Getting into Stanford MBA - Nationality, Gender, Degree and Experience

The ratio of US to International students selected every year will give you a perspective on the class composition over the years.

Here are the percentage of International students over the past five years:

2012: 37%
2011: 33%
2010: 34%
2009: 34%
2008: 37%

A 33-37% International students over the past five years is a healthy class composition. You will get a better understanding of your chance to get into stanford full-time MBA program if you look at the regional breakup for the class of 2012.

Africa: 2 %
Asia: 11 %
Europe: 6 %
North America: 64 %
Latin America and the Caribbean: 5 %
Oceania: 1 %
Dual citizenship: 11 %

Another factor that influence the admission is the gender of the applicant. We haven’t come across many top Business Schools that have consistently maintained a strong female representation for their Full-time MBA program. Here are the % of female students in Stanford Full-time MBA Program.

2012: 39%
2011: 34%
2010: 36%
2009: 38%
2008: 32%

Another positive aspect of Stanford MBA program is the representation of US Minority in the Full-time MBA program.

2012: 23%
2011: 21%
2010: 24%
2009: 23%
2008: 17%

So if you are a female US Minority student with strong academics and leadership qualities, then you are most likely to get into Stanford than your counterparts from other backgrounds.

Experience
Pre-MBA Experience influences your admission chance. The top 5 industries that make up the Stanford Full-time MBA class are from:

1) Consumer Products (Manufacturing & Services)
2) Investment Management (Includes investment banking, hedge funds, private equity, venture capital)
3) Consulting
4) Non-Profit/Government
5) High Tech (Manufacturing & Services)



The past five-year trend shows that applicants in the Investment Management and Consumer products have the maximum possibility of getting into Stanford. Surprisingly, applicants from high tech has the least possible chance of getting into stanford. Stanford receives a high number of applications from the tech industry. Consulting is right at the middle of the probability list.

Does the number of years of experience matter?
It would take 3-4 years of experience to get considerable growth and leadership opportunities in any career. That might be the reason why Stanford Pre-MBA Median experience is in the 3.9 to 4 year range.

Undergraduate Degree
Stanford MBA is known to have a bias towards students with Humanity background. Look at the stats below:



The representation of Humanities and Social Sciences undergraduates have increased over the past 5 years. Advanced degree holders have been the most affected in the past 5 years with their representation decreasing from 16% for the class of 2008 to 5% for the class of 2012.

Analyzing historical data on various admission criteria – Academic, Nationality, Gender,   
Undergraduate and Years of Experience will allow you to present your application(essays, resume and recommendation letter) accordingly.

Resources

1) Stanford MBA Essay Guide – Stacy Blackman
2) Stanford MBA Interview Guide – Stacy Blackman