In today’s Stanford MBA Application Essay Tips series, I will share three tips to answer the Why Stanford MBA Essay
1) Details
I am a big fan of Scorsese movies. Goodfellas is one of my favorites. There is a scene where the characters played by De Niro, Pesci, and Ray Liotta go for Dinner at Pesci’s house. The mother cooks and serves food, and when the time comes for the De Niro character to pour some ketchup, he does it with a unique swirling motion. Before the scene was shot, De Niro asked the Consultant for the movie who was the actual character on which he played the role on how he poured the ketchup. And that detail was used in the scene. Just a small addition, and the scene became more authentic.
You must attend on-campus events, info sessions, or MBA tours in your country or city, or at least talk to 3-4 current students or alumni, preferably from your country or sub-continent.
When I edited a client’s Why Stanford MBA Essay, he had already researched a couple of unique features and experiences from the recent class. The only thing I had to worry about was structuring it and adding elements of storytelling.
Don’t expect admissions consultants to do research for you. Even if you download F1GMAT’s Stanford MBA Essay Guide, where I have included unique value propositions from Stanford that you can use for the Essay, I still recommend that you meet or at least get on a call and note down 5-6 unique experiences from the Recent Stanford MBA class.
2) Good Cliches vs. Bad Cliches
There are certain universal elements of narrative or experiences that are so common that it has become a cliché. And applicants fearing that they are not original enough will try to quote some random courses to stand out. This is not required.
If you have read Stanford MBA Voices – an interview series with current students and alumni, you will see specific courses and experiences getting repeatedly quoted.
One is the Archuckle Fellows – an Improvisational club that teaches participants to think on their feet and overcome their hesitation to look foolish.
Another one is the Interpersonal Dynamics or the Touchy-Feely course, where applicants are encouraged to open up and learn to recognize and acknowledge emotions within them or in their peers. Through personalized feedback from peers and coaches, applicants develop the skills to lead holistically.
Then there are experiential learnings that match your post-MBA goals. These are all good cliches you must cite to demonstrate the value.
The bad Cliches are all examples with limited personalized value statements. When you see a course or a club that I have explained with value statements in F1GMATs Stanford MBA Essay Guide, you must understand that it is a version generalized for all applicants. Personalize that value statement for your post-MBA goals. Don’t just copy and paste from Stanford MBA’s curriculum page or F1GMAT’s Essay Guide and use it verbatim. Think about how you will get value.
3) Offering Value
75% of the Why Stanford MBA essay should be about how you will get value from the curriculum and the network, but any M7 or Top 20 MBA program’s curriculum is heavily designed for peer-to-peer learning. Business Schools want to know how you will add value to the MBA class. Spend 25% of your words on narratives demonstrating your value for your peers, the student clubs, and the Alumni network.
If you want to read Stanford MBA Sample Essays, Download F1GMAT’s Stanford MBA Essay Guide or if you want to start a conversation on editing your Stanford MBA Essays, Contact me – Atul Jose
