Kellogg MBA Essay 2023 – Analysis and Tips

The Kellogg School of Management is a world-renowned institution of higher learning located in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1908, it is one of the oldest and most respected business schools in the United States. Kellogg offers a variety of programs, including full-time and part-time MBA, MS in management studies, Ph.D., and executive education. 

Its faculty includes some of the world’s leading scholars in business and management, who are committed to providing an intellectually rigorous and practical education. MBA graduates of Kellogg go on to leadership positions in companies all over the world. The school is also widely recognized for its research contributions to the fields of management and economics. In recent years, Kellogg has been ranked among the top business schools by publications such as Businessweek, Forbes, and The Economist.

The application process at Kellogg is distinctive in that it includes both written and video essays. Here’s your chance to explain why Kellogg is your ideal business school.

Kellogg MBA essays for the 2023 admissions

Written essays

All applicants are expected to submit the following two essays:

1. Kellogg’s purpose is to educate, equip and inspire leaders who create lasting value. Provide a recent example where you have demonstrated leadership and created value. What challenges did you face and what did you learn? (450 words)
2. Values are what guide us in our life and work. What values are important to you and how have they influenced you? (450 words)

Certain applicants will respond to additional questions:

One-Year applicants: Please discuss your post-MBA career goal, the current experience you will leverage to support the transition, and the Kellogg One-Year MBA opportunities that will help you reach this goal. (250 words)

MBAi applicants: The Kellogg McCormick MBAi Program is designed to train the next generation of leaders who can help businesses deliver successful outcomes through AI-driven technology. Tell us about your firsthand experience with this disconnect between business and technology and how MBAi will prepare you to successfully lead businesses at the intersection. (450 words)

MMM applicants: The five core values of the MMM Program are curiosity, creativity, empathy, open-mindedness and a learning mindset. Describe a situation in which you demonstrated one of these values. Why is this value an important part of the MMM experience for you? (250 words)

JD-MBA applicants: Please discuss your post-JD-MBA career goals and why the JD-MBA Program is the right program to help you reach those goals. (250 words)

Reapplicants: Since your previous application, what steps have you taken to strengthen your candidacy? (250 words)

To learn more about what Kellogg is looking for and how to make your application stand out, get in touch with us at contactus@admitexpert.com

Kellogg MBA Application Deadlines

FULL-TIME MBA	ROUND 1	ROUND 2	ROUND 3
Application Deadline	September 14, 2022	January 10, 2023	April 5, 2023
Decisions	December 14, 2022	March 28, 2023	May 10, 2023

Kellogg MBA Essay Analysis

Essay 1

Kellogg’s purpose is to educate, equip and inspire leaders who create lasting value. Provide a recent example where you have demonstrated leadership and created value. What challenges did you face and what did you learn? (450 words)

This essay focuses on leadership and is a behavioral question. It should show how you behaved under certain conditions and thrived in those conditions. However, it should be a ‘recent example’ where you not only ‘showed leadership’ but also ‘created value.’ Your essay should revolve around these 3 keywords.

How to start writing this essay?

Spend some time setting up the story’s background. Then, fill in the blanks with details about what you did, thought, felt, and how you behaved. Use specific details to entice the adcom and distinguish yourself. A few well-placed specifics will add color to these Kellogg MBA essays without adding length.

If you choose a complex challenge, it’s essential to learn from it. Also, show that you do learn from your mistakes. Every leader needs to grow and get better. So, being willing to listen to feedback and make changes will be a plus.

Teamwork is one of the most important parts of Kellogg’s culture, so don’t forget about it. Most likely, you have led a group at work or in an extracurricular activity. And working together shows that you are mature and have good social skills.

Framework

Here is a framework that’ll help you write this essay in a structured manner:

• Step 1 – What was the situation/what was the challenge? Who were the participants and stakeholders in this situation?
• Step 2 – What was the task you needed to complete? What conflicts or challenges did you face?
• Step 3 – What steps did you take? Describe this in detail because it will be an important part of your essay.
• Step 4 – What was the outcome/impact of your leadership efforts? Were you successful in dealing with the situation? What “enduring value” did you create? What lessons did you take away?

Analysis

Let’s break down this essay prompt and analyze what to write for each part:

“Kellogg’s purpose is to educate, equip and inspire leaders who create lasting value.”

To break down the opening sentence: the question is saying that if you walk through Kellogg’s door, you’ll not only get a world-class MBA, but you’ll also be expected to add value by participating in the classroom, the larger community, and, eventually, the world as a Kellogg alum. 

How will you make sure that your MBA experience is the kind that makes your classmates wish they could spend more time with you? The MBA experience is only as unique as what the class as a whole brings to it. Because of this, Kellogg is trying to find out how you can lead and be a part of this group experience while you are in school and after you graduate.

“Provide a recent example where you have demonstrated leadership and created value.”

This part is about your specific experience as a leader. Kellogg wants to know what kind of leader you are and how you’ve changed the organizations and communities you’re involved in. Look out for the words “created value.” 

Now is the time for you to tell a story. Think it over: why do you need to tell this story? How does telling this story make the world a better place? What leadership experiences can you talk about that show you’ve been able to make people, places, or situations better because you tried? What story will show how important this change is by demonstrating what was going on before you got there, while you were there, and after you left?

“What challenges did you face and what did you learn?”

This is what your story is about and how it ends. Who are the people in the story? In what place are you? What’s at stake if you don’t handle your leadership challenge well? How did the challenge help you grow? Don’t just talk about what you’ve learned; essays that answer this question well will also show how your learnings will help you make a unique contribution to the incoming Kellogg Class.

