Stanford GSB’s acceptance rate is the lowest of all MBA programs globally at just 8.9%. Learn more about this highly-coveted program here.
“Stanford seeks outstanding and diverse people who seek a transformative experience at the GSB and in turn, seek to transform lives, organizations and the world — that is, to make a significant impact,” shared a former Stanford GSB Admissions Officer on the Stacy Blackman Consulting team.
Contact us for an assessment of your Stanford GSB MBA candidacy today. Here’s a snapshot of our GSB expertise on the SBC admissions consulting team:
Stanford Program Overview
The Stanford MBA Program maintains that strong leadership “is as much a mindset as a skill set, and to make a difference in the organizations you will serve, you need both.” Accordingly, they aim to deliver a “leadership education that prepares you for your next job and for career moves 30 years from now.”
Known as one of the country’s most selective business schools, Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) took a new, more personalized approach to its curriculum in 2007. This new approach tailored each student’s academic experience to match their individual career goals and abilities.
At the Stanford GSB, students and alumni describe a very supportive and enthusiastic environment in which many long-lasting relationships are formed. Stanford is known for its strength in the entrepreneurial area, and many students enter the program with ideas for new ventures already in mind. Alumni cite the school’s entrepreneurial resources and support for such ventures as characteristics which set the program apart from others.
Stanford GSB is also known for its small class size and for having an environment in which students can have closer relationships with faculty and staff than they would in a large program. The school’s vision is that of a “collaborative community” in which students can benefit from working with others who have varied backgrounds.
Admissions Stats
Here’s a snapshot of GSB’s student class, relative to HBS:
| Admission Stats | Harvard | Stanford |
| Median GMAT | 730 | 738 |
| GMAT Range | 590-790 | 610-790 |
| Average GPA | 3.69 | 3.78 |
| Estimated selectivity | 10.02% | 7.00% |
| Class of 2023 | Harvard | Stanford |
| Enrolled MBA Students | 1,010 | 426 |
| International MBA Students | 37% | 47% |
| Women MBA Students | 46% | 44% |
| Black American Students | 12% | 5% |
| Hispanic/Latinx Students | 11% | 11% |
| Asian American Students | 24% | 23% |
Rounds & Deadlines
Search our MBA deadlines chart for updates on round and dates.
Stanford GSB Admissions Essay
Here are GSB’s main essay prompts and GSB essay tips can be found here. Even outside the actual essay prompts, GSB embeds within its application data form short answer questions that are not to be dismissed, as they are as scrutinized by MBA Admissions readers.
Essay A: What matters most to you, and why?
For this essay, we would like you to reflect deeply and write from the heart. Once you’ve identified what matters most to you, help us understand why. You might consider, for example, what makes this so important to you? What people, insights, or experiences have shaped your perspectives?
Essay B: Why Stanford?
Describe your aspirations and how your Stanford GSB experience will help you realize them. If you are applying to both the MBA and MSx programs, use Essay B to address your interest in both programs.
Both essays combined may not exceed 1,050 words. We recommend up to 650 words for Essay A and up to 400 words for Essay B. We often find effective essays that are written in fewer words.
GSB Admissions Tips
SBC reviews its admit pool each season to identify key trends and lessons. When we evaluated all our successful HBS admits across our SBC client pool, past clients who received admits, we found that their essays had some common success factors:
- Core passion and driving motivation shared through several examples, professional, community, personal
- Autobiographical and also key achievements
- Multi-topical as opposed to one topic, but with a structured framework of some type and not colloquial, freeflow presentation
Similarly, academic stats, intellectual horsepower, leadership track record, career clarity, and proven ambition are all table stakes for GSB admissions.
Sample GSB Essays
Winning essays from our successful admits are new on the SBC site and can be found here:
GSB Essay Examples
What Matters Most to You and Why: Examples
More HBS Application Tips
View our extensive overview of how the application for Harvard varies from that of Stanford here.