Tuesday Tips: Stanford MBA Essay Tips for 2024-2025
The Stanford Graduate School of Business has announced the Stanford MBA essay questions for this year’s application. Today, we’re sharing our Stanford MBA essay tips to help you create a positive impression through your application materials. This year’s essays remain largely unchanged from previous seasons.
The admissions committee at Stanford has gained significant insight into applicants by asking, “What matters most, and why?” along with “Why Stanford?” These questions are simple, yet the answers are revealing. Also, the optional essay allows you to go beyond your resume and describe a time you had an impact.
What is Stanford Looking For?
“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 also seem to have this ‘X’ factor associated with them. Almost like an ‘unexpected’ trait, talent, or experience,” says a former GSB admissions officer now on the SBC team.
Many students are intimidated to apply to Stanford GSB for their MBA in light of its high ranking and competitive admissions numbers. However, here at Stacy Blackman Consulting, we have worked with hundreds of applicants over the years who have successfully gained admission to Stanford. We shared some of our successful applicants’ essential traits to help everyone get admitted to top-tier schools.
Our successful Stanford MBA applicants demonstrated real character. That means they have helped others and shown they share a sense of community. Also, they showed that they cared about the world beyond their material wants and needs in their essays.
As Stanford advises, “answer the question. Resist the urge to ‘package’ yourself into what you think Stanford wants to see. Doing so will only prevent us from understanding who you really are and what you hope to accomplish. The most impressive essays are the most authentic.” Therefore, these essays need to be personal and reveal your personality and what drives you.
Listen to B-Schooled Podcast Episode #152: Spotlight on Stanford GSB
Understanding Stanford’s culture and academics will help you tailor your application. Before starting these essays, it will be helpful to speak to Stanford students and alumni. As you start your research online, it may be helpful to read stories from GSB students. You can begin with our former client, Natasha Malpani (pictured).
Stanford MBA Essay Tips
Length
Both essays combined may not exceed 1,000 words. We recommend up to 650 words for Essay A and up to 350 words for Essay B. We often find effective essays that are written in fewer words.
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?
This Stanford MBA essay is about diving deep into what motivates you and why. Topics can range from personal history to big-picture visions of the future. This essay should not be explicitly career-related (and the most persuasive essays are likely not career-oriented at all). However, some of your themes will likely continue in the following essay, which may focus more on your career.
For example, you may have a personal passion that also has led you to a related career aspiration. Your character should shine through, and ideally, introspection and honesty carry through the entire set of essays. To generate ideas, try brainstorming for a few days. Ask friends and family what values they see you demonstrating in your life and choices.
What keeps you awake at night?
Keep a notebook by your bed so you can record your first thoughts upon waking up. Review your personal history for ideas. When you look back at your life, what do you admire and regret about your choices? Are there moments in your life that have led to a change in direction? Who has impacted your decisions? These are the kinds of questions to ask yourself as you brainstorm topics for this essay.
It is tough to write such an open-ended and challenging essay. To focus, use detailed and specific anecdotes. Clear examples will provide the reader with images and stories to understand your perspective. After reading hundreds of essays, the ones that have vivid stories in them stand out the most.
However, Stanford GSB specifically advises focusing on people and experiences that have influenced you. Accomplishments and achievements are great, but Stanford wants to know you. Don’t be scared of the challenging moments in life – often, self-awareness emerges from challenges. Whatever experiences you choose, it’s imperative to talk about why they impacted your life and your values.
Along with colorful examples, talk about how you felt, thought, and reacted both at the time and as you reflected later. The “why” will come from your reactions to your life experience or people who have influenced you and the resulting introspection.
Curious about your chances of getting into Stanford GSB? Contact us to talk strategy with a free 15-minute advising session with an SBC Principal Consultant.
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.
