Northwestern Kellogg 2011 MBA Essay Questions

My comments are in red. This year’s essay questions are similar to last year, with a bit of reshuffling. Kellogg also rephrases a couple of questions and asks new question in essay 4. Finally, Kellogg requests four essays this year, as opposed to five last year.

Essay #1 –MBA Program applicants – Briefly assess your career progress to date. Elaborate on your future career plans and your motivation for pursuing an MBA. (600 word limit)

This question is the same as Kellogg’s #1 for the last several years. Kellogg wants to know your goals and the ways you believe Kellogg will help you achieve them. As I have said repeatedly, post-MBA goals are front and center in many MBA applications, certainly in the ones that ask you about your aspirations. You need to connect the dots between your past, your desired future, and Kellogg to answer this question well. Thought and research are prerequisites.

When writing an earlier Kellogg tip, I referenced an email from a client. In the email, he thanked his editor for pushing him to clarify his goals — which he hadn’t wanted to do. He acknowledged how important they are. Make sure you know why you want an MBA before you start to answer this question.

Essay #2 – Describe your key leadership experiences and evaluate what leadership areas you hope to develop through your MBA experiences. (600 word limit)

Kellogg is famous for its teamwork, and it certainly wants students with strong teamwork skills, but it also wants leaders. Don’t be taken in by Kellogg’s teamwork mantra and laid-back reputation. Employers wants to see leadership in Kellogg’s grads, and you need to show leadership in your application — especially in answering this question.

This essay allows you to both spotlight your outstanding leadership skills and show your knowledge of Kellogg. Go beyond your response to #1 and focus here on leadership. A corollary of this tip would be to use #1 to focus on non-leadership aspects of your experience i.e. teamwork.

As usual, you don’t have a lot of room to elaborate. Choose 1-2 examples not discussed in depth elsewhere in the application. Discuss how Kellogg’s leadership development programs will allow you to build on your past experiences.

Essay #3 – 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 word limit)

Let’s go back to the first part of the question that asks you to “evaluate your application.” Does that wording imply the kind of objectivity your grandmother provides? Definitely not. Clearly you are trying to market yourself so you should emphasize the positive and provide a cogent argument for acceptance using Kellogg’s criteria, but most of you will have weaknesses in your profile. What compensates for them? Why should Kellogg admit you despite your weakness? This is a great place to show why a substandard GMAT or GPA should be overlooked.

In general you want each essay to reveal something new about your experience. How can you do so with this question, which by its very nature requires you to use the information found in other parts of your application? Include at least one or two elements that you either discussed in your interview or intend to discuss in your interview. Or go into more depth about something mentioned in an application box or your resume, but clearly this essay is not going to provide a lot of new information.

Essay #4 – Complete one of the following three questions or statements. (400 word limit)
Re-applicants have the option to answer a question from this grouping, but this is not required.

a) Describe an instance where you encountered resistance in a professional team setting. How did you address the situation?

Similar to last year’s question about making an unpopular decision.  Let’s explore a few elements of this question. It is only 400 words. It does not ask for a treatise on handling opposition or working in teams. It requests an example from a professional setting, so sports and extra-curricular experiences won’t fit. It asks you to “describe an instance” (emphasis added), not multiple times. It asks for a story, an anecdote. Yes in discussing this incident, you can draw a conclusion or two about handling resistance, achieving consensus, motivation, or leadership , but keep your response succinctly experiential.

b) People may be surprised to learn that I….

If professional activities dominate essays 1-3, this is an opportunity for you to shine a bright light on your favorite hobby or passion. Do you juggle, bike, run, cook, drum,  trek, save the world, or? Let the reader know a highlight of your experience and why you do it. Also, address the irony inherent in doing something surprising.

c) The best mistake I ever made was……

New Question. Think about turning lemons into lemonade. Can you acknowledge a mistake? Can you learn from it? Do you have the self-awareness to look back and see that something you did wrong actually turned out well?  The ability to admit to a mistake, learn from it, and turn it into a positive demonstrates resilience, maturity, and character. Show ‘em you have it.

