Congratulations to all who got in during Round 1! Good luck to those trying for Round 2!
The 2018 Stanford MBA essay questions are discussed below and in many posts on the blahg — and we can offer this: What matters most, if you want to be successful at Stanford? REFLECTION AND INTROSPECTION!
Our Stanford MBA guide will guide you through the process of bewilderment and ponderment and hopefully eventually wonderment that’s required to have at least a shot at getting noticed by the GSB adcom. AKA: figuring yourself out to answer the “matters most” question!
2018-’19 Stanford MBA Essay Questions & Recommendations
Class of 2021 GSB MBA Application
Stanford Round 2 is 4 months, 1 week ago (January 10).
The essay questions for Stanford are the same again this year, but the explanations behind those questions have been adjusted, which has been reflected in our updated 2018 Stanford MBA Application Guide. The other small-ish changes are on recommendations — no more peer recommenders — which we’ve captured below.
If you’re thinking of trying for Stanford, please keep in mind that the average GMAT score for the GSB Class of 2019 held steady at – gulp! – 737. We’re nervous to see if it went even higher for the Class of 2020, as has happened at many other places. Stanford doesn’t admit based on GMAT score, however a high GMAT is correlated with other qualities that they care about.
How do you answer them?
The Stanford MBA essay questions for 2018 are:
Two essays, 1,150 words total (or 1,200 if you’re doing the joint MSx application), allocated any way you wish — but going off the school’s suggested guidance is smart!
- What matters most to you, and why? (750 words suggested – you will need this much space to tell your story)
- Why Stanford? (400 words suggested – which is really not much! but you’ll be able to work with it)
What everyone says is true: You need to be AUTHENTIC in your MBA applications.
Nowhere is this more pertinent than with Stanford!
OK great. So how can you do that??
Resist the urge – as irresistible as it may be – to try and impress your reader.
Don’t try to think of what “sounds good.” Don’t think about what you think they want to hear. It’s hard not to do this but it’s important!
Instead, spend time sincerely reflecting on what your answer would be IF YOU WERE ANSWERING THIS JUST FOR YOURSELF.
Seems simple, eh?
Well…..
These two essays are a way to share your uniqueness with the adcom. But believe us when we say this: You don’t have to manufacture that uniqueness when you write them! The best way to grab the attention of the GSB is to do the work of self reflection that they talk about all over their website.
A question about “what matters most” is asking you about your values. This is another way to semi-indirectly ask you about your character. These may seem like stiff and intimidating terms and you’ve perhaps never thought about them before at all (unless you applied to Stanford for undergrad, since they ask the same question in that application!). The best way to convey your values and answer “what matters most” is through a handful of stories that reveal who you are.
Pro Tip: The essay you write for Harvard is unlikely to serve your purposes for Stanford! These two schools are coming at this from a different perspective. We rarely see an essay for one that works well for the other.
The competition at Stanford has always been fierce, but to put it into perspective: They get over 8,000 apps every year. HBS is the only school that gets more. Nobody else even comes close. Average GMAT at Stanford was 737 for two years in a row. This is crazy.
Our Stanford essay guide went through a refresh for 2018 to capture our latest-greatest insights and our own reflection process that is ongoing, based on experiences seeing who got in last year and who didn’t, and how else we can better capture advice to assist those who are attempting this difficult process. You need all the time you can get to build a strong strategy for this school so if you’re just starting your Stanford essays a week before the deadline we’re already nervous. đ There are a bunch of exercises in this guide to help you with the all-important process of self-exploration and these generally take TIME to do well. We also have plenty of Stanford MBA application advice available on the site. Another important tip? Don’t make Stanford the first application that you tackle! (Though ***do*** apply in Round 1 if you can; if you didn’t, the need for differentiation may be even greater.)
2018 Stanford MBA recommendations (or “Letters of Reference” in their lingo)
1 Stanford has mostly the same recommenders’ questions as other schools ask. In recent years, how they required the info be entered in their system was also not exactly the same as other schools.The Stanford info is here — the basics are:
- Two Letters of Reference
- Both from a direct supervisor; current manager strongly preferred, plus another one from the past or some other person who’s had access to your work product. They both can be from one company or from different companies. New this year: No peer recommendations anymore for Stanford.
- Two main questions plus one optional for your recommenders to answer; note that Question 1 is not identical to the phrasing used by other schools and they’ve designated different word limits:
- How does the applicantâs performance compare to that of other well-qualified individuals in similar roles? Please provide specific examples. (E.g. what are the applicantâs principal strengths?) (500 words)
- Describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicantâs response. (500 words)
Definitely get a recommendation from your boss if you can — and if you think you can’t, reconsider. The recommender’s title does NOT matter to the adcom; it adds no value to have your CEO write about you if the first time he met you was when you asked him to write your recommendation. You want someone who knows you well and can speak in detail about the questions they’re asking. You have a lot of leeway in who to choose for both of these but it’s definitely quite easy to make a strategic misstep. Pro Tip: Coach them to be DETAILED yet CONCISE. Longer recommendation letters are not better!
