Calling all Kellogg Fall 2010 Applicants!

I'm entering the HEMA program at Kellogg. I can't give first hand knowledge since school hasn't started yet, but from what I've picked up from current students and faculty, it's a relatively small program at Kellogg (I think about 50 students a year pick the HEMA concentration, but the school is interested in growing that to about 75), but with a very strong and involved alumni network in just about any healthcare-related career path you'd be interested in.

During DAK, someone asked how Kellogg compared to other top programs. The answer was that Kellogg, along with Wharton and Duke, are considered to be the top 3 healthcare MBA programs, but they all take a slightly different approach. Kellogg's is probably the most well integrated with the rest of the MBA curriculum, and has very strong faculty and other resources. Wharton's program is the largest and has great professors and resources, but is a bit more of a standalone program. Duke's program is very closely aligned with the university's hospital and medical school, but otherwise didn't have as many resources as Kellogg or Wharton and focused a bit less on the business of healthcare than them.

In the end, if you're interested in healthcare you're going to be in great shape with an MBA from any of those three schools. For me, I didn't apply to Wharton because I just didn't like many aspects of the school in general and didn't think I'd be happy there. I ended up deciding between Kellogg and Duke and ultimately the deciding factors were not really related to the healthcare program specifically, but were more general considerations about the 2 schools.

why oh why is the kellogg application still not open.......!!

I'm in for R1

Jerz, thanks for the input, I think this is a good reminder to me not to get too wrapped up in comparing the different healthcare programs but keep the big picture view of the school. After all, regardless of how great any one individual major or concentration is, I imagine the overall school environment is what would dictate how good the two years as a whole are. This makes me think of some of the "best finance school" debates I've seen here and on BW, although those seem to have quieted down in the last year or so.

Hey there - I'm looking for some advise on essay #2 on leadership
I have two strong examples , 1 from extracurricular in college and one in a voluntary assignment alongside work. However i'd like to highlight some aspects from work as well to prove by ability . As I'm in sales and have no direct reports felt it was necessary to demonstrate examples of my ability through projects taken on in the workplace and I def have some good stories to tell.

would you advise I mention 3 examples in total in 600 words or just focus on 2 - 1 work & 1 extra curricular?

thanks!

Stick with two. You will be hard pressed to fit three in 600 words.

is anyone writing about just 1 leadership experience? i'm having a tough time fitting two stories with any level of detail. or is that considered not answering the question because the question asks for leadership experiencES?

I'm in for R1.

How are you guys handling Essay #3? Are you actually writing the essay from a third-person perspective? What kind of things are you emphasizing?

Just my opinion but I think you should include at least 2 leadership examples, and at least one of those should be work-related. If you only have one it might seem as though you're lacking any other meaningful examples which doesn't reflect favorably upon your impact in the workplace. In a similar vein, leadership examples from extra-curriculars or experiences outside of your primary work responsibilities should serve as a supplement, to "round-out" your candidacy, as opposed to the primary selling point.

Two suggestions for word count issues:
1) Go thru your examples with a fine-toothed comb to remove any and everything not absolutely critical to conveying the message you're trying to send by continuously asking yourself: what value does this word/sentence provide?

2) Use bullet-points.

I personally plan to use 2 examples from the workplace. Kellogg has a very balanced application: Essays #1 and #2 can be used for workplace stuff, whereas Essays #3 and #4 will almost always be used for personal things and extracurriculars.

Hi All,
If my questions have been addressed elsewhere, I have probably overlooked it - and my sincere apologies for that.
Essay 1 for Kellogg has been quite a struggle for me. It seems like three topics have been embedded into one without
any real guidance on which of the sub-topics I need to place emphasis on. Fortunately, some of the earlier posts in this thread offered some concrete advice on how to go ahead with this.

I have a few additional questions on this though. Here goes

a. For future career goals, do we need to be specific about the industry we want to work in soon after obtaining an MBA? What
if we are potential (or definite) career switchers? What if our incentive for an MBA, is not truly derived from professional experiences? Is this an
issue?

b. For the bit on why I want to apply to Kellogg for an MBA, do I need to mention a preference for a certain major?

I feel like the word limit is a huge impediment for this essay (this is just me complaining!!!).

My other gripe is with Essay 3 and Essay 4. The topic for Essay 3 almost implies that no NEW information must be introduced here. This is fine if this is indeed the last essay read by the admissions folks. One of the Essay 4 options include writing a response for "what people do not know about me" If want to use the response to that question as the basis of one my assessments in Essay 3, that poses a conflict with the whole "new information" deal. Any thoughts on how to work around this or any insights?

Response to my questions will be highly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Regards,

Pranav

Pranav,
For part a of your question,
I think you should include a definite goal. Show where you go, how your past experience will help you achieve this goal. Of course adcom knows people's plan do change, you might meet opportunities that you thought weren't going to be possible.

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I think if you clarify your goals well, the majors that you are pursuing can probably be inferred. But, on the other hand, it is probably a good idea to mention something about the curriculum, academics is a big portion of B-school and there must be some reason that Kellogg is on top of your list.

I struggled with essay three as well, the consultants all seemed to indicate that you couldn't have anything new, which seemed unfortunate with the already limited real estate the essays give you. I read this in Business Week, which was from a chat with Beth Flye. It's from a couple years ago when they had a similar question.

Q: Kellogg's third essay asks applicants to evaluate their own file. Should they include new information or base responses on what's presented in the rest of the application?
Flye: That's a matter of personal preference. If an applicant sees that as a good opportunity to submit something new, that's fine. At the same time, we do have an optional essay that allows an applicant to share pertinent information that hasn't been shared anyplace else.

Tough call on the third essay isn't it? I mean, people say we should use this essay to "sell our personality". Yet, I see no place to really show that besides the options in essay 4. It seems like contradictory advice in a sense given the sequence of the essay topics. Can I make a direct reference to essay 4 in essay 3 or is that way too convoluted an approach? Your input will be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Regards,

Pranav

pranavc,

Here is my take (actually a take borne of talking to a current Kellogg admit) - Essay 1 requires you to sell Kellogg. What do you want to do? What at Kellogg (academics, co-curriculars etc...) will let you get there? Essay 3 I call the Kennedy Essay - "Ask not what Kellogg can do for you but what you can do for Kellogg" and by that I mean the school and its students. For Essay 4 I held on to one EC that wasn't explicitly explained before so that I could expand on why I do it and how it relates to Kellogg.

pranav

I don't think you need to specifically reference any of your essays in essay #3. If it makes sense, then do it, if it doesn't, then let essay #4 stand on its own. I haven't written my essay #4 yet, but I've already drafted essay #3 and I won't mention essay #4 in it.

I think deepauk gives good advice. They're basically asking you, if I were a student, why would I want to spend the next two years with you?

I think this essay is the perfect example of people thinking about what they should be writing instead of just of writing what they want to tell the adcom. Believe me, I did the same thing.

Hi Deepauk,
My sincere apologies for the delayed acknowledgment of your response.You mentioned that for Essay 4, you went it to greater detail about somethign that was not explicitly explained. My question for you is "is a line item in a resume without much in-depth detail" a candidate for the topic for this essay? Curious to get your take on this. The bit that I am stuck with is whether I can use that topic from Essay 4 to boost my case in Essay 3. Sometimes, I wish the order of topics 3 and 4 were reversed.Any input to bring me out of this quandary would be great. Thanks in advance.

Regards,

Pranav