First and foremost, review these essays of two of my earlier clients who enrolled to Stanford GSB. Thereafter, come back and read the rest of my analysis:
This is not a goal essay question. “What matters to you” is not the same as “career goals”. For instance, Steve Jobs devoted his entire life to creating cool electronic devices. Hence, technological innovation and challenging the status quo (IBM had a near monopoly in the computer hardware market at that point) mattered the most to Steve Jobs. That was the core of his existence. He devoted his entire life to creating numerous cutting-edge innovative products. But he had short, mid and long term goals, such as creating iPad by 2005 and iPhones by 2007 (these numbers are just my guess….I don’t know what was in Job’s mind!).
Similarly, political and social activism mattered the most to Barack Obama. That’s the reason he volunteered as a community organizer in 1985 after graduating from Columbia. He helped set up a job training program and a college preparatory tutoring program. Just imagine how big a burning desire he had at that nascent age for social activism. How many Columbia graduates will agree to join a church-based organization and work there for three years? Did he make a million dollars while working on Chicago’s South Side? No. But he gave his heart and soul for something that mattered to him. Now, he definitely had some milestones (aka goals) in his mind that he would have wanted to achieve, such as running for Congress, then Senate and finally President. But what mattered the most to him guided Barack Obama throughout his life.
That’s enough food for thought.
Now, start writing your story. What's your purpose in life? What is that one thing that you desperately aspire to accomplish in this life? What is that one thing for which you can sacrifice everything else? If you are unable to crystallize your thoughts, talk to me.
Now that you have explained to the admissions team “what matters to you”, connect your passion with your vision! For example, if dealing with climate change and global warming matters to you, then show the admissions committee why an MBA is absolutely critical to achieving your long-term dream of launching a wind energy firm in China. Moreover, show them how the courses offered at Stanford Business School will help you to comprehend the nitty-gritties of launching your venture. Additionally, you can show them how the courses offered at Stanford School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Science will help you to create sustainable energy solutions that can be replicated across Asia! Finally, show them how you will seamlessly interact with Chinese venture capitalists and government agencies, thanks to the Stanford School of Humanities & Sciences for refining your Chinese-speaking skills and offering you rich knowledge of Chinese culture.
Please don’t just give them common explanations, such as proximity to Silicon Valley and internship in tech start-ups etc. Those are indeed the advantages of Stanford. You can talk about these factors in your essay. But go deeper and say things that applicants generally don’t say. That’s differentiation. Network with current students, alumni and the admission team. Attend any web seminar or admission event in your city and try to visit their campus in order to know as much as possible about the program. Stanford University has seven renowned schools under its umbrella and offers unparalleled access for its students to various branches of studies, such as medicine, law, humanities, business, engineering, education, and the environment. So do you wish to solve multidisciplinary problems such as healthcare or climate change? Do you need cutting-edge knowledge of medicine, business, macroeconomics, international trade laws and geology? If yes, then Stanford must be the next stop on your journey!
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.
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Politicians have speech writers. Journalists use news editors. Famous writers and columnists have an army of professional editors. Don’t you think you also need to have one?