Accepted.com Essay Editing and Application Advice

Emily Baum: Hi, and welcome to MBA PodTV. I’m your host Emily Baum and I am a first-year student at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. It feels like it was just yesterday when I was anxiously filling out my application and I remember how thrilled I was when I got the phone call and the letter telling me that I’ve gotten in. So I’m going to do my best to get some really great advice for you on how to get in from current students and show you a little bit what it’s like to be a Kellogg MBA student here at Northwestern University.

Joining us is Linda Abraham, Founder and President of Accepted.com. An MBA admissions and essay editing service. You’ll also hear directly from Kellogg’s Associate Dean and you’ll meet a few of my classmates.

Matthew Farver: The Kellogg student is certainly smart, the Kellogg student is curious and the Kellogg student I would say most of all is passionate. Passionate about what they care about personally and passionate about understanding what the people around them care about, and really embracing how those things fit together and create a community of leaders.

Dayo Adefulu: It is truly collaborative. We don’t just say that. We definitely mean it. I am on a team, so I have five classes this semester and I’m in five different teams with five different diverse individuals. And I mean I’ve learnt a lot from my teammates already and I’m still going to learn a lot.

Emily Baum: When I first came to Kellogg I got to talk to a lot of people and interact with a lot of the community here. And I got a really, really intense sense that I would fit in when I came. And it wasn’t anything specific but it was the combination of all the different elements of the school. So let’s hear a little bit more about fit at Kellogg.

Linda Abraham: Somebody who is very comfortable in their own skin, that doesn’t mean they don’t want to improve. They clearly do. But there is a certain level of ease with who they are and that makes them both — that also helps them be collaborative, that helps them be good leaders, take initiative, listen, persuade. There also tend to be people that will be fun to be around, spend time with and I think that Kellogg wants to see that in the application and some of the questions are definitely directed in that direction.

Betsy Ziegler:  I would characterize successful students who are currently here and therefore those that we want to attract as being people that have very high personal impact that’s coupled with very high intellectual curiosity and capacity. And what I mean by that is folks that are they themselves leaders but are also comfortable being a member of a team and letting other people lead. People who are ambitious but grounded and well-rounded. People who are excited about solving problems and developing their own point of view and being willing to take risks in the classroom particularly with an ambiguous case conversation, things like that.

Emily Baum: If you’re looking for a full-time MBA, here at Kellogg they have the option to do it in two years, in a tradition program or in a one-year program. The 1Y start in June and end in June. So they have their full MBA in just one year. I’m actually a part of the MMM Program which is a dual degree program in conjunction with the McCormick School of Engineering here at Northwestern University. So I’ll get a degree in Engineering Management as well as an MBA.

Let’s hear a little bit more about the different programs here at Kellogg.

Betsy Ziegler:  So the 2Y Program is our most extensive — is the full experience. Many of the people in our two-year program are career changers and the reason they are attracted to it is because of the summer internship opportunity. But it’s also — you know the full club experience, the whole thing for over two years and for folks that can step away from work and invest their time, it’s terrific. Our 1Y Program is open to those students who have achieved a certain level of course work in their — either their undergraduate or through previous graduate work that they can test out much of our core curriculum and so they come for four quarters.

And while we do have career changers in that group and those career changers participate in full-time recruiting with their counterparts in the 2Y Program. Most of them are looking for a 1Y, one year off work and academic experience and then go back into their previous employer or at least stay in the same industry.

Linda Abraham: Kellogg takes a fundamental’s first approach to its general management curriculum and it is very much a general management school. So there are 9 required courses that provide a strong foundation for management and different management roles. And after that, you can dive in deep into whatever you want to. It provides 19 different possible concentrations that range from the very hardcore analytical finance, decision making kind of courses to brand management, entrepreneurship and innovation strategy.

Betsy Ziegler: The program is quite flexible and so it can meet the different learning needs of our students because people come on the table with different interests and certainly different starting points. And so in our core curriculum there are several courses that students can test out off based on their previous professional and educational experience. And then there isn’t — you’re not limited to one major and so what we find when you attract people that are very intellectually curious is that they’ve got lots learning areas that they’re passionate about. And so we don’t limit the number of majors and many of our students graduate with three or more and I think that’s exciting.

