Calling all Kellogg Applicants (2015 Intake) Class of 2017 !

From what I have heard, almost no school will expedite an Accepted decision and most say they refrain from doing so on their websites. I believe this has to do with the dividing up of scholarship money and getting your information into the university system. So that when you do accept, you are completely internalized into the schools software, making it a seamless Acceptance for you the student and them as the admins.

Although, if it was a decline I could see them telling you early, as it wouldn't effect them, but I have never heard of it actually occurring.

FROM Kellogg MBA Blog: What I learned from IDEO’s Paul Bennett

First-year student Rohan Rajiv is blogging once a week about important lessons he is learning at Kellogg. Read more of his posts here. Paul Bennett, chief creative officer at IDEO, the famous design firm, was at Kellogg on Tuesday. He delivered an engaging 50-minute talk about his perspectives on love, beauty, religion, and death. I am not going to attempt a perfect summary of the talk. But, I thought I’d touch on what I took away: WE ARE ALL DESIGNERS. Businessmen design businesses, teachers design classes, etc. This was the all important base line we started with. Now that we understand we are designers, let us learn to think like one and understand the types of barriers design is breaking through in today’s world. DESIGN TRANSCENDS AGENDA This was a profound line from a conversation Paul had with a princess from a royal family in the Middle East. Paul conducted a brainstorming session in Dubai, where he asked designers for their dreams for Dubai. The women designers wrote some really powerful thoughts, along the lines of “we want to matter.” Paul shared these in his TEDx talk the next day as a way of thinking about designing Dubai in the future. As a designer, sharing these wasn’t about judgment. It was about transcending the agenda and meeting purpose. REMEMBER TO ANSWER THE QUESTION Paul spoke of the moment he was diagnosed with diabetes. He was listening to the doctor throw all sorts of medical terms at him, but he had just one question in mind: “Will I be able to eat during Thanksgiving?” Sometimes, all we’re looking for are answers to the simple questions – e.g. “Will I be OK?” “Do I have a real shot at this opportunity?” “Will you give me a hug?” Let’s design for those. DEATH AND RELIGION Paul spoke about how IDEO is designing for taboo topics like death and religion. These topics are entering the mainstream and they make for great design opportunities. And, while topics like “designing for death” remains somewhat morbid, the fact is that most human beings share common misconceptions and irrational fears about death. Can we make the experience better? (We don’t know yet, but we’re certainly going to try!) CONVERSATION IS DESIGN This was the most powerful insight I walked away with. In the vein of us being designers, I think we can extend the “we are all designers” insight into the idea that we all design lives, moments and experiences. And maybe, we could make more of an effort to design conversations that matter? It isn’t easy to have these conversations around topics like religion, fear, death and all the other difficult issues that we face in society. But if we don’t, who will? And, how will we inform our responses to these topics if we aren’t exposed to viewpoints different from ours? I loved Paul’s talk. He was warm, vulnerable and humorous. It definitely made me think. And, I think I’ve walked away with ideas for a couple of my projects as well as for my lives. I can think of two that I’m going to work hard to implement: 1. Consciously design experiences when designing products, services and events. Apple just sold its one billionth iOS device in what was a quarter described as “monstrous.” They get this idea. Buying an iPhone is designed as an experience. Unwrapping it is part of the experience and using it is definitely another. In the final analysis, it is because we don’t remember what we did. We do remember how we felt. 2. Have more tough conversations. The inner geek in me loves this idea. In some ways, the talk reminded me of why I am in school: to get exposed, to think and to reflect. There are so many great conversations to be had. And it is up to me to make them happen. Rohan Rajiv is a first-year student in Kellogg’s Full-Time Two-Year Program. Prior to Kellogg he worked at a-connect serving clients on consulting projects across 14 countries in Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. He blogs a learning every day, including his MBA Learnings series, on www.ALearningaDay.com. Filed under: Academics, Business Insight, Career, Student Life Tagged: Design, design innovation, design thinking, MBA Learnings, Two-Year MBA Program

Heard in past years that Kellogg has released admit decisions 2 weeks or so after interviews (i.e., mid February). Has anyone heard the same? Or is the March 25 decision release more likely?

Heard in past years that Kellogg has released admit decisions 2 weeks or so after interviews (i.e., mid February). Has anyone heard the same? Or is the March 25 decision release more likely?

completed the interview this morning with an alum who does recruiting for a living.

Now on to 2 months of waiting...

