Stanford GSB MBA application data form short answer questions
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Please share possible answers to these "small boxes" so Vince can evaluate your candidacy holisitcally, as admissions officers do.
Wherever possible, please share several options so Vince can help you pick the best mix of examples that demonstrate your selling points.
One last request: Please share story options in outline form.
Applicants trust Agos Admissions Consultants to help them select the best story that fits the questions BEHIND the question. Before spending hours writing a complete essay draft that might fail to impress admissions office readers, please share all possible answers with us. In your session, you and your consultant can discuss these options and pick the best one. Once you know that your story fits the question, please outline and write a full draft without worrying about the word limit. Cutting words from your story comes at the END of the brainstorming and drafting process.
As we read application essays, admissions consultants ask ourselves four questions:
Do I understand your story?
Do I believe you made an impact?
Do I care about the impact you made?
Do I think what you want me to think? For example, can I imagine you making a similar impact at your target school?
The best Agos admissions consulting clients share ideas with us BEFORE they spend hours writing. Then, they continually scrap and build their story. They structure story options into a simple outline or framework.
For now, please share two or three story options. Which examples might fit the question? What are your reasons to choose (or perhaps NOT choose) a particular story?
Here is one possible structure for sharing your ideas with your consultant:
STORY OPTION 1
Please use the STAR method (or another simple framework that best fits the question) to organize your answer. STAR stands for situation, task, action, and result. A STAR framework might look like this:
1. Situation – What was the problem?
2. Task – What was your idea for how to solve the problem? Why did you think that idea would work?
3. Action – What steps did you take? Of those action steps, which one seemed to have the most impact? What was the turning point?
4. Result – What happened in the end? What impact did your actions have on others? Can you quantify your results with numbers such as money or percentages? Can you qualify your impact with words like first, youngest, only, or best?
Finally, please tell us how you feel about this story. What are the pros and cons of selecting it? List the
Pros (reasons to use this story)
1
2
Cons (reasons NOT to use this story)
1
2
Therefore, you might consider sharing your ideas like this:
STORY OPTION 1
S
T
A
R
Pros
1
2
Cons
1
2
STORY OPTION 2
S
T
A
R
Pros
1
2
Cons
1
2
STORY OPTION 3
S
T
A
R
Pros
1
2
Cons
1
2
Thank you!
Most Significant Accomplishment
(limit 320 characters)
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As a bit of a cheap bastard and control freak, I manage this website alone.
Thus, I do not always have time to update it as I would like.
Information is subject to change. Please, verify all data with the schools.