How much do Stanford MBA graduates make?
Which companies hire Stanford MBAs?
Which industries do they work in?
What’s does the class profile look like?
In this article, we’ll cover all these aspects and much more, so read on.
Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB), one of the most sought-after schools, strategically located in the San Francisco Bay Area, in the heart of the Silicon Valley is well-known for its highly selective cohort and its start-up culture.
With MBA graduate salaries recording a new high for the seventh time in a row, Stanford grads have earned the reputation of securing the highest post-MBA pay packages.
Employment overview
The employment figures bounced back after a decline last year due to the pandemic crisis.
96% of Stanford MBA grads from the class of 2021 received job offers 3 months after graduation while 91% accepted these offers.
The job offers were at 91% for the class of 2020 with 85% acceptance rate while 94% of the class of 2019 had offers with 88% accepting it.
The total average compensation including performance and signing bonuses went as high as $231,849 for the 2021 class.
The average starting salary was $161,831 (up from 159,544 for the class of 2020), the median being $158,400 (up from $156,000 for the class of 2020). The average performance bonus was $78,373 while the average signing bonus was $29,148.
Stanford MBA Class profile
Here’s a look at the Stanford MBA Class profile for the class of 2021.
| Total no of students | 417 |
| Female students | 47% |
| International students | 43% |
| Average work experience | 4 years |
Stanford MBA jobs – Industry distribution
Stanford’s entrepreneurial spirit was evident from the fact that 18% of the class took the entrepreneurial path and started their own ventures, out of which 37% were in technology, 17% in finance, 8% were in the field of healthcare and 7% in the energy sector.
[Read MBA startups from Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Wharton rake in millions]
Another interesting fact is that in the recent years, the number of women going the entrepreneurial way has gone up. 38% of the 2021 class joining or launching start-ups were women while the previous year figure was 1% lower at 37%.
Finance continued to be the top choice with 33% of the class opting for this industry, just 1% down from 2020. 15% moved into private equity followed by venture capital at 11% and investment management at 4%.
Technology ranked second, with 29% of the class opting for this industry, a 1% increase from last year.
Consulting stood third at 18%, a 3% rise from last year. Stanford prepares its students for social impact careers; 14% of the grads took up socially responsible roles.
Stanford MBA salary statistics
Stanford MBA grads choosing the finance industry received the highest post-MBA compensation with an average base salary of $181,378, average bonuses of $147,601 and average signing bonuses of $31,351.
Consulting came next with an average base salary of $165,700 a significant jump from the previous year average of $156,222; healthcare ranked third with an average salary of $162,900 followed by media/entertainment at $151,363 and technology at $147,875.
Stanford MBA placements
At Stanford GSB, it’s not just about finding a well-paying job, rather it’s more about being able to choose the right career that is aligned with your strengths, interest, goals and values.
Stanford’s strong industry connections makes it one of the best places to be in, as students get access to a host of opportunities and networking events that can help them find the right job and connect with top employers in various fields.
Whether it is finance, technology, consulting or other areas, you can expect to get a chance to interact with the top-notch recruiters. In fact, more than half the MBA class of 2021 (54%) found jobs through school-facilitated activity.
If you’re looking for a career transition – change of industry or function – you’ll find plenty of resources and opportunities to help you make that career shift.
If you’re passionate about entrepreneurship, you may meet a few like-minded individuals to start your new venture.
Stanford employment report
As many as 314 organizations hired students for summer and/or full-time jobs with 88% hiring one student and 7% hiring two students.
The top employers last year included Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple as well as the Big 3 or MBB – McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Bain – for consulting aspirants.
Elite firms in the private equity (The Carlyle Group) and venture capital (Sequoia Capital) space also recruit at Stanford.
Those who prefer working in small or medium sized firms having lesser than 300 employees, Stanford’s “Fewer than 300” events connect students with such Bay Area companies.
Stanford MBA graduate job destinations – MBA salary by location
93% of the MBA class of 2021 found jobs in North America, 3% in Europe and 1% in Asia.
Out of those employed in North America, a majority (56%) stayed on the West and continued to enjoy the proximity to Stanford.
The average base salary for those employed in North America was $163,702 with an average bonus of $79,901 and an average signing bonus of $29,697.
