Future is Now: Stanford MBA Essay

The path to Business School can be tough, as much as picking the right topic to cover your essay, but when your future is at your doorstep, you should not think twice and just go for it. This is our first big advice in terms of writing and subsequently submitting a Stanford GSB essay.

Today, we are going to give several advices as to how this process looks like and what is important. Just a brief reminder before we begin: this is not a Stanford MBA essay writing guide or something, this is just a brief review of what you should keep in mind at the application stage.

In general, when you made up your mind to get into Stanford GSB, it is the biggest decision alone, and you have to understand that even more job has to be done on this path.

Another thing that you will often hear is “Why is more important than What”, and we cannot argue with that, you know, and no one will. Of course, there is nothing new about the application process itself: you write the essay, prepare all other necessary documents, submit them, wait and receive an answer later on, if everything in your essay is fine, you are welcome to pass to the next stage, and the process goes on until you are accepted. However, many applicants fail at stage one because they simply cannot tailor their essays, according to the genuine accords of their personalities. And this is important because the Admission Committee of any Business School consists of experienced admission officers with a vast experience in various fields and departments within the business school itself.

This year essays requirements have changed slightly as compared with previous years. For example, this year the Admission Committee has extended the maximum length of both essays till 1150 words. Subsequently, you will have to divide these words betweeh two required essays. The Stanford GSB website recommends dividing this length approximately into 60% x 40%, e.i., about 700 words you can write in the first essay and about 450 you can allocate for the second one. However, the choice is yours, in this respect. Stanford and Harvard essays requirements are very much alike:

• Double-Spaced Page;
• Number All Pages;
• Highlight Questions You Are About to Answer;
• Submit Both Essays To the Admission Committee;

These are general formatting requirements. Another important question to answer is the topics of both essays. Basic guidelines as to the topic and content are also given on the website. The first essay should be focused on who you are, while the other one should answer the question “Why you have chosen Stanford?”. Many Acceptance Couches and Advisers say that, sometimes, the question “Who are you?” is even more difficult than the question “Why?”. The answer to the second question is pretty much clear: “Because I want to achieve this and that and blah, blah, blah…”, whatever. To answer the first question, you need to know who you are yourself. It is difficult for many people nowadays. When you wend your way through life without giving much thought to this particular issue, it may be quite the challenge to produce some essay-winning answer even after a bit of brainstorming. Inspiration, creativity, and honesty are the keywords here. Nonetheless, no one will be able to help you, if you do not know who you are in the first place.

Remember about your primary goal at the stage of preparation: writing a Stanford MBA essay is necessary to be accepted to the GSB. If you have any Stanford MBA graduates, you can ask them to show some application essays that worked out well for these people. Do not get into the details of your biography and previous work experiences on this matter. The Admission Officers want to hear the story of your soul, what attracts you, how you see yourself as Stanford GSB member, what your passions are and what makes your heart beat faster. These things are interesting to read. In many cases, no one will tell you about the necessity of writing about negative experiences, but you can mention similar things in the essay, for instance, you are welcome to write about something that was absent in your life, but you’d want it to be there. This is the realm of wishes and attractions. Your leadership skills, values and potential are those key traits of your personality that so important for the Stanford Admission Committee. You have to prove that you are worth their attention and that you are the tough diamond of your company, and you want to get this MBA knowledge to evolve as a personality in this direction.

The second answer, despite what we have written earlier, should be as reasoned as the first one. The answer “I decided to apply to Stanford because it provides unique possibilities for every applicant” seems boring and too much obvious for the Admission Officers. In the second essay, you should present your own vision as to how Stanford can help you develop as a leader, professional, etc. At this stage, you have to know your life goal and put the goal in writing accurately for every Admission Officer be 100% of your life expectancies.

Think about experiences you had that may help you tailoring the right answer to this tricky question. You should also study the Stanford GSB website very attentively and read about the application process and its deadlines to answer the question as well, because the website may provide you some useful information as to what your qualities may be considered as fit for Stanford. Structure the qualities you possess and which of them you can write in the essay, those that are considered as fit ones.

There is no arguing about the fact that you are a person with some background important particularly for you, you are someone (at least, you have to be awesome to be accepted to Stanford). For example, some people have two majors simultaneously, some people are founders or executives of their own companies, others received really great volunteer work experience that influenced a certain sphere on a governmental level. In any case, all these experiences may be used in the essay to present yourself as a fit person. Finally, the last tip on this matter is to write from the heart. Be genuine, be honest, and people will appreciate your honesty, even if you fail this time, you will know what to expect the next time.

Some people decided to use MBA Prep Schools guidance to feel sure of themselves and their essays accordingly. These schools prepare you to get into any MBA school, but, at the same time, their lecturers and professors can provide you some useful Stanford MBA essays analysis that can used in order not to make the same mistakes in your own essays. These people track all the relevant and useful information and keep records about Stanford, Harvard, Chicago MBA programs essays up-to-datedness of 2012, 2013, and they are experienced enough to make forecasts about what may be required to write in a Stanford MBA essay of class of 2016. Believe us, these people will make sure you are in.

There are some other things that you have to keep in mind, when writing mba admission essays. Prepare to have from 3 to 4 drafts before you receive the final version in the end. These drafts are necessary to eliminate possible mistakes, to improve the text in general and its readability, etc. However, to do that you have to start as early as possible to have more time for everything you may need to complete. And do not forget about the backup! The backup is important for several reasons: first, it is a great chance to prepare yourself for the “final battle”. Second, you won’t miss another year, in case if you fail to get into Stanford (but we truly hope that you succeed).

So do not miss your chance to become a Stanford student!