Category Archives: Kellogg

Given the school’s sterling reputation in marketing, its ability to turn out well-rounded general managers, and its high-energy culture, it’s no wonder that so many applicants aim for Kellogg every year. Are you thinking about applying to Kellogg this year? If so, why? How do you know if it’s really is a good fit for you? More importantly, how do you know the Kellogg admissions team will think you’re a good fit for the school?

Today we dig into five things that make the Kellogg MBA experience unique:

Blended Teaching
Kellogg offers perhaps the most blended teaching approach of any of the top business schools, dividing its course styles into three nearly equal parts: case method, lectures, and team projects — all bolstered by the school’s commitment to experiential learning. The classroom approach at Kellogg can often mirror the probing, theoretical approach of a top law school, as distinguished professors push students to go beyond the rules of business by testing theories and assumptions. Classroom participation is one thing that all of Kellogg’s class formats have in common. The curriculum is constantly evolving with the times and the hot topics of the day.

Social Responsibility
The school has a range of opportunities for students to both get involved in their local communities while also building strong skills for a future career in a social venture or nonprofit. The Kellogg Board Fellows program is an opportunity for students to serve on the board of a nonprofit. The Social Enterprise at Kellogg (SEEK) program supports those interested in bringing social benefits to the world through business, and the annual Innovating Social Change conference has been running for well over ten years now, which reinforces the longstanding commitment to the community and social good that is apparent at the Kellogg School. The school’s socially-focused culture is also highlighted by the fact that they have a faculty Director of Diversity and Inclusion (Angela Edwards-Campbell), and these values are emphasized throughout the curriculum.

Global Perspective
A typical Kellogg class is composed of students from 40 different countries. And, another 100 international exchange students come to campus each year, taking the place of the 100 Kellogg students who travel to foreign universities for study abroad opportunities. Beyond this diverse mix of nationality and culture among the student body, Kellogg has focused coursework and experiential learning opportunities specific to the global landscape, such as the Global Lab, Global Initiatives in Management, and a requirement that every student take at least one course with a global focus.

Experiential Learning
Many elite business schools offer their students the chance to study in the field and to get real world experience, but few incorporate the mantra of “learning by doing” to the extent that Kellogg does. From the number of students who participate in business plan competitions, to the wide range of unique opportunities to create and test new technologies offered, Kellogg allows every student to find a way to put his or her theoretical learning to the real world test. The school offers a nearly unparalleled variety of courses and labs that focus almost entirely on learning by doing.

Leadership
Kellogg puts a great deal of focus on leadership, and attempts to elevate good leaders to great ones. One required component in the school’s curriculum is the Leadership Core Series, which is a central part of the first semester and involves a community service project. Specific leadership courses highlight this approach, while a residence series brings in high-level executives as part of a speaking program to discuss leadership issues and concepts surrounding social responsibility. The Business Leadership Club and the Kellogg Student Association rank among the most popular and important student groups at the school.

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Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management recently released its admissions essays and application deadlines for the Class of 2014. We dig into them below.

Pay special attention to the school’s two-part application process. Each round has two deadlines — one for Part 1 and separate one for Part 2. This confuses many applicants every year, so pay attention!

Here are Kellogg’s admissions essays and application deadlines, followed by our comments in italics:

Kellogg Admissions Deadlines for Part 1: Off-Campus Interview Requests
Round 1: September 22, 2011 (Oct. 18 for on-campus interviews)
Round 2: December 14, 2011 (Jan. 10 for on-campus interviews)
Round 3: March 22, 2012 (Apr. 5 for on-campus interviews)

Kellogg Admissions Deadlines for Part 2
Round 1: October 18, 2011
Round 2: January 10, 2012
Round 3: April 5, 2012

These dates are virtually unchanged since last year. Note that applying in Round 1 means that you’ll get a decision from Kellogg by December 19, giving you plenty of time to pull together additional Round 2 applications in January, if needed.

Kellogg School of Management Application Essays

• a) MBA Program applicants – Briefly assess your career progress to date. Elaborate on your future career plans and your motivation for pursuing an MBA. (600 words)
  
  b) MMM Program applicants – Briefly assess your career progress to date. How do the unique characteristics of the MMM Program meet your educational needs and career goals? (600 words)
  
