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| FROM Kellogg MBA Blog: How Kellogg applicants are assessed – Part 4 |
![]() When Kellogg admissions officers review an application, they evaluate potential students based on six categories. Here, Beth Tidmarsh, director of admissions for Kellogg’s full-time MBA programs, demystifies what happens once you submit your materials and helps you think about how to formulate the story that will help the admissions team learn more about you. TODAY’S TOPIC: LEADERSHIP PREVIOUS TOPICS: Intellectual ability, Work experience, Professional goals Many people pursue an MBA to gain experience and improve their management and leadership skills. The Kellogg admissions team is looking for both demonstrated leadership in the past and an applicant’s leadership potential. Given the scope and range of our community, this means many different things. Someone with a military background will present different accomplishments than someone with a few years as a junior analyst, or a teacher. What showcases your leadership is going to depend on the path you’ve had and the organizations that you’ve been in, and we take that into account. A few things will be similar, though. We look for those who have taken up new responsibilities and opportunities in whatever way they can, however their career path has allowed. Maybe this means you’ve led an initiative within your company, or it could mean that you’ve secured promotions quickly, or that you’re deeply involved with a volunteer commitment. Your roles don’t have to be formal, just indicative of your drive. The better you can help us see how these activities fit in with your overall career narrative, the more clearly we can think about how you might fit in with the Kellogg community. We also consider timeliness. The further along you are into your career, the more we’re going to expect some demonstrated benchmarks. If you’re seven or eight years out of college, consider presenting more recent examples. Likewise, if you’re early in your career, don’t worry that you’re competing with more experienced applicants. Our admissions team is just as concerned with where our students are going as where they’ve already been. Read Beth Tidmarsh’s previous series on “Tips for applying to Kellogg” Beth Tidmarsh ’03 is the director of admissions for full-time MBA programs at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. As a vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle, she led and executed tenant representation and corporate solutions work for companies such as Xerox, KPMG and Huron Consulting Group. Prior to attending Kellogg, Beth spent six years in consulting for Accenture based out of Chicago and Sydney. Filed under: Admissions Tagged: 1Y, 2Y, admissions, admissions tips, application, applications, Beth Tidmarsh, full-time MBA programs, JDMBA, Kellogg experience, leadership, MMM, One-year, One-Year MBA Program, prospective students, Two-Year, Two-Year MBA Program |
.. Wait for the 17th. I guess the committee (or Director) came to a Final decision.
| FROM Kellogg MBA Blog: How Kellogg applicants are assessed – Part 5 |
![]() When Kellogg admissions officers review an application, they evaluate potential students based on six categories. Here, Beth Tidmarsh, director of admissions for Kellogg’s full-time MBA programs, demystifies what happens once you submit your materials and helps you think about how to formulate the story that will help the admissions team learn more about you. TODAY’S TOPIC: IMPACT PREVIOUS TOPICS: Intellectual ability, Work experience, Professional goals, Leadership Our team understands how demanding work can be, but pursuing interests outside the office helps maintain a balanced and engaged life. Our admissions committee wants to understand what fulfills our applicants outside of work, and how they’ve made an impact within an organization or a community that matters to them. In the United States, we think of that as “extracurricular activity,” but it applies all over the globe. What matters here is quality of experience over quantity; two years of involvement with one activity means a lot more than eight brief commitments in eight different places. We like to see our applicants involved with something they’re passionate about. If it fits in with your personal career narrative — say you volunteer with a literacy organization, and you want to pursue education policy after Kellogg — that’s great. But for plenty of applicants, a personal passion or commitment is not directly connected to the career goals at all. We also recognize that some jobs may not leave a lot of room for involvement outside of work. There are opportunities for impact within the workplace, too. Did you lead recruiting efforts? Maybe you headed up a green building initiative. Having an impact on organizational culture or community is just as valid, important and interesting to us. Passion and engagement are universal features within the Kellogg community. There are a lot of ways to showcase that you’re the type of person who makes a difference. Read Beth Tidmarsh’s previous series on “Tips for applying to Kellogg” Beth Tidmarsh ’03 is the director of admissions for full-time MBA programs at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. As a vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle, she led and executed tenant representation and corporate solutions work for companies such as Xerox, KPMG and Huron Consulting Group. Prior to attending Kellogg, Beth spent six years in consulting for Accenture based out of Chicago and Sydney. Filed under: Admissions Tagged: 1Y, 2Y, admissions, admissions tips, application, applications, Beth Tidmarsh, full-time MBA programs, impact, JDMBA, Kellogg experience, MMM, One-year, One-Year MBA Program, prospective students, Two-Year, Two-Year MBA Program |
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