{"id":47463,"date":"2019-11-07T20:17:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-08T03:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=47463"},"modified":"2019-11-07T20:18:21","modified_gmt":"2019-11-08T03:18:21","slug":"stanford-gsb-essay-tips-and-deadlines-2019-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/stanford-gsb-essay-tips-and-deadlines-2019-20\/","title":{"rendered":"Stanford GSB Essay Tips and Deadlines: 2019- 20"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Stanford\u2019s Graduate School of Business, the top Silicon Valley B-school, is one of the most selective business schools in the world. For the class of 2020, only 419 applicants, out of an applicant pool of 7797, were selected. The school prides itself on innovation in the classroom and emphasis on new ideas and cutting-edge developments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the Stanford website<\/a>, \u201cOur global reputation is\nhard-earned. Stanford GSB offers unparalleled opportunities that will help you\nlaunch a meaningful career and make an impact.\" <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Application Deadlines:<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\ndeadlines for the 2019-2020 season are below. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n Round\n <\/td>\n Application Deadline\n <\/td>\n Admissions Decision Posted\n <\/td><\/tr>
\n Round\n 1\n <\/td>\n September 12, 2019\n <\/td>\n December 12, 2019\n <\/td><\/tr>
\n Round\n 2\n <\/td>\n January 9, 2020\n <\/td>\n April 2, 2020\n <\/td><\/tr>
\n Round\n 3\n <\/td>\n April 8, 2020\n <\/td>\n May 21, 2020\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

*Applications due by 11 am Pacific Time<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essays:<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like previous years, the Stanford Graduate School of Business<\/a> asks MBA applicants to submit the same two required essay questions. It has retained the 1,150 word- limit, with the recommendation of using 750 words for Essay A and 400 for Essay B. Stanford GSB has added a new optional short-answer essay question this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stanford GSB offers guidelines and\nadvice on its website<\/a> for writing essays, \u201cEssays\nhelp us learn about who you are rather than solely what you have done. Other\nparts of the application give insight to your academic and professional\naccomplishments; the essays reveal the person behind those achievements. In\neach essay, we want to hear your genuine voice. Think carefully about your\nvalues, passions, aims, and dreams. There is no \u201cright answer\u201d to these\nquestions\u2014the best answer is the one that is truest for you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Explicit\ninstructions for formatting<\/a> are\ngiven on Stanford Website. The essays should have double space with a number on\nall pages. Only one document that includes both essays is to be uploaded. The short-answer response will not\nbe uploaded in your essays upload; use the text boxes in the application for\nthe optional essay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When writing Stanford\nessays, our best advice is simple: answer the question. Resist the urge to \u2018package\u2019\nyourself into what you think Stanford wants to see. Doing so will only prevent\nyou from understanding who you are and what you hope to accomplish. The most\nimpressive essays, after all, are the most authentic ones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\nis MER\u2019s analysis of the three Stanford GSB\u2019s essays:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essay A: What\nmatters most to you, and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this essay, we\nwould like you to reflect deeply and write from the heart. Once you\u2019ve\nidentified what matters most to you, help us understand why. You might\nconsider, for example, what makes this so important to you? What people,\ninsights, or experiences have shaped your perspectives?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is one of the\nmost challenging essays asked by the business schools, and Stanford has asked\napplicants this essay question for a long time now. This essay requires you to\nintrospect and reflect on your experiences and lessons learned along the\njourney. The answer to this question will reveal the undisclosed profound side\nof the applicant that cannot be found anywhere in the application. This essay\nis an opportunity to demonstrate who you are, what motivates you, and why. We would\nlike you to do some deep self-reflection, so you can genuinely illustrate who\nyou are and how you became the person you are. Instead of focusing merely on\nwhat you have done or accomplished, share insights, experiences, and lessons\nthat shaped your perspective. Write from the heart, and illustrate how a\nperson, situation, or event has influenced you. Focus on the \u2018why\u2019 rather than\nthe \u2018what.