Kellogg (Northwestern) 2013 - Calling All Applicants

I took the train and walked. I'm sure there is campus parking, but I flew in and didn't have a car. Metra North is really fast and gets you downtown or to campus in like 15 minutes. From there it's about a 10-15 minute walk.

I think 2 years ago, people started hearing back as early as right after Thanksgiving. (right about now) I looked through last year's thread recently, and I think last year people started hearing back around 12/9 or so.

As someone noted earlier, I feel like my Kellogg application is a complete shot in the dark, because they interview every applicant.

I stayed at the Hilton Garden inn in Evanston. 10 min walk from campus. Parking is a PAIN. You need to find a temporary parking spot on the street which is fairly difficult, go to admissions, get a parking pass, then move your car to an approved lot, which is fairly far away.

When I visited last year, I was running late so I just parked on a neighborhood street that required permit parking (which I was unaware of) and ate a $45.00 ticket.

I flew in & took a cab to Evanston. I walked from the hotel to the school. I didn't pass anything that looked like Northwestern parking, but there is a garage right next to the Best Western (where I stayed) that you could park in. You would have about a 15-20 minute walk depending on how fast you go.

There was a guy there during my interview who drove and had to quickly park. He said something about 2 hour parking (at this point he had been there for well over 2 hours), so I'm not sure where longer term parking would be closer to the school.

Yes!! I did not see this earlier comment, but I completely agree. Interviewing everyone makes it hard to tell where you might end up.

According to the Kellogg website, they say "Application decisions may be released on or before the decision deadline, but the majority of decisions will be released during the last few weeks of the round." (copied from check my application status page)

No idea what the actually translates to, but it looks like the decision dates last year for R1 were the same as this year (mid-Dec), so I'd expect that this means that people could start hearing as early as end of next week if the boards from last year are an indication.

Here's the official parking blurb from Kellogg's Website:

"If you drive to campus, please find a spot on the street and visit the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid to get a parking permit and campus map. If you park in a lot without the required permit, you will be ticketed. Also note that most street parking near the University has a two-hour time limit during the day; the city of Evanston strictly enforces this policy. Due to very limited parking, we encourage visitors to use alternate means of transportation."

https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/Programs/FullTimeMBA/Admissions_Events/On_Campus_Events.aspx#travel

Like I mentioned before, it's best to find a hotel in walking distance of campus to remove that sort of stress the day of the interview. Also, driving into Evanston from Chicago in the morning is no fun.

Is there an advantage to interviewing on campus? Also, if we have never visited the school would that hamper admission chances? Any ideas

I think the advantage of interviewing on campus is getting to interact with the community in person. If you've never visited before, it's a good idea to schedule your interview after you've been able to see a class, have lunch with students, etc. If you interview far enough ahead of the deadline, this also gives you extra nuggets to use in you essays.

Not visiting schools won't directly hurt your chances (i.e. the adcom won't hold it against you), but it will indirectly hurt you in that it'll be tougher for you to make your case as to why that MBA program is right for you since you won't have first hand experience.

Personally, I visited all four of the schools I applied to. Sure it cost me $$ and vacation days, but I'm going to be investing 2-years of my life at a school next fall - this isn't a decision I want to make haphazardly. Good luck!

I mostly agree with Cobra. If you haven't attended ANY event though, I believe they will hold that against you. Schools like Kellogg are yield-conscious and don't want to be your backup school. Not visiting the school won't be held against you, but I bet visiting and attending events will probably be a point in your favor, assuming you live in the continental US or near a major international city. But what do I know?

I feel stupid for not visiting Kellogg. I contacted a lot of current students and spoke to them and my interviewer asked me the why kellogg question twice. I guess I will know in 2 weeks. I am in love with Kellogg because of their open approach and the way they treat others. Definitely my top choice but I did not visit and messed up the why Kellogg in my interview so I don't have hopes now.
Good luck to all of you.

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Just out of curiosity. I remember in my days, almost all applicants received an interview. Did they change the interview policy?

Not really. https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/Programs/FullTimeMBA/Applying/ApplicationComponents.aspx

The only people who don't get an interview are those given a waiver (high demand areas) and subsequently not invited to interview. The majority of the applicant pool interviews.

I assume I'm a bit late on this, but I've been to campus twice now and can provide a little insight.

I skipped the "run into the admissions office" business and just went straight to the Campus Police and Parking building (1819 Hinman Avenue, just down the road from Jacobs). You pay ~$8 for a guest parking pass for the day and can park in any lot on campus that allows visitors. The first time I visited, while school was in session, I just went for the garage next to the Parking building and walked 10 minutes. When I went last week for my interview and no MBAs were there, I was able to snag a spot in a lot right across from Jacobs.

If you were on campus today...sorry I was too late! If not, hope this helps.

Has anyone been interview in South Africa??

I've only seen a few who received interview waivers subsequently get interviewed. Any ideas on if more of the waiver folks might get interview invites?

Did they start interviewing people who received waivers? I did not see anyone report that on this year's thread... yet.

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