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MBA students at Northwestern Kellogg often value the strength of the school’s community, with classmates dedicating themselves fully to both their own professional development and that of their peers. Kellogg is committed to producing capable leaders who are as thoughtful and driven as they are empathetic and inclusive.

According to Kellogg’s website, the school seeks candidates who

• “push past comfort zones and question the norm,”
• “can motivate a team to drive impact,” and
• “are eager to dive in and collaborate with an engaged, ambitious community of peers.”

As you brainstorm what to share in your Kellogg application, keep these qualities in mind. Understanding what Kellogg looks for in its candidates before you start brainstorming can give you a frame of reference through which to view and consider your stories and perhaps help you identify which ones might be the most compelling to include in your application. Let us be clear, though, that we are not saying the stories you share must reveal all or even any of these traits. As always, keep the focus on you—your unique experiences and what you want the admissions committee to know about you.

Kellogg gives candidates ample opportunity to share who they really are throughout their application. For example, the school asks every applicant to submit video responses to multiple prompts. Although you might be intimidated by this video component, we at Gatehouse see it as a boon for candidates. After all, the more chances you have to help the admissions committee get to know you, the better.

Essay Question (550 words max)

Part I: An MBA is a significant investment of time, energy, and resources, and the decision to pursue one deserves serious reflection. Tell us about the pivotal experiences and decisions that have brought you to this moment in your career, how they have shaped your ambitions, and why now is the right time to take this next step. 

Part II: Now turn the lens outward: beyond what you hope to gain, what do you hope to contribute to the students who will learn alongside you? (550 words max)

Kellogg has significantly reduced the amount of writing required in its application, but do not mistake a shorter essay for an easier one. In many ways, this single question requires you to do the work that you would typically spread over several essays. In just 550 words, you need to explain where you want to go professionally, how you arrived at your goals, why now is the right moment to pursue an MBA, and what you will contribute to the Kellogg community. The good news is that Kellogg is unusually transparent about what it wants to know and helps applicants by laying out exactly what to consider when crafting their responses. The challenge, of course, is figuring out which elements of your story are worth sharing.

The first part of the prompt is fundamentally about your aspirations and the moments and experiences that have influenced them. If you have spent any time watching us discuss career goals, you have likely heard us talk about the importance of the equation. Strong goals are both ambitious and grounded in past experience, and why an MBA is necessary as a bridge to reach them is easily understood. That is precisely what Kellogg is asking you to demonstrate here. 

Notice that Kellogg uses the phrase “pivotal experiences and decisions.” The admissions committee is not asking for a chronological walkthrough of your resume. They want you to identify the specific moments that mattered. Applicants often assume that these experiences need to be dramatic. They do not. Sometimes the most compelling examples are relatively ordinary moments that clarified what you want from your career. Perhaps you discovered a type of work you would like to do more of. Perhaps you gained exposure to a problem, industry, or mission that fundamentally changed—or reinforced—the direction you want your career to take. Perhaps your reasons are more personal: A recent client of ours wanted to start a healthcare technology company as a result of her own experiences navigating the healthcare system as a teen. Her pre-MBA career in investment banking and private equity helped make that ambitious goal feel credible.

The “why now” portion of the prompt is often simpler than applicants assume. This is not a question about timing so much as readiness. You have developed a set of skills and experiences. You have identified where you want to go next. You have also pinpointed gaps between where you are today and where you hope to be. The MBA is how you plan to close those gaps. That is usually the heart of a strong “why now” answer. 

For more in-depth guidance on crafting your goal statement essay, watch our video workshop Your Career Statement – Fact, Fiction, and How to Build One.

Part II of the essay prompt shifts the focus from what you hope to gain at Kellogg to what you hope to contribute. Here, we encourage applicants to avoid one of the most common mistakes we see in MBA admissions essays: claiming to bring a “unique perspective” to campus. The reality is that every applicant has a unique perspective. Simply stating that yours is unique does not tell the admissions committee anything about you. 

Instead, think concretely. Imagine yourself on campus. Where will you spend your time? What communities will you invest in? What experiences, expertise, or interests will you share? What role will you play among your classmates? Substantiate your ideas with rationale, and research the school’s various offerings so you can paint a clear picture of how you will contribute that is unquestionably grounded in the Kellogg experience. Maybe you are into the outdoors and want to test yourself physically. Perhaps you want to lead a KWEST. (And if so, where?) Maybe you are headed to business school to one day start your own tech company; that could mean you want to form a team at Kellogg to enter the Startup Pitch Competition. Kellogg is not interested in merely learning what you hope to do but in understanding why you are drawn to it and how your contribution will (uniquely!) matter. 

One thing the admissions committee is not asking is “Why Kellogg?” Applicants often answer questions they wish had been asked; that strategy will lead you astray. Rather than explaining why Kellogg is the right program for you, focus on addressing the questions that Kellogg poses. 

Applicants must complete five video essays after submitting their application. I suspect that this reflects business schools’ growing desire to evaluate applicants in real time, particularly in an era increasingly shaped by AI. But whatever the reason, we encourage you to view these videos as an opportunity rather than an obstacle. Each one is a chance for you to provide Kellogg with a glimpse into who you are. 

You will not know the questions ahead of time, so scripting your answers ahead of time is impossible. Prepare for this component of the application by instead becoming deeply familiar with your own story. Review your resume. Study your stated goals. Reflect on the accomplishments, challenges, leadership experiences, and defining moments that have shaped you. Your objective is fluency and fluidity. The better you know your own experiences, the easier it will be to answer whatever questions Kellogg presents you with.