This was followed by Europe with the second highest average base salary of $113,200.
Stanford MBA student success stories
Among the inspiring success stories is that of Neha Dalal with a keen interest in impact investing and philanthropy. She had prior experience working at the White House as an economist with a focus on economic opportunity, and in education-related non-profits.
Interestingly, during the summer of 2020, she got a chance to work on the Biden presidential campaign as well as internships at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Innovations for Impact, an impact investing fund founded by Stanford alumni.
She found these various opportunities a great way to know which area she’d like to pursue. With job offers in government and philanthropy, she found her dream job, involving philanthropic and impact advisory services, at Jasper Ridge Partners.
Ted McKlveen, MBA ’21, and Bav Roy, MBA ’21, two budding entrepreneurs dedicated their efforts on an idea, and came up with a hydrogen storage startup Verne. The Botha-Chan Innovation Fellowship, created by two Stanford alumni to support students’ entrepreneurial ideas over the summer, was of immense help. Both McKlveen and Roy made it to the Forbes’ 2022 30 Under 30 in Energy.
To conclude, if you’re excited about an MBA from a prestigious business school with a robust industry and alumni network (20,061 living MBA alumni), you should consider applying to Stanford. You’ll discover a wide array of career opportunities to ultimately figure out the one that fits you the best.
The majority of Stanford grads land jobs in North America, especially the West Coast with compensation being the highest in the industry.
Stanford GSB’s motto, “Change lives. Change organizations. Change the world,” is inspiring, and drives its students towards innovation.
The biggest challenge you’ll face in your Stanford MBA journey…is getting in!
Stanford MBA requirements for international students
by Manish Gupta | Chief Consulting Officer, MBA Crystal Ball
The Stanford MBA requirements for international students, as prescribed on the official website, are pretty much the same as they are for domestic students:
- Great undergrad grades
- Strong standardized test scores (GMAT / GRE)
- Fantastic work experience
- Mind-blowing extra-curriculars
- An amazing application (MBA essays, recommendations, resume, interview)
- The clarity on how you’ll used the Stanford MBA degree to change the world
What differs are the odds of getting in. International applicants have a tougher time.
Does that mean that you need to have a perfect profile to get into Stanford? The short answer – No. But it does require a personalized and structured application strategy.
Here’s a recent case study to explain what we mean.
This candidate came to MBA Crystal Ball with some awesome and some not-so-awesome aspects. She had an eye-popping 334 on her GRE and was among the top in her undergrad class.
But the rest of her profile did not have any spikes to show.
The undergrad college where she graduated in mechanical engineering doesn’t figure among the top in the country. It isn’t known to be a feeder to top business schools either.
She was part of a global MNC, which also hasn’t had a track record of sending candidates to top schools globally.
And to top it all, she was applying with only 3 years of experience at matriculation.
She had a fallback of an ISB YLP admit with full scholarship.
To cut a long story short, she didn’t have a perfect ‘Stanford MBA student’ profile, but we saw potential.
Our advice to her was that things are going to be challenging but we’d love to support her in the MBA application journey.
We started with intense and in-depth discussions with her on what could get her through. We tried to find out stories from her life that could make her application stand out from the crowd.
She was initially unsure of talking about her personality, of how she had been a lone woman in many spheres, from international debating circles to production shop-floor.
She had disregarded this aspect and was underplaying it. We helped her realize why this was a big deal and how it could help her differentiate herself.
Weaving this into her pitch and overall narrative also improved her overall storyline and post-MBA plans.
Eventually, she made it to Stanford GSB and is on her way to corporate super-stardom!
Our advice to all international Stanford MBA applicants. Don’t drop your plans based on incorrect assumptions about your profile and potential.
If you don’t try, you’ll never know if you could have succeeded!
Send us an email if you’d like professional help with your Stanford MBA applications:
info at mbacrystalball dot com
Also read:
– What Stanford GSB looks for in MBA applicants
– 16 things every Stanford MBA student should know
– How I got into Stanford MSx 1-year MBA
– How I got into Stanford MBA with less experience and average GMAT score
– Stanford MBA interview questions with answer tips
Photo by Emre Alırız on Unsplash
