Kellogg 2012 - Calling All Applicants

The questions are up but the app isn't live?

Right, and it won't be live for at least another month.

I think I'll have my essays done by the time the application goes live. However, I'll probably have to wait a month before pressing submit in order to give my recommenders enough time to write finish their letters--since the LOR questions & instructions won't be available until the application is out.

I guess my plan for finishing all my apps before September isn't going to happen.

At least they have their deadlines up! Tuck has its questions up but thats it. No deadlines, no app, no nothing yet.

I'm in for R1!

Also applying R1.

I have also set a R1 deadline for my Kellogg application.

Good luck, guys. A while back someone asked about interviews: all interviews, whether with adcom, student interviewers or alumni, are blind. They will only have your resume before the interview.

In for Round 1. Go for Gold!

I don't understand how to add myself to the new roll call. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

You need to add Kellogg to your profile.

They've upgraded the 'My Profile' section of the site. Now you add your school information, gmat score, gpa, etc. to your profile and it will auto-populate your information into the roll call for each school's master thread that you are applying to.

In for round 1...

I remember reading in the 2011 applicant thread that the essays are read in order, so you've basically got essays 1 and 2 to lay the ground work for essay 3.
Essay 3 does feel especially like a personal branding essay.

I wouldn't worry too much about the question of whether you can introduce new information in essay 3. The reader is more interested in whether or not you're a fit with the Kellogg culture and going to be a contributor to the community. I don't see them taking the time to check whether the information presented in that essay is already established elsewhere in the app.

Has anyone asked their recommenders to start their letters yet?

I want to give my recommenders at least 4 weeks. But with the possibility of the app not going live until late August, it would push back my LORs being submitted until maybe October. I plan on having my essays complete by mid August and I would really hate having to wait 2 more weeks for the app to go live and then another 4 weeks while my recommenders write their letters. This would mean that I'd be completely done with my app, but couldn't press submit for 30-45 days.

I'm thinking of giving my recommenders last year's LOR questions and asking them to go ahead and get started, so that when the app does go live, they can make a few adjustments if need be (if case there are any changes to this year's LOR questions), and hopefully have their LORs in by early September.

Does this sound reasonable? Any suggestions, ideas, or comments?

You do know that applications are not looked at before the deadline at K? I don't see any advantage of hitting submit on Sept 1st vs. Oct 18th. As long as you get in R1, you should be good.

You're absolutely right. But I still think there might be a slight advantage:

a) An earlier submit should place you further up in the queue. And in my personal opinion, I think you might have a better shot if you're the 53rd app reviewed opposed to the 948th. For instance, if you're a white male with a consulting background/730GMAT/3.5GPA, and they've already admitted 30 people with an identical profile earlier in that round, they might wait list you even though you may have made the cut had they reviewed your app earlier.

b) I can press submit and force myself to stop thinking about & tinkering with my app!

This is just my two cents, and you can take it or leave it. There is NO other candidate identical to you. NONE! It's your job to make the adcom see that. So whether you're the first application that's viewed or the 900th, they will NOT have seen you until they see YOU. You are way more than your stats. Sure there could be 500 White males with 720-740 GMAT scores, 3.5 GPAs, and a consulting background. But that's basic. Maybe you worked on a project that people at your level RARELY get access to? Maybe you're the oldest in a family of 12 and basically helped raise your siblings. Maybe you self-funded your entire undergrad education through part-time work and scholarships. Maybe you're a marathon runner or an avid hang glider. Maybe you're a 3rd degree black belt in tae kwon do. You might be a Big Brother who has had the same Little for 5 years and were instrumental in that child's growth. Maybe you organized a trip down to New Orleans right after Hurrican Katrina. Maybe you want to move from consulting into clean tech investing. Who the heck knows? My point is that itching to press send on the application probably won't give you the advantage you think it will. And the last person to submit may be the first person read. Remember apps are divided out by pools and then divided amongst readers within that pool. They could read them in alphabetical order for all you know. In the immortal words of Dwayne Wayne, "Relax, Relate, RELEASE!!"