There are lots of resources for choosing your recommenders available through posts on the blahg; if you want more help, our Letters of Recommendation App Accelerator walks through the specifics of various scenarios and tricky situations and lets you submit your recommenders’ strategy for feedback from EssaySnark.
Stanford 2018-2019 Dates and Deadlines for the MBA Class of 2021
See Stanford MBA Admissions Deadlines
- Rd 1 2018:
September 18INTERVIEWS: The general pattern at Stanford has been that interview invites will go out for a one-month period from about the end of October through end of November, when they have Round 1 release day and set the no-luck applicants free into the wild. You can expect a similar sequence this year. Final decision is mid-December.
- Rd 2 2019: January 10 – this is even further out into January than many schools have, which is super helpful.
Round 2 interview invites are typically released in a one-month window, expected to begin somewhere around the first of February. In early March, they usually have a “release”, at which time anyone not moving forward says bye-bye. Final decision is end of March.
Stanford MBA Useful Links
Remember when reviewing info about Stanford that anything a school states is specific to its own programs only – not to other schools – and information can also change from year to year.
- The Stanford MBA Admissions Blog was closed down in late 2014. Why a school would shutter its blog, we do not know. It used to be at http://www.stanford.edu/group/mba/blog/ (anyway, it was updated infrequently, even when it was live)
- The school has a Twitter account but it’s not typically got any admissions stuff on it
Huh. Not a very useful list, is it? Stanford does do webinars from time to time and they have a standard campus visit program as other schools do. They do not encourage applicants to cold-call or -email their students, however. If you know a Stanford alum personally then that’s an excellent resource to start with.
For Reference: Stanford’s Past-Season Questions
Included for historical purposes, in case you want to study what they’ve asked in the past – which has been largely the same for many years, though there have been some changes and tweaks each year. Be sure to check what this year’s requirements are before proceeding!
Click to view last year's questions[The essay questions for the Class of 2020 were the same as they were for the Class of 2019 (and the Class of 2021 also has the same requirements). Please review the information at the top of this page for the 2018 application to the Stanford Class of 2021.]
2017 Stanford MBA Essay Questions
Two essays, 1,150 words total, allocated any way you wish:
- What matters most to you, and why? (750 words suggested – you will need this much space to tell your story)
- Why Stanford? (400 words suggested – which is really not much! but you’ll be able to work with it)
The word count suggestions are different if you’re doing the simultaneous MBA + MSx app.
[End last year’s questions section.]
Click to view 2016 questions
2016 Stanford MBA Essay Questions
- What matters most to you, and why?
- Why Stanford?
[End 2016 questions section.]
Click to view 2015 questions
2015 Stanford MBA Essay Questions & Recommendations for the Class of 2018
Stanford has made some applicant-positive changes this year AND WE HOPE OTHER SCHOOLS WILL FOLLOW SUIT. (Oh look! MIT has done so!)
Our 2015 predictions for the GSB were on target:
- Essays: Stanford is – mostly – maintaining status quo from last year, keeping the same two questions (see below).
- However GOOD NEWS! They’ve expanded the length limit!!! And, Stanford allows you to allocate the word count any way you like (this is not new, we’re just pointing it out since it’s very unique among all the bschools and their essays). Your total allocation is now 1,150 words for these two essays, which is up 50 words from last year – that is not a lot, but any little bit will help. This is positive.
- Another plus? They’ve adjusted their deadlines in a way that is HUGELY BENEFICIAL TO ALL OF YOU. It’s almost like the Stanford adcom read our recent post with suggestions on that – or maybe we’re just oddly prescient these days. đ
- They’ve also – sort of – kept the two standard recommenders’ questions but they’ve added one more! Another big ‘yay!’ This is an optional “anything else you want to say?” question. It may sound trivial but honestly, it lets your recommenders talk in greater detail about you – so they can make a stronger case for your admission. This is a plus.
- The one downside? They actually changed the wording of the first “standardized” question – don’t these schools realize that CHANGING THEM means they’re NO LONGER STANDARDIZED?? Sheesh.
The Stanford 2015-’16 Essay Questions
Same prompts as they’ve had for awhile – and you have plenty of resources available to tackle these on this site.
EssaySnark **knows** what makes for a strong app, and (finally!!) the Stanford admissions peeps are openly saying the same things. It’s all covered in this guide. Get a head start on what to expect with this very challenging application. You’ll want to give yourself as much time as possible to work on these essays (but please don’t start writing until after you’ve figured out what to say!!! this guide explains how).