After explaining who you are, you will tell why your next step is a Stanford MBA. If you are applying to both the MBA and MSx, make sure you can highlight the advantages of both programs for your situation. For example, you might have significant work experience and also see the benefits of attending a two-year program. Therefore, you could be interested in either option to achieve your goals.
The sub-questions for this essay cover both why you are interested in pursuing an MBA and why you specifically want to attend Stanford GSB for your MBA. Stanford GSB wants to know that your aspirations will be uniquely satisfied by the program. As a result, school research will help you explain how academics and community matter to you.
Be as specific as possible to provide evidence that you have done your research. Have you met current students and alumni? Who are the professors you are excited about? What are the unique programs? Is Stanford’s culture appealing to you, and why? Think about using specific examples, like the career path of one particular alum you admire.
If the question seems too vast, take a few minutes to close your eyes and reflect.
Envision your life in twenty years. Where do you live? How do you spend your days? What is your favorite activity? Does this vision fit into your career aspirations? Don’t be shy about your ambitions. Once you have identified your dream career, make sure an MBA is a big part of achieving your plans.
Also, consider that Stanford likes to see applicants who dream big and have the credibility to achieve their goals. Be bold with your aspirations. Therefore write about global, big-picture issues you would like to solve. Not what your parents or partner want you to do, and not the next job on the corporate ladder. In particular, explain what you—with your unique background and values—want for your life.
Even though you should think big, don’t make the mistake of acting as if you are already perfect with no development needed. After all, you are a work in progress, and that’s appropriate. Remember that MBA programs want to help promising candidates reach their goals and be one step on an ambitious career trajectory.
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?
This Stanford MBA essay focuses on an example of a time when you created an impact. Stanford is looking for people who have inner strength and drive. But also, Stanford seeks those who can influence others.
First, think about when you influenced a group. Perhaps you were a leader or a vital team member. Then, think about the positive results of that experience and how you contributed. Finally, describe how it was important to you. Ideally, this significance fits with your overall application themes in the primary essays. And hopefully, it also shows a new side to your candidacy.
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The Stanford MBA application for the Class of 2027 is officially open. For more information, please visit the Stanford GSB admissions website. If you need guidance on your Stanford MBA application or wish to discuss your MBA plans, reach out for a complimentary analysis of your candidacy. We’re here to help!
Here’s a snapshot of the caliber of expertise on our SBC team.
Ashley
Ashley is a former MBA Admissions Board Member for Harvard Business School (HBS), where she interviewed and evaluated thousands of business school applicants for over a six year tenure. Ashley holds an MBA from HBS. During her HBS years, Ashley was the Sports Editor for the Harbus and a member of the B-School Blades Ice Hockey Team. After HBS, she worked in Marketing at the Gillette Company on Male and Female shaving ...
×Kerry
Kerry is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS). During her 5+ year tenure at HBS, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a wide range of backgrounds across the globe. She also led marketing and outreach efforts focused on increasing diversity and inclusion, ran the Summer Venture in Management Program (SVMP), and launched the 2+2 Program during her time in Admissions. Kerry holds a B.A. from Bates College and ...
×Pauline
A former associate director of admissions at Harvard Business School, Pauline served on the HBS MBA Admissions Board full-time for four years. She evaluated and interviewed HBS applicants, both on-campus and globally. Pauline's career has included sales and marketing management roles with Coca-Cola, Gillette, Procter & Gamble, and IBM. For over 10 years, Pauline has expertly guided MBA applicants, and her clients h ...
×Geri
Geri is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS). In her 7 year tenure in HBS Admissions, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a diverse set of academic, geographic, and employment backgrounds. Geri also traveled globally representing the school at outreach events in order to raise awareness for women and international students. In additio ...
×Laura
Laura comes from the MBA Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS) and is an HBS MBA alumnus. In her HBS Admissions role, she evaluated and interviewed hundreds of business school candidates, including internationals, women, military and other applicant pools, for five years. Prior to her time as a student at HBS, Laura began her career in advertising and marketing in Chicago at Leo Burnett where she worked on th ...