Required essay for re-applicants only – Since your previous application, what steps have you taken to strengthen your candidacy? (400 word limit)

No trick questions here. How are you a better candidate today than when Kellogg rejected you? Have you addressed weaknesses in your previous application? If you aren’t sure where you fell short, obtain an MBA Application Review.

Responding to the Kellogg application essays will tell the committee a lot about you, your character, and your interests — if you do a good job. It is a solid and comprehensive set of questions.

If you want to start now on your Kellogg application, please keep in mind that Accepted.com is running an Early Bird Special: 10% off all MBA essay consulting and editing.  Consider our Kellogg Consulting and Editing Packages. They too are 10% off thru July 31. Start your applications early, submit first round, and save money.

Northwestern Kellogg 2011 MBA Essay Application Deadlines

Please note that Kellogg has a more complex deadline system than most schools. Please visit their web site for detail

By Linda Abraham, President and Founder of Accepted.com.

What is your goal for getting the MBA?

In the next five years or so, I plan to advance within my company with an increasing focus on international business. Longer-term, I’m looking to start my own consultancy with a technology-integration and international focus.

So far, my classes at Kellogg have been mostly core courses: accounting, decision sciences, leadership and organization, and management and strategy. We can take electives, but they require pre-requisites—either a waiver for classes taken as undergrads or the core courses themselves.

How well has Kellogg met your expectations in these areas?

Academic/curriculum—So far I’ve taken two quantitative classes and two qualitative courses. For the quant classes I’ve been very satisfied with what I’ve learned. For Decision-Making Under Uncertainty, I had Scott McKeon, who is the best prof I’ve ever had in my life (including my previous Master’s degree). As an engineer, I’m very comfortable applying quant analysis, but he helped me understand how to apply decision-making tools in a much broader range of circumstances in the real world. We used gambling-based examples and everyone really enjoyed it and learned a lot. For the qualitative classes, I’ve been less satisfied. I knew many of the principles they were teaching already. Material on very basic concepts stretched out over multiple lectures. But the focus on data to back up key ideas was strong. One issue is that new profs teach core courses, so sometimes they’re a bit green.

Students—One of the reasons I chose Kellogg was its very friendly atmosphere—before I applied I sat in on classes and really enjoyed what I observed. My classmates are competitive, but very friendly. I made lots of friends from the start. We even founded an International Business club; the inspiration grew out of a conversation we had after a team project. Students run everything here. The professors are very approachable and willing to help out. My study group experience has been good overall—typically, we got our work done and then went out for a drink. It’s a great way to get to know my classmates. Unfortunately, on one of my teams I had a couple people who were close to the program’s end, so they weren’t as committed to the process as the rest of us were. There are lots of engineers here and people with finance backgrounds. There’s a fair amount of cultural diversity—Indians and Asians are very well-represented groups, as at other programs.

Extracurricular/outside of class activities—We helped start the International Business club and that has been great. I’m also in the Asian Business Club and the Entrepreneur Venture Capital clubs. These are clubs for part-time students, though we do joint activities with full-time-student clubs, as well. Overall, part-time students are pretty committed to the business-related clubs, less so for the non-professional clubs (e.g., culture-based), due to other commitments (e.g. work).

What about the Chicago location?  How did that affect your experience?

Everyone works in the area, so it’s less of a factor. I live in the suburbs and come in for classes. After 9PM, when our classes end, it’s pretty dead in the campus area, but we can go out in Chicago in general.

What have been the trade-offs associated with Kellogg/b-school in general?

It’s a lot of work—I estimate I’m spending 15 hours a week on the program. So one tradeoff has been that I spend less time with my old friends, given my focus on Kellogg contacts/friends. I’m single, so it hasn’t had a big impact on my family life.

