Career Options – focus on entrepreneurship:
Stanford is a great place to go to if you want to become a consultant or a banker. In fact, according to the GSB’s class of 2014 employment report, 25% of Stanford GSB’s class of 2014 took up jobs in consulting, and 29% of the class took up jobs in finance. If you account for the fact that these percentage numbers are a fraction of only those students who actively sought employment (280 students), you will see that 70 students took up consulting jobs (either with a consulting firm or otherwise) and 81 took up finance jobs.
But no other school comes close if you really really want to become an entrepreneur. More so, if you want to focus on the latest in technology. According to the GSB’s report, 65 students of the class of 2014 decided to start their own businesses. That is a whopping 16.5% of the entire class of 393 students. A full comparison is presented in the following image:
In no other school is entrepreneurship an option that is almost as popular as consulting or banking. Entrepreneurship is more than an option at Stanford. It is a way of life.
How is this possible?
Walter Isaacson, in his book “Steve Jobs”, has the following to say about the early days (1950’s) of Silicon Valley:
In a move that would help transform the area into the cradle of the tech revolution, Stanford University’s dean of engineering, Frederick Terman, created a 700 acre industrial park on university land for private companies that could commercialise the ideas of his students.
Stanford University is largely responsible for infusing the spirit of innovation and the ambition to change the world in generations of men and women who walked through its halls and even lived in the vicinity. More information can be had from this video:
[embedyt]https://www.youtube.com/RVBecD5NjBY&width=560&height=315[/embedyt]
Teaching Methods – is the case study method the be all and end all?
Stanford professors do not believe that the case study method is the best way to do everything – indeed, this is where the Stanford experience is different from other schools at that level. The courses at Stanford follow a blend of case studies, lectures, experiential learning, labs, global trips, simulation, coaching, and a lot of feedback – this ensures that you have the best approach to learning everything. More in the video from the GSB below:
[embedyt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=716bOl4tIws&width=560&height=315[/embedyt]
Famous Alumni:
Mukesh Ambani, Steve Ballmer, Mary Barra, Seth Godin, Charles Schwab, Vinod Khosla, Nandini Piramal and John F. Kennedy (dropped out) are all alumni of the Stanford GSB.
Application deadlines:
Stanford GSB’s deadlines for application for the class of 2018 are as follows:
Round 1: 22 September 2015
Round 2: 12 January 2016
Round 3: 5 April 2016