A 2019 ranking of business school admission rates showed Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) at the top of the list of most selective schools. Yes, it’s even harder to get into Stanford’s elite business program than Harvard’s, Yale’s, Columbia’s, or Wharton’s.
“It is very competitive and the bar to stand out is even higher,” said Benjamin Fernandes, Stanford GSB alum and founder and CEO of NALA. “Every year, more and more people apply, and the school is always looking for the best class to bring in.”
“To me, the biggest challenge was that it was just daunting, with such a low acceptance rate and so many qualified applicants,” said Nicole Alvino, co-founder and chief strategy officer of SocialChorus and an ’04 Stanford GSB graduate.
Stanford GSB’s exceedingly slim 6.1% acceptance rate — for perspective, around 20% of applicants get into Yale and Wharton’s business programs — means that any edge you can give yourself in this ultra-competitive field can make a difference.
To that end, Business Insider asked six Stanford business school grads — as well as the assistant dean of MBA admissions and financial aid at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business — for their insights on how to get noticed and tapped by Stanford GBS’s extremely selective Admissions Committee. Here’s their top advice.
Don’t imitate what you think the Admissions Committee wants to see
While the stereotype of the ideal Ivy League candidate is someone who fulfills the traditional version of achievement (with legacy to boot), Stanford alums highlight the importance of bringing your own distinct A-game to your application. Ian Cinnamon, Stanford GSB alum and president and founder of Synapse Technology Corporation based in Silicon Valley, noticed that his GSB classmates were all “incredibly unique,” which provides some insight into what the Admissions Committee values. “Everyone really focused their applications not just on their accomplishments, but their unique motivations that drove them,” said Cinnamon.
As a result, his top advice for Stanford business school applicants is to be uniquely you — not an imitation of a type. “Don’t try to fit into an unnatural mold. Be true to yourself, be true to what drives you,” suggested Cinnamon. “Whether you want to be a journalist, a singer, or a rodeo bull rider, there is no passion that is too ‘outside the box’ for the GSB. Even classmates who came from similar backgrounds (consulting or finance) each had their own passions and drives that they pursued during the GSB.”
Other Stanford business school alums validated this advice with their own messages. “Tell a story that only you can tell, and avoid writing answers that you think the administration is looking for,” offered Samantha Dong, founder and CEO of Ally Shoes. “Authenticity is one of the most important lessons we learned at the GSB. Honestly, people can tell the difference. It’s truly one of the greatest gifts to be surrounded by people with a passion for something meaningful, and the drive and capacity to make change happen. If you believe you are one of those people, show it with your story and your unique voice.”
“Please don’t try to ‘model’ your application after someone else you know who got in,” said Irina Farooq, chief product officer of Kinetica. “You are not that person, and this approach will inevitably impact your ability to articulate your unique experiences and points of view. The best you can do is to stay true to yourself and your aspirations.” Fernandes added: “Be honest about your journey and where you want to go. Finally, be humble, you are not perfect, don’t feel the need to show this. Admissions officers have read thousands of essays each year and could spot something being embellished from a mile away.”
Make sure your entire application tells a cohesive story
No guide for getting into business school — much less at a top-tier institution like Stanford — would be complete without mentioning strategic approaches to the essay component of the application. Fernandes focused his tips for getting into the competitive program around how you approach the business school essay. “Truly reflect on the essay question, ‘What matters to you most and why?'” said Fernandes. “It’s a deep question for anyone to ask themselves; it’s almost like asking yourself, what is your life’s purpose?”
Dong agreed that the “What matters most to you and why?” essay question is “notoriously daunting,” noting that she found answering this question to be the single biggest challenge of getting into the GSB. To overcome this formidable obstacle, she wrote 20 different drafts before finalizing her essay. “Ultimately, two things helped me put things in perspective,” recalled Dong. “I wrote down all the meaningful, big moments in my life, and tried looking for common threads. I also asked myself this question: What’s the one thing in life I cannot live without?”
