Former Kellogg Dean Dipak Jain to Lead INSEAD

On Friday the Financial Times reported that INSEAD is expected to announce that Dipak Jain, former Dean of Northwestern University's School of Management, will replace Frank Brown as Dean of INSEAD. While it's not yet official since INSEAD's board and faculty need to approve the appointment, Jain is widely expected to get the nod later this month.

Jain, who served as Dean at Kellogg from 2001 to 2009 (the FT erroneously reports that Jain assumed the Dean's job at Kellogg in 1994), worked his way up the ranks after joining Kellogg as an assistant professor in 1987. For much of the 1990s he served as Don Jacobs' right-hand man, helping to implement Jacob's vision to build on Kellogg's strengths as a marketing and teamwork-oriented MBA program. When Jacobs stepped down in 2001, it was only natural that Jain took the reins at Kellogg.

What may have most attracted INSEAD to Dipak Jain is his international experience, and in particular his enthusiasm for building better business education in Asia. INSEAD's Singapore campus, which opened just ten years ago, reflects the school's ambitions beyond France. Jain, who strengthened Kellogg's ties to Asia and was also a key player in getting the Indian School of Business off the ground, seems perfectly suited to the task of continuing to expand INSEAD's influence in Asia.

Interestingly, the Financial Times also points out that INSEAD's appointment of Jain may also reflect a trend among Europe-based business schools to get back to having academics, rather than people who come from industry, in the top leadership posts. Recently London Business School and IMD have replaced deans "from industry" with new leaders with more purely academic credentials. We wonder if any other business school leaders will be swept out as the ramifications of 2008's economic meltdown still ripple through the education field.

If you're considering applying to INSEAD or Kellogg, be sure to download our free Annual Reports, 15 completely free guides to the world's top business schools. If you're ready to start building your own application to a top MBA program, call us at 1-800-925-7737 and speak with an MBA admissions expert today!

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Kellogg Application Essays for 2010-2011

Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management recently released its admissions essays for the coming year. While Kellogg's application won't be live until early August, now is a great time to start mapping out your essays for a Round 1 application to Kellogg.

Here are the new essays, followed by our comments in italics:

Kellogg Application Essays

1. a) MBA Program applicants -- Briefly assess your career progress to date. Elaborate on your future career plans and your motivation for pursuing an MBA. (600 words)
   
   b) MMM Program applicants -- Briefly assess your career progress to date. How does the MMM Program meet your educational needs and career goals? (600 words)
   
   These questions have changed only very, very slightly from last year. For the most part, they are the standard "Why and MBA? Why now?" questions that you will see on nearly every top business school's application. One challenge that applicants face is BRIEFLY describing their career progress until now, and then devoting enough space to why an MBA is right for them, why now is the right time, and why specifically Kellogg is the right MBA program for them. While there is no hard rule, ideally the backward-looking part of your essay will take up no more than about half of the total word count. Admissions officers will learn enough about your professional background from the rest of your application (your CV, your data sheets, your letters of recommendation, etc.), so no need to completely rehash it here.


2. Describe your key leadership experiences and evaluate what leadership areas you hope to develop through your MBA experiences. (600 words)
   
   This question has been the same for a couple of years now. The best examples of responses to this question are ones in which the applicant focuses on no more than two or three mini stories. The fewer, the better, since including too many examples means that no one story will have very much impact. Be as specific as possible here, rather than discussing leadership in broad terms or with vague generalities. When discussing what areas you want to develop, be realistic about what you will learn in the classroom -- Kellogg knows that you won't emerge from a classroom lecture as a completely finished leader. Discuss what you want to learn at Kellogg, but also tie it back to the "real world" and your post-MBA career.


3. Assume you are evaluating your application from the perspective of a student member of the Kellogg Admissions Committee. Why would you and your peers select you for admission, and what impact would you make as a member of the Kellogg community?
   
