Calling all Kellogg Fall 2010 Applicants!

"Assume you are evaluating your application from the perspective of a student member of the Kellogg Admissions Committee. Why would your peers select you to become a member of the Kellogg community?"

Im wondering how much new information, if any, you can put into this essay. For example, can I expand on some professional accomplishments that I just touched on in a resume, or maybe didnt mention at all ?

What should we assume the 'application' consists of ? Essays and recommendations, or essays, recos and the interview notes ?

If I was evaluating someone to be my classmate I wouldnt care as much about what someone accomplished in their job or in volunteer activities. I would want to know more about their personality. Would I want to sit in a small study room and work with this person for countless hours, are they a good team player and a fun person to deal with or will I want to climb over the table and smack them upside the head. Honestly if they are asking about you being a member of the community I could care less what you did at your job. Chances are that its not going to directly apply in a class for more than a case or two and chances are you would wave out of any class you would bring incredible value academically to, for like an IB in Fin 1 or a CPA in accounting. Besides I would rather be in a group that works well together but struggles to get the right answers than be in a group with a ringer that does all the work and the rest of us get nothing out of it.

If its asking about you being a member of the community you would be much better attacking it from the angle of why would someone want to spend two years with you as a person and not what you as an individual have accomplished at a job. How you behave at your job is perfectly acceptable, especially if your office has a similar teamwork environment. I wouldnt force accomplishments into the essay but if they flow in thats great. You know the whole we were a very diverse team but we pulled together and created this great project blah blah blah. Talk about how fun of a human being you are, heck talk about playing basketball on your company team and love the fact that kellogg has ridiculously competitive sporting competitions between sections. Talk about how you love to dress as a woman and want to set a new standard at the drag TG.


That is one essay I think you should try to have a little more fun with and let your personality sell you not what you have done. Kellogg likes folks who are not only smart and accomplished but are comfortable in their own skin and will bring enjoyment to their classmates experience...we wont want you as a member of our community even if you climbed mount Everest after you played 4 years in the NBA and then went on to spend two years are KKR where you led a 50 billion dollar deal if you are a complete jerk.

Thanks, river. So is it safe then to bring in new information into this essay ? I wouldnt want the adcoms reading it to think that Im not answering the question, because it says to evaluate me based on my application, and I may not have mentioned things like sports etc anywhere in my application at all

Thanks for the tips River!

I'm struggling with that on essay three too. Both accepted.com and clear admit have suggested there shouldn't really be anything new in the essay, but really most of the stuff in your goals essay probably doesn't apply to this question, the way I've drafted my second essay, I would only slightly touch on it in the third essay, which means I feel like I need to bring up new information to get across everything that I want to.

I think I'm going to go with the approach of putting what I want to in essay 3, but making sure it's an expansion on something else that I've at least mentioned somewhere in my app, even if only briefly (or that I'll make a point to mention in the interview).

So question three used to be something to the effect of "what makes you unique and why would this add value to the Kellogg community". While question 3 is now worded differently, I think its still trying to get to the heart of the same question - what makes you tick and why are you unique to the point that Kellogg should admit you (and why would your fellow students see this as valuable rather than someone else)? I think this is where you can dive into something that is unique about you - whether its something in your work experience, interests, extra curriculars, the way you think, values, etc.

Thanks Steel. That was my interpretation as well, but the advice from the consulting places made me nervous. I guess I'll stick with that tone and throw in a couple of overall app points as they fit.

Count me in for R2!

so then here is my question to all the K students out there: what qualities would you want in a member of your class ? I agree with river that professional accomplishments is not something that would personally be on my list, but things like open-mindedness, a willingness to step aside and not always lead, helpful, etc would be .... and what would be the best way to demonstrate these 'softer' qualities ?

I can't speak for other Kellogg students, but I'll tell you what qualities I'd want to see in a member of my class. I'd want to see someone who has a unique perspective on things, who adds interesting insight to classroom discussions and is willing to help me and my classmates out. Since I'm also going to be living and working closely with this person for the next 2 years of my life, I'd also want to see someone who is fun to socialize with - the proverbial "would I want to share a beer with this person at 11pm after a long day of work" test.

To be clear though, I'm not suggesting that your essay talk about your unique perspective, helpfulness and aptitude for late night beer drinking. My 549 classmates may have different attributes they're looking for. Basically, you need to explain why *YOU* are an interesting person, and why your 550 or so classmates will be better off for having known you. If you try to write what you think the adcom wants to hear, or try to match your essay up with what you think are important attributes of a Kellogg student, your essay will seem pretty generic and you'll have a hard time convincing the readers that you are more deserving than another of the 6000 applicants to be admitted.

In short: just be yourself, and use this essay to give a good picture of who you are.

Like Jerz said, I'd think about answering the question: What makes you different than the 500 other applicants? Why are you awesome?

A friend of mine described these sorts of essays as being similar to speed dating. He put it as: you have 5 minutes to make an impression, to make yourself stand out and seem appealing. What do you talk about?

Reapplying in R1 unless I get off Darden's waitlist.

Any students or reapplicants know if it is necessary to go to all of the prospective student events? I hope they change how they notify people this year and don't have a few decisions trickle out each day.

I wasn't a reapplicant, but I went to very few prospective student events. I visited Jacobs over the summer when I was in Chicago on business (but didn't sign in so there was no record of it), then did a full visit (visiting class, tour, lunch with students, info session) the day before I interviewed. I don't think Kellogg is very focused on who attends how many events.

I agree with Jerz. I couldn't find time to visit Kellogg on a weekday so I ended up visiting on one weekend when I was in Michigan for work and sat in a EMBA class. Never attended regular MBA tour/visit etc before applying.

Same boat. I'd been to the Northwestern campus a year or so back, so had an idea of what Evanston was like. I visited Kellogg for the first time after I got in and was deciding between Kellogg/Booth, and thought it would be good to see some classes and such. I didn't attend any prospective student events, and my extent of meeting the student community was reaching to a couple of folks in the HC/Consulting clubs. (I was a horrible K applicant, I know )

I'm definitely in for Round 1, let the games begin...

Like the others, I didn't go to any information sessions for Kellogg. I went to off-campus info sessions for other schools, but the one for Kellogg didn't fit with my schedule.

What I discovered by attending the ones for other schools was that they are only useful as a one-way information exchange, i.e., for you to gather information about the school, the application and b-school in general. I don't think the schools pay too much attention to whether you've attended these events, and I doubt that attendance affects the admissions process. Some schools didn't even take attendance lists. However, I would strongly recommend going if you haven't gone to one in the past. I found them to be a hugely valuable way to develop an understanding for the school's culture and approach toward evaluating applicants. If you're a reapplicant or already know a lot about the school, then I wouldn't bother.

On a similar note, visiting schools in person is far better than going to off-campus info sessions. I highly recommend doing this if at all possible.

Thanks I'll probably go back up to Evanston for a visit in the fall when classes are in session. I do not have much of an excuse since I live in Chicago