Fernandes emphasized ensuring that your entire application tells a similar story that delivers a coherent, compelling message throughout. “Your story makes you stand out, but it wouldn’t make any sense if one talks about wanting to use technology to transform the football industry and nothing else in your application talking about your passion for football and technology,” he explained.
Distinguish yourself in a jam-packed field
Sal Hazday, COO of OppLoans, said he had to be persistent to succeed in his goal to earn a Stanford MBA. “I sent in additional recommendations and my own self-recommendation on what made me a different type of candidate,” said Hazday. The reason behind these extra efforts was what Hazday found to be the biggest challenge in getting into Stanford GSB: “Knowing that I had to compete not just with smart people who went to prestigious schools, received good grades, and had successful careers prior to business school, but also they did amazing and interesting things in other areas like athletics, research, or volunteer work.”
To help tip the balance and compete in this arena, Hazday encourages candidates to diversify their work experience, like he did: “I had the opportunity to work abroad in very different countries (Saudi Arabia, Costa Rica) as a SAP consultant — it provided a unique foundation to further build my knowledge in solving business challenges globally.”
Express your unique form of leadership
When Farooq first became interested in applying to Stanford Business School, she discovered that the biggest challenge was trying to figure out what she “needed” to do to get in. “At the time, I didn’t know a single person who had gone there, but it seemed like everyone around me had heard of ‘ideal’ strategies to get in,” recalled Farooq. “At first, it made the GSB seem like this mythical place for which I had to completely stretch and change myself to get in. That was extremely unsettling.”
Farooq was ultimately able to hurdle this challenge by realizing the first point in the list of strategies above — as she explained it: “that Stanford actually wants you to bring your unique self to the table.” With this new perspective, Farooq focused not on stressing the outcome but on giving the Admissions Committee an accurate picture of herself, her goals, and her aspirations. Her route to finding her authentic voice came by tapping into her unique form of leadership and expressing that in her application.
“It’s a small class of around 360 people, so they are looking for every single person to demonstrate how they can be a future leader,” said Farooq. “But they also deeply understand that leadership comes in many different forms, and are looking for people from different backgrounds. In fact, a big part of the program is structured around honing your leadership skills, where you get challenged by different perspectives.” Pointing out that Stanford GSB’s motto is, “Change Lives, Change Organizations, Change the World,” Farooq finds it no surprise that their admissions essays are geared towards understanding you as a person and your potential as a future leader. “I used this as an opportunity to really introspect my own goals and motivations and then articulate those in my essays,” she said.
Review Stanford GSB’s evaluation criteria
In addition to considering the advice of successful Stanford MBAs about how they got into the program, be sure to heed the following words of Kirsten Moss, assistant dean of MBA admissions and financial aid at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business: “We’re looking to build a diverse class of students who are curious and willing to tackle issues or challenges, which go beyond what may be expected of them,” explained Moss. “We look for students who have taken initiative, focused on results, engaged others in their efforts, and helped others grow.”
To understand exactly what the Admissions Committee is looking for, Moss points interested applicants toward reviewing the MBA program’s evaluation criteria, emphasizing that their students bring a variety of perspectives and experiences to the classroom and community. “We really mean it when we say we don’t expect our students to all fit one mold,” said Moss. “So the best advice I can give is for candidates to be honest and authentically yourself.”
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Make sure you really want it
Farooq takes a lot of calls from people applying to business schools, many of whom she says don’t know why they are doing it. “The most common answer I get is, ‘I was told it will look good on my resume.’ Yes, it may, but so will a number of other things.”
Based on this experience, Farooq advises applicants to do some soul-searching before applying. “Really spend time understanding yourself — what motivates you, what you are trying to achieve by going to business school,” she said. “The admissions team can always distinguish between people who see business school as a key part of their leadership journey and those who are just jumping on the bandwagon.”
Fernandes concurs that motivation, as well as the timing of when you decide to apply to Stanford’s business school, can play a big factor in the outcome — not because one application window is better than another, but because it’s important to apply only when you have a firm grasp on your true motivations. “I think a reason why many people don’t get in is maybe because they apply when they aren’t ready yet,” said Fernandes. “You really have to ask yourself why you want an MBA — and why now?”
