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vikramaditya
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Calling all Kellogg Fall 2010 Applicants! 08 Aug 2009, 06:25
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Is the word limit of 600 words for the first three essays very strict? Can it be exceeded by around 5-10%?
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ACNguy
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Calling all Kellogg Fall 2010 Applicants! 08 Aug 2009, 06:46
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vikramaditya
Is the word limit of 600 words for the first three essays very strict? Can it be exceeded by around 5-10%?
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I'm not willing to risk it. It's one of those things that if you catch an Adcom on a bad day, it might put a bad taste in their mouth. If you're only 5-10% over it shouldn't be overly difficult to shave that off.
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Calling all Kellogg Fall 2010 Applicants! 08 Aug 2009, 06:50
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ACNguy
vikramaditya
Is the word limit of 600 words for the first three essays very strict? Can it be exceeded by around 5-10%?

I'm not willing to risk it. It's one of those things that if you catch an Adcom on a bad day, it might put a bad taste in their mouth. If you're only 5-10% over it shouldn't be overly difficult to shave that off.
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I concur. I'm abiding strictly by the word limits, I don't want them thinking I don't follow directions, I need all the help I can get :)

I've seen this debated here before and it seems to be a gray area. Some people think they give you the word limits and they mean it, so you shouldn't go over. Others think the extra five or ten percent isn't noticeable anyway and that certainly they wouldn't keep you out because of that if your app is good. Certainly they won't notice the difference if you're at 605, so don't make yourself crazy.
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Calling all Kellogg Fall 2010 Applicants! 08 Aug 2009, 17:38
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I have been trying to find the Kellogg MBA brochure for sometime, but with little luck. I saw the MMM brochure, but there doesn't seem to be one for 2-year MBA.

Anyone out there, who was able to get their hands on it?
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Calling all Kellogg Fall 2010 Applicants! 08 Aug 2009, 19:40
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bpr81
I have been trying to find the Kellogg MBA brochure for sometime, but with little luck. I saw the MMM brochure, but there doesn't seem to be one for 2-year MBA.

Anyone out there, who was able to get their hands on it?
Show more

They will mail you one if you request it.
https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/Programs/FullTimeMBA/TakeAction/Request_Information.aspx

Also check out the latests facts and figures:
https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/Programs/FullTimeMBA/About_Our_Students/~/media/Files/FTMBA/FT_FactsFigures-09.ashx
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Calling all Kellogg Fall 2010 Applicants! 08 Aug 2009, 20:37
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vikramaditya
Is the word limit of 600 words for the first three essays very strict? Can it be exceeded by around 5-10%?

I'm not willing to risk it. It's one of those things that if you catch an Adcom on a bad day, it might put a bad taste in their mouth. If you're only 5-10% over it shouldn't be overly difficult to shave that off.

I concur. I'm abiding strictly by the word limits, I don't want them thinking I don't follow directions, I need all the help I can get :)

I've seen this debated here before and it seems to be a gray area. Some people think they give you the word limits and they mean it, so you shouldn't go over. Others think the extra five or ten percent isn't noticeable anyway and that certainly they wouldn't keep you out because of that if your app is good. Certainly they won't notice the difference if you're at 605, so don't make yourself crazy.
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ACNguy & highhopes,

Thanks for the quick response.I have manages to cut down two of the essays to around 620 words.However,Im finding it extremly difficult to prune it further,without losing the essence of the story.

Can any current Kellogg students give their opinion on the word count limit?I have read that this is the first time that Kellogg has given a word limit to be followed.
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Calling all Kellogg Fall 2010 Applicants! 08 Aug 2009, 22:11
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As hard as it may seem, I'd advise trimming essays down to the limit. When I was working on mine, I had the same concerns and found that cutting the final few words was always the hardest. Still, trimming the essays to the limits improved the final products by making them more concise and focused. So, trimming has two benefits: (1) it adheres to the rules set by admissions; and (2) it can make your essays more impactful.

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Calling all Kellogg Fall 2010 Applicants! 08 Aug 2009, 23:29
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Pretty much the same issue here.

I read the general rule of thumb was 5% tolerance (here is the issue with all the sources - I dont remember where I read this) i.e. 570-630 words for the 600 word essays. So I've curtailed myself to the 620 word range. Guess I should trim it to under 610.
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Calling all Kellogg Fall 2010 Applicants! 09 Aug 2009, 07:33
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Frankly, I don't think 5% will make any difference. No one is going to sit and count how many words were in an essay.

When I wrote my essays, I tried to adhere to the word counts as much as possible. However, no one is going to penalize you if your essay is 585 words or 615 words as long as you have a good app. I think many of my essays were over the word limit by 5% or so.

