the future.

3) Identify what matters most to you and tell them why: Think beyond the admission committee’s advice here. Now that you have identified what matters the most, you are ready to write from the heart. But, do not merely focus on TELLING the reader “why”. Rather, SHOW them why your essay subject matters to you. Instead of stating that you evaluate situations scientifically, you will be better served by providing an example of how you took your bicycle apart as a child, built simple periscopes in school and found solutions to a problem your peers were facing by breaking down the different elements of the problem. Building your narrative adds layers to the story with multiple examples that demonstrate the evolution of a core part of your personality. Examples from your life will bring immense depth to what matters most to you and make your assertions more personal and nuanced.

Suggested Essay Structure With Word Count Breakup:

For this essay, stating what matters to you should be around 50 words. To support your assertion, you need to use the rest of the allocated word count to provide examples from your life experiences. This is ample space to show an evolution of your thought with two or three critical examples. Use 50 words in your conclusion to indicate how you see the theme playing out for you in the future.

Essay Prompts – Essay B

“Why Stanford?” (Recommended Maximum Word Limit – 400 words)

1) Describe your aspirations: At this point, Stanford GSB knows you from Essay A; they now want to know your vision of the ‘future you’. In Essay B, talk about your career aspirations; what is your dream career? There should be a natural progression from the core value system you have described in Essay A to your post-MBA ambitions and why the school plays an integral part in this journey. Consider your aspirations from the lens of the impact you want to create. In a nutshell – be ambitious! For example, you may have spoken about how eradicating poverty is what matters most to you in Essay A. In Essay B, you should build on that thought to provide specific details of the impact you want to make – by finding a solution that provides employment to [X] million people in the Indian subcontinent and impacts the country’s GDP by [X] per cent.

2) State how the Stanford GSB experience will help you realise them: To answer this part of the essay, research the school to narrow down on what, for you, is the most compelling about the GSB experience. For example, researching the SEED programme may inform your ambition to participate and gain valuable insight into your vision of impact with your own long term entrepreneurial journey. Some key elements to keep in mind while researching the school are:

• What is the curriculum structure; what excites you about it?
• What specific classes appeal to you and how do they connect with your aspirations?
• Is the school involved in academic research in your area of interest?
• What other activities/clubs does the school offer that interests you?
• What did the alumni have to say about their experience at Stanford GSB?

If you are applying to both Stanford’s MBA programme and MSx (1-year master’s) programme, use Essay B to address your interests.

Use around 100-150 words to describe your ambition for the future and the rest of the available word count to describe specific resources in Stanford GSB that relate to specific elements of your post-MBA journey.

Finally, use the Additional Information section of the application or the three optional essays to:

• Explain extenuating circumstances affecting academic or work performance
• Expand on academic experience (e.g., independent research) not noted elsewhere
• Provide the admissions committee with additional examples of impact that could not be accommodated elsewhere. 

Do not mention these elements in Essays A and B. The two essays need to showcase you as a self-aware applicant willing to understand yourself better.

The Red Pen’s team-based approach will help you reflect meaningfully to present your case clearly to the Stanford GSB admission committee. Contact us here to begin your MBA admission journey.

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How to Write the Stanford GSB Essays

Introduction ‍.

Now that you’ve decided you want to apply for an MBA at the Stanford Graduate School of Business (Stanford GSB), you need to craft an application that will demonstrate your professional skills, experience, and academic record. You will also need to showcase your skills as a writer, your aspirations, and your individuality. 

The Stanford GSB essays are a crucial component of your Stanford application; they will illuminate your voice and authentic self to the admissions committee. Although writing the Stanford GSB essays can seem like a daunting task, this guide will help you understand, execute, and perfect your essays.

What are the Stanford GSB Essays? ‍

The Stanford GSB essays are two personal essays you'll complete as part of your application to Stanford. The infamous ‘ essay A ’ asks applicants, “What matters most to you, and why?” 

Stanford’s website encourages applicants to “ write from the heart ” and be genuine about what matters most to you and to make an argument for why it is so important. 

Essay B , on the other hand, asks applicants, “Why Stanford?” 

This essay provides the opportunity to describe your personal aspirations and how Stanford fits around them. 

Stanford also allows you to submit several optional short answer essay questions . These questions are completely optional and provide you with more words to discuss topics you may not have been able to address elsewhere in your application. The first prompt reads: 

“Think about times you’ve created a positive impact, whether in professional, extracurricular, academic, or other settings. What was your impact? What made it significant to you or to others?” 

This prompt allows you to provide up to three examples to discuss your resume further. 

The other optional short-answer Stanford GSB essay question asks you to:

“Tell us about a time within the last three years when your background influenced your participation in a situation, interaction, or project.”

This essay facilitates discussion about your background, like education, work, skills, race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or gender identity. 

Stanford GSB Essay Length

Both Essay A and B together should not exceed 1,050 words. 

Stanford recommends writing no more than 650 words for essay A and no more than 400 words for essay B. Stanford asks that all essays are double-spaced and submitted in one document with numbered pages. 

For Stanford’s optional question A, you can provide up to three 200-word responses. You should write around 200 words for Stanford’s optional question B essay. 

This length constraint may seem restrictive, but being concise and adopting the “less is more” approach can make for a particularly effective essay. As Stanford notes, “We often find effective essays that are written in fewer words.” 

What Is the Purpose of the Stanford GSB Essays? 

The rest of your application includes everything you need to make a good impression: adequate work experience , high grades, a lengthy list of extracurriculars, and a stellar resume . 

Stanford understands that you are more than the sum of your total experiences and credentials laid out on these pages. The Stanford GSB essays humanize your application and demonstrate to the admissions committee what makes you unique. 

Stanford GSB Essay A

Essay A is a deeply personal and subjective essay. There is no such thing as a perfect topic to write about here. 

The question, “What matters to you most, and why?” is purposefully tricky to answer as it forces you to delve deep into yourself and choose something that is most important to you. That is easier said than done, especially when so many of us have many great things in our lives that are important to us, like our families, friends, and jobs. 

Some may take the route of writing about big-picture ideas like eliminating poverty, ending world hunger, or halting climate change. But essay A is not the space to write what you think Stanford wants to hear, and doing so would be doing yourself a disservice. 

Derrick Bolton, the former Stanford admissions director , said that your essay should “... be so personal that if you were working on it at 2 AM and accidentally printed a copy to your office printer, you would break out in a cold sweat, grab the keys, floor it and drive as fast as you could to the office to snatch the essay before anyone could read it.” 

Some applicants write about controversial or uncomfortable topics, whereas others write about how they want to impact the world, or how their weaknesses have helped cultivate their strengths. 

Ultimately, how you want to portray your individuality and what you choose to write about is entirely up to you. 

Stanford GSB Essay B

Essay B reflects your personal reasons for applying to Stanford. This writing demonstrates why Stanford is the best fit for you and how completing your Stanford MBA will help you achieve your goals. 

Although you have a tight word limit to explain why Stanford is the school for you, you want to be specific to show that you researched the school and program. You also need to explain how Stanford’s program is a significant stepping stone to achieving your career and personal goals. 

You should have an understanding of your industry and what your working life could look like post-MBA. The other purpose of this essay is to demonstrate how your admittance will enrich Stanford’s class. 

Stanford Optional Short Answer Question A 

The optional question A is focused on uncovering more about you beyond your resume. 

Specifically, Stanford is “... interested in learning about the things you have done that are most meaningful to you.” While you can write about your most impactful experiences in the Stanford GSB Essay A, this prompt allows you to go beyond your resume. 

Perhaps you didn’t have enough words to discuss your love of photography in Essay A. In that case, this optional essay allows you to discuss your contributions more fully. 

Of course, you shouldn’t use this essay to ramble on about why you love Stanford. Write about that in your “why Stanford essay.” Instead, answer the question’s main focus — what positive impact did you create, and what made it significant? 

Write about your impact on a situation and emphasize your skills and abilities that will help you achieve academic and professional success. If you can point to your stellar leadership skills, you will show you are ready for an MBA.  

Stanford Optional Short Answer Question B

Stanford’s optional short answer question B asks you to discuss your background. “Background” is purposefully defined broadly. So, you can write about almost anything, ranging from your socioeconomic status to gender identity. 

Perhaps you chose to pursue a part-time job in college because of your gender identity. In that case, explain how and why your background influenced your decision. Self-reflection is key here.

What Is Stanford GSB Looking for in the Essays?

Stanford’s admissions team uses your Stanford GSB application essays to get to know you beyond your academic achievements. 

Specifically, they want to read about your experiences and hear your “genuine voice.” Each Stanford MBA essay is designed to allow you to open up to the admissions committee. Being authentic is vital here; Stanford’s admissions officers can tell if you are not genuine in your responses. 