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are who we are\nbecause of the experiences and events that we have gone through in our life. To\nbrainstorm ideas for this essay, you will need to look back and reflect on your\npast experiences - growing up years, schooling, college, professional life,\nvolunteer activities, general interests, etc., and look for some common thread\nthat runs through some or all of them. Since there is no direct answer to this\nessay, do not try to write a response right away. Prewriting your experiences\nto identify a unifying theme would be of great help. Try to focus on\nexperiences that have shaped your values and priorities all these years. Don\u2019t\nshy away from sharing the challenging experiences in life \u2013 often tough\nexperiences make us stronger and instill a zeal in us to fight. Whatever stories\nyou choose, focus on their impact on your life and your values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you recount\nyour experiences, make sure to share your thought process- how you felt,\nthought, and reacted at that time and what lessons you eventually learned. I\nsuggest providing a chronological account of events that have influenced your\nthoughts, values, and beliefs and have shaped you into a person you are now\nwith your firm belief system and priorities. Please remember this essay is not\ndirectly about your accomplishments; it is about your values and perspectives\nthat you have developed over the years. So, your focus has to be on the events,\npeople, and anecdotes that made you the unique person you are today. Also, elucidate\nhere how you have translated your values into actions. This way, your\naccomplishments will naturally stem from your values and priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essay B: Why\nStanford?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Describe your\naspirations and how your Stanford GSB experience will help you realize them. If\nyou are applying to both the MBA and MSx programs, use Essay B to address your\ninterest in both programs.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second essay concentrates on the candidates\u2019 career goals and reasons for pursuing a management degree at Stanford. After you have explained in the first essay what matters most to you in life, you need to explain why your next step is a Stanford MBA. Explain why you are interested in pursuing an MBA, and why you specifically want to attend Stanford GSB. You need to have clarity regarding your goals and the additional training you require, which a Stanford MBA can provide.  Thorough research of the school\u2019s resources and curriculum will help you determine how the Stanford MBA program aligns with your aspirations. Instead of mapping out a specific career path in this essay, applicants should focus on defining the broad impact they aim to make on a service, a sector, or society. While Essay A is your opportunity to explain what matters most to you, Essay B allows you to show how you would use your time at Stanford to further your career and what matters most to you. In a way, Essay B picks up from where Essay A ends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be as specific as\npossible in your response to provide evidence that you have done your research.\nYou should know everything about the aspects of the program that interest you the\nmost. Talk about specific classes, programs, collaboration with other parts of\nthe school, clubs, conferences, or other offerings that distinguish Stanford\nfrom other top business schools. Are there any particular courses that appeal\nto you most? Have you met current students and alumni? Have you attended any\nadmission events that offered you additional insights about the programs and confirmed\nyour decision to apply to Stanford? Are there any professors whose classes you\nare most excited about?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stanford likes to\nsee applicants who have big dreams and have the potential to realize those<\/p>\n\n\n\n

dreams. Be bold\nwith your aspirations, but at the same time, be realistic in showing that you\nhave the ability to realize your dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Optional\nShort-Answer Question:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think about times\nyou've created a positive impact, whether in professional, extracurricular,\nacademic, or other settings. What was your impact? What made it significant to\nyou or others? You are welcome to share up to three examples. (Up to 1500 characters, approximately 250 words, for each\nexample)<\/em><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This optional\nessay is different from optional essays from other schools. Instead of asking\nyou about additional information or weakness in your profile, it asks you to\nshare an achievement when you made a positive impact. So I would encourage you\nto not consider this essay as optional and take this as an opportunity to share\nyour most significant accomplishment when you made a positive impact. The admission\ncommittee is interested in candidates who have the capability of making an\nimpact in professional or personal life. Your achievements can be in any\nsetting- professional, personal, academic, or community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please do not\nsimply copy an accomplishment from your r\u00e9sum\u00e9. Include meaningful content not\ncovered already in the resume. From the Stanford website<\/a>, \u201cAttending Stanford GSB will\ntransform your life and the lives of those around you. And that\u2019s only the\nbeginning.\u201d <\/em>Keeping\nthe impact statement of Stanford in mind, provide more\ndetails of an accomplishment when you made a positive impact at work, or in a\nperson's life, or the community around you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For organizing\nyour essay, as always, we recommend using the STAR method. <\/p>\n\n\n\n