Hi allycat,
Thanks for being the first person to post here! My comment about the competitiveness of this year's batch of applications mainly just has to do with the number of people applying. Since the peak (for the class of 2004), the number of applications to top b-schools has declined the last two years. Don't get me wrong... it's not *easy* to get in, and it never will be. I just meant that, all other things being equal, fewer applicants mean it's less competitive than before. Regarding the quality of each individual applicant, the general trend for years has been that each class is a little more competitive than the last, but anecdotal evidence suggests that it hasn't changed much recently.
I'm not certain about the number of female applicants, but there the overall trend is also upward. I expect that the ratio will continue to trend toward 50/50 in the coming years. In terms of this affecting your chances (assuming that you're a woman), I wouldn't worry about it. As long as women are still underrepresented, this upwad trend shouldn't hurt you.
I would say that Kellogg's environment is very female friendly. I can't really compare it to other schools, but I've never heard a female classmate complain about this. What exactly do you mean by "female friendly"? Do you know what they rate the schools on in that regard?
Scott
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Co-Author, Your MBA Game Plan