Mr. MBA Class of 2023

You tick off just about all the boxes for a highly credible candidate at Stanford GSB:
1) You have a degree from a prestige feeder university, UVA. In Stanford’s MBA Class of 2020, there are five UVA grads, two of them were at the Commerce School, two majored in foreign affairs and one in systems engineering.
2) You work for a feeder company. In that same Stanford class, there are four MBA students who came to Stanford direct from Goldman. By the way, four may not seem like all that much but it makes Goldman the fifth larger employer feeder to the GSB, tied with Amazon, Bain Capital and TPG Capital.
3) You are in the world of finance, which is another advantage because financial services is the biggest feeder industry to the GSB with 21% of the incoming class (nearly half come from Private Equity).
4) Your raw numbers–GPA and GMAT–are solid if not breathtaking. Both are slightly below the class averages but close enough not to matter.

Still, as you know, Stanford is hard, accepting less than 7% of its applicants and one possible ding on your app is that your extras aren’t all that impressive. They don’t show you in any kind of leadership role and they also don’t show your potential to meet Stanford’s mission to “change lives, change organizations and change the world.” It may be too late to shape that part of your application. If you have really great recs from important folks at Goldman and execute well on the app, I think your odds are substantially above the admit rate.

Hi, Mr. MBA Class of 2023, Julie-Anne Heafey here with mbaMission. Your background is very promising, with the basic building blocks you need for a shot at GSB: prestigious feeder firm, solid undergraduate school, and fairly on-target scores close to the averages. That’s enough to get started, for sure. However, to be a proper contender at GSB, you’ll need to bring more than just a good pedigree and stats (since many apply with similar qualifications and there isn’t room for everyone)…but some kind of “special sauce.” Thoughtful differentiation and a real understanding of yourself and your motivations can raise you above the pack. I find that the clients I partner with who are the most willing to commit and dig deep are the ones who make it through successfully. The good news is that your timing is excellent—now’s the perfect moment to start getting your ducks in a row, stepping up at work, cultivating potential recommenders (super important with feeder firms since they can be used somewhat as a sorting mechanism), and maybe even taking another crack at the GMAT if you think you left any points on the table. Stanford’s incredibly tough, with a 6ish% admit rate, but if you can differentiate yourself and show the impact and leadership they seek, then your odds improve a lot. Best of luck!!