A Stanford & HBS Admit Dishes Advice

INSPIRATION TO PLOW AHEAD THANKS TO ROCK CLIMBING

His recommenders included a counselor at Deloitte who oversees his career track and a senior manager with whom he worked closely on a client assignment. The project led to his development of two mobile ideas for a large state public account. “So I had one recommender with an overall view and another with a specific story to tell,” explains Saucedo. “Stanford had a third one and I had a good friend of mine who worked with me on a side project together write a recommendation.”

Saucedo is an avid rock climber, which is why he named his site ClimbingMBA. To stay motivated and inspired through the application process, Saucedo says he often thought of the process like a difficult rock climb. “Sometimes when I’m on a particularly difficult route and pushing myself to my limit, I focus on getting just one move farther than before, as opposed to finishing the entire climb on the first attempt,” he writes in the guide. “If I’m able to get just a step farther each time I attempt the climb, I’ll eventually finish it. Think about this process and how it can help you achieve goals you had previously thought were unattainable, and combine this with a healthy disregard for where your abilities end. Demonstrating the ability to achieve your goals is key to showing that you’re an applicant who is capable of taking the knowledge you will gain from earning your MBA and making an impact on the world.”

In the guide, written in a conversational tone as if Saucedo is sharing a drink with you at a local bar, he advises applicants not to obsess over the GMAT. “Don’t get caught up in the GMAT world,” he warns. “I know there are many websites that provide GMAT communities and support, and while they may help increase your score, your overall goal for the GMAT is to get into study mode for it, take it, then get out. Personally, based on the numbers posted by the top schools and what I’ve learned from speaking with other admits, I’d say a score over 700 is good enough—don’t fret over a few points once you’ve hit that mark.”

HARVARD VS. STANFORD: THE REASONING BEHIND HIS DECISION

So where is he going? Stanford. The call from Bolton seems to have played a role in the decision, though it was just one of many factors he considered in making his decision. “It was that personal attention that really got me,” he says. “He really seemed to care and really wanted me to go to Stanford.

“But entrepreneurship has always been something I want to get into and Stanford is leading the way in entrepreneurship. Harvard’s got a lot of cool things going on, including the new innovation lab and the Rock Center for Entrepreneurship. At Stanford, they spoke more about the business school’s connection to the D-school and the schools of engineering and computer science.

“I also think you can get a more well-rounded education at Stanford. Harvard is all case study and I wasn’t sure I wanted to have case studies for all my classes. Stanford’s approach to recruiting seems more interactive. At HBS, it still feels like it’s the standard investment firms and consulting companies. At Stanford, it seemed like you could get more support if you wanted to do something more unique.”

“The smaller class size was also really big for me,” he says. “Going to UCLA, I had the massive sink-or-swim undergraduate experience. But when it comes to getting my MBA, I want the personal attention that comes with smaller classes.”

DON’T MISS: HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL VS. STANFORD GSB or WHO MAKES THE BETTER ENTREPRENEUR: HARVARD OR STANFORD?