【MBA 2015年入学用エッセイ課題】 Stanford

Stanford GSBでのエッセイ課題も発表されております。

Essay Questions for the Class of 2017

We request that you write two personal essays. The personal essays give us glimpses of your character and hopes. In each essay, we want to hear your genuine voice. Think carefully about your values, passions, aims, and dreams prior to writing them.
http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/programs/mba/admission/application-materials/essays

Essay A: What matters most to you, and why?

A strong response to this question will:
• Focus on the “why” rather than the “what.”
• Reflect the self-examination process you used to write your response.
• Genuinely illustrate who you are and how you came to be the person you are.
• Share the insights, experiences, and lessons that shaped your perspectives, rather than focusing merely on what you’ve done or accomplished.
• Be written from the heart, and illustrate how a person, situation, or event has influenced you.

Essay B: Why Stanford?

Enlighten us on how earning your MBA at Stanford will enable you to realize your ambitions.

A strong response to this essay question will:
• Explain your decision to pursue graduate education in management.
• Explain the distinctive opportunities you will pursue at Stanford.

Length

Your answers for both essay questions combined may not exceed 1,100 words. Below are suggested word counts per essay, but you should allocate the maximum word count in the way that is most effective for you.

また、エッセイ課題のみに注力しがちですが、以下に案内するサイトに記載されている同校のEssay Philosophyをも一読してはいかがでしょか?
http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/programs/mba/admission/admissions-dean/effective-essays

“We want a holistic view of you as a person: your values, passions, ideas, experiences, and aspirations.”

各々にとって、それぞれValuesからaspirationに至るまで、自らの経験や将来のキャリア展望に基づいてパラフレーズする準備は整っていますか?

そして、同サイトよりEssay AとBに対する各コメントを抜粋させていただきます。
■Esasy A:
Many essays describe the “what,” but good essays move beyond this and describe how and why these “whats” have influenced your life. The most common mistake applicants make is spending too much time describing the “what” at the expense of how and why these guiding forces have shaped your behavior, attitudes, and objectives. Please be assured that we do appreciate and reward thoughtful self-assessment and appropriate levels of self-disclosure.

自らにとって大切な経験値である旨を伝えるにためにも、経験値を通して「自分の行動」や「考え方」や「意識の面」も含め、どう変化したか?という事実を実際のエピソードを踏まえて考えていきましょう。その変化の前後関係を考察してみることで、その経験値が自分にもたらす意義をも確認できるのではないでしょうか。今の自分があることは、過去の経験が互いに結びついてのことですが、その「結びつき度合」を確認する上でも、上述箇所に記してある”Self-disclosure”を(自己分析作業を通して)実行へと移していきましょう。

■Essay B:
In this essay, we ask you “Why Stanford?” Given what you hope to achieve, how will your education and experiences at Stanford help you turn your dreams into reality? We give you broad license to envision your future; take advantage of it. The key here is that you should have ideas for your best self after Stanford, and related objectives for your Stanford education. How do you plan to take advantage of the incredible opportunities at Stanford? How do you envision yourself contributing, growing, and learning here at Stanford GSB? And how will the Stanford experience help you become the person you aspire to be?

同校のIncredible opportunitiesに対する理解を深めるためにも、他校が提供するopportunitiesの内容を比較分析してみましょう。同解説文には”dreams into reality?”と記されています。”Dream”という言葉からも、MBA取得後後における数年先の目標を考える以上に、自らのキャリア全体におけるビジョン、ミッション、モットーなど、”Dream”の中身を周囲から支えるコンテンツをも共に考えてはいかがでしょうか。