   Kellogg introduced this question last year, although it's similar to a question that Kellogg used to use, which encouraged applicants to evaluate their applications as if they were admissions officers. Note that the emphasis is now on how a STUDENT member of the admissions committee would look at your application, driving home the emphasis that Kellogg places on fit with its culture. This is a terrific opportunity to highlight the two or three core themes that you want to make sure jump out from your application. While Kellogg looks for some humility in every one of its students, don't be a afraid to toot your own horn a bit here!


4. Complete one of the following three questions or statements. Re-applicants have the option to answer a question from this grouping, but this is not required. (400 words)
   
   a) Describe an instance where you encountered resistance in a professional team setting. How did you address the situation?
   
   b) People may be surprised to learn that I...
   
   c) The best mistake I ever made was...
   
   Questions A is new this year, although it's closely related to last year's Question 4A, which asked about a time when an applicant had to make an unpopular decision. This is your chance to discuss an experience that shows off leadership abilities, teamwork, and/or ethics. Question B lets you have some fun and discuss some less obviously MBA-related traits. Don't underestimate how important these traits are to admissions officers; they truly do want to get to know you "beyond the numbers."
   
   Question C is new this year, which is sort of too bad, because it replaces the school's old "I wish the admissions committee had asked me..." question, which we always liked. However, this new question gives you a chance to show off some serious introspection: You had the humility to admit you made a mistake, you learned from it and grew as a person, and then (ideally) you were able to put what you learned to use in another setting. If that structure reminds you of a story in your background, this new question could be a great one for you to choose.


5. Required essay for re-applicants only -- Since your previous application, what steps have you taken to strengthen your candidacy? (400 words)
   
   (This last question says it all when it comes to describing what every top MBA program looks for in reapplicants. Ideally you will have at least one or two significant achievements or experiences that will bolster a weakness that may have kept you out of Kellogg last year. The most obvious examples are a big promotion at work, a higher GMAT score, or strong grades in some post-college coursework, but anything that demonstrates leadership, teamwork, maturity, or innovation -- if one of these was a weakness in admissions officers' eyes last year -- can help your candidacy.)
   

If you haven't already, this is a good time to check out our Kellogg Annual Report, one of 15 completely free guides to the world's top business schools. And, be sure to subscribe to this blog and follow us on Twitter!

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Kellogg Application Deadlines for 2010-2011

Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management recently released its application deadlines for the 2010-2011 admissions season. This year there are just some subtle changes, which we'll cover below.

Kellogg presents and uses its admissions deadlines a little differently than most other schools, and it can be a little hard for an applicant to follow. For each round, the first deadline is the date by which you should contact the admissions office to set up an interview. At Kellogg, the applicant initiates the interview process, not the school.

Here are Kellogg's admissions deadlines, followed by our comments in italics:

Kellogg Application Deadlines for Part 1: Off-Campus Interview Requests
Round 1: September 24, 2010 (Oct. 14 for on-campus interviews)
Round 2: December 15, 2010 (Jan. 11 for on-campus interviews)
Round 3: March 24, 2011 (Apr. 7 for on-campus interviews)

Kellogg Application Deadlines for Part 2
Round 1: October 14, 2010
Round 2: January 11, 2011
Round 3: April 7, 2011

These deadlines are quite similar to last year's, although note that the deadline for contacting Kellogg for a Round 1 off-campus interview is now a bit earlier, on September 24. This is consistent with the trend we've seen across most of the top MBA programs, with deadlines creeping forward a little more each year. Note that, for the first time, Kellogg will send out Round 1 decisions in December (by December 20, to be exact), giving you a couple of weeks to pull together Round 2 applications to other schools if you don't get into Kellogg.

If you haven't already, this is a good time to check out our Kellogg Annual Report, one of 15 completely free guides to the world's top business schools. And, be sure to subscribe to this blog and follow us on Twitter!

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Kellogg Names Sally Blount New Dean

According to a news release put out by Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management early this morning, Sally Blount, the dean of the undergraduate college and vice dean of the Stern School of Business at New York University, has just been named dean of the school, effective this coming July. (The Wall Street Journal picked up the story, and quoted Veritas Prep in its article today.)