  These questions are almost the same as last year’s, with the only difference being the addition of the “unique characteristics” phrase in the question for MMM (which is a Kellogg MBA plus a Master of Engineering Management from the McCormick School of Engineering). That addition suggests that, if you apply to that program, Kellogg wants you to go beyond platitudes and information easily found in brochures, and demonstrate that you really understand how the program is unique among joint degree programs. Beyond that, these are the same “Why and MBA? Why now?” questions that you will see on nearly every top business school’s application. One challenge that you will face is BRIEFLY describing your career progress until now, and then devoting enough space to why an MBA is right for you, why now is the right time, and why specifically Kellogg is the ideal MBA program for you. While there is no hard rule, ideally the backward-looking part of this essay will take up no more than half of the total word count. Admissions officers will learn enough about your professional background from the rest of your application (your CV, your data sheets, your letters of recommendation, etc.), so no need to completely rehash it here.
• Describe your key leadership experiences and evaluate what leadership areas you hope to develop through your MBA experiences. (600 words)This question has been the same for several years now, and so our advice remains the same. The best examples of responses to this question are ones in which the applicant focuses on no more than two or three mini stories. The fewer, the better, since including too many examples means that no one story will have very much impact. Be as specific as possible here, rather than discussing leadership in broad terms or with vague generalities. When discussing what areas you want to develop, be realistic about what you will learn in the classroom — Kellogg knows that you won’t emerge from a classroom lecture as a completely polished leader. Discuss what you want to learn at Kellogg, but also tie it back to the “real world” and your post-MBA career goals.
• Assume you are evaluating your application from the perspective of a student member of the Kellogg Admissions Committee. Why would you and your peers select you for admission, and what impact would you make as a member of the Kellogg community? (600 words)This question also carries over unchanged since last year. It is actually quite similar to an even older Kellogg essay question, which encouraged applicants to evaluate their applications as if they were admissions officers. Note that the emphasis is now on how a STUDENT member of the admissions committee would look at your application, driving home the emphasis that Kellogg places on fit with its culture. This is a terrific opportunity to highlight the two or three core themes that you want to make sure jump out from your application. While Kellogg looks for some humility in every one of its students, don’t be a afraid to toot your own horn a bit here… This is your chance!
• Complete one of the following three questions or statements. Re-applicants have the option to answer a question from this grouping, but this is not required. (400 words)
  a) Describe a time you had to inspire a reluctant individual or group.
  b) People may be surprised to learn that I…
  c) The riskiest personal or professional decision I ever made was…
  
  Questions A and C are new this year, although each is essentially a rephrasing of a past question. Question A, which used to ask you to describe a time when you “encountered resistance in a professional team setting,” has now shifted a bit to place the emphasis on “inspiring” someone, which we think is an interesting choice. This is a great place for you to share a story that shows off your leadership abilities, empathy, or teamwork skills. If the word “inspire” is too intimidating (it shouldn’t be!), think of a time when you had to convince someone to go along with a plan or come around to your way of thinking.
  
  Question C used to ask, “The best mistake I ever made was…” The change here suggests to us that the Kellogg admissions team wants to move the emphasis away from “mistake” (which many applicants assume is synonymous with “failure”) and get to know your decision-making process for any big decision, regardless of whether it turned out well. This question gives you a chance to show off some serious introspection, making a potentially very valuable one to use in your Kellogg application. And don’t automatically assume that your decision MUST be one that turned out well. Mistakes and “I wish I had done this a bit differently”-type stories can still work well for you here.
  
  Question B, which has been around for a long time, lets you have some fun and discuss some less obviously MBA-related traits. Don’t underestimate how important these traits are to admissions officers; they truly do want to get to know you “beyond the numbers.” Ask yourself this: After an admissions officer has read more than 25 applications in one long evening, what about your application will make her specifically remember you?
• Required essay for re-applicants only — Since your previous application, what steps have you taken to strengthen your candidacy? (400 words)
  
  This last question says it all when it comes to describing what every top MBA program looks for in any re-applicant. Ideally you will have at least one or two significant achievements or experiences that will bolster a weakness that may have kept you out of Kellogg last year. The most obvious examples are a big promotion at work, a higher GMAT score, or strong grades in some post-college coursework, but anything that demonstrates leadership, teamwork, maturity, or innovation — if one of these was a weakness in admissions officers’ eyes last year — can help your candidacy.)

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Every year the Kellogg School of Management attracts thousands of applications from hopefuls around the world. If you’re researching top-ranked MBA programs, Kellogg is almost certainly on your radar. But how do you know if Kellogg really is a good fit for you? And how do you know if the Kellogg admissions committee will decide that you’re a good fit for Kellogg? Today we look at five reasons why Kellogg might be your first choice among MBA programs:

You like the idea of a larger program.
There’s a lot going on at Kellogg, not just with all the various types of students attending in different degree programs, but because it’s one of the largest class sizes of any business school in the world. About 650 students are in each full-time two-year class, which is double the size of many more intimate programs like Yale, Tuck, or Stanford. It’s a great opportunity to make a lot of friends and really expand your network, however it’s also possible to get a little lost in the sea of students.

You’re a little older.
While some top business schools are trending younger, Kellogg continues to prefer applicants with several years of full-time work experience; the average is 5.3 years. Those coming straight from college or with limited work experience may still apply however they will need to present exceptional achievement and readiness in order to be seen as competitive at this school.

You want to work in the tech sector.
Kellogg’s MMM degree is a joint MBA-MEM (Master of Engineering Management) with the McCormick School of Engineering. This is a unique program that supports a variety of careers in operations and design for manufacturing industries, especially technology-based products. Those with previous careers in engineering (and even with advanced degrees) may find special value in the MMM program if they are interested in continuing their career in technology.

You’re thinking about management consulting.
Kellogg sends more graduates into the field of consulting than almost any other school – they are even comparable to Harvard, which both placed about 200 consultants out of the Class of 2010 (31% at Kellogg, versus 24% of Harvard’s larger class).

You’ve got a great work history from a strong career — and that’s it.
If you have extensive professional experience with demonstrated responsibility and results, but you never completed your undergraduate studies, you can still pursue an Executive MBA. Surprisingly, Kellogg does not require a bachelor’s degree — or a GMAT score — for admission to their EMBA programs (those without a bachelor’s must take the GMAT, but it is not otherwise required). The Kellogg EMBA is appropriate for those with significant work experience, in the range of 12 to 15 years. The EMBA programs are separate from the MBA programs and there is little student interaction between the two, however students in both tracks are granted with the same MBA degree upon graduation.

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