Ask a Stanford GSB Student

Talk to current MBA students about life in MBA programs (not for app advice/discussion)
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Ask a Stanford GSB Student

by beatthegmat » Mon Nov 16, 2009 11:44 am
Want to talk to a Stanford GSB student about the GSB student experience? Ask here!

We're lucky to have two GSB representatives fielding your questions: Please note that this isn't a discussion thread (or forum) for application advice. It's meant for talking about life inside the GSB program.

A big thanks to our Stanford GSB volunteers!
Last edited by beatthegmat on Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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by beatthegmat » Mon Nov 16, 2009 1:22 pm
Seed question for Pepe and Tal:

What have you enjoyed most about your first year?
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by GSBee » Mon Nov 16, 2009 7:41 pm
Excited to be the first GSB representative on the new forum :-)

I have to say that so far, the best part of the experience (for me at least) was my classmates.

They are, by far, the most talented and smart group of people I have ever met. They are also (luckily) super-friendly and funny and the small class size contributes to the fact that it sometimes feels just like high school. In a good way!

Sure, there were a lot of other things going on, from Condi Rice teaching in our Global Management class, through meeting the Director of the FBI and various other CEO's to weekly trips to HQs of companies around the Bay Area (Cisco, Google etc) but the best part for me is definitely the people who make this experience enjoyable.
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by beatthegmat » Mon Nov 16, 2009 9:15 pm
Thanks Tal for sharing that perspective. I may be biased (since I went to Stanford for undergrad), but I think that the GSB has some of the coolest people of any MBA program as well. The people seem very smart, very cool, and slightly irreverant.
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by josercv » Mon Nov 16, 2009 11:00 pm
Hey everyone!

I totally agree with Tal, the people are what make this school so great. Everyone is extremely friendly and approachable. This in turn makes classes much more interesting because everyone feels comfortable engaging the conversation. Everyone in the class makes significant contributions, and whenever someone stumbles along the way, people are always willing to help out.

I also like the fact that the school takes very seriously the role of leadership in today's organizations. Leadership is about service and understanding, and I value greatly that the GSB takes it upon itself to convey that message to us constantly.

The Stanford GSB in my opinion is much more than just a business school, it is fertile ground for leaders that care for people and understand the effect businesses have on societies and communities.
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by beatthegmat » Wed Nov 18, 2009 4:19 pm
Thanks Pepe for sharing that! Doesn't sound like Stanford is very cutthroat, which is a perception that a lot of folks hold about top business schools. Impressive that a bunch of Type-A personalities are so nice to each other. :)
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by Yes.WeCan » Sun Jan 24, 2010 7:10 am
I was curious as to how the recruiting procedures are organized at Stanford and how you have experienced them.

I've heard there's a lot of elbow work going on during recruiting events for the "traditional" MBA-exits: finance, consulting.

Stanford is definately one of the schools I'm targeting at, mainly due to its' small class size I have the feeling trips to company HQs etc are much more personal. That's what I heard at least.

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by GSBee » Sun Jan 24, 2010 12:31 pm
So..

1. Yes, we do a lot of traveling to companies and it is SO much easier for us especially with Tech, BioTech, VC duo to the proximity to campus and the strong ties with student clubs. during the past 3 weeks I hosted friends from MIT, HBS and Wharton who came here for a week of "meet the company" events on their own dime and time.

2. Recruiting - HBS and the GSB made a joint decision this year to push back the on-campus recruiting dates this year so the first round of interviews is starting February 10th and it's mostly consulting and banking. Personally, I think this is a great thing for us, especially the students who, like me, have no idea what they really want to do this summer.

3. Elbowing - sounds too good to be true but I haven't seen too much of this going around. Some people were up tight about talking to certain people when companies came to campus but after a week or two everyone realized that if consulting firm X is interviewing a 100 people and the class size is 380 there's really nothing to worry about. Bottom line - if you want to interview with a specific company and you focus your efforts on it, chances are you'll get your interview.

Not sure if it's the class size or the admission process but people seem to be very relaxed and positive about the whole job seeking process.
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Questions

by gkumar » Wed May 19, 2010 11:09 pm
Hello, I am interested in learning more about Stanford. I have several questions:

1) What attracted you to Stanford first over other top-tier schools?
2) Does Stanford have any industry mentoring program to get real world exposure to various careers within your academic specializations?
3) What strategy and financial consulting initiatives exist where you can get hands-on experience?
4) What's your favorite class so far and why?
5) For those interested in a career in finance or even Wall Street, how do you deal with recruiting at a distance from Chicago or New York, the typical major financial hubs?
6) When is the best time to visit campus? Is the summer time before Round 1 applications a good time?

Thanks in advance!

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by abhishek1985 » Sun Jun 20, 2010 10:54 am
I have previously read about some complaints that Stanford is a little bureaucratic and rigid as compared to some other leading colleges. As an existing student- do you perceive anything on those lines...? for e.g say- If one feels that a new club can be started which would benefit students in a certain way, how conducive is the Stanford atmosphere in encouraging such an initiative?

- Abhishek

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by mygman » Sun Aug 29, 2010 5:59 pm
Hello,
I've got a question about Global Management Program.
How is the program conducted? What are the benefits of taking GMP? Can you briefly explain what types of students usually participate in the GMP?

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by th3509 » Mon Apr 22, 2013 2:22 pm
I see this thread is really old, but was wondering -- if there are any current Stanford Students still posting, do you have any recommendations on what to do in the months leading up to your MBA? Are there any recommended books or activities prior to attending that you think may maximize your experience while you are there? Any thoughts or insights are greatly appreciated!

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by lispr16 » Fri Jun 06, 2014 5:44 pm
Hi!

Are there any current Stanford GSB students monitoring this thread?

What is one advice you would give about the application process? Why did you choose to attend Stanford?