Blount, who is currently the Abraham L. Gitlow Professor of Management and Organizations at NYU Stern, is an expert in the fields of negotiation and behavioral decision making and has extensive international experience in higher education. In 2007 she was appointed by NYU's president and provost as their special advisor for global academic integration.

In this morning's news release, Northwestern Provost Daniel I. Linzer said, "Dean Blount brings a remarkable combination of strong academic achievement and proven administrative experience at both the business school and university levels. She is someone who has a demonstrable record as both a scholar and as a leader in the field of global business education. We are very excited to welcome her back to Kellogg and Northwestern."

Blount will actually be returning to Kellogg, where she earned her PhD in management and organizations in 1992 after earning a joint bachelor's degree from Princeton University's engineering and Woodrow Wilson schools in 1983. After earning her PhD, Blount taught for nearly a decade at Chicago Booth (back when it was called Chicago GSB), where she she consistently earned high teaching marks from MBA and executive education students.

Not lost in the excitement of the announcement was the fact that Blount will be one of the very few female deans at a top business school. Today's Financial Times led with this headline: "Kellogg Appoints Female Dean," which unfortunately downplays all that she's accomplished but nonetheless points out just how rare is its for a woman to lead a business school. (Judy Olia at UCLA Anderson and Sharon Oster at Yale are the two other examples of women leading top-ranked MBA programs. Former Chicago Booth dean Edward Snyder will take over for Oster next year.) FT.com went so far as to say, "Prof Blount will arguably become the most influential female dean in the US."

This sounds like great news for Kellogg, which has been in a bit of a holding pattern under interim dean Sunil Chopra ever since Dipak Jain stepped down last year. That's no disrespect to Chopra; it's simply hard for a school (or any organization) to aggressively break new ground while its top leadership is anything other than permanent and 100% dedicated to the task at hand. Hopefully now the school can forge ahead with is plans for a new building and continued international expansion.

If you haven't already, this is a good time to check out our Kellogg Annual Report, one of 15 completely free guides to the world's top business schools. And, be sure to subscribe to this blog and follow us on Twitter!

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Kellogg Admissions Officers Offer Insights in Online BusinessWeek Chat

Earlier this week Beth Flye, assistant dean and director of admissions at the Kellogg School of Management, and Carla Edelston, senior associate director of the school's Career Management Center, fielded questions from applicants during a live online chat on BusinessWeek. In the chat Flye and Edelston offered up some good nuggets for applicants who are in the thick of the MBA admissions process.

When asked about how much Kellogg "weighs extracurricular activities," Flye's response was right on target with what we tell our clients: "We do review extracurricular activities as that area shows us more about the applicant—i.e., his/her passions, involvements—as well as [allowing us to] learn more about that person's leadership and team involvements beyond work."

Note those last few words... Don't think of extracurricular activities, community service, and hobbies as a "check the box" exercise, but rather as one more way to demonstrate the traits that admissions officers look for in all applicants: leadership, teamwork, innovation, and maturity. While it may not seem obvious at first glance, community service and recreational activities can help you demonstrate these attributes just as much as your full-time job can.

In terms of the number of applications Kellogg has received so far this year, Flye reports that Kellogg's numbers are up slightly vs. this time last year. It will be interesting to see where Kellogg and other top MBA programs net out at the end of the year... Will the soft economy keep pushing more people to grad school, or will the worldwide financial shakeout continue to put downward pressure on the number of business school applications? Or both?

One applicant asked about whether a low GMAT score will hurt an applicant with a strong undergraduate GPA, and once again Flye gave advice that we frequently give to applicants: "If your quantitative score was not as competitive and if you had never had a quant class, I would encourage you to take a statistics course to be more competitive, and to further prepare yourself to be a student." We firmly believe that you can't go wrong by taking a couple of college-level courses before applying to business school, especially if you didn't major in (or do well in) quant-oriented courses while you were an undergrad.

Interestingly, while some schools recently have encouraged applicants to consider applying in Round 3, Kellogg's take is less rosy for a potential Round 3 applicant: "We strongly encourage candidates to apply for one of the first two rounds."

