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Stanford

2011-2012 Stanford/GSB Essay Analysis

Stanford What Matters Most to You, and Why? Part I Essay 1: What matters most to you, and why? (Recommended 750 words) Every year, this question stymies the best and brightest of the world’s most ambitious business school applicants. Simply because applicants approach it incorrectly. How? From outside-in. The applicant does a ton of research on Stanford, scours the website, attends seminars, speaks with alumns, and then tries to figure out what Stanford wants. Outside-in. Of all the business school …
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Stanford GSB Essay Analysis – Essay 3C (2009)

Essay 3 (Option C) — Tell us about a time when you motivated others to support your vision or initiative. Simple enough right? Yes and no. There’s one key distinction that you have to chew on in order to bang out a great essay here. Let’s start by talking about what this question DOESN’T ask: (1) tell us about a time when you had a vision or initiative (2) tell us about a time when you led others in a …
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Stanford GSB Essay Analysis – Essay 2 (2009)

What are your career aspirations? How will your education at Stanford help you achieve them? [Btw, you may find some repeat posts dealing with the SAME question from the SAME school (more than once, even). This should make sense to many of you. These questions are at once insanely simple but also extraordinarily complex. We'll get to the many shades over time.] First Piece: What are your career aspirations? This one’s all about the word “ASPIRATIONS.” Don’t just answer it …
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What Matters Most to You and Why? (2008)

Stanford. The famous essay. This question is awesome. Because it really tees you up to flex several important muscles all at once: 1. Your Soul. That’s the most important one. This question wants to know what matters to you? what makes a difference? if you were to take this one thing away, what would happen, and why is that bad, according to you? — It reveals something very inner-core. While all your essays–everywhere–should address this issue in some way (usually …
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