What did you find out the school offers that you couldn’t find out from the website or an information session?

One thing I’ve enjoyed has been Kellogg’s sphere of influence, especially internationally. For example, I went to the Indian Business Conference and got to see how many alumni are doing really great things in India—they were very approachable and very helpful. There were also executives from major companies doing business in India—Google India’s managing director is a Kellogg alumni.

What kind of leadership training or mentoring do you receive at Kellogg?

Part-timers go through mandatory leadership seminars carried out over two days. I haven’t been to mine yet, but my understanding is that there are a lot of group activities including team-building, negotiation exercises, and community service.

How much help has career services been to you?  How much of the job search have you had to do on your own?

I’m not looking to change jobs, so I haven’t done much with career services. A couple of my friends transferred to the full-time program (a very difficult transition) and are using the career services there. If you’re getting tuition reimbursement, you have to get authorization to use career services.

Best thing about Kellogg?

The pool of professors is really impressive. But beyond their credentials, they are extremely approachable. As are the alumni, no matter how “important” they are in their companies. I went to a private university in California for my Master’s degree, and didn’t experience nearly this level of accessibility for the faculty and alumni.

The biggest challenge about Kellogg?

On the administration side, there’s room for improvement. There can be more automation of certain things—for example, the Manager’s Ball Auction should have been more organized. Also, the part-time program’s library could have a stronger collection. But these are minor issues.

Words of advice for current applicants?

Think about how your personality fits with the program. I have a friend who thinks he may have made a mistake by choosing Kellogg over University of Chicago (Booth). It’s because he’s very competitive and focused on finance, and hasn’t really enjoyed all the teamwork. He wants to learn more on his own, not so much in the context of a group. Kellogg’s focus on people and teamwork is great, but it may not be for everyone.

By Dr. Sachin Waikar, former McKinsey consultant, published author, and advisor to applicants to business and grad schools Dr. Waikar can help you tell your story through your MBA application.

• Harvard Business School, Yale SOM, Northwestern Kellogg, Chicago Booth, and Michigan Ross are all either in the midst of searching for or have just hired new deans. B-schools around the country are trying to revamp their programs, ramp up fundraising, and freshen the face of leadership in an effort to restore “the tarnished reputations of business schools,” states an article in the Wall Street Journal, “B-Schools Try Makeover.” We’ve discussed the MBA makeover quite a bit in this blog; see the following articles for more information: “The MBA Oath: Where Business and Ethics Meet…Maybe,” “B-Schools Implement Reform Long in the Making,” “Haas’ New Image: ‘Developing Innovative Leaders,’” “Chicago’s Ted Snyder To Become Dean of Yale SOM in 2011,” “Kellogg Names NYU Stern’s Sally Blount New Dean,” “HBS News: Dean Light to Retire,” and “Ross Sad to See Dolan Go.”

• A related article (”Changing Course” in The Economist) also highlights changes b-schools have made to heighten ethical awareness, modernize and make more relevant curricula, and to churn out good people, as well as good businessmen. HBS’s MBA Oath has taken a front seat in this discussion, as well as Berkeley Haas‘ curriculum reform. Haas’ Dean Lyons says, “This feels like exactly the time for a business school to take values seriously—not just post them on the wall, but to really go for it.” Lyons explains that the MBA Oath, while a good idea, needs to be transformed from a b-school conversation into an integral part of universal culture. Enforcing the important role of strong, innovative leaders is also at the forefront of Dean Lyon’s evolving strategy.

Related Accepted.com MBA Resources:

• B-School Zones
• Submit a Stellar Application: 42 Terrific Tips, an instantly downloadable ebook
• Navigate the MBA Maze, a free email course

Want our news sent directly to your inbox? Subscribe to the Accepted Admissions Almanac by clicking here



Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

Robert Dammon, CMU Tepper associate dean and professor, explains the price-wage connection: “The kinds of students that the best schools attract are going to get the highest-paying jobs.”