Finally, to an applicant who asked about low GMAT scores, Flye confirmed that Kellogg focuses on an applicant's highest GMAT score. So, if you aren't satisfied with your current score, there's virtually no downside in taking it again.

If you're ready to start building your own application for Kellogg or other top MBA programs, call us at 1-800-925-7737 and speak with an MBA admissions consultant today!

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Five Things You Should Know When Applying to the Kellogg School of Management

The Kellogg School of Management's Round 2 deadline is a little more than a month away, but there's still plenty of time for you to craft a winning application. Continuing our series of admissions insights clipped from Veritas Prep's Annual Reports, our in-depth insider's guides to 15 of the world's top business schools, this week we look at a few factors that make Kellogg unique among top business schools. (Our Annual reports are absolutely free -- all you have to do is register to access all of them -- but we thought we'd share some snippets here to help get you started in your Kellogg research.)

To help you with your planning, our MBA admissions consultants have pulled together five things you really should know about Kellogg before you apply. Some are more obvious than others, but all are important things that mark the Kellogg experience:

• The Kellogg Culture. The emphasis on teamwork inside and outside of the classroom is the hallmark of the Kellogg experience, and is the foundation for the rest of the school’s approach. Student collaboration is the common attribute that ties everything together at Northwestern.


• Diversity of Coursework. Kellogg offers perhaps the most blended teaching approach of any of the top business schools, dividing its course styles into three nearly equal parts: case method, lectures, and team projects – all bolstered by the schools commitment to experiential learning. The classroom approach at Kellogg can often mirror the probing, theoretical approach of a top law school, as distinguished professors push MBA students to go beyond the rules of business by testing theories and assumptions. Classroom participation is one thing that all of Kellogg's class formats have in common.


• Experiential Learning. Many elite business schools offer their students the chance to study in the field and to get real world experience, but few incorporate the mantra of "learning by doing" to the extent that Kellogg does. From the number of students who participate in business plan competitions to unique opportunities to create and test new technologies, Kellogg allows every student to find a way to put their theoretical learning to the real world test. The school offers a nearly unparalleled variety of courses and labs that focus almost entirely on learning by doing.


• Leadership and Social Responsibility. As mentioned above, Kellogg puts a great deal of focus on leadership. This applies to the admissions process, but also to the coursework and educational experience as the school attempts to elevate good leaders to great ones. Specific leadership courses (Leadership in Organizations and Values and Crisis Decision Making) bring this approach to the curriculum, while a residence series brings in high-level executives as part of a speaking program to discuss leadership issues and concepts surrounding social responsibility. Additionally, the Business Leadership Club and the Kellogg Student Association rank among the most popular and important student groups at the school, and the Social Enterprise at Kellogg (SEEK) program was launched in 2005 to promote social development.


• Global Perspective. Like many top business schools, Kellogg boasts an increasingly global approach to its learning environment and coursework. A typical Kellogg class is composed of students from 40 different countries, and the school has focused coursework and experiential learning opportunities specific to the global landscape, such as the Global Lab, Global Initiatives in Management, and a requirement that every student take at least one course with a global focus.

Today's installment was clipped from our Kellogg Annual Report, one of 15 completely free guides to the world's top business schools, available on our site. If you're ready to start building your own application for Kellogg or other top MBA programs, call us at 1-800-925-7737 and speak with an MBA admissions expert today!

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In a Rough Job Market, Some Business Schools Fare Better than Others

Last week BusinessWeek ran an article titled "MBAs Confront a Savage Job Market," which painted a pretty rough picture for many grads of top MBA programs. At some top business schools, as many as 20% of grads were still unemployed three months after graduation. Furthermore, according to BusinessWeek, 16.5% of job-seeking students from the top 30 MBA programs did not get even one offer within three months of graduation (compared to 5% for the Class of 2008).

Salary numbers also suggested that the job market for MBAs isn't great: Starting pay was down from about $98,000 in 2008 to $96,500 this year. For many of the top-30 business schools, this is the first time since the the dot-com crash that salaries haven't increased, adding to the evidence that this is truly a once-in-a-generation (or once-in-a-decade?) downturn.