 Emily Baum: So it’s really important when you’re putting together your application that you stress how you’re unique and how you can bring a different perspective to the community. A lot of the learning that happens here at Kellogg is team-based. So in your classes you’ll get assigned to a group and in your extracurriculars, you’ll put together groups to participate in different competitions. So one of the things that I’m really excited about is the Annual Kellogg Marketing Competition and I got a group of five people together and we’re all from really different backgrounds and different professions and locations and it helps add to the things that we come up with when we’re coming up with marketing ideas.

So the competition actually culminates here in the atrium which is the center of a lot of what happens here at Kellogg and there is a big competition and everyone puts up what they have come with and the community comes in and bids on who they think did the best thing. It’s also where the case competitions can happen and where people during the day are eating, having lunch, getting together and mingling. So it’s a big central hub for Kellogg.

Matthew Farver: I think being an applicant to a business school is a really tough job. I would say if you’re applying to Kellogg come visit us because Kellogg is an incredibly unique and special place. And I think that when you’re in our environment here that you really can understand that and feel that from the energy of the people who are here to just the vibe of the building itself. So I’d really encourage you to try to come visit Kellogg in person and if you can’t, just get in touch with as many Kellogg students as you can or Kellogg alumnus so that you can really understand what makes Kellogg people tick.

 Emily Baum: One of the hardest parts about the application process is writing the essays. It can be time consuming and tedious, but trust me it’s worth it. My advice would be try not to write what you think the admissions committee wants to hear. Try to make sure that you really express who you are and what’s unique about you. If you try to go and predict what they want to hear, a lot of times you just end up sounding like everybody else. So it’s really important to be who you are and try to convey that on paper.

Linda Abraham: Kellogg’s essays are in some respect is just an excellent set of essays because they give the applicant the opportunity to really reveal different aspects of their background, the personal and the character. And they also pretty much reflect Kellogg’s values. So what are they looking for? Well, the first one is a straightforward goal’s question. Kellogg is a student driven culture. They want people who are going to be able to contribute from day one and you’re much more likely to be able to contribute if you know what you’re doing there. So if you know why you’re there, you know what you’re going for, then you’re going to know what clubs you want to get involved in, you’re going to know where you’re going to benefit and where you can benefit the school best.

Two, they view their business school experience as a training ground for leaders. They want leaders coming in. They want to enhance their leadership skills so they’re asking about your leadership ability. Show your leadership ability and that will enhance your chances of admission. The third question is a little bit of a curveball and it’s also — variations of it have been on the Kellogg application for years, and it asks you evaluate yourself. So Kellogg wants to see that you have the maturity and the self-awareness to evaluate your application and discuss your strengths and weaknesses.

And four, is an opportunity for you to reveal something not found in what Kellogg’s asking for. It really is what do you want to show of yourself, what other dimension do you want to bring out and highlight? Choose that dimension and then use one of the three questions or one of the three options offered to present that aspect of your background.

Dayo Adefulu:  I am a re-applicant. And when I first applied, I think one thing that I definitely didn’t do was strongly tie my short-term goals with my long-term goals and communicate that in every aspect of my application. So I think one — I was waitlisted the first year that I applied and one of the things that — the feedback that I got was that there was no — my career vision in my essays didn’t really correlate with the current vision that I stated in my interviews. So I think it’s really important to do a period of soul-searching where you figure out exactly what you want to do and what you want from that MBA.

Matthew Farver: I think it’s really important for you to understand your own story, your personal story and be able to tell that story and how it might fit into the greater Kellogg community in the Kellogg landscape. I certainly come from a non-traditional background but it was in understanding who I was and what my story was and how I could contribute to the Kellogg community that enabled me to really tell a clear story and convince the admissions committee here that I would indeed fit in with the Kellogg community.

Emily Baum: That’s it for this episode of MBA PodTV. I’m your host Emily Baum and I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about Kellogg and how to put your best foot forward here. Visit us online at mbapodcaster.com for more information and to sign-up, to subscribe to our video shows and audio shows. And also follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the up-to-date information on the MBA application process.

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