There is no “right” or “perfect” answer to Stanford’s prompts. As Stanford says, “... the best answer is the one that is truest for you.” 

Looking at Stanford example essays is helpful, as they show you how other applicants have written about their lives. But they are written by other applicants with different experiences. 

Reflect on your own experiences in your Stanford business school essay, and you’ll increase your chances of admission. 

Step-by-step Guide to Writing the Stanford GSB Essays

Writing the Stanford GSB essays can be a daunting task; you may be asking yourself, “How can I effectively convey all that I want to in so few words?” 

Writing an effective essay about yourself can feel challenging, especially with such a low word limit. These essays are quite different from essays you may have done as an undergrad, where long essays are part of the curriculum. 

Remember that these essays are designed to be challenging, and it’s OK to find them difficult. This step-by-step guide will help get you started and provide tips to write a great essay. 

1. Pick Your Topic 

The first step to any essay is to pick your topic. 

For the Stanford GSB essay A, the best course is to brainstorm; think about all the things that are important to you and why you consider them important. Also, think about your achievements and why you set out to achieve them. 

2. Create an Outline 

After you’ve compiled a list, you can narrow down your topic and begin writing. A bullet-pointed list outlining your Stanford MBA essay’s rough structure will help you develop an overall framework.

3. Start Writing 

You can build upon the points you want to touch on and use supporting points as the foundation of your essay. Your essay should be easily separated into three parts:

• Introduction 
• Body paragraphs
• Conclusion 

Your introduction will introduce the topic, the body paragraphs will provide evidence to support your writing, and your conclusion will wrap up your essay neatly. 

4. Create Your Introduction 

Your introduction should captivate the reader immediately. The introduction is often where candidates introduce a relevant anecdote. 

Many people find it helpful to complete their introduction after the main essay is complete. It’s suitable to begin with your introduction or dive right into the body of your essay.

5. Write the Body 

The body of your essay should provide specific examples related to your anecdote. You should discuss what you’ve learned or gained from your experience. 

6. Write Your Conclusion 

Your conclusion should summarize your main points and reference the future you want. It should also leave the reader feeling satisfied that Stanford will help you toward that future. 

1. Brainstorm Why You Want to Attend Stanford 

With the “why Stanford” MBA essay, because you already have your topic, you will want to work out your specific reasons for why Stanford is the school for you. 

Again, brainstorming reasons will help you develop the framework of your essay. Does the school culture excite you? Are you looking to make connections within Silicon Valley?

Jot down every reason you can think of to narrow down your argument. Similar to essay A, your essay should have an identifiable introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. 

3. Create Your Introduction

Your “why Stanford” essay introduction should immediately explain your interest in Stanford. Why is Stanford the school you want to go to? Alternatively, you can start writing the body of your essay first and return to the introduction after.

4. Write the Body 

The body of your essay should highlight some of your achievements and what you have learned from your experiences. You can also relate your background to classes offered in the program and how they would help you grow. 

5. Write Your Conclusion 

Your conclusion should leave the reader satisfied that Stanford is the only school for you. Be passionate, and be specific. 

For both essays, remember to revise, revise, revise. Your essays should be free of all grammar and spelling mistakes and should flow well. Be sure to read your writing aloud to see how it reads as this can help identify possible errors or substantive issues.

Stanford GSB Essay Examples and What Made Them Successful

Reviewing Stanford essay examples is a great way to understand how your writing should generally look, feel, and flow. Below are two compelling essay examples of Stanford GSB essays that worked. 

These are paragraphs taken from full examples of Stanford essays that worked and are not complete essays alone. To better understand the essays’ makeup, the introduction, body, and conclusion paragraphs are labeled. 

Stanford What Matters Most to You and Why Essay Example

What matters most to you, and why?

Sample Introduction:

One evening during a winter break in college, I was driving home and saw my disabled neighbor on our street, slumped over in his driveway, sobbing. I jumped out of my car and ran. 

The ramp to his house was obstructed by a few recently dropped off packages, and he badly needed to use the restroom, having been stuck there for almost an hour. He was a husband, father, grandfather, and former breadwinner, dehumanized by his disability and utterly helpless in this moment. 

Sample Body Paragraph:

I’m driven by finding answers to the most complex, most challenging problems faced by humanity; the ones that are too daunting, or those that go unrecognized. I had to do something. 

So, I rallied a friend, and together we built a low-cost, AI-driven speech-recognition platform that enabled voice-activated control over electronic systems in a household, thus affording increased independence to individuals suffering from ALS and multiple sclerosis. 

It was an exercise in creativity and persistence, and quite daunting at the outset. But, in the end, our solution worked, and cost a fraction of a now commercially available solution like Alexa.

Sample Conclusion:

In the long run, by proving the benefits of AI-driven healthcare to the world, I want to build an enterprise that not only develops sophisticated technology that improves quality of life but also molds the underlying fabric of healthcare policy. 

Like Uber or Airbnb, I dream of leading an organization that fundamentally shifts the contemporary regulatory paradigm in healthcare to one that appropriately reflects both the medical and psychological needs of the modern patient.

We’re all companions on a journey through life; the same random forces that imbue me with good health compel countless others to live in a state of constant suffering. Humanity is a gift, and I have a social and moral responsibility to empower others to live life with passion, dignity, and hope. It is a mission I am dedicated to for the rest of my life.

What Made This Essay Effective?

• The beginning of this Stanford MBA essay sample immerses the reader immediately into the story the student is telling. The rich anecdote is an excellent starting point to lead the rest of their writing, and we instantly want to know more about their journey. 
• The student’s motivations and passions are illuminated and supported throughout the essay. 
• The student demonstrated how they have worked with their passions and motivations creatively to develop a tool to increase independence for individuals living with disabilities.
• The student’s conclusion articulates their long-term goal and restates their passion. The student explained how they plan to dedicate themselves to their cause and improve others’ quality of life.
• The essay leaves the reader satisfied due to its genuineness.

Why Stanford Essay Example

Why Stanford?

Example Introduction:

Silicon Valley is the cradle of global innovation, a melting pot of creators and visionaries. Its one-of-a-kind community paces the world in invention, creativity, and impact. Stanford is at the nucleus of this ecosystem. 

I dream of building a company that pushes the frontiers of AI to fundamentally reshape the global health paradigm, and the GSB MBA offers unparalleled opportunities to explore myself and my passions on that journey.

Example Body Paragraph:

One important lesson I have learned through my experiences as an inventor is the importance of creativity in navigating constraints and creating lasting impact. I once spent months in rural [Country], with limited materials and guidance, building a [medical device]. Only much later, following conversation with a colleague, did I realize I was intuitively applying design thinking and frugal innovation principles in solving challenges. 

I now want a structured education in accessible, cost-effective, and human-centric design through courses such as Design for Health, which will be invaluable in realizing my mission of improving the quality of life for the disabled.

Example Conclusion:

Steve Jobs once famously said that you can only connect the dots in hindsight. I plan to spend my future creating impactful, long-term change in healthcare. When I reflect on life down the road, I am confident I will see my time at Stanford GSB as the brightest dot along the journey.

What Made This Essay Effective? 

• The student immediately states why they’re interested in attending Stanford and discusses how they will fit into the school. 
• They discuss what they’ve learned in their experiences. This shows that they are mature, reflective, and self-aware. 
• They link their experiences to a specific course at Stanford. This shows that the student has researched the program and is excited about Stanford’s course offerings. 
• This is an exciting and confident conclusion. The student summarizes where they expect to be in the future and how Stanford will help propel them to that goal.

Top Tips for Crafting Memorable Essays 

You want to make sure that your essays stand out for their exceptional quality; it’s not enough to develop pieces that get your point across but come off as formulaic and uncreative. 

Below we have compiled a few top tips for Essay A and B to ensure your essays help you stand out in the best way possible. You can also use these tips if you are struggling to understand how to write the Stanford short essays.

Be a Storyteller

Stanford GSB admissions readers are looking for rich anecdotes and well-crafted stories in essay A . 

Your unique experience is important — and a story worth telling. These elements will entice the reader to want to know more about you and your passions. These stories can be emotional and humanize you and your aspirations to the admissions committee. 

Think about the central theme for your essay, and relay a supporting anecdote. Be sure to give context to help the reader understand why this topic is so important to you. Don’t be afraid to get personal . 

Watch the Length and Keep It Fairly Simple 

When you’re writing about yourself, it can be tempting to write pages and pages to make sure you’re getting your point across. After all, you’re the only expert on the subject! But keep things concise, easily digestible, and confident. 

This assignment is not the space to show off your long-winded creative writing skills and detailed description. It’s also not the space to impress the admissions committee by writing what you think they want to hear. 

Your writing shouldn’t have any frills that can dilute or muddle your answer. Remember to keep things simple, be genuine, and be confident — these are the best ways to set yourself up for success. 