Fortunately for some grads, though, the world of top-30 business schools is not universally gloomy. Some schools' career offices have been able to direct their students into more stable industries, such as government, health care, energy, and the non-profit sector. While becoming a mid-level government bureaucrat may not quite hold the same appeal as being a six-figure-making banker, many grads have opened their eyes and realized that these sectors are where the jobs are right now, and are taking these jobs when they can.

In other cases, hiring did happen, although it happened later than it normally does. The Kellogg School of Management, for instance, reported that 85% of of its grads received at least one offer, although many students received offers late in the spring -- months later than they normally would. (To learn more about the Kellogg School of Management, download our free Veritas Prep Kellogg Annual Report.)

Other top schools have also been able to weather the storm pretty well. BusinessWeek ranked the schools in terms of how well they've held up job-wise in the recession, with Yale, Washington University, HBS, Stanford, and MIT Sloan coming out on top. At Yale, for example, only 8% of grads were without any job offers three months after graduation, just two percentage points higher than a year ago. While not all of these placed grads ended up in the careers they envisioned when they first applied to business school, you can be sure that they're glad to have jobs at all.

If you're just now starting to research business schools, download our 15 free Veritas Prep Annual Reports. If you're ready to craft your own winning application, call us at 800-925-7737 and speak with an MBA admissions expert today!

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Kellogg Application Deadlines for 2009-2010

A couple of weeks ago Kellogg released its admissions essays for the coming year. Now, the admissions office has published its application deadlines for the 2009-2010 season.

Kellogg presents and uses its admissions deadlines a little differently than most other schools, and it can be a little confusing for an applicant. For each round, the first deadline is the date by which you should contact the admissions office to set up an interview. At Kellogg, the applicant initiates the interview process, rather than the school inviting candidates to interview.

This year, the off-campus interview request deadline is October 2, while the on-campus interview request deadline is October 15. This is known as "Part 1" of Round 1, and it is critical that you meet this deadline in order to get things rolling for Round 1. Then, the next deadline to note is for "Part 2," which is your actual application, including your essays and recommendations.

That said, this year's deadlines are very similar to last year's, with most deadlines creeping forward or back by just several days.

Kellogg Application Deadlines for Part 1
Round 1: October 2, 2009 (Oct. 15 for on-campus interviews)
Round 2: December 18, 2009 (Jan. 14 for on-campus interviews)
Round 3: February 19, 2010 (Mar. 4 for on-campus interviews)

Kellogg Application Deadlines for Part 2
Round 1: October 15, 2009
Round 2: January 14, 2010
Round 3: March 4, 2010

Note that you get a couple of extra weeks for Part 1 of your application if you request an on-campus interview (no doubt because of the logistics the admissions office has to go through with off-campus interviews to match so many applicants with alumni interviewers around the world).

For more advice on applying to Kellogg, visit the Veritas Prep Kellogg School of Management information page. For even more advice on applying to Kellogg, download our FREE Veritas Prep Annual Reports! And, be sure to follow Veritas Prep on Twitter.

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Kellogg Application Essays for 2009-2010

Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management has just released its admissions essays for the coming year. While the school has not yet released its application deadlines, Kellogg applicants can start digging into these essays now.

Note that there are some changes to Kellogg's essays this year, although the application still features three required essays and two "Choose your own question" short answers. Our comments follow in italics:

Kellogg Admissions Essays

1. a) MBA Program applicants - Briefly assess your career progress to date. Elaborate on your future career plans and your motivation for pursuing a graduate degree at Kellogg. (600 words)
   
   b) MMM Program applicants - Briefly assess your career progress to date. How does the MMM Program meet your educational needs and career goals? (600 words)

(These questions are the same as last year's, and are the standard "Why and MBA? Why now?" questions that you will see on nearly every business school's application. One challenge that applicants face is BRIEFLY describing their career progress until now, and then devoting enough space to why an MBA is right for them, why now is the right time, and why specifically Kellogg is the right MBA program for them.)


