Master 30 Stanford GSB MBA interview questions covering leadership philosophy, ethical reasoning, and business judgment.
Question 5 of 30
Example Answer
Why the Interviewer Asks This Question
What You Should Say
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Karrie Day is a certified career coach and strategist with a passion for helping her clients define and reach their professional goals. She offers career advancement services such as brand development, resume writing and critiques, job search strategies,
"The Stanford Entrepreneurship Path has several attributes that make it the best in the nation in my opinion. I am a small business owner and I want to scale and grow my business. Stanford offers the ability to partner with some of the brightest minds in business today while testing out new ideas and the networking opportunities cannot be beaten. Stanford also offers the chance to work through ideas in a low-risk environment. That is important to me as I consider taking this important step in my career.
I was very impressed when reading the success stories of the MSx graduates highlighted on your website. I look forward to the opportunity to join such a prestigious and talented group if selected for the program."

Karrie Day is a certified career coach and strategist with a passion for helping her clients define and reach their professional goals. She offers career advancement services such as brand development, resume writing and critiques, job search strategies,
Your interviewer at Stanford wants to know that you selected their program for a reason. The applicant acceptance rate for the Stanford GSB MBA program is roughly 6-8% annually. That is much lower than other notable programs available to applicants. You can be assured that the applicants who are invited to join the program have a well-thought-out answer to this question and know exactly why they want to pursue their MBA at Stanford.

Karrie Day is a certified career coach and strategist with a passion for helping her clients define and reach their professional goals. She offers career advancement services such as brand development, resume writing and critiques, job search strategies,
The most important goal for a question like this in a Stanford MBA program interview is to convince your interviewer that you know what you want out of the program and that you understand how the unique offerings at Stanford align with your goals. For example, you might describe your desire to work with a specific faculty member. You might mention classes that aren't offered by the other programs you have researched. Go beyond a simple 'Stanford is the best' response and offer a specific reason you choose to apply at Stanford. Answers that meet this standard are more likely to resonate with your interviewer.
You can think of your answer to this question as your elevator pitch for program acceptance. You are likely to be asked this question more than once throughout the selection process and you want to offer a clear and compelling response.

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Written by Karrie Day
30 Questions & Answers • Stanford University

By Karrie

By Karrie