Many of you have started work on your essays so we wanted to share the top 8 mistakes applicants make on their essays:

1. Not making Essay B specific to the GSB.
2. Choosing a topic for Essay 3A, B, C, or D that is NOT within 3 years.
3. Combining your 2 essay C's into 1 essay.
4. Cutting and pasting your essays from essays you've written for other schools. You risk not answering the question we're asking...and big risk of leaving the name of the other school in your Stanford essay!
5. Writing what you think we want to hear, instead of what you genuinely want us to know about you. Be yourself...corny but true!
6. Single-spacing your essays. Please double space--our readers are reading hundreds of applications.
7. Using too small of a font on your essays. Please use 12-point font. Remember, our readers' eyes!
8. Using an alternate font for essays. Use one of the recommended fonts: Arial, Courier, and Times New Roman to avoid legibility problems when your essays are downloaded on our end.

For more information about the essay questions for the class entering fall 2011 visit Essays

Good luck with your essays,
Allison Davis
Associate Director of MBA Admissions