Whether Stanford is among your short list of target schools or not, this prompt is worth reflecting upon before you begin writing any business school application.<\/p>\n
Director of MBA admissions, Kirsten Moss, now her second year at the helm, confirmed that there are no major changes to GSB\u2019s essay questions. The second essay question is one favored by many schools:\u00a0\u201cWhy Stanford?\u201d The program instructs applicants to \u201cenlighten us on how earning your MBA at Stanford will enable you to realize your ambitions\u201d and offers a bit more direction here:<\/p>\n
But let\u2019s explore how to approach the more vexing question, \u201cWhat matters most to you, and why?\u201d<\/p>\n
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This question seems straightforward, although coming up with an answer that\u2019s memorable, compelling and sincere can be a lot harder than you think. This question has vexed many an earnest applicant as they try to land upon with an approach that they hope is striking, clever or even profound.<\/p>\n
Whether you\u2019ve set your sights on Stanford or wonder which career path that is right for you, taking the time to answer this question can give you invaluable insight into your values, life purpose and true self. Understanding – and articulating – what matters most to you demonstrates significant self-awareness, and the process to getting there gives you a strong foundation not only for success at business school but in your career and relationships.<\/p>\n
So why does Stanford want to know, and why have they stayed with this question for so long? For my Fortuna Admissions colleague, Heidi Hillis<\/a>, a Stanford GSB alumnus and former MBA admissions interviewer for the school, the question really cuts to the heart of what Stanford is about, and connects strongly to it\u2019s motto, \u201cChange lives. Change organizations. Change the world.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cStanford is looking not just for extremely successful and bright professionals, but also young people who have strong values, and who want to have a positive impact in the world,\u201d says Heidi. \u201cThe school genuinely wants to understand your values and get know you. Stanford MBAs are driven by a desire not just to excel in their careers but also to help others and to have a positive impact. The Stanford GSB admissions office works very hard to bring together a group of students who are humble, open and have strong integrity, which leads to the incredible level of trust and camaraderie that you find at the school. This is really core to Stanford\u2019s brand and the identity of its community.\u201d<\/p>\n So what matters most to you, and why? Listen to your intuition and start off by listening to what comes up first. Write this down. We\u2019ll return to it later.<\/p>\n Stanford allows no more than 1,150 words to cover this essay and the second question, \u201cWhy Stanford?\u201d Maybe you feel that you can answer the first part of the question in one word, with things like love, family or chocolate. But the essence of the question, the part that illuminates your calling in life, requires sincere reflection. Why does that one thing matter to you more than something else?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you\u2019re staring down the blank page, begin with some advice that Stanford GSB itself offers. They propose that you think in terms of who you are, events that have influenced you, and insights and lessons that have shaped your perspectives. They also encourage you to write from the heart.<\/p>\n Derrick Bolton was quoted as saying, \u201cplease think of the Stanford essays as conversations on paper \u2012 when we read files, we feel that we meet people, also known as our \u2018flat friends\u2019 \u2012 and tell us your story in a natural, genuine way.\u201d The dictionary definition of \u2018story\u2019 is along the lines of \u2018an account of imaginary or real people and events told in an entertaining way.\u2019 The best essays are conveyed in a captivating, \u2018story-like\u2019 way that may involve humor, inspiration, emotion, honesty, wit, insight and simply \u2013 being yourself.<\/p>\n A GSB admissions officer may be reading 30 applications today, 20 tomorrow, and hundreds more in the subsequent weeks. So how can you grab his or her attention, be original, sound intelligent, and connect with your reader? This is no easy task. Take the time to get introspective and excavate below the surface and dare tell the story you are best qualified to write. (Hint: the story you\u2019re best qualified to write is your own.)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Here\u2019s some advice on structuring of this type of essay while telling your \u2018story,\u2019 taken from my Fortuna Admissions colleagues, senior MBA admissions professionals:<\/p>\n If you\u2019re still coming up short as to what really matters to you, start by chronicling all of your experiences to date, and exploring key milestones and themes such as:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Having jotted some notes to the questions above, now review your answers \u2013 including what you initially captured as your gut response. Can you identify an underlying thread (or themes) throughout your life? My bet is that you can. If you\u2019re new to this type of exercise, it might amaze you that there\u2019s a method to the madness in your life. You might even talk to friends and family and friends to solicit some anecdotes about you that you\u2019ve forgotten. Now, through telling a compelling story, connect the key themes to the general ideas expressed in your essays.<\/p>\n You might have to spend hours on this essay through brainstorming, talking with others, research, writing a draft, revising (and then revising again). Just remember that it\u2019s all deep within you\u2026 because it\u2019s your story, and you just have to reach down, find it, and pull it out.<\/p>\n Isn\u2019t what matters most to us something all of us should think about, whether we\u2019re applying to business school or not? This essay is, in fact, a meaningful exercise to solidify self-awareness, to clarify why we do what we do, and why we make certain life choices in the process. Take this on as a personal challenge, not just a business school essay question. Stanford GSB wants to know what matters most to you, and you should, too.<\/p>\n Fortuna Admissions<\/a> Co-Founder and Director Matt Symonds<\/a> is Business education industry expert and columnist for Forbes, The Economist, BusinessWeek, the BBC, among other publications. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When he introduced the \u201cWhat matters most to you and why\u201d\u00a0admissions essay in Stanford GSB\u2019s MBA application over 14 years ago, did former GSB Dean of Admissions Derrick Bolton Stanford…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":160,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"1","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1831,775,243],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-fortuna-admissions","category-admission-consultants","category-blog","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42781","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\/160"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42781"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42781\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/h3>\n
CAPTURE YOUR FIRST RESPONSE<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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GSB\u2019S OWN ADVICE ON ANSWERING THE ESSAY QUESTION<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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GETTING STARTED AND STRUCTURING YOUR ESSAY<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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TELLING YOUR STORY: IT\u2019S ALL DEEP WITHIN YOU<\/strong><\/h3>\n