Do Not Focus on Your Accomplishments 

Your essays are not meant to be an opportunity to expand or regurgitate your previous work experience. Your essays can highlight things that you haven’t already discussed. Your resume and letters of recommendation already summarize your professional experiences — this an assignment to show your vulnerability and thoughtfulness. 

If there is an accomplishment that encompasses your passions that you haven’t previously discussed, that is OK. Talk about a person, event, or place that has shaped you. Your essay should give the admissions committee a glimpse at the real person behind the accolades.

Do Your School Research 

Stanford GSB essay B calls for you to do adequate school research. Think about why Stanford is the perfect school for you, and let your research support you. Are there classes, clubs, events, or program elements that will help you realize your goals? 

Be as specific as you can to demonstrate that you have done more than casually surf the school’s website. Your research will help you craft a stellar essay. 

There are No ‘Right’ Answers 

There are no right or wrong ways to write both of your Stanford GSB essays. Your story is yours to tell in whatever way you see fit. If your writing honestly reflects your passions, motivations, and dreams, you are on the right track. 

If you feel yourself agonizing and poring over every line, your essays may not be your brand of “right” quite yet. It sounds a little scary to rely on your intuition and to open up, but you will reap the rewards. 

Stanford GSB Essay FAQs

Writing the Stanford GSB essays isn't easy. However, we’ve put together several questions and answers to help you write killer MBA essays. 

1. How do I submit my Stanford GSB essays? 

You should upload essays electronically in one document. Preview the document to make sure that the formatting of your writing does not change. 

2. What’s the best way to go about editing my essays? 

Beyond checking your essays for plagiarism issues and spelling and grammar mistakes, you should also reflect on your essays’ flow and voice. 

Read your essays aloud and see if they sound and feel right.  An unbiased professional opinion is the best way to polish your essays. The experience of a professional review of your essays would be priceless. 

3. What if I want to exceed the word limit on my essays to fit in everything I want to say?

Exceeding the word limit is not recommended. Stanford is looking for MBA candidates who can write concise and compelling essays about themselves and their aspirations. Try to stay within the recommended 650 words for essay A and 400 words for essay B. 

4. Am I allowed to receive feedback on my essays from consulting services? 

Yes. You are allowed to have your essays reviewed after completion — appropriate feedback is when omissions or errors are addressed and you correct them after. Your thoughts and voice should remain the same. 

Inappropriate coaching occurs when someone else has crafted any part of your essay for you. If this happens, your essays are no longer an accurate representation of you and violate terms. Your application will then either be denied or revoked. 

5. What are the optional essays? 

There are two additional optional essays that candidates can complete as part of their application. The first is, “Think about times you’ve created a positive impact, whether in professional, extracurricular, academic, or other settings. What was your impact? What made it significant to you or to others?” This essay gives you the chance to discuss your resume further. You can provide up to three examples for a total of 600 words, or 200 words per example. 

The second optional essay asks, “Tell us about a time within the last three years when your background influenced your participation at work or school.” This essay facilitates discussion about your background, like education, work, skills, race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or gender identity. The word limit for this essay is approximately 200 words. 

6. Will it hurt my chances if I do not write the optional essays? 

The optional essays are just that — optional. If you feel that you’ve already addressed these topics in your application, there is no need. 

But if you want to expand on something that you may not have discussed already, feel free to complete these optional essays. Stanford has accepted applicants who have not completed these additional essays and has not accepted applicants who have completed them.

Excel on the Stanford GSB Essays, Ace the Application

Writing the Stanford GSB essays can be an intimidating task, but this guide should help you polish your essays to perfection. Remember to keep the purpose of both essays in mind as you write. Make sure that your writing is answering the questions that Stanford is asking. 

The step-by-step guide above can help you to complete your essay. The sample Stanford essays that worked illustrated above will help give you an idea of what makes a great Stanford GSB essay. The tips shared in the article will assist you in the memorability of your essay. 

Remember to tell your stories authentically and be genuine in your Stanford GSB essays, and you will be on the path to success.

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Stanford GSB Essay Samples

Stanford GSB seeks outstanding and diverse people who seek a transformative experience at Stanford GSB and in turn, seek to transform lives, organizations and the world — that is, to make a significant impact. The GSB is looking for people who will make a big difference and have a better shot than most in being able to execute. Stanford GSB students often have an ‘unexpected’ trait, talent, or experience. The Stanford application essays are essential to showcasing character and experiences as well as the key evaluation criteria of leadership, intellectual vitality, and personal qualities.

Successful Examples of Stanford GSB Essays

Respect is the one word that sums up my life’s passions. At first glance, this simple word may seem a bit vacuous to describe something so profound to my being. But respect has truly been the guiding principle in my life: the one that I learned at an early age, the one that has influenced my decisions, and the one that drives me today.

As the son of American expatriates, I was raised abroad in a sea of diversity. To foster our development, my parents immersed my brother and me in local culture. We attended bullfights and visited flea markets tucked into the hillsides of the Andes Mountains. Living and interacting with residents of these distant lands taught us to respect those different than us. Through active involvement with the local heritage and customs, we learned that people are people everywhere and that all initially deserve my consideration and respect.

As I matured, this worldview guided my social interactions and ultimately shaped my diverse group of friends. The lessons of respect, taught from my experiences abroad, have given me an open and accepting personality. When I meet new people, I consider their circumstances and try to appreciate their point of view. As we learn about each other, it’s those select occurrences when a new person treats me with the same regard – considers my feelings and returns the respect I bestow – that we initiate the bonds of true friendship. This dogma has helped me forge a diverse band of brothers that serves as a foundation in my life. I met one of my adopted brothers in high school. He was a Russian immigrant whose parents had forsaken him at age 16. He worked the night shift at McDonald’s to support himself, but was kind enough to buy me, a stranger, dinner. A man who would offer so much when he had so little, especially to a stranger, earned my respect. He represents a fraction of my extended family. While each of my companions holds different and important beliefs, our underlying respect ties us together.

My grandfather furthered my lessons on respect. Born in Russia in 1927, he immigrated to the United States at age 21 as the Communist Party planted its roots. As a displaced immigrant, he arrived without friends and knowing little English. Nevertheless, he held two jobs, attended night school and completed his mechanical engineering degree in nine years – all while supporting a growing family of five. My grandfather’s life story and his sacrifices have instilled a strong work ethic in me. More importantly, the admiration I have for his achievements has engendered my deepest respect. His accomplishments taught me to respect my past and seize opportunities to honor those who came before me. While not an explicit lesson, I have applied these values to the core of my decision-making process. To dismiss what was surrendered for my well-being is to disrespect my heritage.

Respect drove my decision to attend the University of Alabamaon a merit-based scholarship. Although I had other options, I felt that my family had worked very hard to support me, and the opportunity to earn my education at minimal cost would, in some small way, repay my family. I remembered my grandfather’s teachings as I earned my degree. Given my free tuition, I crammed my schedule with courses in biological engineering and finance. I joined a prominent fraternity and established a tutoring program for struggling members. Using my personal computer, I formed a small online business to generate revenue for personal expenses. Having the luxury of some free time, I invested myself in community service activities. Teachings of respect have guided my life. They influence the way I interact, the way I make decisions, and the way I want others to treat me. Respect is at the heart of my friendships, and it is respect that gives me my drive to succeed. I strive to respect myself and earn respect from my family, friends, and co-workers, as well as from those who I have yet to meet. My values of respect have shaped me and will continue to define me.

When I was a little girl, my dream was to grow up and marry the king of Morocco. Yes, I admit, I wanted to be a queen, wear beautiful clothes, and live in a marvelous palace. But deep inside of me, I think I also wanted to play a role in Morocco’s destiny, to help lead it into an era of modernity. For me, the king of Morocco represented the Moroccan people and, as such, was the person who could do the most for our country. To my young mind, he seemed like the ideal partner to accompany me in my crusade. Growing up, I became more realistic and gave up the marriage goal. (Both the king of Morocco and I are married, so there is not a big chance of it happening anyway!). However, I still maintain dreams of helping Morocco develop. Accepting responsibility for these dreams has meant accepting that the path that best enables me to accomplish them may actually require me to live outside Morocco for some time. What matters most to me is keeping in touch with my Moroccan roots and doing what I can to give back to where I came from.