2. Describe your key leadership experiences and evaluate what leadership areas you hope to develop through your MBA experiences (600 words)

(This question remains from last year. We recommend focusing on just two or three mini stories, at the most. Be as specific as possible here, rather than discussing leadership in broad terms or with vague generalities. When discussing what areas you want to develop, be realistic about what you will learn in the classroom -- Kellogg knows that you won't emerge from a classroom lecture as a completely finished leader. Discuss what you want to learn at Kellogg, but also tie it back to the "real world" and your post-MBA career.)


3. Assume you are evaluating your application from the perspective of a student member of the Kellogg Admissions Committee. Why would your peers select you to become a member of the Kellogg community? (600 words)

(This question is new since last year, although it's similar to a question that Kellogg used to use, which encouraged applicants to evaluate their applications as if they were admissions officers. This is a terrific opportunity to highlight the two or three core themes that you want to make sure jump out from your application. And, while Kellogg looks for some humility in every one of its students, it's also a chance to toot your own horn a bit!)


4. Complete one of the following three questions or statements. Re-applicants have the option to answer a question from this grouping, but this is not required. (400 words)
   
   a) Describe a time when you had to make an unpopular decision.
   
   b) People may be surprised to learn that I...
   
   c) I wish the admissions committee had asked me...

(Questions A and B are new since last year, although A is a slightly different take on a previous question that asked about motivating a reluctant individual or group. This gives you a chance to discuss an experience that shows off leadership abilities, ethics, and/or analytical abilities. Question B gives you a chance to have some fun and discuss some less obviously MBA-related traits. Don't underestimate how important these traits are to admissions officers. Question C can be used in much the same way.)


5. Required essay for re-applicants only: Since your previous application, what steps have you taken to strengthen your candidacy? (400 words)
   
   (This last question says it all when it comes to describing what every top MBA program looks for in reapplicants. Ideally you will have at least one or two significant achievements or experiences that will bolster a weakness that may have kept you out of Kellogg last year. The most obvious example is a promotion or a big project you led at work, but any type of experience that demonstrates leadership, teamwork, maturity, or innovation -- if one of these was a weakness in admissions officers' eyes last year -- can help your candidacy.)
   

For advice on getting into Kellogg, please visit Veritas Prep's Kellogg information page.

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Kellogg Dean Dipak Jain to Step Down September 1st

After serving as the Kellogg School of Management's dean for the past eight years, Dipak Jain will step down from his post on September 1, and will return to the Kellogg faculty following a year’s leave of absence. The school will soon appoint an interim dean, and Northwestern University will begin a national search for Jain's replacement.

"I have been both honored and fortunate to have been able to serve as dean of this wonderful school," Jain said in an announcement to the Kellogg community. "Over the past eight years as dean, it has been my pleasure to work alongside wonderful colleagues whose dedication to Kellogg has made my job a joy. I truly appreciate the support, guidance and assistance that I have received from Kellogg faculty, staff, students and alumni during my tenure as dean."

Jain, 51, first came to Kellogg in 1986 as an assistant professor. Since 1994 he has been the Sandy and Morton Goldman Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies and professor of marketing. This move will allow him to return to what he loves most -- conducting research and teaching Kellogg's students.

This is the first real leadership search the school has had to conduct for some time, since Donald Jacobs held the school's dean post from 1975 through 2001, after which Jain, a Kellogg faculty member at the time, assumed the mantle in what was a simple internal transition of leadership. Now, for the first time in more than three decades Kellogg will have to conduct an original search for its next leader, a search that may take it outside of Kellogg's walls.

For more information on Kellogg and advice for getting in, visit Veritas Prep's Kellogg information page.

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Kellogg Mistakenly Sends Acceptance Letters to 50 Rejected Applicants

We wouldn't wish this twist of fortune on anyone: This week about 50 applicants to the Kellogg School of Management received an acceptance letter from the school, only to find out later that it was the result of a computer glitch, and that they in fact had been rejected.