OhThatMBA
As hard as it may seem, I'd advise trimming essays down to the limit. When I was working on mine, I had the same concerns and found that cutting the final few words was always the hardest. Still, trimming the essays to the limits improved the final products by making them more concise and focused. So, trimming has two benefits: (1) it adheres to the rules set by admissions; and (2) it can make your essays more impactful.

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I do agree with this. You need to say the most in the least amount of words so try to make your essays as impactful as possible.
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Calling all Kellogg Fall 2010 Applicants! 09 Aug 2009, 08:32
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Honestly, I can't believe that this is even up for debate. If the word limit is set at 600 words, then that's the limit. Not a suggestion. nor an approximation, but a LIMIT.
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Calling all Kellogg Fall 2010 Applicants! 09 Aug 2009, 09:25
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I think we'll just have to agree to disagree.

Here are two things I think almost everyone on here will agree on:
1) The adcom knows approximately what their word count should look like.
2) The adcom is not going to sit around counting words.

I'll stay just under the limit, mostly because of my constant state of paranoia :) It probably doesn't matter if you're 5-10 words over - it's a sentence. But to be honest, I found trimming the drafts I've written was pretty easy. I found I was constantly using passive voice which was eating my word counts. I also used words like really quite often. Taking these things out actually allowed me to ADD to my essay. So I think you can trim the essays, you might just need to put some effort in. Heck, if you send me your essay, I will get rid of the extra twenty words for you.
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Calling all Kellogg Fall 2010 Applicants! 09 Aug 2009, 10:18
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riverripper
bpr81
I have been trying to find the Kellogg MBA brochure for sometime, but with little luck. I saw the MMM brochure, but there doesn't seem to be one for 2-year MBA.

Anyone out there, who was able to get their hands on it?

They will mail you one if you request it.
https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/Programs/FullTimeMBA/TakeAction/Request_Information.aspx

Also check out the latests facts and figures:
https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/Programs/FullTimeMBA/About_Our_Students/~/media/Files/FTMBA/FT_FactsFigures-09.ashx
Show more

Thanks for sharing the stats...
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Calling all Kellogg Fall 2010 Applicants! 09 Aug 2009, 17:24
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I tried to stay within 5% of the word limits. I was over on most of my essays, but usually by only 8-12 words.

If you feel more comfortable staying within the limits, do that. If you think 5% isn't a huge deal, use that guideline. I think anything more than 10% over the word limit becomes noticeable so I'd avoid that :)
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Calling all Kellogg Fall 2010 Applicants! 10 Aug 2009, 12:11
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Count me in for R1.
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Calling all Kellogg Fall 2010 Applicants! 12 Aug 2009, 05:28
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So am I correct in assuming that you should submit Part I as soon as the application is available so that you can schedule your interview right away and then you can work on Part 2 until the deadline?
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isa
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Calling all Kellogg Fall 2010 Applicants! 12 Aug 2009, 07:18
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highhopes
So am I correct in assuming that you should submit Part I as soon as the application is available so that you can schedule your interview right away and then you can work on Part 2 until the deadline?
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Yup! That's pretty much what I did.
PS highhopes - if you do the off-campus interview option, choose your location carefully. I was a bit paranoid about work people seeing me interviewing. I ended up picking Espresso Royale on State St as the downtown location worked best for my interviewer.
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Calling all Kellogg Fall 2010 Applicants! 12 Aug 2009, 07:35
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highhopes
So am I correct in assuming that you should submit Part I as soon as the application is available so that you can schedule your interview right away and then you can work on Part 2 until the deadline?
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As soon as you're comfortable knowing your career goals and other little information that is required to put down in Part 1, I say that's a good idea. Especially if you know when you want to interview.
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Calling all Kellogg Fall 2010 Applicants! 12 Aug 2009, 09:12
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Even if you fill out part one early it does not mean you will interview right away. It took a while for the school to get back to me regarding who my interviewer was, which was strange since I am in Chicago. My interviewer also had to cancel twice because of work conflicts.
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Calling all Kellogg Fall 2010 Applicants! 12 Aug 2009, 18:03
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highhopes
So am I correct in assuming that you should submit Part I as soon as the application is available so that you can schedule your interview right away and then you can work on Part 2 until the deadline?
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As everyone said, you should submit Part 1 as early as you can since that gives you a better chance to get an early interview. Mine was pretty early last year, even before the Part II was due. :D Although one drawback of that was that I had not finish my essay yet and the few questions she asked were the Part II essay questions.
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Calling all Kellogg Fall 2010 Applicants! 13 Aug 2009, 06:22
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Does anyone know if Kellogg requires official transcripts directly from the university or is an upload of an unofficial transcript satisfactory? the website says:

The following are required for the 2010 application:
Academic transcripts from all colleges, universities and professional schools attended

...and count me in for R1 JD/MBA app. best of luck everyone.
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