?My first sixteen years in Morocco contributed to my deep love for its rich traditions, varied culture, and contradictions. The Moroccan people are very warm and friendly. Strangers are welcomed into private homes and invited to share meals from the same plate. The Moroccan idea of family is much broader than in the West: it encompasses parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, neighbors, even friends. In fact, following custom, I call my mother’s girlfriends “aunt.” Since a typical family gathering may include 100 people, I usually bump into a lot of aunts. ?The Moroccan cuisine, cooked in terracotta containers, mirrors the country’s diverse origins. Spices from different origins–saffron, curcuma, cumin, cinnamon—are mixed into a savory blend that is often cited as one of the most appreciated in the world. Morocco’s unique geographical position, between the Western and oriental worlds, between the North and the South, also makes it a historical crossroads of cultures: the Berbers from the Atlas Mountains, the Spanish from Andalusia, and the Arabs from the Middle East. As a result, each region of the country possesses its own unique identity, which contributes to the national culture as well as its own legacy. For example, since I am from Rabat, the capital of Morocco, at my wedding I was proud to wear the wedding dress specific to the “Rabati’s bride.”

?At the same time, Morocco is a true melting pot of world religions. It is perhaps one of the few places on earth where Muslims and Jews live in perfect harmony. On his deathbed, King Mohamed the Fifth, who led Morocco to independence from France, told his son, the soon to be King Hassan the Second: “take care of my Jewish people.” I was educated to live among all religions, and my best friends were Christians, Jews, and Muslims. We respected their holidays, and they respected ours. We learned their principles as they learned ours. This multidimensional education taught me one of my most important principles, tolerance, especially essential for someone destined to live abroad. This principle has always helped me to understand others and respect their opinions even if it completely contradicted my own.

?As I grew up, I also became more aware of Morocco’s contradictions: the great differences between the “haves” and the “have-nots,” the illiteracy (50% of the population can’t read), the disturbing plight of many women (in rural areas, 90% of women are illiterate), and the weak economy. Yet, despite all this, I believe that Morocco can find growth and prosperity by investing in information technology, particularly since every year Morocco trains many high-quality engineers eager to be part of its economic development.

?Some of my optimism for Morocco stems from my pride in the accomplishments of my own family. During the 15th century, my ancestors, engineers and sailors from Spain, fled from religious persecution into Morocco (specifically, Fez and Rabat) where they became ship builders and traveled the seas. This heritage of travel fits well with my sense of myself today as a multicultural person–I too am driven to seek out challenging international experiences. As a young girl, for example, I traveled all over Europe, South Africa, and along the Mediterranean Sea. Later, I lived in France for seven years and have lived in the United States now for two.

?Naturally, I have inherited my family’s interests and skills. From my father I inherited quantitative strengths and the problem-solving temperament of an engineer. He is a reflective but independent man who owns his own carton manufacturing business. I spent many hours in his factory learning about operations and managing people (my father has 70 employees, from factory workers and engineers to salesmen and administrators). From my father I also inherited my love of nature. The country is still where we both go to find calm away from the pressures of life. Some of my favorite memories are the hours we spent discussing the hazards and pleasures of agriculture on the country property where he grew strawberries.

?My mother, however, has been my true role model, and it was from her that I inherited my drive and leadership skills. She is Morocco’s first dermatologist and first female professor of medicine. She has always been a great inspiration to me and a great source of emotional support. The grand lesson she taught me is that if a woman wants to be successful, she has to be the best, better than any male. This is a rule she has always applied to herself.

?Even my mother embodies Morocco’s contradictions. She is a very modern woman who assumes great responsibility in her professional and private lives, but a traditional woman as well. While she supports my loftiest ambitions she also insists that I learn how to cook and learn more housekeeping skills! So, during my vacations, at her insistence, I took cooking classes to become the more “perfect” housewife.

?Throughout my childhood, family conversations often focused on Morocco’s problems and ways to solve them. My mother’s concern for Morocco led to her election as director of the education and healthcare department of Forum 21, a not-for-profit organization that proposes situation analyses and makes recommendations to Morocco’s legislators. Like my mother, I also attend the Forum 21 sessions to discuss Morocco’s problems with other participants. Part of my patriotic impulse to help Morocco stems from my parents and the socially focused environment they created.

?I was educated in a French school in the capital of Morocco, Rabat. Not only did I have both French and Moroccan professors, but the French school also attracted all the foreigners living in Rabat. As a result, it has always seem perfectly natural to me to have classmates or co-workers from all over the world: Europe, Japan, China, Africa, the U.S.. ?At the French school, we were taught French history, French literature, French civilization, and even France’s civil rights and laws! It’s no wonder that I became eager to discover this country from the inside, and perhaps other challenges as well. I also wanted to study in the engineering field because I was not only attracted by quantitative disciplines but also because I knew Morocco needed all kinds of engineers (mechanical, chemistry, software…) to build its developing economy. After my high school graduation, my excellent grades enabled me to obtain my French high school diploma with the highest honors, ranking first among 300 senior students. In 1994, I was admitted to the most selective Classes Préparatoires aux Grandes Ecoles, the preparatory classes for scientific and engineering French schools, at the Lycee Louis Le Grand in Paris. My peers were all the best students of their high schools, and the competition was tougher than anything I had known. The only things that mattered to me then were mastering math, physics, chemistry, philosophy, and the next subject so I could be among the 5 percent who made it into the best schools. At Lycee Louis Le Grand, students are called “taupes” (“moles” in English) because the study program is so intense you have to bury yourself in your books with little chance of ever seeing daylight. After a few months, many students feel like giving up and leaving the program (30% actually do after the first year). I found myself in a radically new environment, facing the additional challenge to adapt to a harsh competitive process. Fortunately, my determination saved me from becoming discouraged by the workload. At the end of these grueling preparatory classes, I took competitive exams for France’s scientific schools. I was admitted to all the best French Grandes Ecoles and joined Ecole Polytechnique (whose acceptance rate is around 3%) as the only female foreigner admitted out of 6,000 applicants!

?While I was a student at the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris, I met my husband, a Moroccan national who was born in France and has lived in France, Turkey, and the United States. This encounter was another kind of cross-cultural experience for me as my husband is a Moroccan expatriate who has never lived in Morocco. Our visions of Morocco are clearly different, and this has always put some spice in our relationship! He is also passionate about negotiation and psychological impacts of interpersonal relationships.

?After 4 more years in France, where I worked as a Business Analyst for Arthur D. Little, My husband and I decided to start from scratch and begin a new life on the west coast of the U.S. For him, it meant fulfilling an old dream, an academic career (in fact, he is now a third-year Ph.D. student in the Organizational Behavior Department of the Stanford Graduate School of Business). For me, it meant Silicon Valley, the “Mecca” of new technologies, start-ups, and entrepreneurs; the home of brilliant young technology “freaks” and billionaires; and a legendary place of advanced knowledge. In the Valley, I could learn even more about telecommunications and the Internet, my practice area at Deloitte and the industry in which I am determined to build my career. Three months after transferring to Deloitte’s Palo Alto office, I began to realize that staying in consulting, where one is by definition more an observer than an actor, would prevent me from being at the center of things. To be at the leading edge of technology advances, I decided instead to work in a research & development position and joined France Telecom R&D.

?Since 1994, then, I have lived the “expatriate’s life” outside Morocco for more than a third of my young life. It might seem natural for me to have distanced myself from my Moroccan preoccupations and my crusade for Morocco’s development. But my extended absence from my homeland has actually intensified my love for it, and I still return to Morocco four times a year (whether I am in France or in the U.S.).

?I express my love for Morocco in many ways. In my personal life, I have maintained most of my close friendships in Morocco, and visit each of them as much as I can when I return there. I also fast during the month of Ramadan and observe the same Ramadan traditions that I would if I were in Morocco (I cook the traditional soup, Harira, for example, and I gather with friends for the traditional breaking of the fast).

?I also express my love through community service. As a student at Ecole Polytechnique, I joined the AMGE, the Moroccan French Grandes Ecoles Students Association. In particular, I was in charge of organizing the annual job fair, which invited Moroccan companies operating in France to meet with and recruit Moroccan students studying in France. In 1998, I convinced ten of these companies to spend around $2,000 each to participate in the fair, and they eventually hired seven Moroccan students for entry and mid-level positions. ?In 1999, I also led the organization of a festival at Ecole Polytechnique that AMGE sponsored to help Paris-area French and European students discover Moroccan music and food. I arranged to have Moroccan belly dancers perform and served Moroccan specialties and mint tea. The event was a total success: more than 500 individuals attended, and since then, the Moroccan festival has become an annual institution organized every year by the AMGE in a different Grande Ecole.

?As an Ecole Polytechnique student, I also joined the humanitarian association, Action Sociale de la KES (ASK), which organized tutoring sessions in the poorer suburbs of Paris. Through ASK, I began tutoring Malika, a nine-year-old Moroccan girl who, knowing only Arabic, could not understand her classes. For a year and a half I tutored her in French and math for two hours every week. She opened up to me personally and told me stories about her life and her dreams. At her end of year party, I was happy to be able to meet her family and congratulate them in Arabic for their daughter’s accomplishment. She was admitted to the next grade.

