Stanford GSB Admissions on the new application:
“The big news about essay questions for application to the Class of 2016 is that there is no news. Last year, we reduced the number of essays from four to three, and increased the suggested word count in one of the essays. This worked really well, so essay questions are remaining the same as last year.
Bigger changes are taking place in the Letters of Reference requirements. We are streamlining the questions we ask your recommenders—merging two questions on the professional recommendation, and making the last peer question optional. We honed our questions to garner the most essential information needed to evaluate your application. This way, we ask only for what we need and your recommenders' time is well spent.
One other small change to the application: Last year we added a "Just for Fun" question that asked what your favorite food is. We found this made the admission readers hungry, so this year we're asking what your favorite place is instead.”
What this means is my essay analysis from last year for Stanford GSB still applies, but the recs have changed. See my overall comments post on Stanford here which links to entire series for Fall 2013 entry. I will update it all very soon, but if you want to writing your essays for Fall 2014 entry, here are the questions with hyperlinked to my relevant posts:
Essay 1: What matters most to you, and why?
Essay 2: What do you want to do—REALLY—and why Stanford?
Essay 3: Answer one of the three questions below. Tell us not only what you did but also how you did it. What was the outcome? How did people respond? Only describe experiences that have occurred during the last three years.
- Option A: Tell us about a time in the last three years when you built or developed a team whose performance exceeded expectations.
- Option B: Tell us about a time in the last three years when you identified and pursued an opportunity to improve an organization.
- Option C: Tell us about a time in the last three years when you went beyond what was defined or established.
-Adam Markus
I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.
