Stanford GSB Application Essay Tips, 2025-2026
The application essays for the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) are among the more expansive and demanding of those for the top MBA programs; the GSB truly wants to get to know you. With a 650-word essay that necessitates some soul-searching, 350 words on your interest in Stanford specifically, and multiple optional short answers that allow you to reveal purpose and impact, you have plenty of opportunity to paint a more complete picture of yourself that goes well beyond your grades and test scores. The GSB application gives you a chance to think holistically about your goals, your career, and how an MBA fits into those plans.
Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? (650 words recommended)
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?
This simply worded question often vexes applicants, but that is because many perceive that there is a “right” answer they need to provide. But Stanford is agnostic with respect to topic. For example, it is not better to write about your quest for knowledge or worse to write about your desire to have impact. What matters is that you share whatever has truly been the driving force, or will be the driving force, within your life — both anecdotally and through clear personal experience. The “why” part of this question is key; dig deep and demonstrate the reasons behind your passion for whatever you say matters most to you.
The GSB admissions committee is seeking authenticity and values, but that doesn’t mean that everything needs to be sunshine. You can show that your values evolved through a failure or by finding inspiration through others’ examples. Feel free to be vulnerable in this essay — to the extent that if you left it in the printer at work, you might feel a little exposed if a colleague were to find it.
We often think of this essay as having three distinct sections, where a theme emerges, manifests through experience, and finally matures and is validated. It isn’t complete heresy to write, “What matters most to me is…” at some point in your essay, but it should be unnecessary, because ideally, the reader would fundamentally understand the point of your piece without those words being written. Either way, make sure that your theme is very clear to the reader.
Essay B: Why Stanford for you?
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 this essay to address your interest in both programs.
This year, Stanford updated its “Why Stanford?” essay prompt to include the words “…for you.” This might be in response to the number of candidates each year who merely list all the well-known, great things about Stanford without explicitly linking of them back to their personal goals and aspirations. The updated, more explicit “Why Stanford for you?” prompt is a great reminder for all candidates to ground their essays in a discussion of their goals to help contextualize their “Why Stanford?” answer. It’s also an invitation to share not only how your personal experiences, skill set, and aspirations are complementary to what only Stanford can provide but also how you can add value to the school’s community.
Try to challenge yourself in this essay; move beyond focusing on the classic “Touchy Feely” course (“Interpersonal Dynamics”) and “Startup Garage.” So many applicants write about these Stanford experiences! Take a step back, connect with students and/or recent alumni, go beyond the program’s most popular offerings, and really dig in and share your reason for wanting to be at the Stanford GSB over any other program. How will Stanford help you more than another program to achieve your goals and fill the gaps in your experience?
Do your homework! You shouldn’t be able to repurpose this essay for other MBA programs; essays that focus solely on generic topics such as leadership and modeling don’t stand out to the admissions committee. Move beyond the curriculum, and be specific about how you might take advantage of nonacademic features of the GSB and of some of the broader Stanford University resources. You also want to explain how you would contribute to those experiences. Show that you really, fundamentally understand the program’s culture and spirit. When you write this essay, don’t be afraid to go high-minded and “big picture,” if that makes sense for you. Stanford doesn’t mind dreamers as long as they are grounded in reality in some way. The GSB likes to think of itself as a place where people go to embrace world-changing ideas (check out the school’s motto), and you can paint yourself as such a person as long as you do so with sincerity. Even if you are on a conventional path, such as consulting or private equity, there can absolutely be a place for you at the GSB. You can present your shorter-term goal as a means of achieving your bigger, longer-term dream — or as just your big, long-term dream itself. Either way, whatever goals you share, you need to think carefully about how the GSB will be your catalyst and then “prove” that in your essay.
Optional Short Answer Question
What do we mean by “optional”? We mean you have the opportunity to choose. If you feel that you’ve already described your contributions well in other areas of the application, congratulations, you’re done! If not, feel free to use this opportunity to tell us more.
In the Essays section of the application, we ask you to tell us about who you are and how you think Stanford will help you achieve your aspirations. We are also interested in learning about the things you have done that are most meaningful to you. Using these optional spaces, perhaps you would like to expand upon a bullet item from your resume and tell us more about the “how” or “why” behind the “what.” Or maybe you have had a significant impact outside of work in a way that doesn’t fit neatly in another part of the application. You are welcome to share up to three examples (up to 1,200 characters, or approximately 200 words, for each example).
Question: Think about a time in the last five years when you’ve created a positive impact, whether in professional, extracurricular, civic, or academic settings. What was the situation, what did you do, and what was the impact?
Do you need to provide three examples for this prompt? Most candidates will, so it’s in your best interest to do so also, unless you simply don’t have three solid impact stories to share. The goal here is for the admissions committee to get to this point in your application, read your three stories, and say, “Wow! I can’t believe how much more there is still to learn about this applicant!” Ideally, you will share three examples that all offer new information about you. What hasn’t the committee learned about your personal life, community experience, professional successes, or academic triumphs elsewhere in your application? Although you might be tempted to write three generally awesome stories about yourself, don’t lose sight of the fact that you need to discuss moments when your actions had a direct impact on others.
Even in such a short submission, you still have room to share a full anecdote that provides sufficient color to make the experience “real” for the admissions reader. Do not waste characters on openings like “My greatest moment of impact was when I….” That kind of writing is almost always boring, minimizing the reader’s suspense and losing their attention. Instead, set the stage, present a moment of conflict, and then drive home that you were able to positively change the experience for the better. Demonstrate your impact!
As a whole, the GSB application gives you the opportunity to share multiple experiences from your life. Take time to be strategic and think about what stories you want to share, ideally from different aspects of your life, and how you want to distribute those stories across the different essay prompts. Be strategic in how you approach each essay, and ensure that they aren’t redundant. If you’re approaching the deadline and one of your impact stories feels weak, it’s better to leave it out and submit two than to submit a weak example that could leave your reader questioning your judgement in including it. Don’t shy away from individual impact stories, because you have three opportunities here, so essays can vary from the micro to macro level, demonstrating how well-rounded you are. As with all Stanford GSB essays, speak from the heart, be authentic, and keep in mind how your actions and interactions can create a ripple effect and drive positive change around you.
Additional Information
If there is any information that is critical for us to know and is not captured elsewhere, include it in the Additional Information section of the application. Pertinent examples include:
– Extenuating circumstances affecting your candidacy, including academic, work, or test-taking experiences
– Academic experience (e.g., independent research) not noted elsewhere
– Explanation of why you are not using a current supervisor as a recommender
This section should not be used as an additional essay.
Take these specific instructions to heart. The admissions office does not like when candidates abuse this space and submit additional essays that might highlight additional accomplishments but are unnecessary. Use this essay space only as intended if you have extenuating circumstances you need to explain that could affect how the school views your candidacy.
In Stratus Admissions’ How to Get into Stanford Graduate School of Business, you will find information on a variety of the MBA program’s offerings, such as the Startup Garage, “Interpersonal Dynamics” class, Global Management Immersion Experience, and the MBA Challenge for Charity.