Paul R. Dorf, managing director of the consulting firm, Compensation Resources, adds, “The cream-of-the-crop companies hire the cream-of-the-crop grads.”

Top-ranked b-schools generally offer the most expensive programs and generally churn out the highest paid graduates. Harvard Business School, for example, has the most expensive MBA program, and the best paid alumni.

PayScale, a salary-comparison company, recently evaluated salary data of 23,000 MBA graduates from Bloomberg Businessweek’s top 45 American business schools.

Their data shows that on average, MBAs from top programs make $2.5 million (base-pay plus bonuses) over the course of 20 years in a single industry. HBS alumni make closer to $4 million, while alumni from lower ranked programs (but still in the top 45) like Iowa Tippie, make less than half of that.

Another interesting comparison between the higher ranked and lower ranked programs was the growth of salary over the two-decade period. Graduates from Yale SOM, for example, were awarded with extremely high starting salaries, but then experienced only small increases over the following 20 years. Grads from University of Connecticut’s business school, on the other hand, received lower starting salaries that more than doubled over that same 20-year period.

Below are the top median salaries earned after less than 2 years out of b-school and then the estimated career total for a 20-year long career:

Related Accepted.com Resources:

• B-School Zones
• The Rankings: An Accepted.com Special Report
• Forbes ROI MBA Rankings for 2010
• BusinessWeek’s Top 10 Undergraduate Business Schools with the Best Returns on Investment

Want our news sent directly to your inbox? Subscribe to the Accepted Admissions Almanac by clicking here!

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

Here are some excerpts from an interview with a current Kellogg MBA student from a financial services/retail background.

_____________________________________________________________

What is your goal for getting the MBA?

I plan to start my own company in my country (probably grocery or other retail) or join the family retail business to lead new initiatives and ultimately manage a new line or division; so in general I take a highly entrepreneurial focus. My classes at Kellogg have been in general management, family business, and entrepreneurship.

How well has Kellogg met your expectations in these areas?

• Academic/curriculum—I’ve been very happy with the program overall. One nice thing is that many of my professors have extensive field experience, so they bring a lot of practical knowledge to the theory they teach. This makes them much more credible. I especially enjoyed Professor Hennessy’s Marketing core course—she highlighted different ways of approaching markets and targeting consumers and positioning products, much of which came from her real-world experience. Also, I came to b-school to shift from a finance focus to general management and entrepreneurship, but learned a lot from a core Finance course I had to take, and my current Corporate Finance class has been great. Learning so much within finance has been an unexpected surprise.
• Students—They are a very bright group. Very committed. Very analytical, and with good communication skills. Everyone seems to do all the reading for every class, which doesn’t seem humanly possible! But the geographic diversity of my class is not as high as I hoped—Kellogg’s “30% international” breaks down a bit when you consider people who have been living here a long time (e.g., moved as a child from their country to the US). Professional diversity is also limited, too—lots of consulting and banking people, but that’s probably true of most top schools.
• Extracurricular/outside of class activities—Has been as valuable, if not more, than the academics. I’m very involved in Center for Family Enterprise events, so I’m getting to know CEOs of family business and lots of future family business execs. We also have great speakers on a regular basis—almost every week we get to hear from the CEO of major company. Last week we had the President of the European Central Bank and the CEO of 7-11 speak at different events. I’ve really enjoyed being part of the Family Enterprise Club and LAHIMA, through which I’m helping to plan the Latin America Business Conference.

What about the Evanston/Chicago location?  How did that affect your experience?

This has been a great surprise. I’ve really enjoyed Evanston—it’s a nice little city with an urban feel. The location makes the Kellogg community stronger because everyone lives here. We enjoy the lake and lots of outdoor activities. It’s also very easy to go to Chicago—I go twice a week, on average; definitely every weekend.

What have been the trade-offs associated with Kellogg/b-school in general?

