Calling all Stanford Fall 2009 applicants!

i am in for stanford

but really struggling for ideas on q1 .

are they wanting values?
career goals?
other stuff such as family?
hobby?

or all of the above?

S

btw

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!!!!

you'll get it here https://www.stanford.edu/group/mba/blog/2008/06/

yes its about ur values and what drives you. this is one essay I'd like to keep revisiting over the years irrespective of my stanford outcome.

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i'd also think about it the topic by not even considering that it's for b-school. your answer should be fundamental to you - as you move through life, what's that one thing about you that stays the same and motivates you?

I went to the information session in LA tonight. This school is just mind-boggling. I didn't attend the info sessions for Wharton or HBS, but tonight's Stanford info session just blew me away. There is no other school like Stanford on the face of the planet. Their class size and their network are small on purpose - they cherry pick the most impressive and accomplished applicants in any application given year, and their bets have paid off big time so far. It almost seems like looking at a list of HBS alumni shows you who runs the East Coast and traditional "establishment" companies and firms. Looking at a list of Stanford GSB alumni shows you who has changed the world over the past 50 years through innovation. They drove this point home and dubbed Stanford "the business school of the future".

Additionally, the resources and career opportunities out of the big S are unparalleled. Other schools may pitch entrepeneurship as some sort of buzz word, but I don't think that there is any other school in the world where VCs will come to campus to wine and dine students and look for their next big idea to fund.

I am truly floored. Even though my odds are slim, my gut is telling me that I should craft some truly solid essays over the next few months and give it a shot.

msdayy86, you have got some seriously helpful and motivated recommenders to have submitted your recos so early, I am still waiting on 2 of my recs. best of luck.

I would like to add that you can also mention about one transformational experience and how that clarified the importance of some values over others.

glad you found Stanford to be as exciting as I found it when I visited last year.

I would like to make one small correction (sorry terry12, I had to speak up ). Stanford is not the *only* school that VCs come on campus to do events like you described. They actively participate in classes, conferences, competitions, and social events on the Haas campus too. Maybe not at as high of a level as Stanford (due to their brand and proximity), but it's definitely not shabby either.

Otherwise, I agree with all the other things you said about Stanford. It's a wonderful school, and I was puzzled as to why you didn't apply there earlier.

By the way, I don't think this is on the website yet.

Class of 2010 profile:

Applications Received: 6575
New Students: 370
Women: 36%
International: 34%
US Minority: 24%

Years of Work Experience:
Range: 0-11
Median: 3.9

GMAT scores:
Range: 530-790
Median: 730

Schools & Countries
U.S. Institutions represented: 77
Non-U.S. Institutions: 71
Countries: 53

2 things really stood out to me:

A) The # of U.S. Institutions represented. There goes the myth that you have to go to a U.S. News Top 20 or Top 30 ranked school to get into Stanford or HBS.

B) Assuming a 90% yield, they would have admitted 400 applicants and had a 6.08% acceptance rate LAST YEAR. Absolutely insane. This year's acceptance rate couuld realistically dip below 5%.

I'm in for Stanford Round 1 as well!

Also, Stanford generally does not have a 90% yield... its historically been around 80%. HBS is always around 90% though. I read somewhere that around 180 people get into both H and S each year with about half choosing each. Thus 90-100 people (adding the few people who choose wharton or not going to school) rejecting HBS out of a class of 900 gives you 90% whereas the same 90-100 people rejecting Stanford gives you around 80% because of the small class size.

Who knows what happens this year though...

Assuming an 80% yield, the acceptance rate last year was 7.04%. I would assume that yields across the board were higher last year, but we will see.

Good point. They visit UCLA to some degree as well. However, the access to VC funding out of Stanford definitely seemed to be far higher than UCLA/Haas.

I haven't applied yet because the essays are far too difficult and the acceptance rate is scary.

agree... 5-7% is a ridiculously low number however you look at it.

I totally agree with your post about the info session though. I went to one in NYC and it really blew me away... the focus on entrepreneurship seems unparalleled.

yeah, I was suspecting the acceptance rate would go to 6-7% this year. no wonder only terry12 got in! last year was a crazy year.

Also applying to R1... brushing up on my essays and waiting for one recommendation letter. Hope to have it all done on time... still having doubts about essay 1 though... we'll just have to wait and see!

Good luck everyone!!

Glad you enjoyed the info session, terp! And c'mon, kry, you know I'm not gonna diss Haas

Yeah, this place is amazing. The people are extraordinary and the resources really are terrific. We pretty routinely get emails asking something along the lines, "Firm X is looking to invest in a startup in field Y, preferably out of the GSB. If you have a relevant business plan contact them at email Z." The entrepreneurial/VC spirit here is really strong... I had no idea there were so many VC firms and startups out on Sand Hill Rd (a border of campus) and in downtown Palo Alto off University Ave. And a lot of our professors have startup/VC experience and ties. It's damn inspiring.

One other thing I wanted to note. The sense of collaboration between the various graduate schools at Stanford is remarkable. It was discussed in the information session I attended, and I kind of rolled my eyes. But it's absolutely true.

One thing I will say, the alumni are extremely approachable. At the info session I attended, one person offered to go out to lunch with any prospective if they wanted. When I talked to him later, he gave his contact info and again repeated his offer. I also liked everyone's humility.

seems like it's probably gonna be even lower than that. I would say 5 is the max. I have serious doubts about their ability to differentiate between candidates on that level. I was thinking about joining in on the lottery for stanford, but am now leaning towards not applying just because of how stressful it is to fill out another ap. I already wrote essay 1 and have some rec's in though so everyone is pushing me to send it off.