?These first experiences at helping Morocco “from a distance” were intensely satisfying and inspired me to think of bigger, more ambitious ways to help. Two years ago, my father and my brother created a company called that promotes Moroccan handicrafts by selling them all over the world via a web site. I was closely involved from the beginning as a shareholder, and I was particularly responsible for selecting the pieces of Moroccan handicraft we sold and transforming part of them to make them more appealing for the western market, like changing colors and materials while keeping the original features. I spent my vacations traveling around Morocco, meeting with craftspeople and convincing 60 of them, representing more than 15 corporations, to become our partners in showing off the beauty of Moroccan crafts. My challenge was to have them agree to sign off on our “quality charter,” which requires them to respect copyright laws and satisfy Western quality standards. Today, it is a successful company with revenues of over $500,000 in 2004, mainly in Europe. At Stanford, I would like to work on a project to learn how to promote the company in the United States and write a business plan toward this goal.

?In Morocco, I am also one of the founders and since 1999 have been the president of a small association that is dedicated to improving Morocco’s educational system. We publish a quarterly journal on the status of education in Morocco, and we fund 20 scholarships a year for Moroccans aged 8 to 12 who lack family or resources, so they can study in Morocco’s best schools. From my own finances, I also personally sponsor two of these scholarships (amount in Moroccan currency : 15,000 DH, which represents $1,500) and meet with my two young scholars every time I return to Morocco. At Stanford I would to give this association an international dimension by building new relationships with similar U.S. associations, either through a summer internship or through the Africa Business Club. We would ask for support from U.S. companies that deal directly with Morocco. With these funds, we would also organize immersion trips to Morocco for U.S. high school students and to the U.S. for Moroccan high school students.

?I have also integrated my love for Morocco into my professional life. I am the project manager in San Francisco for Studio Creatif, France Telecom R&D’s futurist lab for thinking imaginatively about the future of the organization. I am in charge of designing new concepts of telecommunication services to be offered by France Telecom to CEOs in 2012. In 2002, I interviewed 30 CEOs and would-be CEOs in France and in the United States to understand how they picture themselves in the future. To enrich the study and give it a stronger international dimension, I decided to include Moroccan CEOs in my sample since it is important to me to look at the other, developing world side of the “globalization” coin. So, during one of my vacations in Morocco I interviewed five leading Moroccan CEOs. Finally, I have also integrated my love for Morocco into my professional long-term goals. As I elaborate in essay B, I plan to take advantage of my position at the international division of a global telecommunications company to contribute to help North African countries develop telecommunications and Internet industries.

?My ability to deepen my contribution to Morocco’s future will not rely only on my professional experiences and skills, however. My broad international experiences—in France, Europe, Africa, and the U.S.–have given me interpersonal skills and a sense of perspective that will be essential as I implement my ambitious my dreams of helping Morocco.

?Seeking out multicultural experiences is one of my joys. When I was a Research Assistant at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, in 1999, I had an American roommate and an Indian roommate. Though I considered myself, as a Parisian and Moroccan, to be a cosmopolitan person, Anuradha was the first Indian I had ever met. We quickly began sharing our stories and experiences about our countries, and exchanging our favorite dishes. We both realized that though Morocco and India are distant geographically, our cultures and traditions were very similar. For example, we both had a henna ceremony in our weddings. This instinct to share and learn will help me build partnerships as I work toward Morocco’s brighter future.

?Today, as a Product Manager at France Telecom Research & Development, I am in charge of pitching eBusiness-related R&D project proposals to internal sponsors in France in order to win budgets for our research and manage these R&D projects. This requires me to play the role of intermediary between ours labs in France and San Francisco. As such, I often have to switch fluently from one culture to the other. Because of the time difference, the American team frequently uses email to send proposals, exchange comments, and obtain approvals. Even though I was not a huge fan of emails in France, I quickly adopted it as a primary means of communication since the San Francisco office prefers written to oral exchanges. In fact, I became so immersed in American office culture that I almost forgot that the French still prefer direct, phone-based exchanges for in-depth discussions. Learning how to work comfortably and well in the style that is most appropriate for a given culture has helped me to obtain the research budgets I need to achieve our goals.. These intercultural skills will also help me help Morocco.

?Though it looks like I may never have the chance to become Queen of Morocco, I will gladly settle for having a big impact on the future of Morocco.

Sharing a makeshift cake with strangers at the Charlotte airport as the clock strikes midnight on my birthday. Meeting with a Partner on the mountains of Park City, so breathless by the elevation I can barely get a word in. Dashing from an anniversary dinner to catch an impromptu flight to London for a project kick-off. My resume will have detailed my professional experiences to-date, but underneath each of the bullets are dozens of memories like the above. Upon reflection of these memories, one thing I know for sure is that I am not the typical Consultant. I have chosen adaptability to define me above other characteristics that may have hindered me from pursuing this path.

My favorite personality test will tell you that I am introverted, intuitive, a thinker, and a planner. Growing up, I was markedly different from my sisters, and you could typically find me reading in the clothing racks as my mother took us shopping, or out loud in the back seat of our family car while my sisters tried to listen to their favorite N*Sync song. As I considered my future career, my instinct told me that an introverted bookworm should not pursue a client-facing, heavily social and unpredictable career filled with endless experiences like the above.

Three years later, I am thankful that I overcame these fears and insecurities and adapted myself to the life of a Consultant, fully embracing these experiences. For others, adaptability might mean something else, but everyone will have to embrace some version of adaptability in the near future. At X, my focus has been building a market around the Future of Work – how technology, demographics, and globalization will change the nature of work. I have become a leader in this space, crafting our response to clients’ questions for dozens of discussions, pursuits, and conferences. I have succeeded at developing compelling thought leadership, but the fundamental challenge of driving this point of view in market is similar to the fears I once held as I embarked on my career.

I believe the central theme of the Future of Work is the concept of adaptability – the need for companies and individuals alike to be agile and willing to engage in lifelong learning to keep up with today’s constant rate of change. In the same way that I overcame my fears to pursue my passions, millions of workers (and their leaders) will have to overcome theirs in order to succeed in a future that is increasingly uncertain and irrevocably different – and that is a difficult pill to swallow.

Adapting to uncomfortable situations does not come naturally to many. Fortunately, my personal journey and background has accelerated this skill for me. I am the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors and the daughter of a failed small business owner who reinvented himself at 50. The epitome of strength and adaptability, my grandparents came to America after being liberated from the camps, started a family in Queens and opened a small Jewish bakery that was eventually passed on to my father. By the time I was born, the business was being overrun by supermarkets and my father’s lack of passion became its downfall. I grew up in an environment of uncertainty, but also with a role model who learned an entirely new trade after a 25-year career and found a job that excites him every day.

The time came for me to embrace the strength and adaptability of my forefathers this past November, when my mother suffered a sudden and fatal heart attack. Moving forward seemed inconceivable, but the following year turned out to be the highlight of my career to-date. The same week that my mother passed, I was offered a role directly supporting a Human Capital Partner in building a new practice grounded in the thought leadership I helped to develop in the Future of Work space. Despite my personal hardships, I could not pass up the opportunity to be involved in transforming the face of Human Capital. I took on the role, and was immediately immersed in setting the strategy for the new business that will deliver large-scale transformations following Future of Work discussions. This has meant gaining experience with cognitive technologies, considering how they will fundamentally change jobs, and developing new ways to transform the workforce for the future. It has been a fast-paced role, vastly different from traditional Consulting client work. Adaptability has revealed itself not only in the wake of life’s hardest moments, but also during exciting times like these, pushing me to take on ambiguous and advanced roles at X.

My insight into adaptability has been a personal journey that impacted not only my professional focus, but also my community work. Much of the struggle my father experienced in changing his career path came from not having a college degree. As a first generation college graduate, my passion for literacy and education access has steered me to become a leader in my community as a founding Board member of X and a volunteer high school mentor. I try to instill adaptability in the students I mentor and the non-profit leaders and school administrators I have the pleasure of working with, sharing the opportunities afforded by the same disruption my clients face such as rethinking the skills we teach our students, crowdsourcing global expertise to the classroom, and augmenting the physical classroom with digital tools. Adaptability in this context does not only mean prevailing over hardship to pursue your passions, but also fundamentally changing the way we think about delivering education in the future.

Grounded in the concept of adaptability, my personal, professional and community experiences have informed my dream of becoming an eminent strategist on transitioning Fortune 500s to the Future of Work and a Board member of innovative education NPOs transforming how we develop the future workforce. In pursuing an MBA from HBS, I will be able to bring my own unique perspectives and ability to adapt to the unparalleled case method, peer and alumni network and global community. This will accelerate and broaden my thinking on how to instill adaptability into organizations and our future workforce, ultimately deepening my ability to lead through the transition to the Future of “X”– work, education – you fill in the blank.

