Stanford Essay: what matters most to you?

lakitty

偶想写我的家庭，我的父母……合适吗？

anna422

Thank you for sharing with us!

happyweiwei

大伙都是混碗饭吃，何必呢？

OxSead

fun to see the battle of "HBS alum vs. Wharton alum" regarding Stanford essays.

gilgemash

just follow your heart and write about true feeling and passion

qbidp

比较看好这个解释

Don't worry about being different. In my experience, that's where many people run into trouble, trying to 'game the system'.

Instead, focus on trying to properly communicate the most important part of this question: WHY. They don't actually care what matters most to you. They want to know why you think so, so that they understand the way you think, the values you hold dear, and so they can begin to access if you will go out and make an impact in the world like they expect Stanford MBA Alumni to do.

I posted my Stanford essay here: http://forum.chasedream.com/North_American_MBA/thread-373667-22-1.html

This essay took me a long time, but I looked deep within myself and came up with something that truly mattered to me. Learning is an important trait that has been reflected in the major decisions of my life. I answered "why" not by telling them "this is the reason", but by "showing" them an innate passion for learning and curiosity that (I hope) a person, having read the essay, will immediately feel is an important and critical part of me.

-- by 会员 cannedpineapples (2011/10/5 10:15:09)

cannedpineapple

Don't worry about being different. In my experience, that's where many people run into trouble, trying to 'game the system'.

Instead, focus on trying to properly communicate the most important part of this question: WHY. They don't actually care what matters most to you. They want to know why you think so, so that they understand the way you think, the values you hold dear, and so they can begin to access if you will go out and make an impact in the world like they expect Stanford MBA Alumni to do.

I posted my Stanford essay here: http://forum.chasedream.com/North_American_MBA/thread-373667-22-1.html

This essay took me a long time, but I looked deep within myself and came up with something that truly mattered to me. Learning is an important trait that has been reflected in the major decisions of my life. I answered "why" not by telling them "this is the reason", but by "showing" them an innate passion for learning and curiosity that (I hope) a person, having read the essay, will immediately feel is an important and critical part of me.

lakitty

Thanks! You are very helpful.

JonFrank

Yes my friend, it is appropriate!  Just remember, MANY people will also write about their families.  It is most likely the most common topic that people choose.  So what does this mean?  Only that you need to write creatively about it!  You need to be clever, you need to do something DIFFERENT than everyone else does.  If you are just another applicant writing about their family, without any sense for what makes your take on family DIFFERENT, you will run into trouble.  Hope this helps, and good luck!

Jon Frank
HBS 2005

lakitty

偶再读了一遍，个人觉得第一篇还是比较偏向个人，而第二篇明确提出要career aspiration...