Stanford GSB Campus (left) and Memorial Hall (right) as seen from Hoover Tower.
"I decided to pursue an MBA early in my career because I wanted to develop my business skills, learn tangible frameworks, and grow the entrepreneurial passions within me. Attending the Stanford GSB certainly exceeded my expectations as I interacted daily with a phenomenal group of accomplished corporate and social leaders."
Nader Mikhail, MBA 2007
Engagement Manager, McKinsey & Co
We regularly offer admission to outstanding college seniors and recent college graduates with no full-time work experience.
Q: I'm a college senior or recent college graduate. Whom should I ask to write my letters of reference?
A: You may use a direct supervisor from a summer, part-time, or internship experience. Or you may ask someone who oversaw you in an extracurricular, volunteer, or charitable activity. You may submit a recommendation from a professor, but academic letters of reference generally are not helpful in our evaluation, unless you worked with the recommender as a teaching assistant, researcher, or in a similar capacity.
College Seniors
You know best when the time is appropriate to pursue an MBA education. We accept outstanding students—and that includes students who enroll directly from an undergraduate or graduate program without full-time work experience.
- College seniors who go straight to business school usually have an extensive record of extracurricular leadership, as well as superb academic credentials. These students are mature and self-confident and can also effectively articulate the reasons why they wish to attend business school now.
- Those students we accept are expected to enter Stanford the year they are accepted (deferrals are granted only at the discretion of the Director). We may waive the application fee for college seniors currently receiving financial aid.
- If you are a college senior interested in pursuing an MBA education immediately after obtaining your undergraduate degree, and you believe you have a strong case—we encourage you to apply.
How To Prepare for the MBA Experience
If you are currently enrolled in school, here are some suggestions:
- Take the GMAT in your senior year. (The GMAT is required for application but we will make exceptions for alternatives such as the GRE. Please contact the MBA Admissions Office for more information.) The GMAT and the GRE scores are valid for 5 years. You can take the test more than once and most schools will consider your highest score.
- Do well in school. Apply and challenge yourself.
- Take classes outside of your area of specialty. For liberal arts students, consider preparing yourself quantitatively by taking a math/calculus, economics, or statistics class. For technical or science students, consider taking a humanities or social sciences class.
- Get involved outside the classroom. Seek out activities that interest you and opportunities to take leadership roles.
- Explore your professional pursuits by doing summer internships; cultivate relationships with supervisors and mentors; seek out challenging opportunities that will teach you new skills.
- Do your business school homework. Request materials and visit websites of programs that interest you. Visit the campuses and meet students, faculty, and staff. Seek opportunities to interact with MBA graduates.