There’s a lot going on in my home country, and sometimes I wish I could be part of it, but I’m getting a lot out of the program, so the tradeoff is worthwhile. In terms of my personal life, b-school hasn’t been too challenging. After my tough work schedule, business school isn’t so bad. I make my own schedule, which is a nice change after working as a trader.

What did you find out the school offers that you couldn’t find out from the website or an information session?

The collaborative community/environment. Everyone knows about it, but you don’t really understand its value until you experience it firsthand. It’s very genuine here. People are bright and ambitious, but not overly competitive. Friends at other programs report that their classmates are more cutthroat. Everything here is student-led. It’s really all up to the students. I was surprised by the extent of this, and have gained great teamwork skills because of it.

Any effects of the gap between deans (Kellogg’s Dean Dipak Jain left last year, and incoming Dean Sally Blount starts this July)?

Not really. Interim Dean Chopra has been great, and everyone’s excited about incoming Dean Blount. But I don’t really know what effect she’ll have on the curriculum and culture.

What kind of leadership training or mentoring do you receive at Kellogg?

There’s a lot of teamwork. Fits with the culture. I’ve definitely learned leadership skills from working with diverse teams. But there hasn’t been much formal leadership training.

How much help has career services been to you?  How much of the job search have you had to do on your own?

I was looking for a non-traditional internship, so I had to do a lot of my search on my own. But I worked with Career Management Center coaches and learned from their seminars. They are very thorough; it’s a great resource overall. The downside is that it’s hard for international students to find opportunities outside the US. It doesn’t seem to be as much of a focus for Kellogg.

Best thing about Kellogg?

The contacts I’ve made through the Family Enterprise Club and the coursework in this area. Regardless of industry/seniority, all the visiting executives face the same challenges and are willing to connect. I’ve made lots of friends from family businesses, and I know we’ll be great collaborators and sources of support in the future.

The biggest challenge about Kellogg?

Some people do get caught up in academics and focus on grades or just on getting the right job, rather than other types of learning experiences. So much of what I’ve learned here has been outside of courses/recruiting, but some people focus almost solely on those.

Words of advice for current applicants?

Even if you think you’d like Kellogg, it’s very important to visit and really experience the environment—that’s what helped me get a feel for the school and ultimately choose Kellogg over other programs. And I’ve never regretted that decision.

__________________________________________________________________

Accepted.com’s staff would be happy to guide you as you apply to Kellogg or any other program.

By Dr. Sachin Waikar, former McKinsey consultant, published author, and advisor to applicants to business and grad schools.

While graduates from top business schools like Wharton or Northwestern Kellogg are seeing a positive pick up in the job market, other graduates, like those from NYU Stern and University of Texas-Austin’s McCombs School of Business, are faced with a job market that has not yet recovered from the 2009 recession.

At NYU, only 76% of students had a job offer by graduation in 2009; at McCombs, only a lucky 70% had that privilege. In normal, pre-recession years, more than 90% of students receive job offers by graduation.

Abby Scott, executive director of MBA career services at UC Berkeley Haas has dubbed this post-recession era as “the year of the networked job search.” Haas students explain that they can’t rely as much on “robust school-led recruiting effort[s]” as they can on individual efforts.

In terms of the sorts of jobs that are available, there are certain sectors that are seeing a rise in MBA hiring and some that are not. For example, jobs in retail or at luxury firms are few and far between, while jobs in consulting and financial services are on the hiring rebound, relates the WSJ article.

Rotational programs are also on the rise, receiving a 36% increase in hiring this year. Students are also opting to head abroad and search for jobs in other markets. Blair Sheppard, Duke Fuqua dean, explains that MBA grads used to rarely consider going overseas—salaries weren’t high enough to entice a loan-heavy graduate—but now, overseas salaries have increased, offering grads a wider, global job search.

