Kellogg 2012 - Calling All Applicants

I do not agree entirely...

As a reapplicant what matters most is what additional are you going to bring to the table. Needless to say, doing something significant does take some time. So someone who got dinged in R3 of the prev academic year reapplying in R1 the next year would essentially have just about 5-6 months to do something concrete. Definite recipe to raise eyebrows, particularly if the adcom had serious concerns in the previous year's app. On the other hand an R2-to-R2 cycle would give the reapplicant a solid year to do several things to improve his/her candidacy...So finally it's all going to boil down to two things -
1. Your reapplicant essay - which better be solid
2. The overall applicant pool - which is out of anyone's control..

So to answer the OP's question, the competition in any school, not just Kellogg, has traditionally been higher in R2 as compared to R1. Further, being a reapplicant, one has to present a significantly improved case. If you re-app essay is solid, you will be just dealing with higher competition...If your re-app essay is not great, you're closer to the cliff than most of the others in that round..

Well, I partly agree with you. But there are a few points I would like to highlight:

1) No one can say for sure if competition is higher in R1 or R2. People are advised to apply with their best/strongest applications. Re-applicant or not, people are advised to apply in R1 to improve their chances - this is what the universities say, not me . Having said that a lot of students convert their calls in R2 based on their good profiles.
2) 5-6 months cannot be considered less for turning things around. A person might get promoted in April (at the beginning of the financial year) and might also enrol in some part time NGO to add a few months of social service before applying in the next season. What matters is "what you do", and "how you do it". 5-6 months is also good enough to appear for the GMAT again and improve the score if required. I know people who have done it.
3) Re-applicant essay should be very solid - agreed!
4) The overall applicant pool is out of anyone's control - agreed!

Cheers! And good luck to all!

I disagree with the generalization that official GMAT score is critical to the application being considered complete. There are several top 15 schools such as Booth, Darden etc. that purely rely on self-reported GMAT scores for evaluation of an application. One has to submit an official score only on being offered admission.

In Kellogg's case, the school prefers that applicants submit official scores although it is not mandatory...I know several people who have submitted official GMAT score reports only after being offered admission by Kellogg..

From the application instructions...


The "if available" part would ideally apply to only those folks whose GMAT dates were too close to part 2 deadlines and consequently who could not receive the official score report in time...

Agreed

I am in R1... already given my telephonic interview.. interview didn't go great... hoping for the best

and hey SR85... i have yet not sent my official gmat score to Kellogg.. is it going to be negative for my application? I have already given my telephonic interview..

As per "scorpionz", it should not matter. I think your unoffcial scores should do fine. (See above posts by scorpionz)

thanxx SR85

The notion that R2 is more difficult comes from the fact that more applicants apply in R2. It is more of a denominator effect than an actual reflection of a round's competitiveness. If you are a quality applicant, the numbers are not going to crowd you up in any round! However, that doesn't mean that Round 1 is any "easier". The number of applicants may be less, however, the quality might make it the most competitive one. It all depends on how you are looking at any round.

Check out this post on R1 vs R2 vs R3 to know specific pros and cons of applying to each round. However, at the end the best bet is to apply when you feel your application is most prepared.

Thanks for sharing the link on R1 v/s R2 v/s R3. I agree on most of the points, but I still believe: "No one can say for sure if competition is higher in R1 or R2". An increase in the number of applications does not mean an increase in the competition for R2. Food for thought

In the end we all agree that one must apply only when the application is most prepared. Cheers!

Guys,

I think Kellogg is a great school. I am planning to apply to Kellogg for R2. Appearing for GMAT soon. Could you all please share your interview experiences ? How would you guys rate kellogg when compared to similar league schools like Booth, Columbia, MIT, Duke ?

regards,

Datta

Guys - for those wondering about the whether the official GMAT report is required...I called the admissions office yesterday to verify. It IS required that they have an official GMAT report, HOWEVER: 1) if you indicated Kellogg as one of the recipients on the day you took the GMAT, then the school already has your official GMAT report and no further action is required; 2) if you did NOT indicate Kellogg as one of the recipients on GMAT day, then send it to them now...the guy assured me that the fact that you have not already done so does not at all impact your chances of admission.

Hope this helps.

I swear you're our ambassador to the admissions office.

Crap...well, I just scanned in my score report that I got when I took the GMAT. I wonder if it's worth it to go back now and send it in? I looked over online and couldn't find anything that says that an official report is required, so I'm not sure how we were supposed to know.

Jessikins, you are fine.

The real question here is whether you need to pay GMAC to "officially" send an "official" score report to Kellogg. I believe the correct answer is "NO." Kellogg does require an official score report, but you can scan the official score sheet that you received, and submit it with your application or email it to the ADCOM.

From the Kellogg website:

Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) and Graduate Record Examinations (GRE)

All applicants are required to submit a valid GMAT/GRE score. (JD-MBA applicants must submit the GMAT score, not the GRE.) GMAT/GRE scores are valid for five years. The complete application (Parts I and II) must be submitted prior to the expiration date of the GMAT/GRE score. Information about the GMAT is available at mba.com. Information about the GRE is available at ets.org/gre.

Applicants should self-report GMAT/GRE scores in Part I of the application. If a test date is scheduled after the applicant wishes to submit Part I, the scheduled test date should be recorded in the GMAT/GRE Test section of the application. Updated test scores can be self-reported in Part II of the application. Submission of additional test scores after submission of Part II will be accepted, but there is no guarantee the new score will be evaluated at the time the file is reviewed by the Admissions Committee. [highlight]Official score reports can be emailed to mbaapplicant@kellogg.northwestern.edu.[/highlight]

Please note, an application with no self-reported GMAT/GRE score will be considered incomplete until a score is received and will likely result in a delayed notification decision after the designated application deadline. For applicants taking the GMAT: The Kellogg School will record the highest score but encourages applicants to report additional scores if the test is taken more than once.

Candidates must request that scores be sent to Kellogg. Allow three weeks for Kellogg to receive the scores. To prevent processing delays, [highlight]we strongly recommend that candidates upload the official GMAT/GRE score report (if available) to Part II of the application.[/highlight]

You should definitely send it in now. I don't see a downside to doing so.

Spivey- Thanks, that's how I read it too when I was applying oh so long ago, but can never be too sure.

Msadmitpls- I just paid for an official one now just to be sure, because like you said, it can't hurt. I'm debating emailing them to let them know I mailed one as well, but I guess they will get the report on their own anyway and no need to inundate them with another email.