A Stanford dean told us exactly what she's looking for in MBA applicants, and what they need to get in

• Stanford's MBA program has an acceptance rate of 5.1%, making it one of the most selective programs in the US.
• Stanford GSB's career management center head and assistant dean, Jamie Schein, told Business Insider what makes a successful Stanford applicant.
• Stanford MBAs are entrepreneurially minded, she explained, but they don't all want to start their own companies. 
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You don't have to be an entrepreneur to get into Stanford's Graduate School of Business — but it helps to be entrepreneurially minded.

Stanford GSB ranks as the top business school in the US, according to Bloomberg. Only 5.1% of applicants were accepted into the class of 2019, for a total of 418 students. Graduates of the program typically make six figure starting salaries. 

A majority (70%) of the class of 2019 actively sought work, while 15% indicated that they wanted to start a new venture after graduating. Interest in starting new ventures decreased by one percentage point from last year.

Stanford's MBA program is known for its emphasis on entrepreneurship. Jamie Schein, head of Stanford GSB's career management center and assistant dean, told Business Insider that entrepreneurship is built into the curriculum, pointing to the example of the Startup Garage, a course that students take to learn the steps for starting a company.

"The students take it whether or not they plan to start a company right upon graduation," Schein said. "They see it as a skillset that they want to learn, and they do that by actually going out and defining a potential product, understanding needs, and going through the process of developing a concept that could become a company: That's experiential education."

A number of successful startups began in the StartUp Garage. For example, the food delivery company DoorDash, launched in 2013 out of the course. Stanford MBA Tony Xu, and his partners Stanley Tang and Andy Fang, founded the company. 

But Stanford MBAs aren't all future entrepreneurs — and successful applicants do not all have entrepreneurial skills. 

"We do not have the expectation that everybody is an entrepreneur at all," Schein said. "But the curiosity and the courage that entrepreneurs demonstrate are certainly two characteristics that I think we see in our students."

This could take the form of some demonstration of leadership skills. The school encourages applicants to take on leadership roles both at work and in their personal lives — for example at a local church or community organization.

"I think that part of this problem is that students expect to be put in this mold," Schein said. "We don't have an exact mold of the student we want."

Stanford students navigate a varied curriculum, which includes data analytics as part of a set of core required courses. The classes are structured around encouraging innovation, teaching students the skills to help businesses make decisions, and developing leadership. Successful Stanford students understand what makes the school special, and how the institution can help them achieve their goals. 

"Leadership, experiential learning, and innovation are hallmarks of the GSB," Schein said. "Our goal as a school is to really help students become principal leaders who can inspire and motivate others."

SEE ALSO: Here's the salary breakdown for Stanford's class of 2019, including the industries that are paying its MBA grads the most

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