monkbent wrote:
Even though I added my name to this list a few days ago, I just submitted my applications with 45 minutes to spare, and I’m an emotional wreck.
I didn’t manage to send my essays out to a couple of friends until late Sunday night, and the feedback from the most honest of the bunch was brutal - essays 2 and 4C sucked, and the rest weren’t much better. I knew he was right. My answers were simply rote recitations of my qualifications and experiences, most of which I repeated multiple times.
I had to work all day Monday, and the question of what to do weighed on my mind. I didn’t even get a chance to start again until 1:00 a.m. (I’m on the other side of the world), and by that time, I was so exhausted I could barely focus on the computer screen. I had nothing except for the brutal truth of who I was and what was in my heart.
You hear it at every event and chat - “Be yourself, be honest, don’t write what you think we want to hear,” etc. I thought I had followed that advice. But as I sat on my couch, on the verge of going 0 for 3 for the first round, I had no choice but to write from the heart. The result was nothing but honest monkbent.
I don’t know if I’ll get into Kellogg, but there’s no question this set of essays is by far my best. I woke to an email from my father saying my new essay two was ‘electric,’and while he is obviously biased, there’s no question it conveys my experiences and what I have to offer in a far better fashion than the crap I shoveled up the first time. Inspired by his comments I tore up essay four and wrote about my most personal struggle and life lesson. It’s a lesson very much related to my struggles yesterday, and as I reviewed what I had written I was nearly moved to tears.
I’ve heard a lot of talk about the special environment at Kellogg, as well as discussion about how Kellogg’s essays were different. I realize now that both are interconnected, and the searing experience of the last 12 hours has done more to sell me on Kellogg than any brochure ever could. Kellogg’s application helped show me what makes me tick, and for that I’ll be grateful whether I am admitted or not (and to be clear, there are things that attract me to all of the schools I have applied to).
I guess this is an example of how things work out for the best. Kellogg was my original first choice - if I were crafting the ideal program, it would look exactly like MMM. However, I got completely off track (for example - I’m definitely NOT a Chicago guy), and Kellogg got pushed to the second round. I’m glad it did, though, because this entire application experience has been so vital for me that something submitted in Round 1 wouldn’t have had nearly the degree of honesty and emotional resonance my application now has. I just wish I could redo my other apps...
Anyhow, sorry for the long post, and good luck to everyone who made it in for Round 2.
This may cheer you up.
I felt exactly the same way about my essays. They told my personal stories and showed them who I was. Poured my guts into it. People who read the applications told me they were written extremely well and were fascinating, but they did not answer the questions in full. They were not what they thought Kellogg expected. There was no namedropping, no "I want to be a part of KWEST" and no other standard stuff that appears in many essays. I was just me telling them who I truly was and why I would fit in at Kellogg.
When I went back to read the essays a short while after filing them in, I was emotionally shocked - I couldn't believe I had revealed so much personal information to total strangers. I couldn't believe I let handed in essays that strayed from the standard that my advisors guided me through - and also exposed some weaknesses I wasn't sure I should have mentioned.
My interview was originally waived. I was later invited to interview by phone. Got admitted on the 15th of December. In retrospect, I am sure that it was the personal side of my essays that earned me that admit - as on paper there are many better candidates.
I've got a feeling you have a good shot my friend.