Our Stanford essay guide has been expanded for 2015 to cover more tactical angles (previous editions of this guide have been largely strategic).
And yet another plug for these guides: Stanford has recently tweaked the instructions on its website for this season, being more direct and clear with what they’re looking for in terms of essays and recommenders. Every one of these angles was already covered in our Stanford guide.
[End 2015 questions section.]
Click to view 2014 questions
2014 questions – these are OLD
There was no behavioral question in 2014, as there had been for many many years. They announced the Class of 2017 app changes on their blog on May 15, 2014.
In 2014, also Stanford streamlined the number of letters of reference that they need, down to just two, from the three that they had asked for before. They require one from your current direct supervisor (there are certain situations where it’s acceptable not to get one from your current manager, but you should do so if you possible can). The second you have flexibility with; can be a former supervisor, or a peer, though we suggest a former supervisor as typically the best option. Choose wisely, Brave Supplicant!
[End 2014 questions section.]
Click to view 2013 questions
2013 questions – these are VERY OLD
The essays are exactly the same as last year, with one teensy tiny change:
Three essays:
- What matters most to you, and why?
- What do you want to doâREALLYâand why Stanford?
- Choose one:
- Â Tell us about a time in the last three years when you built or developed a team whose performance exceeded expectations.
- Tell us about a time in the last three years when you identified and pursued an opportunity to improve an organization.
- Tell us about a time in the last three years when you went beyond what was defined or established.
Essay length limits: 1600 words, divided up among the essays as you see fit. (EssaySnark recommends you stick with their suggestions, though: 750 / 450 / 400.)
The teensy-tiny change is, there’s a few “Just for Fun” questions within the application about your favorite place; last year, they asked about your favorite food.
[End 2013 questions section.]
The best help for the Stanford app? Our SnarkStrategies MBA Guide for Stanford GSB, available in an easy access online version.
EssaySnark reviews and advice on Stanford essays
Our advice is to study these – but please don’t try to copy what someone else wrote about in a ‘matters most’ essay! We hope the reason for this caution is obvious.
- A test for your answer to Stanford’s “What matters most?” essay question (August 2018)
- essay critique: Stanford âWhat matters most and why?â (January 2017)
- Inside-out and outside-in stories (essays for Berkeley, Kellogg, Stanford) (December 2016)
- Yet another tip on writing Stanford Essay B: “Why Stanford?” (December 2016)
- Tips on Stanford Essay B: “Why Stanford?” (November 2016)
- essay critique! Stanford Essay B: “Why Stanford?” (November 2016)
- No whitewashing (relates to Stanford Essay A) (July 2016)
- A BSer wonders about applying to Harvard vs Stanford (July 2016)
- Stanford essays are out – thank you Stanford! (May 2015)
- Your first idea and your best idea (with a tip for Stanford’s “What is your favorite…?” short-answer question) (November 2015)
- essay critique: Stanford “What matters most” (March 2015)
- Stanford essay critique: “What matters most to me is sports” (September 2014)
- Stanford Essay 1: “What matters most?” (July 2014)
- Stanford Essay 1 – matters most – part 2 (July 2014)
- Stanford Essay 2 and Wharton Essay 1: Are they the same or not? (July 2014)
- Stanford and career goals (December 2013)
- Stanford’s “What matters most and why?” (May 2013)
- Three GMAT Club essay reviews:
- Essay 1: “What matters most” (August 2013)
- Essay 2: “What do you REALLY want to do?” (August 2013)
- Essay 3: “Went beyond what was defined or established” (September 2013)
You might also want to check out:
- November 2016: What makes Stanford so great?
- June 2016: Stanford’s “save the world” culture
- August 2015: A common mistake when writing essays for Stanford
- July 2015: What we recommend you don’t do when writing your essays for Stanford (huh, we have a lot of “don’t do this” posts for Stanford this year!)
- July 2015: Seeing sample essays will not help you be authentic
- June 2015: A memo to Derrick Bolton (about applicants using admissions consultants)
- June 2015: More about applicants and admissions consultants
- November 2014: Applying to H/S/W? Why “Is my GMAT good enough?” is not the right question
- November 2014: What if Stanford asks, “What other schools have you applied to?”
- November 2013: Stanford and admissions consultants
- November 2013: It’s Stanford and only Stanford for me
- September 2012: Essay advice from the one who matters most
- November 2011: Why do people’s Stanford drafts suck so much?
The EssaySnark Stanford MBA guide has been updated, and expanded, for the 2018 application, to give you all the support you need to tackle these daunting essay questions. It’s almost 80 pages of useful insights and actionable tips for how (and how NOT!) to approach your task. Brave Supplicants this year have even more help in understanding how to build a compelling set of two essays for the GSB!