According to this thread for Round 1, absolutely nothing happens until the deadline date, accepted or declined. I'm pretty sure even the Admissions Director tweeted "Today's my favorite day"...on Round 1's deadline date. Everyone who gets accepted, is called personally and everyone gets a decision by 5:00 pm posted online on the deadline date, in our case March 25.

But no call translates to ding from what I gather...

Hi all

I am R2 applicant for the 1 year program. Submitted the application on 5th January and the video essay on 9th January. Based out of Mumbai, India and hence requested for an off campus interview in Mumbai.

Till now, I have not heard of neither an interview invite nor an interview waiver. My idea was that every applicant is notified in either of those cases. Or is there a third possibility where the Adcom may not notify at all? I would like to have some inputs in case someone has some insight on the same.

Also anyone from Mumbai who has an interview invite?

Thanks for the assistance.

There are quite a few people on this forum I think who applied in Round 2 and haven't heard back yet. According to how things went in Round 1, I think you can still hope for an interview until about the 4th-5th of Feb. About a week after that, they send a whole bunch of waivers in one huge wave. My observations are limited to the 2 year program, although it's most likely to be similar for the 1 year program as well.

Either way, Notification would happen for sure. And I would assume they'll find an alum for you in a place like Mumbai. So wait it out for a few more days.

Thanks End Game. But does Kellogg interview everyone who reside in metro cities? I saw their official page and it says interview waiver is when there is a high demand or the applicant lives away from any alumni base.

I guess that Mumbai has a lot of high demand. But in that case how does Adcom decide whom to interview and leave others? Purely from an admission perspective, it seems that ranking should have some effect on the final outcome and hence I am a little worried having received no invite. And the general perception that applications are not read till interview happens seems a little strange to me.

I am very new to this forum and browsed this thread only in the last 24 hours. So any information can be helpful. Not that it will affect the outcome but may be I will be able to set up very realistic expectation based on any one of your experience or insight.

Thanks.

I don´t think it had anything to do with metro cities because they also offer skype/phone interview...

"Due to the high demand for interviews and limited availability of interviewers, you may receive an interview waiver. Waivers will not have a negative impact on your candidacy. Each year, many applicants who receive waivers are admitted to Kellogg."

So, they wouldn´t notify you because you would be technically still in the game.

For those of you putting down deposits before R2 - won´t you even consider asking for an extension (extensions are free if granted rsrs) first?

I am going ask Kellogg for an extension until mid-March... i am not sure how realistic it is... like another member said, "maybe they will get afraid of losing you and throw in a bunch of scholarship money" haha

