Stanford MBA Program

Here's an example of the impact GSB alumni have: 13 out of 42 members of the Stanford Board of Trustees are GSB graduates!

We know that not everyone can come and visit us here at Stanford so we organize info sessions in major cities around the globe. This year, we'll host almost 80 events in 36 nations:

Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Colombia, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, India, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Lebanon, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, UAE, UK, Ukraine, US, and Venezuela.

For the complete list and registration information, check http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/mba/outreach/info_sessions.html

We hope to meet you there!
Ciao,
--Rita

Here's an interesting factoid:

According to my colleague Angie Wilcox, Asst Director of Student Life here at the GSB, there are over 500 extracurricular leadership opportunities at the GSB alone. This number does not include the wealth of opportunities available within the larger Stanford community!

More later,
--Rita

This year's conference is organized by a group of students from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.

The Stanford GSB is represented by Out4Biz co-presidents Corey Harris and Brian Theisen, both MBA Class of 2008.

The 10th annual Reaching Out LGBT MBA Conference will be held 11-14 October 2007 in San Francisco.
Ciao,
--Rita

Natalie Portman is passionate about alleviating poverty, and that passion was evident in her inaugural address here at Stanford which launched the GSB's Center for Social Innovations Social Innovators Speaker Series.

Portman (slideshow) told the story of a woman in Uganda who received a loan from FINCA International--a nonprofit that provides financial services to the poor. According to Portman, the woman had been living on less than $1 per day, raising 10 daughters. "She was begging her neighbors for their dirty laundry water so she could wash her kids' clothes," Portman said of the woman's life before she started her own business. More than 10 years ago, the woman opened a roadside food stand with a loan from FINCA and by 2004, when Portman met her, she had expanded her business to a restaurant that employed other local people. All of her children were in school, with one daughter even attending university. "Her entire life was changed," Portman said.

Portman said seeing the psychological change in the women who are served is one of the most rewarding aspects of her work. "It's not charity. It's just widening opportunity," she said.

Natalie, who appears in The Darjeeling Limited (it's on my list of movies to see) and who gave a stunning performance in Closer, has worked with FINCA over the past 4 years, traveling around the world and meeting with recipients of FINCA loans.

Thank you Natalie for your social activism!!

Ciao,
--Rita

I can only imagine how busy you must be right now trying to finish your applications for Round 1. Your anxiety shows up in the number of emails we're getting and so I thought I'd answer some of the common questions:

Essay Length
When we say the number of pages for the essays must not exceed 7 pages total we mean 7 pages of text. In other words, if you took the continuous text for all your essays, it should not cover more than 7 pages.

In the example shown below, you can see that it would be ok to submit 8 pages, because if you took out the blank half pages you'd end up with a total of 7 pages of text.

Interviews
Many of you are concerned about when the interviews are scheduled and whether or not we will be able to reach you. Interviews are by invitation only and we will try very hard to connect with you. That's also the reason why we ask you to select an email address that you can check from just about anywhere, even while traveling.

Everything you ever wanted to know about interviews is listed on this page http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/mba/admission/interviews.html

GMAT
Your application will not get reviewed if you haven't taken the GMAT (or GRE) by the deadline date of the round in which you apply. Your scores are valid for 5 years and must be valid on the deadline date. For Round 1 (22 October 2007) you may take the GMAT as late as 22 October 2007. In your application you would then record the test date as 22 October and self-report your scores (if you don't yet know your scores you would simply enter zeros). The testing agency will forward your scores to us and our operations team will match them up. Should there be any discrepancies, we will contact you directly.

Use the GMAT/GRE calculators if you're still confused http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/mba/admission/test_results_calculator.html

TOEFL Waivers
Here are some examples to illustrate when the TOEFL is or is not required:

Xiaogu from China went to Bejing for his undergraduate degree. Since the language of instruction was Chinese, he is required to take the TOEFL.

Ning from China got her undergraduate degree in London and is not required to take the TOFEL because the language of instruction in London was English.

James from the United Kingdom went to Germany for his undergraduate degree and is required to take the TOEFL (even though he is a native English speaker) because the language of instruction at the university was German.

Suki from Japan received her undergraduate degree from an American college where the language of instruction was English and is therefore not required to take the TOEFL.

Fayza from Pakistan who went to school in Islamabad where the language of instruction at her university was English is not required to take the TOEFL.

The example below illustrates a situation where you may request a waiver of the TOEFL requirement:

Chin from China went to Bejing for her undergraduate degree but then went to London for a graduate degree. Chin may request a waiver of the TOEFL requirement because the language of instruction at the London university where she earned her graduate degree was English.

To request the TOEFL waiver, use the Additional Information section of the application and give a short explanation. You may assume this waiver is approved unless we notify you.

I hope this helps! Don't hesitate to contact us via http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/mba/contact/ if you need additional help. You can also give us a call and talk to one of the admissions counselors at +1 650.723.2766

With my very best wishes! I too applied to grad school once and know what you're going through :-)

Ciao,
--Rita

I wanted to let you know the dates of our winter break:

The Stanford Graduate School of Business will close from 24 December 2007 through 1 January 2008.

We will try and answer emails during that time but it may take longer than one business day to get to your emails. We'll be back in the office 2 January 2008.

Best wishes,
--Rita

Happy New Year! I imagine many of you are busy putting the finishing touches on your application for Round 2.

With the deadline for Round 2 rapidly approaching (7 January 2008) I wanted to let you know that the quickest way to get your last minute questions answered is by calling us at + 1 650.723.2766 (we'll be back from Winter Break on Wednesday, 2 Jan 08).

Best wishes for the coming year,
--Rita

I'm very excited to announce a new fellowship opportunity made possible by the Mohammed bin Rasheed Fellows Program:

The fellowship--which will cover tuition, room and board, travel, and course-related fees--aims to support youth from across the Arab region who are interested in studying management, finance, or leadership at the graduate level. The fellowship stipulates that within 2 years of graduation, fellows are required to return to the Arab region to work for at least 2 years in the public or private sector.

Up to 5 fellowships will be awarded annually to candidates from the Arab region admitted to the Stanford MBA Program.

For complete information about eligibility and the application process, visit www.gsb.stanford.edu/mba/financialaid/types_aid.html and www.mbrfoundation.ae

Ciao,
--Rita

This years' Entrepreneurship Week at Stanford University takes place from 22 to 29 February 2008.

The event is organized by the Stanford Entrepreneurship Network and was an enormous success in 2007, with standing room only at every event.

Almost all events are free and open to the public. For details visit http://eweek.stanford.edu

Ciao,
--Rita

We are excited to share with you that a group of first year Middle Eastern students have joined forces to establish the Middle East and North Africa Club (MENA) at the GSB.

Given the role the MENA region is playing in today's business environment, we felt the need to build bridges between the GSB and this region.

Accordingly, with the support of the GSB, we established MENA in January 2008 with the purpose of promoting the Middle East at the GSB through speakers and recruiting events, and promoting the GSB in the Middle East through admission and alumni events.

We welcome the Class of 2010 and the Middle Eastern admits in particular.

If you are a Middle Eastern admit or prospective student, we encourage you to contact us with any questions you may have regarding the GSB.

-- Marwan Bejjani, MBA Class of 2009
GSB Middle East and North Africa Club Leaders