Stanford Graduate School of Business offers its students an environment which nurtures excellence and creativity. More than 650 student organizations drive campus life. To get into Ivy leagues is no piece of cake. So the question here is, what does Stanford exactly want?

The answer is not definite; there are no absolutes. Stanford looks for students through an extensively holistic approach. Learning should be one’s passion. And you need the desire and talent to nurture that passion.

While your GMAT score might put you on their radar, you need to be personally impressive in order to make it through. You need to stand out from the masses. This includes an exceptional essay and list of activities. If you’ve managed to raise good funding on your own, or single handedly managed a book club, or done something that is removed from mainstream, they’ll consider you. So basically, your application must have highlights that make them want to read it. In their words, you need Intellectual Vitality, not just some nerd (nerds are good! But not Stanford good). You need to have the drive to create something.

For the selection process, your essay needs to be beyond your own expectations. It should showcase your persona, and shine through as a diligent effort. You need to be honest as well as innovative.

If a question is” describe yourself in five words”, don’t start off with “hardworking, compassionate, trustworthy, blah blah blah”. No matter how many of all these attributes you imbibe, it sounds generic. Be fun with your answers. Describe yourself with really interesting words like Sarcastic, or quirky, or maybe even witty. Be honest yet show them your fun side.

To put it succinctly, most kids with good grades and test scores are smart, but not all of them are necessarily intellectuals. Intellectuals are inherently curious. Curiosity propels their education and life, without letting them sink knee deep in the quagmire of competition. Those insatiable learners are what Stanford’s looking for here. Panache is the word, dear applicant. But let’s admit it, the primary criterion for consideration is Academic excellence. How much you challenged yourself through school life and made efforts to expand your horizon is all that counts. Your transcripts will speak volumes about your life, as well as the recommendations that others have written about you.

All said and done, your personal accomplishments rarely make your applications stand out. It’s your interview and essays that separate you from all the qualified students. Hence interviews make up the bulk of your academic assessment and need to be prepared for seriously. They judge your personality and see if you’ll fit into the Stanford sphere. Another prospective criterion is your ability to add to the community there. Your answers will determine your admission.

Therefore build on both, your academic profile and personality, to make it into the top B-school of your choice!

Mallika Bhagat