Stanford Graduate School of Business: Deferred MBA Program

In case you missed the last few weeks, we showed you Yale SOM Silver Scholars, HBS 2+2, and UVA Darden Future Year Scholars program. For this week we’re heading across the country to Stanford Graduate School of Business so that we can tell you all about their deferred enrollment opportunities. Stanford GSB takes pride in building MBA classes with diverse educational and professional backgrounds. They encourage students who are in their final year of study at their undergraduate institution to apply for deferred enrollment so that they can gain crucial professional experience before entering the business school classroom. But what if you’re in a hurry to get that MBA?

Why choose Deferred Enrollment over Direct Enrollment?

If you feel ready to pursue an MBA based on your current academic background, extracurricular experiences and  impact through internships, then direct enrollment might be the right choice for you. However, Stanford GSB tends to think that for most college seniors, deferred admission is the better option. Stanford GSB encourages you to apply to deferred enrollment if you feel you might benefit from obtaining some full-time work experience before enrolling. This could be a smart decision if you’re unsure of your long-term professional goals (we’ve all been there; don’t worry!) or if you want to try exploring an industry before returning to school. Stanford also advises that some  industries, such as private equity and biotechnology, do tend to recruit only MBA candidates with pre-MBA experience in that field, or with specialized knowledge. Management consulting firms also tend to prefer MBA candidates with work experience. So if you’re interested in any of these fields, deferred enrollment might make sense for you. If you do decide that you want to defer enrollment, Stanford does expect you to be actively engaged either in full-time work or full-time study during your deferral period. They encourage you to pursue opportunities that will enable you to build expertise, enhance your skills and knowledge, expand your perspective, and develop professional judgment and self-confidence. They also ask you to state in your application what your plans are for your time in between your graduation and your enrollment at Stanford.

So who is eligible for the program?

Criteria for Deferred Enrollment

In order to be considered for deferred enrollment you must meet the following standards:

1. Graduation from a degree program between October 2018 and September 2019. You must be enrolled in a full-time program prior to graduation OR be currently enrolled in  a full-time law or medical program.
2. Your educational program must meet one of the following criteria:
   • Undergraduate degree program
   • Combined undergraduate/graduate program (pursuing bachelor and master degrees simultaneously)
   • Graduate programs which you entered directly from an undergraduate program. (If there is a gap of one or more academic years between the two programs, you do not qualify for deferred enrollment)

Requesting Deferred Enrollment

You may indicate in your application the year that you would prefer to attend Stanford. However, Stanford may choose to admit you for a different year than you request.  In most cases, Stanford will offer a two year deferral. Clearly there’s a lot of value you can gain from deferring your admission to Stanford’s MBA program, especially  given that it offers an opportunity to gain some real-world work experience before heading back to the classroom. If you think deferred enrollment might be the right option for you, we’d love to speak with you about your applications! If you are applying in the next 12-18 months, click here to schedule your 15-minute Quick Call!