FROM Kellogg MBA Blog: Love, beauty, religion, death and space

IDEO Chief Creative Officer Paul Bennett spoke about design thinking to approximately 1,000 people at Kellogg on Tuesday, and his speech held significant relevance to students in the MMM program. Three of those students offered their thoughts on what they learned. MONTOYA TRICE – 1st-year MMM student I thoroughly enjoyed the speech because it reinforced what I have been learning in the MMM program. Good design is rooted in human understanding, and human-centered designers are needed now more than ever. Mr. Bennett asserted that we are all designers. Heeding his call, I decided to take visual notes of the speech (which can be seen above). RAY SU, 1st-year MMM student I thought it was really refreshing to take a break from intensely focusing on individual aspirations and consider a broader perspective of our potential. When I saw that Paul Bennett was coming to speak Kellogg, I immediately signed up. Although I did not know much about him, the title of his talk, “Love, Beauty, Religion, Death, & Space – Design’s Next Frontiers,” definitely sounded intriguing. The event was already built up in my mind, and then the professor who introduced Mr. Bennett asserted that the talk would be one of the most inspiring things I would ever hear. I was definitely inspired. The main message I took away from Mr. Bennett is that anyone who aspires to be a designer — which he claimed could literally be anyone — would benefit from taking a step back and reflecting on the impact of the solutions being designed. Here are just a few of the questions he posed. How might we create things with love that people love back? How might we use beauty and poetry as a business tool? How might we go into the tough spaces and taboo topics with optimism? Great questions, Mr. Bennett. While those questions could be interpreted as “how do I make a difference in the world?” my takeaway was that design is a powerful tool that should be leveraged in tackling difficult issues that people face. So far, I have felt that many of the design-thinking projects in the MMM Program have been centered on addressing everyday, tangible problems. This makes sense, given that we can’t be expected to try and solve some huge, hairy problem right out of the gates. Mr. Bennett gives me faith that I am building a foundation and mindset to one day be able to face those huge, hairy problems head on. Hopefully, as a future graduate of the MMM Program, I will have a deep understanding of — and the ability to apply — human centered design. That phrase, “Human Centered Design,” is thrown around a lot. Near the end of his presentation, Mr. Bennett presented a slightly different phrase: “Humanity Centered Design.” I thought this was really cool and summed up his talk quite well. It also reminded me of President Obama’s challenge to students when he spoke at Kellogg: How might we help others achieve their dreams as we pursue our own? For first-year students, recruiting is in high gear. I thought it was really refreshing to take a break from intensely focusing on individual aspirations and consider a broader perspective of our potential. Thanks, Mr. Bennett. You were worth the hype. RON SINHA – 2nd-year MMM student We don’t have to force design to be the verb it often exists as in a business context. We simply have to constantly challenge ourselves to look at the world in a different way. An avid interest in drawing. A relentless pursuit of creating things. Paul Bennett invited us into his childhood memories for a glimpse into the beginnings of his understanding of and fascination with design. He reflected on his life’s most meaningful moments and how they impacted his perspective on design. As I reflected on my own critical moments in life, I began to see parallels with Paul’s story. We don’t have to force design to be the verb it often exists as in a business context. We simply have to constantly challenge ourselves to look at the world in a different way. It is this mindset that draws me to always understand why we do the things we do. “…be unafraid.” We are a species inclined to be biased based on our experiences, inclined to be defensive of our thoughts and ideas. Through his examples, both personal and professional, Paul demonstrated the resistance to judge as being a critical component of design. It is a gift to be put into a situation where one is an outsider. Having explored the world of acting in the past, I found this to be a particularly powerful message, as it resonated with something an acting teacher once told me: Your audience wants you to succeed. Similarly, approaching situations and people with optimism and hope will result in those situations and people approaching you the same way. “How might we use beauty and poetry … to amplify personal connection?” Paul challenged us to strive to tackle with purpose and confidence not only business problems, but life’s problems. In doing so, we should embrace the elements so integral to our lives but that we often overlook, such as beauty. In one tangible example, Paul discussed hearing aids. Decades ago they were seen as invasive and depressing. Today they’re chic – they’re desirable. Why not take life’s worst circumstances and turn them into opportunities for magic? The salient point here is simple and encouraging: all it takes is being open to a slightly different angle. “Beauty is a business tool … that often is overlooked by organizations.” I came to the MMM program here at Northwestern to be at this very intersection of design and business, to learn how to question with purpose whether business decisions were being made with the right questions in mind. Paul addressed the Northwestern community at large, but his message strongly parallels what I believe the MMM program in particular strives to do: seamlessly integrate the rigor of business analysis with the human-centered element of design to address our most pressing issues. “Design transcends agenda.” Design is always a tricky thing to explain. It is not a standalone concept. Rather, it is in every aspect of our lives. Without acknowledging and embracing it, we just might be missing out. Filed under: Academics, Business Insight, Career, Student Life Tagged: Design, design innovation, design thinking, guest speaker, Innovation, MMM

I meant that in a place like Mumbai there would be a relatively higher number of Kellogg alums. But as you wrote , due to high demand not everyone may get a shot at interviewing. I am not sure what ranking you are talking about but the website clearly mentions that the invites are sent on a first come first serve basis. So scheduling the interview was pretty much all you had to do. The reason they send out waivers is so that they can get to reading your app sooner than later. And skype/phone interviews happen generally for people who received waivers initially but came out as strong candidates during application review. Kellogg will not admit anyone without an interview so if your profile warrants one they will reach out to you no matter what. Having done your part I suggest you dont think too much into it and focus on whatever's next on your plate. Trust the process ,and know that the school will try its best to always level the playing field .

For those of you putting down deposits before R2 - won´t you even consider asking for an extension (extensions are free if granted rsrs) first?

I am going ask Kellogg for an extension until mid-March... i am not sure how realistic it is... like another member said, "maybe they will get afraid of losing you and throw in a bunch of scholarship money" haha[/quote]

In light of the crazy one month long interview invite wave set by stanford , I would like an extension very much .Will have to sit down and think on how to approach the school for the same.

How lame you think it is to say that I am short on money and cant pay the deposit in February and then ask for an extension until March?

Also, you will wait until close to Feb 18 to send your request?

It might just work if supported well by a 'situation'. I know of people who had trouble paying the 2k coz stuff happened back home that put a major dent in their savings account.
And waiting until close to the deadline is not a good idea. If it has to be done , it has to be done within the next week or so.