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Stanford MBA Essay Tips and deadlines for 2021-2022

In this series of essays, Stanford tries to figure out who you are and what drives you. Stanford attracts thousands of applicants each year as a top-tier MBA program. Stanford looks for three primary attributes when considering prospects for admission: Academic Excellence, Intellectual Vitality and Extracurricular Activities. Some main qualities that GSB looks for in the applications are Entrepreneurial mindset, Team leadership, Social intelligence, Community leadership, Integrity and Analytical ability. Keeping this in mind, let’s see how Mentor Mpact can help you write Stanford’s essays.

 

LENGTH

Both essays combined may not exceed 1,050 words. We recommend up to 650 words for Essay A and up to 400 words for Essay B. We often find effective essays that are written in fewer words.

 

ESSAY A: WHAT MATTERS MOST TO YOU, AND WHY?

For this essay, we would like you to reflect deeply and write from the heart. Once you’ve identified what matters most to you, help us understand why. You might consider, for example, what makes this so important to you? What people, insights, or experiences have shaped your perspectives?

This Stanford MBA essay is all about listing your motivations and values and the things that inspired you the most. This essay should not be about a specific job, but instead about the whole of your life. The most important thing about you can be anything, but we will recommend you to stick to values, field interests, inspirational stories and goal oriented plans. And then try to link these with your professional life. For example, you may have a personal interest that has led to a career goal in a related field. Having a finance family background can be a good reason to intrigue your interest in the finance field. This can definitely be stated and in between you can relevantly add values, field interests, inspirational stories and goal oriented plans in a sequential manner to form your story. 

Your personality should come through, and introspection and honesty should pervade the entire collection of pieces. Try brainstorming for a few days to come up with new ideas. Inquire about your friends and family about the ideals they hold and then draft edit and revise a few times to get the perfect version. 

 

ESSAY B: WHY STANFORD?

Describe your aspirations and how your Stanford GSB experience will help you realize them. If you are applying to both the MBA and MSx programs, use Essay B to address your interest in both programs.

This is a career objective question focused on why you should attend Stanford and how the school will help you achieve your goals. It is, however, a question about your personality as well as your chances of success in the program. Stanford is a one-of-a-kind school, and your essay should reflect this. You can proceed as follows:

  • You must outline your professional ambitions in this essay and briefly explain why they are realistic for you in the context of your career progression to date. 
  • Then you must consider how you will use and engage with Stanford’s resources to seek and achieve your objectives.
  • Look for meaningful connections between your interests and goals and the things you plan to engage in, not just a few program options. 

 

Optional Question 1

Think about times you’ve created a positive impact, whether in professional, extracurricular, academic, or other settings. What was your impact? What made it significant to you or to others?

Stanford is searching for students that are self-motivated and who can influence others. So, try to mention your leadership experiences. This question encourages applicants to describe when they were in a leadership position and had a significant influence while overcoming hurdles and learning something that would aid them in future incidents. Firstly, jot down all the experiences where you think you led your team, all of your leadership experiences you can think of! Now, going precisely through the list, keep the ones which actually created some impact on the team or the company somehow. 

Know the structure of your essay! For this I would suggest (Challenge – Action – Results) framework. Start with the challenges that your team was facing, afterwards describe your action-plan. Then, jot down what the results were!  Handling an uncooperative team member or supervisor, making a choice based on incomplete information, persuading someone, administering a new project, meeting deadlines, and managing a client’s expectations are just a few examples.

 

Optional Question 2

Tell us about a time within the last three years when your background influenced your participation in a situation, interaction, or project.

The second optional question on Stanford’s application is about your background, which the school interprets widely. As a result, anything from your gender identity to your employment experience could be a factor. Consider your personal situation and whether there is something from your past that can be highlighted. But make sure you are not writing that unnecessarily, it’s good to attempt option essays but not when you don’t have valid stories and you are creating them unnecessarily. 

Your personal & professional background, your cultural background and your values may have influenced your choice of opportunity and these can be definitely stated here. As a result, go over your CV and work history to determine if any of them can be used.

 

Deadlines:

Every year, there are three application deadlines for the GSB MBA program, with three significant dates for each round: Application Deadline, Interviews, and Decision Dates. Your completed application, including your letters of reference and application fee payment, is due at 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time on the deadline date for the round in which you apply.

The GSB MBA Application process takes place over three rounds. The Application deadlines are:

Round 1: Thursday, September 9, 2021

Round 2: Wednesday, January 5, 2022

Round 3: TBA

If you plan to pursue your MBA from abroad, MentorMpact provides the best guidance you can ever get! MentorMpact works with the students and for the students. We value the trust you put in us, and we creatively partner with you to accomplish your dream school admission. Our approach resonates with proper mentorship. And we ensure the best for our clients. For more information, visit MentorMpact