There is not a better school for aspiring entrepreneurs. Not only did Stanford produce 933 VC-backed entrepreneurs who raised more than US$27.9B, the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem at Stanford is unrivalled.
Business Schools In The M7 MBA List
Guide to Stanford Graduate School of Business
All M7 MBA Programs
Schools in the M7 MBA programs include:
About Stanford Graduate School of Business
Stanford University is a prestigious private research university in California. Its Graduate School of Business (GSB), founded in 1925, has been ranked as offering the best full time MBA program in the world, by QS Global MBA Rankings 2019. Stanford GSB’s distinguished faculty includes three Nobel Prize winners, two John Bates Clark Award winners and 15 members of the American Academy of the Arts and Sciences. The campus is in the town of Stanford, in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley. Along with the main university, Stanford GSB maintains very close links with firms in the Silicon Valley region.
Stanford GSB offers a two-year, full-time MBA, as well as a large range of dual-degree MBA programs. These include MBA/JD, MBA/MA International Studies, MBA/MD, MBA/Master of Public Policy (MPP), MBA/MS Computer Science, and an MBA/MSE Electrical Engineering.During the first year of the two-year MBA program, students follow a core general management curriculum. In the second year, the students have the option to customize their program with courses at other Stanford schools, electives, seminars, or a joint or dual degree. Electives include courses within accounting, entrepreneurship, finance, general management, managerial economics, marketing, political economics and strategic management.
Participating in a Global Experience program is a required component of the Stanford MBA. This includes the Global Management Immersion Experience (GMIX), which involves students spending four weeks abroad in the summer working on sponsor-led projects in a range of industries (e.g. consumer products to media to international development), and can be personalized to fit specific interests. There are also faculty-led global seminars abroad that focus on key subjects in relevant locations – for example, exploring economic mobility in Brazil.
The program’s tuition costs around USD 73,062, excluding miscellaneous fees. Options of loans and scholarships are available for applicable candidates. As per data from the latest graduating class of 2019, 94% of the graduate students were hired within 3 months of graduating, with a base salary of USD 150,000.
Stanford's Specialty
Stanford Graduate School of Business is best known for
- Entrepreneurship
- Management
- Marketing
- Nonprofit Management
- Production/Operations
- Finance
Application Deadlines
Round 1: September 13, 2022 | Round 2: January 5, 2023 | Round 3: April 11, 2023
Application Fee: $275
Admissions Facts
Acceptance rate (full-time): 6%
Average age of new entrants: 28
Required standardised test: GMAT/GRE
Average GMAT score: 733 | Average GRE Verbal/Quant score: 165 | Average GRE Writing Score: 4.9
Require work experience: Yes | Average work experience: 4.7 years
Application Essays
- Season: 2021
- Number of Essays: 2
- Submission Deadline: Same as application deadline
Essay Topics
Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? (Recommended Word Count: 650)
Essay B: Why Stanford? (Recommended Word Count: 400)
Additional Information: There is a 1050 words maximum limit for both essays combined.
Optional Short-Answer Questions: There will be two optional questions. You are allowed to share up to three examples from your life for each question. Each example should not exceed 1200 characters or, approximately, 200 words.
Optional Question A: Think about times you’ve created a positive impact, whether in professional, extracurricular, academic, or other settings. What was your impact? What made it significant to you or to others?
Optional Question B: Tell us about a time within the last three years when your background influenced your participation in a situation, interaction, or project.
Letters of Recommendation
- Season: 2021
- Number of Recommendations: 2
- Submission Deadline: Same as application deadline
Stories about your behaviors, impact, and personal qualities told by others play an essential role in our evaluation of your application. Your letters of reference should provide specific examples and anecdotes that illustrate your ability and desire to make a difference in the world.
Two letters of reference:
- One reference from your current direct supervisor (or next best alternative) at work.
- Your choice of either one additional supervisor reference or one peer reference. The strongest references typically come from your workplace. You may select a reference from your professional, community, or extracurricular experiences.
Prompts:
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- How does the applicant’s performance compare to that of other well-qualified individuals in similar roles? Please provide specific examples. (E.g. what are the applicant’s principal strengths?) Up to 500 words
- Describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant’s response. Up to 500 words
- (Optional) Is there anything else we should know? Please be concise.
In addition to your qualitative responses, referees will be asked to assess some of the candidate’s character traits and competencies that contribute to successful leadership.
Our Verdict
Highly Selective
“Being the top MBA program in the world, Stanford is of course very selective about its acceptance rate. To get into Stanford, you will have to work hard on almost all the items that they require. A lack of focus will be your downfall.”