Being a part of the growth story for both my nation and my family’s business is what matters most to me. My experiences have led to my strong attachment to home and family, and I feel a strong responsibility to develop a legacy for Brasil and for Mendonca Propriedades, our family real estate development firm.

In retrospect, growing up in Sao Paulo was an experience of tremendous exposure to both wealth and poverty. Through our family business I interacted often with both middle class people like my own family, and those who had trouble paying their rent. This was just life as I knew it, and the culture and vitality of the city was what I focused on as I enjoyed international cuisine and celebrated Carnaval every year. My mother and father enjoyed art and culture and often took us to museums and events. My experience of Sao Paulo and Brasil was one of excitement and color.

When I attended University in the United States I was exposed to the stark contrast between my colorful, tropical city and what life was like in the US. While I was accustomed to the visual contrast between rich and poor in Sao Paulo, Ithaca New York was a city where most people lived a similar life. When I hosted friends in my home in Brasil they were shocked by the favelas (slums) visible through my high rise apartment windows. I was able to see my city with new eyes, and I wanted to do something about it.

Brasil is poised to be the economic powerhouse of South America, and I want to be part of this development and be a force for greater economic equality. The new opportunities in Brasil should be available to everyone – and the key is both access to sanitary dwellings and education. Since college I have volunteered to spend a few weeks a year teaching soccer to children in favelas, along with tutoring. I also run a fundraising effort every year for education in Brasil and have encouraged many of my friends to join my volunteer vacations.

In the long-term I plan to orient my career around developing our family business to have both a for-profit and pro-bono element. As I assist my father in growing our development activities in Sao Paulo and other cities in Brasil I will also set up a program where our employees may donate their time to help non-profit development organizations build affordable housing for the poorest residents of our city.

The economic renaissance in Brasil must lead us both to stronger development and to help those who are less fortunate. I plan to develop this legacy both for the city I love and for my family. I hope to see my children take over our business someday, and I want them to be proud of what we have accomplished.

We all need energy; energy is the basis of modern life. For the last 150 years, petroleum products have formed that foundation. These diverse petroleum derivatives, ranging from gasoline to cosmetics, have supported our economy and improved our quality of life. However, I’m a firm believer that there is now a better way.

My father, a petroleum geologist, explored worldwide for oil and gas. We lived overseas for many years, and his career sparked my interest in the energy industry. As a teenager, I realized that traditional petroleum energy was not for me. I learned that oil and gas would eventually run out, and that new technically and economically viable energy sources needed to be found. This belief guided my pursuit of a career in renewable fuels, and I am driven to find cleaner, more efficient fuels.

In college, I studied biological engineering and finance. Learning biology was critical to understanding the building blocks of renewable fuels. Engineering trained me to analyze the issues, assemble key information, and solve complex problems. Accounting and finance built my comprehension of project economics, financial markets, and key drivers for successful energy companies.

After graduation, I joined the United States Biodiesel Board (USBB) and became immediately engrossed in all technical aspects of our biodiesel programs. Given my diverse background, I was also tasked with managing regulatory and development projects. Working for a non-profit trade association at the forefront of renewable fuels exposes me to the breadth of a new industry. This opportunity has helped me understand the direction of the renewable fuels industry and my future role in it, while confirming that an MBA will improve my ability to achieve positive results for the industry and society.

Attending Stanford will immerse me in a collaborative culture geared toward confronting the challenges of the world’s future energy needs. The university’s Global Climate and Energy Project is focused on the development of environmentally friendly global energy systems. Stanford students have created the Energy Crossroads group to consider new energy solutions. Grants by the Gates Foundation and Lawrence Kemp to Stanford’s Program on Food Security and the Environment have enabled faculty and students to evaluate the worldwide impact of biofuels production. Stanford’s reputation attracts leaders searching to merge technological breakthroughs with venture capital funding.

Post-MBA, I will return to the renewable fuels industry by working for a start-up feedstock company or a venture capital firm. Both career paths require a solid understanding of finance, marketing, and economics – skills that a Stanford MBA will strengthen. Both paths will also use the technical, management, and leadership skills I forged at USBB and honed at Stanford. I am confident I will use what I’ve learned so far, add new skills and knowledge through a Stanford MBA, and help bring cleaner energy resources to the world.

As the high-tech industry is increasingly global, it is important for today’s high-tech manager to understand international business issues. My background and goals align with the Stanford MBA program. As I explained in my first essay, I want an MBA program with a diverse student body. One of the most attractive things to me about the GSB program is that such diversity is emphasized and valued.

It is no secret that Stanford’s Bay Area location is ideal for my goals in the high-tech industry. Studying in the center of Silicon Valley will provide access to many learning opportunities (such as lecturers from that industry, case studies, working on projects for local companies, visits to such companies and more). The location can facilitate finding the right job for my talents and interests when I graduate.

While earning a general management degree will help me achieve my short-term goal of becoming a project manager, the fact that I can build my own personal program at Stanford will help me focus on my long-term goals as well. I am very interested in unique courses such as “Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital,” which relate tomy long-termgoal of becoming the CEO of my own company.

As a child I often traveled with my father to oversee our apartment buildings in Sao Paulo. We owned several small buildings in humble neighborhoods, and my father regularly performed maintenance himself. As the fortunes of the city improved, he was able to finance the development of a larger apartment building when I was in high school. This project was fascinating to me as I observed his meetings with bankers, contractors, and even a marketing consultant. The building was a success, and he has since developed several additional properties.

The interest in my family business led me to apply to the Cornell School of Hotel Administration. My aspiration was to learn about the hospitality business and work with my father to develop high end hotel properties to add to our real estate portfolio. While in school I learned a tremendous amount about US business, and was inspired to learn more afterwards by taking a job in management consulting immediately after graduation. My goal was to apply best practices from my experience with other companies to our family real estate firm.

After two years at BCG covering a variety of industries and focusing on operational efficiency, I moved back to Brasil and joined Mendonca Propriedades as our VP of Business Development. This is a new role and I work with my father, the CEO, and our CFO and COO to identify new areas of expansion for the business. Over the last year I have successfully sourced financing for our first hotel project. We will break ground next month.

Between Cornell and BCG, I have a strong foundation for my future goal to take over the family business and develop not only throughout Brasil but also in other South American countries. However, the last year of working in the family business has shown that I still have much to learn. I have been able to bring my knowledge of best practices in global business to inform my father and the other C-level executives, however, we need to hire a more professional team going forward and I need to develop my leadership and management skills to be an even more effective general manager of a rapidly growing and operationally complex organization. Stanford’s unparalleled leadership development, starting with Touchy Feely and extending into courses like Managing Groups and Teams as well as The Executive Challenge are directly related to my goals. I am excited to study with Professor James Patell, whose work establishing partnerships with Stanford and non-profits in developing countries inspires me. I know my experience at Stanford will position me to have a meaningful impact on both Mendonca Propriedades and Brasil.

I joined the United States Biodiesel Board (USBB) as a technical projects manager straight out of college. USBB had recently hired a consultant to bring financial discipline and project accountability to its independent project managers. Historically, our project managers were good at taking action, but poor at communicating deliverables and financial progress. As recommended by the consultant, USBB’s Operations team hired an IT firm to build a digital platform that could communicate project progress to ensure completion within budget. Unfortunately, our project managers preferred the freedom of the past and collectively blocked transition to the platform. I answered the challenge by using my leadership and collaborative skills to drive a solution that positively changed the way USBB operates.

Recognizing that a failure to implement the system would continue the cycle of incomplete projects and fiscal irresponsibility, I convinced Operations and the consultant that I could rally the program managers. As a young program manager, I commanded little influence over this freewheeling group. They perceived me as a tenderfoot, issuing directions with no real understanding of USBB’s workings. I approached the team as a respectful, technologically savvy co-worker who could assist in the transition. I hosted webinars, training our program managers and key contractors, and worked late, familiarizing the staff with the platform. I brought the consultant and managers together to share ideas about platform improvements. I even volunteered to manage others’ projects on the platform until they became comfortable using it. The transition went smoother than anticipated as the USBB staff rapidly grew comfortable with the communication platform. For the first time, project finances were under control, and now the platform is the backbone for USBB’s operations.

Project managers and Operations have thanked me for championing the platform, and the consultant highlighted my contributions to my boss. Recognizing and respecting the other side’s viewpoint is critical in working together to reach the best solution. This philosophy, coupled with my leadership skills, helped me pull USBB out of the digital Dark Ages.

When I was first hired as COO of Hobby Stop, a hobby supplies retailer with 50 employees and gross revenues of approximately $2.5M per year, our six-month-old flagship location was losing $35K per month. Because I had no prior operating or managerial experiences, I was quite apprehensive. I was given complete control over purchasing, marketing, payroll, and customer service, and I discovered that I have the ability to inspire and lead.