The article continues to state that there’s hope for next year’s grads as evidenced by the increase in internships this past year. At Wharton, for example, on-campus summer internships increased 30%, a number close to pre-recession rates.

Job-Related Accepted.com Blog Posts:

• More Students Head to Mom and Pop For Jobs
• B-School Students See Light at the End of the Job Market Tunnel
• Good News for MBAs: Job Opportunities Abound!
• GMAC: MBA Employers Express Job Market Optimism
• The Make-Your-Own-Job Solution

Want our news sent directly to your inbox? Subscribe to the Accepted Admissions Almanac by clicking here!

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

But what does it mean for you, if anything?

In an earlier post, I talked about the departure of Kellogg’s previous dean, Dipak Jain. Here, I’ll think out loud about what Sally Blount’s arrival might mean for Kellogg applicants.

1. In the big picture it will be business as usual. Yes, Dean Blount will be busy doing what deans do—rallying faculty, raising money, enhancing curricula, meeting with other deans, meeting students, meeting employers, raising money (yes, it deserves two mentions, given its priority right now)—but for current students and applicants it won’t change much. They’ll still have to focus on their usual priorities. For students that means finding jobs, and for applicants that means putting their best foot forward.

2. So how can you put your best foot forward, in light of the new dean? Let’s think of some of the implications of Dean Blount’s arrival. These apply, to some degree, to most b-schools, but they may be more critical given the situation Blunt stepped into.

• Placement stats are crucial. Kellogg, like its peers, needs to show better internship/job placement. By some accounts, even the lower numbers they’ve put up recently don’t reflect how bad the market really is. So Kellogg, Northwestern, other programs, and the media will be watching how these figures change with Blount in charge. For you, that means making an even stronger case for your employability—are you presenting logical goals that connect to your past/current experience? do you have sponsorship? a strong network you’ve already started using? All of this helps.
• Money is critical. Blount will mostly be looking to outside donors for the big bucks, but tuition is no small part of Kellogg’s funds. Being in a position to fund your MBA might be even more important than in the past, especially if you’re an international applicant.
• She has a PhD in Management and Organization—from Kellogg. Okay, so Kellogg already has a strong emphasis on collaboration and people skills. So it’s no surprise that they picked Blount, given her background. Emphasizing your teamwork and other people skills in your application remains a huge imperative with this program. You can’t do too much in this regard (well, okay, maybe you can, but I doubt you will).
• She is a former consultant. Blount worked for Boston Consulting Group. I know, it’s not like top b-schools aren’t already putting out the welcome mat for applicants from big-name consulting firms, but think more broadly: try to show the skills a consultant has in your application. Are your essays structured well? Do you show strong problem-solving skills in multiple settings (e.g., professional and non-profit), including in the people domain? It never hurts, and almost always helps.

Dean Blount is just settling into her new home at Kellogg, so it’s hard to say exactly what changes she’ll bring, and what those mean for you. I’ll try to report back on this issue as the situation unfolds. For now, keep thinking of what will make your application stand out in the best way.

And let us know if we can help.

By Dr. Sachin Waikar, former McKinsey consultant, published author, and advisor to applicants to business and grad schools Dr. Waikar can help you tell your story through your MBA application.

• A Stanford GSB blog post last week announced a call for all Grameen Fellowship and Reliance Dhirubhai Fellowship applications. The fellowships support Bangladeshi and Indian students with financial need (respectively) in obtaining an MBA from Stanford GSB. Visit the Stanford financial aid website for more information.

