{"id":30185,"date":"2015-08-23T01:11:14","date_gmt":"2015-08-23T08:11:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=30185"},"modified":"2015-08-23T01:11:14","modified_gmt":"2015-08-23T08:11:14","slug":"how-to-answer-stanfords-wmm-essay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/how-to-answer-stanfords-wmm-essay\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Answer Stanford’s WMM Essay?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Danielle Marom, Senior Application Consultant at Aringo<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Stanford\u2019s Graduate School of Business<\/a>\u2019 celebrated (did I hear \u2018dreaded\u2019) What Matters Most <\/em>essay (herein WMM) has both stumped and challenged applicants over the years. This question is (arguably) the furthest thing from a \u2018traditional\u2019 b-school question (though trends, including HBS\u2019 question, are slowly following suit).<\/p>\n

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This essay requires deep levels of introspection and sincerity, often leading candidates to compare it to a psychology session. Applicants often ask: \u201cWhat does the adcom want to hear?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This unique question represents an opportunity for GSB to learn more about the values that guide a candidate\u2019s life choices. In my experience, an effective WMM essay will reveal not only something intimate about the candidate but will also point to his\/her potential as a future leader that will achieve impact.<\/p>\n

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So how do we achieve that effective WMM essay?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start from the beginning. Tell a story<\/strong>\u2014and tell a story that only you can tell.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This essay should be descriptive and told in a straightforward and sincere way. This probably sounds strange, since this essay is for business school, but the adcom doesn\u2019t expect to hear your business experience in this essay (though, of course, you free to write about whatever you would like).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Your task in this first essay is to connect the people, situations, and events in your life with the values you adhere to and the choices you have made. This essay gives you a terrific opportunity to learn about yourself.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Many candidates make the mistake of not relating to both parts of this question; the \u2018why\u2019 here is instrumental. While the \u2018good<\/strong>\u2019 essays describe the \"what,\" the \u2018great<\/strong>\u2019 essays move to the next order and describe how<\/em> and why<\/em> this \"what\" has influenced your life.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So for your second task, be careful not to underestimate the value of describing how<\/em> and why<\/em> guiding forces have shaped your behavior, attitudes and objectives in your personal and professional life. Admittedly this is much harder, but it will also make for a stronger essay.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Consulting with GSB alumni, one once indicated to me that: \u201ca great WMM essay will make me cry\u201d. While I\u2019ve helped candidates gain acceptance to GSB with essays that didn\u2019t make me cry, I will agree that WMM necessitates a level of sensitivity and intimacy that is rare for most other B-schools applications.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When you find yourself ready to answer this question, I have found the following approach to be very effective. First, identify a value or philosophy. Then, start with a sort of \"personal story\", something from childhood, an anecdote, something that has guided your or helped sow the seed, or even solidify, WMM to you.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Next, develop two to three \"stories\" that serve to highlight the point you are trying to make. These \u201cstories\u201d should not be a grocery list of your achievements, they don\u2019t even necessarily have to be something noted in your CV; in fact, in most cases, there will be no reference of this trait or story in your CV and this is okay.<\/p>\n

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Allow the following elements to guide your writing:<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1) Sincerity<\/u> \u2013 While it runs the risk of being too emotional or clich\u00e9-ridden, your essay needs to be personal, intimate<\/strong>, while at the same time logical. The story has to \"fit\" -\u00a0fit <\/em>your personality, fit<\/em> your stories, fit<\/em> your other essays. It has to \"make sense\" and be convincing. The flow from one\u00a0\"story\" to another has to be smooth, with each story sliding nicely into the next. Another great way to show sincerity could be to talk about personal\/private moments, or about moments of weakness.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2) Community <\/u>\u2013 Stanford\u2019s commitment to social activism and contributing to one\u2019s community is unquestionable. If possible, try to have at least one community service\u00a0story<\/strong>, or at least some kind of community angle.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3) People<\/u> - At the end of the day, regardless of what you chose as \"What Matters Most<\/em>\", the most effective essays of this kind are often about people - interacting with people<\/strong>, caring about people, making an impact on others.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Whatever it is, your essay must have a clear \"human touch\" because, ultimately, achieving GSB\u2019s motto, \u201cChange Lives<\/strong>, Change Organizations<\/strong>, Change the World<\/strong>\u201d, will depend on your ability to connect with, motivate, and empower others.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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By Danielle Marom, Senior Application Consultant at Aringo:   Stanford\u2019s Graduate School of Business\u2019 celebrated (did I hear \u2018dreaded\u2019) What Matters Most essay (herein WMM) has both stumped and challenged…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":137,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,945,775,113],"tags":[1866,924],"class_list":["post-30185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-aringo","category-admission-consultants","category-applications","tag-application-essay-tips","tag-stanford-graduate-school-of-business","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/137"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30185"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30186,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30185\/revisions\/30186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}