The applicants each received an email message with an attached acceptance letter. Kellogg official blamed the mistake on a "technical glitch" that occurred in an automated mail-merge process. The Kellogg web site always had the correct information, which applicants could see when they logged onto the site to check their status.

Understandably, some applicants prematurely started to celebrate. The Chicago Tribune quoted one applicant who excitedly called his parents and enjoyed a celebratory dinner before learning the bad news on the web site. Kellogg is going to refund his and everyone else's $235 application fee, but of course that's small consolation.

Something tells us that Kellogg won't be doing any more mail merges any time soon...

For more information on applying to Kellogg, read about the 2008-2009 Kellogg admissions essays and application deadlines.

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Kellogg Application Deadlines for 2008-2009

While Kellogg released its application essays back in June, the admissions office has put out its application deadlines for the 2008-2009 season.

If you look at the Kellogg page, you'll notice that it's fairly confusing. For each round, what you should pay attention to most is the date by which you need to contact the office for your interview and submit Part 1 of your application.

Also, note that (as of today) the Kellogg page still has a comment stating that the 2008-2009 deadlines have not yet been determined, but these dates below should prove to be a very accurate guide.

Kellogg Application Deadlines for Part 1
Round 1: October 3, 2008 (Oct. 17 if requesting an on-campus interview)
Round 2: December 22, 2008 (Jan. 12 for an on-campus interview)
Round 3: February 23, 2009 (Mar. 9 for an on-campus interview)

Kellogg Application Deadlines for Part 2
Round 1: October 17, 2008
Round 2: January 12, 2009
Round 3: March 9, 2009

Note that you get a couple of extra weeks for Part 1 of your application if you request an on-campus interview (no doubt because of the logistics the admissions office has to go through with off-campus interviews to match so many applicants with alumni interviewers around the world).

For more advice on applying to Kellogg, visit the Veritas Prep Kellogg School of Management information page. For more information on business school application deadlines, visit our MBA admissions deadlines page.

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Kellogg Application Essays for 2008-2009

Kellogg applicants, look alive! The Kellogg School of Management has just released its admissions essays for the 2008-2009 application season. The questions are as follows, lifted directly from the Kellogg web site:

All applicants are required to answer questions 1, 2 and 3 in addition to 2 of the essays in question 4. For questions 1-3, please limit responses to 2 pages.

1: Briefly assess your career progress to date. Elaborate on your future career plans and your motivation for pursuing a graduate degree at Kellogg.

2: Describe how your background, values, academics, activities and/or leadership skills will enhance the experience of other Kellogg students.

3: Describe your key leadership experiences and evaluate what leadership areas you hope to develop through your MBA experience.

Choose two of the following three essays…

4: Applicants must answer 2 of the below essays. (Re-applicants must answer question 4D and 1 other essay). Please keep responses to two paragraphs.
- 4A - Describe a time when you had to motivate a reluctant individual or group.
- 4B - I wish the Admissions Committee had asked me…..
- 4C - What do others admire about you?
- 4D - For re-applicants only: Since your previous application, what are the steps you’ve taken to strengthen your candidacy?

As Beth Flye told us at last week's AIGAC conference, there are no really significant changes from last year. Questions 2 and 3 have been reworded, but are substantially the same as last year's questions. Question 4A may appear to be new, but is similar to last year's "Describe the most challenging professional relationship you have faced" question.

What stands out the most to me is 4C -- "What do other admire about you?" I miss their old question that had applicants play the role of admissions officers and evaluate their own applications. While this isn't quite the same, and is much shorter, I'm glad to see this sort of "toot your own horn" question back on the Kellogg application.

For more advice about your Kellogg application, visit our Kellogg School of Management information page.

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Kellogg, in Bangkok

The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern has announced plans to open a global and social affairs research facility in Bangkok. Kellogg currently helps operate the Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Management, and is looking to further their involvement in Asia with what dean Dipak Jain calls "a global centre for 'thought' leadership." They also have larger scale plans to open other international centers in the coming years.

Source: Bangkok to have institute

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