• The Consortium announced last week that UCLA’s Anderson School of Management had joined its network of top MBA programs with the unified goal of promoting inclusion and diversity in American business enterprises. UCLA dean Judy D. Olian says, “We’ll be enriching the learning experiences of our students through a student body that reflects a diverse set of perspectives, backgrounds, and life experiences, and that’s a strategic priority for our students.” (The Consortium Press Release)

• In the BusinessWeek article, “Building a Wharton for Emerging Economies,” Bruce Einhorn discusses the leaps and bounds the Indian School of Business (ISB) is taking to become a big league business school in an emerging economy. The b-school, which opened only nine years ago, has already moved up to the number one slot in Indian b-school rankings. ISB has become so popular in fact, that it will be expanding to a second $50 million new campus which will focus on manufacturing, infrastructure management, and other subjects pertinent to emerging economies. ISB has teamed up with MIT Sloan, UPenn Wharton, and Northwestern Kellogg to further their academic reputation—MIT Sloan and ISB, for example, have agreed on a faculty rotation plan between the two top MBA programs.

• Who knew that frats would become an essential ingredient to job networking in the business world? At Wharton, as the economy started shifting downward, the popularity of fraternities among business students moved upward. Business fraternities like Phi Gamma Nu, Alpha Kappa Psi, and Delta Sigma Pi offer Wharton students with mentors, career support, and a large, strong, family-like alumni network. “Getting to know more of the business world helps you decide what you want to do,” says Nancy Zhang, president of Phi Gamma Nu and Wharton sophomore. (The Daily Pennsylvanian)

Related Accepted.com MBA Resources:

• Submit a Stellar Application: 42 Terrific Tips
• Submit a Stellar Application II: 56 Additional Tips
• Financing Your Future: Winning Fellowships, Scholarships and Awards for Grad School, an ebook.
• Navigating the MBA Maze, an ecourse.

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

Dunn has been serving as dean of Tepper since 2002.

“I accepted the position of dean because I wanted to give back to the place that has been so influential in my life and career,” said Dunn. “Without question, the Tepper School is one of the world’s best business schools and I was honored to be invited to lead such a great institution.”

According to Tepper administration, faculty, and students, Dunn has contributed significantly to the top b-school, including leading the $55 million naming donation from David and Marlene Tepper and implementing infrastructure, facility, and academic upgrades.

According to Mark S. Kamlet, CMU executive vice president and provost, “The next dean will have a very solid foundation, indeed, upon which to advance the school.”

For more information on b-school deans stepping down, please see:

• HBS News: Dean Light to Retire
• Chicago Booth Dean Announces Resignation
• Ross Sad to See Dolan Go
• Kellogg Names NYU Stern’s Sally Blount New Dean

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

• Advanced Placement examinations are becoming more and more popular among high school students. According to a recent Inside Higher Ed article, 25% of high school grads take at least one AP test. Top private universities now expect their applicants to have a few APs on their transcripts. A new study soon to be released by Harvard Education Press, however, reveals that the AP examinations may not be as valuable as most students and adcoms believe. A major criticism is that low-income high schools are scraping the bottom of the barrel in order to offer AP programs, rather than spending that money on improving already existing (and more important) programs. On the other hand, the tests do offer students with a chance to get ahead on their college courses, ultimately saving money.

• A BusinessWeek article, “Three Top B-Schools Look for New Deans,” provides an overview of the great search for new deans at Chicago Booth, Northwestern Kellogg, and Harvard Business School. Kellogg has already filled the position of dean by hiring Sally Blount from NYU Stern. HBS has not yet chosen a new dean, but most believe that the position will not be filled by an outsider.

• The GRE seems to be hitting all sorts of records recently. A recent ETS press release reports record-breaking GRE growth rates in Europe. European test volume increased 15% in the last year, marking the highest yearly increase ever for Europe. Another record-breaker: More test scores were sent to European institutions this year than in any other year. One reason for such an increase in GRE tests is the simultaneous increase in the number of business schools accepting the GRE in addition to the traditional GMAT exam. According to David Payne, VP and COO at ETS, “In this economy especially, the flexibility to use one test for admission to both graduate and business programmes is great for students who want to ensure that they have options. It’s a huge benefit to them.”

Want our news sent directly to your inbox? Subscribe to the Accepted Admissions Almanac by clicking here!

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best