Friday, June 13, 2008

Stanford GSB Essay Topics for 2008-2009

Stanford has just released its application essays for the 2008-2009 admissions season:
  • Essay A: What matters most to you, and why?
  • Essay B: What are your career aspirations? How will your education at Stanford help you achieve them?
  • Essay C: Short EssaysOptions 1-4
    Answer two of the questions below. Tell us not only what you did but also how you did it. What was the outcome? How did people respond? Only describe experiences that have occurred during the last three years.

    Option 1: Tell us about a time when you built or developed a team.

    Option 2: Tell us about a time when you felt most effective as a leader.

    Option 3: Tell us about a time when you tried to reach a goal or complete a task that was challenging, difficult, or frustrating.

    Option 4: Tell us about a time when you went beyond what was defined, established, or expected.
It used to be that Stanford turned MBA applicants loose on just the first two questions, with absolutely no limits on word count. More recently, they gave applicants a total seven-page limit for all of their essays, with applicants free to choose how they used the seven pages. This year, they have given applicants a more traditional word limit, totaling 1,800 words across all four essays. While you are still free to allocate your words however you choose, it's clear from Stanford's guidelines that you should spend more words (and time) on Essay A than any other.

If you want more guidance on your Stanford business school application, visit our Stanford GSB profile page.