×Andrea
Andrea served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at Harvard Business School (HBS) for over five years. In this role, she provided strategic direction for student yield-management activities and also served as a full member of the admissions committee. In 2007, Andrea launched the new 2+2 Program at Harvard Business School – a program targeted at college junior applicants to Harvard Business School. Andrea has also served as a Career Coach for Harvard Business School for both cu ...
×Jennifer
Jennifer served as Admissions Officer at the Stanford (GSB) for five years. She holds an MBA from Stanford (GSB) and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Jennifer has over 15 years experience in guiding applicants through the increasingly competitive admissions process into top MBA programs. Having read thousands and thousands of essays and applications while at Stanford (GSB) Admiss ...
×Erin K.
Erin served in key roles in MBA Admissions--as Director at Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and Assistant Director at Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB). Erin served on the admissions committee at each school and has read thousands of applications in her career. At Haas, she served for seven years in roles that encompassed evaluation, outreach, and diversity and inclusion. During her tenure in Admissions at GSB, she was responsible for candidate evaluation, applicant outreach, ...
×Susie
Susie comes from the Admissions Office of the Stanford Graduate School of Business where she reviewed and evaluated hundreds of prospective students’ applications. She holds an MBA from Stanford’s GSB and a BA from Stanford in Economics. Prior to advising MBA applicants, Susie held a variety of roles over a 15-year period in capital markets, finance, and real estate, including as partner in one of the nation’s most innovative finance and real estate investment organizations. In that r ...
×Dione
Dione holds an MBA degree from Stanford Business School (GSB) and a BA degree from Stanford University, where she double majored in Economics and Communication with concentrations in journalism and sociology. Dione has served as an Admissions reader and member of the Minority Admissions Advisory Committee at Stanford. Dione is an accomplished and respected advocate and thought leader on education and diversity. She is ...
×Anthony
Anthony served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he dedicated over 10 years of expertise. During his time as a Wharton Admissions Officer, he read and reviewed thousands of applications and helped bring in a class of 800+ students a year. Anthony has traveled both domestically and internationally to recruit a ...
×Meghan
Meghan served as the Associate Director of Admissions and Marketing at the Wharton MBA’s Lauder Institute, a joint degree program combining the Wharton MBA with an MA in International Studies. In her role on the Wharton MBA admissions committee, Meghan advised domestic and international applicants; conducted interviews and information sessions domestically and overseas in Asia, Central and South America, and Europe; and evaluated applicants for admission to the program. Meghan also managed ...
×Amy
Amy comes from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where she was Associate Director. Amy devoted 12 years at the Wharton School, working closely with MBA students and supporting the admissions team. During her tenure at Wharton, Amy served as a trusted adviser to prospective applicants as well as admitted and matriculated students. She conducted admissions chats with applicants early in the admissions ...
×Ally
Ally brings six years of admissions experience to the SBC team, most recently as an Assistant Director of Admission for the full-time MBA program at Columbia Business School (CBS). During her time at Columbia, Ally was responsible for reviewing applications, planning recruitment events, and interviewing candidates for both the full-time MBA program and the Executive MBA program. She traveled both internationally and dome ...
×Erin B.
Erin has over seven years of experience working across major institutions, including University of Pennsylvania, Columbia Business School, and NYU's Stern School of Business. At Columbia Business School, Erin was an Assistant Director of Admissions where she evaluated applications for both the full time and executive MBA programs, sat on the admissions and merit scholarship committees and advised applicants on which program might be the best fit for them based on their work experience and pro ...
×Emma
Emma comes from the MBA Admissions Office at Columbia Business School (CBS), where she was Associate Director. Emma conducted dozens of interviews each cycle for the MBA and EMBA programs, as well as coordinating the alumni ambassador interview program. She read and evaluated hundreds of applications each cycle, delivered information sessions to audiences across the globe, and advised countless waitlisted applicants. ×