My first step was to rely on what I knew best – finance. Drawing on my experience as an investment banker, I identified the “low hanging fruit” through careful analysis of the stores’ financial statements. I developed two broad financial objectives: boost revenues by increasing store traffic and cut costs by reducing payroll, maintenance and merchandise expenditures. One of the first leadership lessons was that I couldn’t accomplish these goals by myself. I wanted to lead by example and inspire my employees by demonstrating that I was part of the team. So during the first few weeks, I rotated through the various jobs and learned the business from the ground up. I worked at the cashier’s station, cleaned the store, stocked the supply room, and composed ads for the newspaper. After my rotation through the operations, I took a leap of faith and promoted two young but motivated employees to be my assistant managers.

Another important lesson I learned about leadership was how crucial it is to earn my employees’ trust. Drawing from my experience on a management consulting assignment at Advent Games, I interviewed every employee and asked him or her the following four questions: “What is your role? What would you like to be doing? What can be improved? What do we do right that we shouldn’t change?” These one-on-one meetings encouraged a sense of ownership and signaled my willingness to listen and learn. By demonstrating an interest in every employee’s concerns and doing my best to accommodate them, I was able to earn their trust. At first, they were apprehensive. I collected the feedback, and I made concrete changes based on the suggestions I received: modifying the dress code, granting employees purchase discounts, and eliminating onerous operating policies.

Overall, I set expectations high with the Hobby Stop team and trusted that my employees could meet them. The most effective change I made was to focus my employees on common goals. I created employee incentives and rewards for key metrics like repeat customer purchases and inventory turns by category. I instituted new policies to improve customer service and the quality of the customer’s experience by designating specific employees to customer service issues while another group focused exclusively on sales. As a result, a customer-oriented culture developed, and I saw my employees bend over backwards to give the customer the most exceptional experience possible. The results were promising; we brought the flagship store to break even within three months.

SBC’s star-studded consultant team is unparalleled. Our clients benefit from current intelligence that we receive from the former MBA Admissions Officers from Harvard HBS, Stanford GSB and every elite business program in the US and Europe.  These MBA Admissions Officers have chosen to work exclusively with SBC.

Just two of the many superstars on the SBC team: Meet Erin , who was Assistant Director of MBA Admissions at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business (GSB) and Director of MBA Admissions at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.

Meet Andrea , who served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at Harvard Business School (HBS) for over five years.

Tap into this inside knowledge for your MBA applications by requesting a consultation .

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How to Write Stanford MBA Essays that Get You Admitted

Writing your essays to get into Stanford’s MBA program can be intimidating, especially when your competition will be writing about their years of experience in the investment banking industry and interning on Wall Street. However, with the right tips and strategies, you can write Stanford MBA essays that speak as much to your work ethic and character as they do to your financial acumen and analytical skills. Here are some tips to help you get started writing Stanford MBA essays that get you admitted.

Stanford GSB essays

Every year, the admission committee of the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University evaluates more than 9,000 applications. They read essays from all over the world and evaluate thousands of letters of recommendation. What they really try to understand through the essays is who you are as a person and how you think Stanford will help you achieve your aspirations.

Here are the essays that you are required to write:

1) What Matters Most to You and Why?

2) Why Stanford?

3) Optional: Think about times you’ve created a positive impact, whether in professional, extracurricular, academic, or other settings. What was your impact? What made it significant to you or to others?

What matters to you most and why?

How do you explain who you are in an essay?

Before you begin to answer such a unique question, try to read some sample Stanford essays, and spend time reflecting with yourself, your family, or a good friend:

Think about your motivations, passions, and goals. What are your values and which ones seem to have influenced your path the most? What people or experiences shaped your perspective the most? Talk about your interests and accomplishments. Why are these important to you? What have you learned from these experiences? How have they shaped the person you are today?

What are your aspirations? What are your goals in the short and long term? Make sure your goals are realistic and that an MBA makes sense on your way to achieving those. Talk about how Stanford specifically fits this plan and will help you realize your goals. The more specific you are, the more convincing you will sound.

How to stand out from the crowd

Each of us is more than a GMAT score , a GPA, or years of experience. Your life experiences, set of values, and passions are some of the things that are unique to you. Speak in an honest voice and try to reflect your personality through the essays. Talk about the reasoning behind different actions or choices, and the feelings you had at the time. Explain why those things were important to you and how they are meaningful. The better you do this, the more likely it is that the reader will get a sense of who you are and why a person like you could enhance the MBA experience for the rest of the class.

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Stanford MBA Essay Tips, Analysis, Framework for 2025 Intake

By admitStreet Team

9 September 2024

Applying to Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) is a dream for many aspiring business leaders. Known for its innovation, entrepreneurial spirit, and transformative education, Stanford GSB challenges applicants to reflect deeply on their personal values and professional goals through its essay prompts. For the 2025 MBA admissions cycle, Stanford requires two essays: Essay A, “What matters most to you, and why?” and Essay B, “Why Stanford?” These essays, though deceptively simple in their prompts, demand thoughtful introspection and a clear articulation of your motivations and aspirations.

In this article, we will delve into the nuances of these essay prompts, offering insights and tips to help you craft compelling responses. We will also consider Stanford’s advice on essay length, which emphasizes brevity and effectiveness. By the end of this guide, you will be equipped with the tools and strategies needed to present a powerful and authentic application to Stanford GSB.

What Stanford MBA Admissions Committee Seeks

Framework to write a winning essay, tips for writing, what stanford mba admissions committee seeks from this essay, final thoughts, stanford mba essay a.

What matters most to you, and why

When Stanford GSB asks, “What matters most to you, and why?”, they aren’t looking for a perfect answer or a specific theme. Instead, they seek authenticity and depth. The admissions committee wants to understand your core values and motivations—the driving forces behind your decisions, actions, and ambitions. They are looking for introspection, vulnerability, and self-awareness. This essay is your chance to reveal who you are beyond your resume and achievements. It’s about what drives you, what you stand for, and how your experiences have shaped your values.

Stanford’s approach to this essay reflects its broader mission to develop leaders who make a difference in the world. The admissions team is keen to see if you have the introspective ability to reflect deeply on your life, identify what is genuinely important to you, and articulate it in a compelling manner. They want to see your thought process and the reasoning behind your priorities. In essence, they are looking for candidates who not only have ambitious goals but also a strong sense of self and a clear understanding of what truly motivates them.

Step 1: Deep Introspection

Start by asking yourself the central question: “What matters most to me, and why?” This might seem straightforward, but it requires deep introspection. Don’t rush this process. Spend time reflecting on your life, values, and experiences. Consider the moments that have had a profound impact on you, the lessons you’ve learned, and the values that guide your decisions.

Step 2: Brainstorm Key Moments

Write down the 15 to 20 most significant events, accomplishments, interests, or experiences in your life. Include the good, the bad, the astounding, and the challenging. Think of events from your early childhood to the present day. This list should be comprehensive, capturing a wide range of experiences that have shaped who you are.

Step 3: Identify Common Themes

Review your list and identify common themes or patterns. What do these moments reveal about your values and priorities? Look for connections between different experiences and consider how they collectively define what matters most to you. These themes will form the foundation of your essay.

Step 4: Select Key Stories

Choose a few diverse items from your list that best support a central theme. These stories should illustrate how your values have influenced your actions and decisions. Make sure they are personal, specific, and reflective of your unique journey. Avoid generic or overused topics unless you have a truly distinctive angle.

Step 5: Analyze and Reflect

Incorporate a thorough analysis of your chosen stories. Explain the “why” behind each experience—why it was significant, what it taught you, and how it relates to your core values. This reflection is crucial as it demonstrates your self-awareness and ability to derive meaningful insights from your experiences.

Step 6: Weave a Cohesive Narrative

Craft a cohesive narrative that ties your stories together. Your essay should have a clear structure, with a beginning, middle, and end. Start with an engaging introduction that sets the stage for your theme. Use the body paragraphs to delve into your key stories and reflections. Conclude with a powerful ending that reinforces your central message and leaves a lasting impression.

1. Be Authentic and Honest

Authenticity is paramount. Write about what genuinely matters to you, not what you think the admissions committee wants to hear. Your sincerity will shine through and make your essay more compelling.

2. Show, Don’t Just Tell

Instead of simply stating your values, illustrate them through your experiences. Use vivid descriptions and specific examples to bring your stories to life. Show how your values have influenced your actions and decisions.

3. Focus on the “Why”

The “why” is critical in this essay. Make sure to explain why each experience or value is important to you. This reflection demonstrates your depth of thought and self-awareness.

4. Avoid Clichés and Generic Themes

While it’s okay to write about common themes, ensure your approach is unique and personal. Avoid clichés and focus on your individual perspective and experiences. Your essay should reflect your unique journey and insights.

