Calling all Stanford Applicants (2016 Intake) Class of 2018!!

To be fair, I did think about it the past 2 months, and I thought I knew what I was going to write but I told my friend about it yesterday and she said that doesn't sound like something a B-school would be interested in reading about and now I am in a soup.

No offense to your friend... but that shouldn't matter. It should be about you and what matters most to you, not what matters most to my friend and his/her thoughts on what a B-school would be interested in reading about.

Want to hear a crazy story...? A friend was admitted to Stanford. In their what matters most essay, they wrote about electricity and it's impact on civilization. So..... my advice would be to write about just that.... what matters most to you!

Hello munkee, please allow me to share my two cents. The question is "What matters most to you, and why?" Please take note of the word "most." You may have many important things but try to decide on one most important thing. Given your situation, a way to look at them is that you are one level deep. Think about what all of these things together will help you achieve. For example, if I like ice cream and pizza but I have to choose one, if I can I will take the difficult decision and go with one. If I think both are important, I will go one level higher and talk about why I don't like to be hungry and make these two things equally important to me. In this case, I am giving importance to hunger.
This is a deep introspection essay mate. So, think about what you want the most. Make them feel it.

btw, each applicant is different and you don't need to follow my suggestions. Follow your heart, that's what Stanford is looking for. Your uniqueness is what adds diversity to the class but don't overthink.

I'm also just an applicant so what do I know but think about this:

Stanford (and other schools) have continuously stated that there is NO answer that they WANT to hear. They want to hear and learn about you, not read what they expect / something generic. You should write about what YOU think is matters most to you and not what you think they want to hear you talk about.

Just a thought!

Submitted 2 days ago.

Cheers from Bhutan

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Good luck with applications!

Are there any expert suggestions available for the 'Describe yourself in 20 or fewer words' prompt?

oh I just wish I had the audacity to put in "Winter is coming" as an answer to that question

"A Lannister always pays his debts" might be more appropriate. Or the Targaryen "Fire and Blood."

Hmm, I mean that is literally only a question you can answer.

Or maybe your mom? They are not looking for the magic combination of words or phrases in that answer...

I've had successful clients write a list of adjectives, and I've had other successful clients that write their response in short-sentence form. So either way is definitely fine.

And as a fellow big-time GoT fan myself (as in, I took a trip to Northern Ireland in June to visit shooting locations--MEGA-NERD ALERT!!!), I honestly think they would appreciate knowing what pop-culture things you're into. So maybe "Passionate Game of Thrones fan" as part of your list of descriptive words/phrases? Remember, letting your personality come through is key for Stanford. They want to know what sort of things you'll be bonding/talking with your classmates over outside of class.

Best of luck to everyone!

Hi all -

A lot of what I have to say has been echoed here, so I'll just highlight a few key thoughts. My past successful Stanford clients have picked ONE thing ("matters MOST" implies one) and have been heart-on-their-sleeve honest about it. This essay requires A LOT of introspection and soul-searching, and Stanford will see right through it if you write something just because you think it's what they want to hear. (On that note, for the love of Pete, DO NOT listen to your friends' advice on this sort of thing! Go with your gut instinct and be real.) If you whip something together at the last minute that is not well thought out, you are doing yourself a disservice and might be better off waiting until Round 2 just so you can give this essay the effort it deserves.

How you'll know you picked the right thing is that you'll have plenty of "examples" in the form of stories/anecdotes to back up why X really is the most important thing to you. You'll have proved it with your actions and decisions and what you've prioritized over the course of your entire life--or perhaps ever since a specific event/experience happened to you.

Best of luck!

Ah, that makes me feel good. After I chose my topic and started to brainstorm, there were tons of old, forgotten stories that came back to memory, and I added them all to my essay. I even sort of had a realization--"Wow, this topic REALLY is important to me"--more important than I realized before writing the essay.

Odds are I'll still get dinged but at least I'm proud of my essay.

Thanks a lot That was helpful!

Any thoughts on the 750/400 split between Essays A and B?? I'm trying to finalize my drafts and find that my split is more like 550/600. Would that be a problem??

I am exceeding the word count by 7%, should I worry?

On the other hand, I am having a lot of trouble with the describe yourself in 20 words.

I would think sticking to the 1150 limit is mandatory. They seem quite definite about that.

What I find most challenging is the character limits in the professional experience column! Every alphabet counts

IMO, GSB wants to know more about you. If you feel you achieved that part, then disregard my statement. You are in accordance to their guidelines. One last comment, show them what you want to tell... not what they want to hear... Good luck.