Stanford University - Stanford Graduate School of Business

Stanford’s Graduate School of Business offers a selective, top-ranked MBA program in close proximity to the hub of technology and venture capital sectors. So it’s no surprise that many professors are “actively involved in the Silicon Valley business community…[and] bring…practical experience into the classroom.” And perhaps that’s why you hear Stanford’s students throwing out terms like “cutting edge” and “innovation hub” to describe its academics. Yet it’s Stanford’s “unusual” culture that ends up selling Stanford’s competitive and “mission-oriented” cohort on the program. Administration and faculty together promote an “effective” and “unparalleled culture of vulnerability and growth,” amid an academic experience “characterized by personal discovery…and other soft-skill development.” Like other brand-name MBA programs in the country, Stanford has a policy of grade non-disclosure to recruiters, which some students say encourages them “to truly experiment” during their tenure. This is also facilitated by GSBs flexible curriculum, which lets first-year students take any number of electives, in contrast with other business-school models that emphasize a more rigid foundation. Yet some students have commented on the “foundation[al] curriculum” being “satisfactory but…not great,” and “less rigorous quantitatively or in terms of student preparation for the required curriculum as some peer schools.” That being said, the “elective classes are unbelievably well-taught and incredibly interesting.”

While Stanford’s Career Management Center (CMC) is comprehensive, the offices tell students that “[i]t’s not about finding a job; it’s about realizing your potential. We’ll work with you closely as you build the skills you need to live the life you imagine.” The center emphasizes “self-assessment” and “career and life design,” but does provide students with traditional networking opportunities, like their “Fewer Than 300” Networking events, where students “connect with small- and medium-sized companies.” Students, however, emphasize that while there are many companies in the area, “most people source work through their classmates, alumni, faculty and personal networks,” and “very few students do structured on-campus recruiting.” The “best jobs are usually not posted.” The GSB’s “recruitment process and resources are one of the biggest differentiators between it and its peers.” It emphasizes “meeting personalized student need” instead of “just bringing lots of large corporations on campus to pick among generally fungible MBA students.” Yet students don’t seem to have any problem getting hired by many of these corporations, which in recent years include Amazon, Apple, Bain & Company, Booz & Company, Boston Consulting Group, Cisco Systems, Dell, Education Pioneers, Genentech, General Mills, Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson, Intel, Google, Hulu, Nike, VMware, Warner Bros., and others.

You won’t find the “generic” MBA student at Stanford “(i.e. 2 years in investment banking followed by 2 years in Private Equity).” This group of business students “want to help people.” They are “laid-back” but “driven,” “self-aware,” “ethical,” and “immensely determined to change the world through the organizations they are compelled to lead.” Says one fulfilled student, “My fellow students are the best part about th[e Marriott] experience—which is saying a lot!” Another says, “life at Stanford is a dream,” on a “beautiful” campus, with “consistently good” weather and “amazing quality of life for families.” The energy is “infectious and inspiring,” with “access to the most cutting edge thought leaders” and a “close-knit collaborative environment among the students and the devotion to giving back among alumni.”