5. Seek Feedback

Discuss your ideas and drafts with people you trust—friends, family, mentors. Their input can help you validate your themes and ensure your essay is both authentic and impactful. However, be careful not to lose your voice in the process.

6. Edit and Refine

Revise your essay multiple times. Pay attention to clarity, coherence, and conciseness. Ensure your narrative flows smoothly and your message is clear. Proofread carefully to eliminate any grammatical errors or typos.

7. Be Vulnerable

Don’t be afraid to share your vulnerabilities and challenges. Authenticity often comes from being open about your struggles and how you overcame them. This can make your essay more relatable and powerful.

Stanford MBA Essay B

“Why Stanford?”

Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) aims to understand the unique motivations and aspirations of its applicants through its essay prompts. Essay B, “Why Stanford?”, delves into your personal reasons for choosing Stanford over other top-tier business schools. Unlike the conventional “What are your goals?” question, Stanford’s prompt challenges you to articulate why the GSB is the ideal place for you to pursue your ambitions. The admissions committee looks for authenticity, deep research, and a clear understanding of how the GSB’s offerings align with your personal and professional goals.

Stanford values individuals who are not just dreamers but also doers—those who have a clear vision and the capability to execute it. This essay is your opportunity to demonstrate that you are such an individual. By sharing your motivations, past experiences, and specific aspirations, you can show the admissions committee that Stanford is uniquely positioned to help you achieve your dreams.

Crafting a compelling response to Essay B involves a structured approach that intertwines your personal narrative with specific aspects of the GSB experience. Here’s a framework to help you create a winning essay:

1. Start with a Hook: Begin your essay with a captivating story or anecdote from your past that highlights your motivation for your career goals. This could be a formative experience, a pivotal moment, or a personal passion that has shaped your aspirations. For instance, if you’re passionate about developing green technologies, you might start with a story about your first encounter with sustainable practices or a significant project that sparked your interest in this field.

2. Clearly Define Your Goals: Despite Stanford’s unconventional prompt, it’s essential to articulate your career goals. Be specific about your short-term and long-term aspirations. Explain how these goals align with your personal values and past experiences. Clarity here is crucial, as it demonstrates your focused vision and commitment to your chosen path.

3. Explain Why an MBA is Necessary: Discuss why you need an MBA to achieve your goals. Highlight the skills and knowledge gaps you currently have and how an MBA will help bridge these gaps. Avoid vague or generic statements. Instead, provide concrete reasons why the advanced training, leadership development, and networking opportunities at an MBA program are essential for your career trajectory.

4. Demonstrate Why Stanford: This is the heart of your essay. Show that you have done thorough research on Stanford GSB. Go beyond mentioning popular courses like “Interpersonal Dynamics” or “Startup Garage.” Instead, delve into specific aspects of Stanford that resonate with you personally. This could include unique programs, faculty, extracurricular activities, or even broader Stanford University resources that align with your interests and goals.

5. Connect to the GSB Culture: Stanford prides itself on its culture of innovation, collaboration, and impact. Illustrate how you will contribute to and benefit from this culture. Mention specific clubs, initiatives, or community activities you’re eager to join. Demonstrate that you understand and embrace the spirit of Stanford GSB and that you are excited to be part of this dynamic community.

6. Conclude with a Vision: End your essay by tying everything together. Reiterate how a Stanford MBA will be the catalyst for achieving your goals. Paint a picture of the impact you hope to make in your field or society at large. Ensure your conclusion reflects the themes and motivations discussed in your introduction, creating a cohesive and compelling narrative.

1. Be Authentic: Authenticity is key. Admissions committees can easily spot insincerity. Write about what truly matters to you and how Stanford fits into that picture. Avoid clichés and overly generic statements.

2. Do Thorough Research: Go beyond surface-level information. Engage with current students, attend virtual events, and read up on specific programs. Your essay should reflect a deep understanding of what makes Stanford unique and how it aligns with your goals.

3. Avoid Popular Courses: Many applicants mention well-known courses like “Interpersonal Dynamics” or “Startup Garage.” Challenge yourself to find other offerings that resonate with your personal and professional interests. This demonstrates a deeper level of engagement with the GSB’s offerings.

4. Be Specific and Concise: With a word limit of 350 words, every sentence counts. Be concise and specific in your writing. Avoid unnecessary jargon or verbose language. Each sentence should add value to your narrative.

5. Connect with Essay A: Ensure there is coherence between Essay A and Essay B. While Essay A delves into what matters most to you, Essay B should reflect how your time at Stanford will further those values and goals. Consistency in your essays shows clarity of thought and purpose.

6. Show Your Unique Perspective: Stanford values diversity in experiences and perspectives. Highlight what makes you unique and how you will bring a distinct voice to the GSB community. Your individual perspective is your greatest asset—use it to stand out.

Writing your Stanford GSB essays is a journey of self-discovery and strategic communication. Essay A asks you to reflect on your deepest values, while Essay B challenges you to articulate why Stanford is the perfect place to pursue your ambitions. Together, these essays provide the admissions committee with a holistic view of who you are, what drives you, and how you envision your future.

Remember, Stanford GSB values authenticity, clarity, and a genuine connection to its community and mission. As you write, keep these principles in mind and ensure that your essays reflect a true representation of your aspirations and character.

If you’re looking for personalized guidance to navigate the complexities of the Stanford GSB application, consider leveraging the expertise of AdmitStreet’s MBA admissions consulting services. Our team of experienced consultants can provide tailored advice and feedback to help you craft standout essays and strengthen your overall application. Let us help you take the next step towards achieving your MBA dreams.

For more information, visit AdmitStreet and start your journey to Stanford GSB today.

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Stanford GSB Application Essays Advice

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London Business School Students

Tips for the London Business School Essay

London Business School (LBS) ranks number four in Poets&Quants ’ “ Top Business Schools ” ranking. Established in 1964, LBS is known for its diverse global community and expansive offerings.

The business school’s core essay question has remained the same since 2015. Denise Potter, an admissions consultant at mbaMission , recently broke down the LBS essay prompt and offered advice on crafting the ideal approach.

The core required LBS prompt asks applicants the following:

What are your post-MBA goals and how will your prior experience and the London Business School programme contribute towards these? (500 words)

The goal of this essay, Potter says, is to convey your long-term vision for your career with a clear plan on how LBS will help you get there. Ideally, you’ll want to research what specific offerings at LBS can help you achieve your goals.

“Demonstrating your authentic interest in the program by giving concrete examples and drawing clear connections between what the school offers, what you need, and who you are is key to crafting a compelling essay response here,” Potter says.

OPTIONAL ESSAY

LBS also offers an optional essay prompt that asks applicants the following:

Is there any other information you believe the Admissions Committee should know about you and your application to London Business School? (500 words)

The optional essay is typically for explaining gaps or problematic points in your application—from a poor GPA to a gap in work experience. This essay, Potter says, is truly optional.

“If you feel you need to clarify an aspect of your profile, first check the other parts of the school’s application, which already includes several opportunities to address certain issues (such as academic performance and disciplinary instances),” Potter says. “If you can discuss your concern elsewhere instead, do so, and avoid using this essay to simply repeat any information provided via that avenue.”

The best way to approach this essay is to tell a story that is essential to understanding your character. It can help to take a step back and consider what the admissions committee already knows about you from your application and what they might not know.

“If you do not feel that your candidacy includes any elements that need further clarification, however, you might use this essay to instead offer a more rounded, positive representation of yourself—but be thoughtful about this opportunity,”

Sources: mbaMission , P&Q

Next Page:  How to Excel in Virginia Darden’s Essays

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Admission to the Stanford MBA Program

Your story starts here. But before the late-night study sessions, before your global experience, before you can get your MBA, you need to apply.

Take a look at our entering MBA class . At Stanford GSB, you’ll find yourself surrounded by smart, driven people from all over the world aspiring to make a difference. Your colleagues will push you in ways you could never do on your own. Stanford’s culture of collaboration creates an environment unlike any other in which students learn, lead, and grow with each other. In that collaborative spirit, hear what a few students have to say about applying:

Personalizing Your Admission Journey

Create or update your MBA Profile! Head to the MyStanfordGSB.Info page to see a personalized dashboard for your MBA journey. The MyStanfordGSB prospect portal helps you track your application progress, register for upcoming events, and engage with stories and content relevant to you.

Applying to the Stanford MBA Program

The big question on every applicant’s mind is: What is Stanford GSB looking for?

We won’t give you a checklist to mark off, because there isn’t one. There is no typical Stanford MBA student, no ideal for applicants to chase. Our advice is to just focus on you and ensure that your application is a true reflection of yourself.

That being said, we do look at some general evaluation criteria: how you think, how you lead, and how you see the world. The way you express those qualities should be authentically your own.

As you work through your application, our admissions office is more than happy to answer any questions after you read through this information.

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