Essay 2

Values are what guide us in our life and work. What values are important to you and how have they influenced you? (450 words)

This question asks you to write an essay that combines elements of a traditional essay on career aspirations and a personal essay. Candidates that are able to incorporate their values into both their personal and professional aspirations are of particular importance to Kellogg. In what ways have your values guided your activities in both your professional and personal life?

How to start with this essay?

Think about how your core beliefs align with your aspiration to study at Kellogg. Therefore, the story you tell sheds light on the reasoning behind your decision to pursue a Master of Business Administration. Because this is not a question about your entire career or life, you should simply discuss one or two of the most significant experiences you’ve had.

Analysis

Let’s break down this essay prompt and analyze what to write for each part:

“Values are what guide us in our life and work.”

Your values aren’t just a list of words; they represent the beliefs that guide your decisions, actions, and participation in the things that are most important to you. Kellogg wants to know what inspires, drives, and motivates you. This is similar to the famous “what matters most to you and why” essay from Stanford GSB. When candidates do the thoughtful self-reflection needed to write with authenticity and substance, they give a good look at who they are as people, not just how smart they are. Your values go beyond you and affect the way you treat other people and the places where you want to make a positive difference.

“What values are important to you and how have they influenced you?”

This is a chance to share a personal, vulnerable, and honest story. You could start with a specific value and a story that shows how that value has helped shape you into the person you are now. 

When you look back, what are the most important events, people, and experiences that have made you a better person? Has something shaken you to your core and made you change your mind about the path you had planned for yourself? This could be the death of a loved one, a terrible mistake, or a failure that helped you see what’s most important to you.

Another strategy is to start with your background, your childhood, or the environment that made you who you are. 

Then, how have those things and experiences shaped who you are now and what you want to do in the future? The best way to answer this essay question is to show how the past, present, and future all fit together. 

How will your values and points of view affect the kind of experience you make for your future Kellogg classmates? For the win: How will the knowledge you’ve gained help you become a better leader in the long run?

Video Essay

The Kellogg admissions team advises the following in regards to the video essay: We’ve read your essays, we’ve read your resume — now we want you to bring all that to life in a video. Show us the person behind all those carefully crafted words. The video will be comprised of three questions, each designed to help you showcase your personality and share some of the experiences that brought you here today.

Take a look at this article on video essays to get more tips on Kellogg’s Video essays.

Video Essays for MBA Admissions: What They Are, Why They Matter, and How to Create One

There are 3 video essays:

Video essay 1: Please introduce yourself to the admissions committee.

– Consider this your opportunity to share what you would want your future Kellogg classmates and our admissions committee to know about you. What makes you, you?

Video essay 2: What path are you interested in pursuing, how will you get there, and why is this program right for you?

– This is an intentionally broad question so you can answer honestly and meaningfully. We want to know why you’re pursuing an MBA and why you’re choosing a particular Kellogg Full-Time Program.

Video essay 3: This question will be based on a challenge you’ve faced and what you’ve learned from it.

Other Essays

Reapplicants 

Since your previous application, what steps have you taken to strengthen your candidacy? (250 words)

In this answer, show how you have improved your candidacy in a way that can be seen and touched. A higher GMAT score could be one sign of improvement that can be seen. Also, give us your grades from any new math classes you’ve taken.

You could also talk about a promotion at work or some new volunteer work. You might also need to take on more responsibility at work or in extracurricular activities. Or, talk about how your goals for your career have changed. Lastly, you could talk about how you’ve changed your own goals.

One-Year applicants

Please discuss your post-MBA career goal, the current experience you will leverage to support the transition, and the Kellogg One-Year MBA opportunities that will help you reach this goal. (250 words)

The Kellogg One Year Full Time MBA is crafted for people who have a strong background in business. For example, if you majored in business or economics and worked in finance or consulting, you might not need the core courses of the first year. So, the point of this essay is to show that you can reach your goals in one year at Kellogg.

MBAi applicants 

The Kellogg McCormick MBAi Program is designed to train the next generation of leaders who can help businesses deliver successful outcomes through AI-driven technology. Tell us about your firsthand experience with this disconnect between business and technology and how MBAi will prepare you to successfully lead businesses at the intersection. (450 words)

This Kellogg Full-Time MBA program is offered in collaboration with McCormick. MBA students in this program are prepared for careers in tech operations, analytics, and innovation leadership. The ideal candidate holds a technical degree or has worked in a technical role such as product management, software engineering, or similar.

Focus on recent work or school experience to answer this essay question. Examples demonstrate the importance of this experience. For example, you may have worked on innovation with no revenue potential. Or perhaps you oversaw the technical implementation of a product with a poor user interface. You could bridge those gaps as a leader with technical and business skills.

MMM applicants

The five core values of the MMM Program are curiosity, creativity, empathy, open-mindedness, and a learning mindset. Describe a situation in which you demonstrated one of these values. Why is this value an important part of the MMM experience for you? (250 words)

Continuing the theme of “values” from the required essay, candidates for the MMM degree should reflect the intent of the program. MMM candidates should reflect the program’s values, as in the required essay. Kellogg’s curriculum seeks design thinkers. Show your curiosity, empathy, openness, and learning mindset. These traits indicate MMM readiness.

JD-MBA applicants 

Please discuss your post-JD-MBA career goals and why the JD-MBA Program is the right program to help you reach those goals. (250 words)

Kellogg has a tough process for getting into the JD-MBA program. So, there needs to be a good reason for both degrees. Think about what makes the Kellogg JD-MBA program different from other programs. Also, explain why you need both a JD and an MBA to get where you want to go in your career.

Let us help you get into Kellogg

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