Northwestern Kellogg School of Management Overview

Introduction of Business School & MBA Program

The Kellogg School of Management is truly a school for pioneers. Kellogg is acknowledged for its belief that in order to exceed expectations,students must strive to be more than a team player. Rather, students should aspire to be the team leader.

Fields of Expertise

A leader in Marketing and Strategy, the faculty is represented by distinguished experts who ready students for careers as Marketing executives and Brand Managers.

Team Work and Leadership

Northwestern's campus promotes a culture of teamwork. Furthermore, most assignments and projects at the Kellogg School are collaborations between students. Students participate in "peer reviews", through which students rate each others' abilities. This process enables students to gain a broader perspective of how they are perceived and will inevitably help them become more effective group leaders, especially as they learn to constructively critique others.

Ethics

First year students are required to participate in the school's pre-term Complete Immersion in Management program. During the program students will be presented with challenges faced in the business world involving leadership and ethics. During the second year of the MBA program,students will expand on their problem-solving skills in another pre-term course aptly titled Values, Ethics, and Strategic Crisis Management.

Finance and Recruitment

At the Kellogg School, more students are studying Finance and going into Banking and Financial Consulting after completing the MBA program. Some of the top companies that recruit Kellogg MBA students include Goldman Sachs, Boston Consulting Group, Northwestern Financial, McKinsey, and many more.

 

MBA Application Elements - Kellogg School of Management

GMAT Score

The average GMAT score for full-time students in the class of 2014 was 712, with 80% of full-time students scoring between 660 and 760.

Interview

All applicants are required to request an on-campus or off-campus interview, each of which carries equal weight. Although Kellogg makes every attempt to interview all applicants, heavy demand in certain locations may require that they waive the interview, so as not to delay the review of the application. Candidates whose interviews are waived are not at a disadvantage. The Office of Admissions at Kellogg will follow up with candidates whose interviews were waived should the committee feel an interview would make an impact on the final decision.

Letters of Recommendation

Kellogg requires two letters of recommendation as part of the MBA application. One of the letters of recommendation, or Career Progress Surveys, should be written by a current supervisor or someone who can attest to the applicant's work performance. The second letter of recommendation should also be from an individual who can objectively evaluate the applicant's performance in the work place. One of these recommenders should also be able to evaluate the applicant's leadership skills. If an applicant is not able to ask a current supervisor or manager to write a letter of recommendation, then there will be an opportunity for the applicant to explain his or her situation.

Essay Tips

Less can be more. Instead of listing multiple clubs or organizations that an applicant has marginally participated in, one should focus on the or two things one is really passionate about and show exactly how one got involved in those things. A distinguishing characteristic of Kellogg is that almost everything is student-run; from clubs to international study trips (Global Initiatives in Management), to an almost endless series of professional conferences that the school hosts. A current student will probably even review the application. The high level of student involvement in multiple aspects of the Kellogg School means that all applicants should try to highlight their previous community involvement, in addition to their ability to multi-task.

Sample Essays

Examples of essay prompts previously used by Kellogg:

  • "Briefly asses your career progress to date. Elaborate on your future career plans and your motivation for pursuing a graduate degree at Kellogg. (one or two pages double-spaced)"
  • "Describe how your background, values, academics, activities, and/or leadership skills will enhance the experiences of other Kellogg students. (one or two pages double-spaced)"
  • "Describe your key leadership experiences and evaluate what leadership areas you hope to develop through your MBA experience (one or two pages double-spaced)"
 

Northwestern MBA Program - Key Statistics

o Full-Time Enrollment: 1,201
o Average Undergraduate GPA: 3.54
o Average GMAT Score: 712
o Acceptance Rate: 21.1%
o Average Starting Salary and Bonus: $130,092
o Full-Time Graduates Employed at Graduation: 83.8%
o Average Age of New Entrants: 28
o Average Work Experience: Approximately 5 years
o Part-Time Program Available
o Executive Education Program Offered
o PhD Offered
o Average class size: Around 650 students
o Admissions Website: www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/Programs/FullTimeMBA/Applying.aspx