Stanford GSB Calling all applicants for Class of 2016!

Not strict, they don't count words, but after reading essays for so many years the admissions people get an uncanny ability to eyeball an essay (or set of essays) and know if it's too long. They expect you to use your best judgment.

EssaySnark

PS: Welcome to GMAT Club!

And completing our recent run of Stanford essay reviews, here's our commentary about a real-life Essay 3, this one written for the "went beyond what was defined or established" question option.

Thanks to everyone who was brave enough to submit those Stanford drafts for these reviews!! Hope they prove helpful.

EssaySnark

Confession: writing up concise blurbs of extracurricular activities has me stressed and snacking on Starbursts. Now I know why people say to do your dream school app last. I'm going to be fat with cavities by the end of September.

The 185-character limits are ridiculous--barely longer than a tweet.

Basically. There goes any explanation of my leadership positions/progression in an organization.

No lie, I replaced "and" with "&" in order to squeeze some extra characters in. During my sugar high, I mused if this might ding me.

I had a question about activities.

I am an Indian female and a trained classical dancer. I organize/ perform at least one show a year. That is about my only activity outside work apart from gardening and they are both time consuming. I am not sure whether to include these as activities in my app because they do not fall under athletic, charitable, civic, community, or professional and I do not belong to any club or organization (I'm not sure if my dance class can be classified as an organization).

Any thoughts?

@spambmba, dance definitely qualifies! You should include it.

Hi guys,

Anyone out here attended the Stanford Admissions Event in Mumbai on 20th August ??

Does anybody know what the recommendation questions are for professional references?

I know that the peer recommendation questions are :

1) Please comment briefly on the context of your interaction with the applicant. If applicable, describe the applicant's role in your organization.
2) Please describe a time when the applicant changed your thinking or actions.
3) Describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant's response.
4) (Optional) Are there any additional statements about the applicant's performance, potential, or personal qualities you believe would be helpful to the MBA Admissions Office?

Would these be the same for the professional recs?

From Stanford's website (https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/programs/mb ... commenders):

Hi Guys-

I needed a quick clarification regarding the app form for Stanford.

For the education section, Stanford gives explicit instructions to
"Report/calculate your GPA, to the best of your ability, even if your institution does not list it on your transcript. If necessary, you may explain how you report it in the Additional Information section."

I am an Indian candidate who received UG scores on a % basis and not GPA. The form does not allow me to enter % so is it wise to convert my % scores to GPA using an indicator like WES. If not, what is the best way to enter the percentages?

Also, I know my rank in class unofficially (rank not listed on the transcript). Do you guys think I should mention it, given its unofficial??

Any help will be really appreciated.

Wish you guys all the best with the app process!!

I would recommend you to enter your percentage marks under cummulative GPA and 100 under scale.

This clearly shows that you got 80(say) out of 100 that means 80%.

And about the class rank - I would suggest you to enter the rank only if its really good (say within 15%) It doesnt matter if you have proof to show for it. They will never ask that. Just dont lie. If you are say in the top 35%, dont mention it as top 15%. It better to leave it as blank.

Thank you so much for the prompt response Ankurq7

I hope they wont think of 80 on 100 as relative grading (since it is entered under GPA), that would be far worse than 80%.

Anyone got pointers for the goal essay? I have room for 450 words, just like the suggestion. But I simply cannot fit all the elements in 450 words. Specifically, elements such as : career vision, how it relates to my career progression to date, personal reason/motivation for the career aspiration, plans to attain that goal, why mba, why standord, how I could contribute to stanford.

HELP!

I have been facing the same dilemma. What I am currently doing is to come up with single line answers for each of these questions and see how much space I have left for a little elaboration. I touched upon motivation for career aspiration in Essay 1. So I have one less answer to fit in

Hey guys,

Is there a way to preview the application in its full in pdf before submission? There's a button that says "proceed to submission", but I'm afraid that there's no turning back after I click it.

Click "PRINT FORMS" at the bottom left of the page (under Application Instructions). Then you will be able to preview the application in HTML or PDF.