About The School
“The majority of people who go to GSB do extraordinary things in ordinary jobs.”
Stanford’s MBA Program is the most selective in the world. Consistently at the top of the rankings, it attracts thousands of applications for spots in a relatively small class, which leads to the lowest acceptance rates of any major business school in the world, usually around 6%.
The Stanford MBA program’s class size lends itself to an intimate and close-knit community environment that pretty much guarantees almost every student knows one another. The class profile is extremely diverse, with roughly 45% women, 35% international and around 400 different employers representing its incoming class of, on average, 420 students. With Silicon Valley in its backyard, a growing number of tech and engineering applicants are choosing GSB over its East Coast rival. The dean estimates that three out of every four applicants who are admitted to both HBS and GSB choose Stanford. Graduates enjoy their pick of the hiring options from Google, McKinsey and a thriving Silicon Valley in a wide range of industries: finance, private equity, management consulting, big tech and, of course, entrepreneurial ventures. With the highest total compensation for alumni five years after school – estimated by Forbes at an average of $255,000 – and the school and its graduates are clearly in high demand and making an impact.
Strengths And Specializations
Tech, entrepreneurship, innovation, general management, social enterprise.
Incoming Class
Number of Applicants: 6,152
MBA Class Size: 424
Tuition: $153,180
Post-MBA Careers
Sector: Financial Services 33%; Technology 30%; Starting Own Business 19%; Consulting 15%; Healthcare 5%
Avg Base Salary: $175,000
Salary Increase: 131%
Employment in 3 months: 93%
Stanford GSB Rankings
Admissions
Avg. Work Experience: 4.9 yrs
Avg. GMAT: 737
International Students: 37%
Female Students: 44%
Deadlines for 2023-2024: R1: Sep 12, 2023, R2: Jan 04, 2024, R3: Apr 9, 2024
Sources: Stanford GSB, BusinessWeek, Financial Times, US News
Essays
Essay A: What matters most to you, and why?
Essay B: Why Stanford?
Answers for both essay questions combined may not exceed 1,050 words. Stanford recommends up to 650 words for Essay A and up to 400 words for Essay B.
Fortuna Tips & Advice
Check out our article on Stanford GSB Essays: Tips & Strategy on Writing What Matters Most
Request a copy of our team’s Insider Tips Report for applying to Stanford GSB.
You can also request a Fortuna Deep Dive Analysis of the Stanford GSB Class of 2020, the most detailed analysis of a business graduate class ever published.