Kellogg MBA / MMM 2012, 1-Y MBA 2011, JDMBA 2013 - Taking Questions

zonia

some quick questions:

1. Are most applicants previously from finance industry? Since it seems to me every applicant is supposed to have finished some financial and marketing related courses. I am an engineer.

2. How about the average student age? I am quite old for MBA, 33 soon in this Dec. But that is also why I will try to get one year program if possible.

Thanks,

-- by 会员 goal2011 (2010/10/23 10:44:46)

Hello goal2011,

If you are asking for 1-year MBA in Kellogg, the answer is "yes", you'll need previous business training because there is a core eligibility requires all 1-yr MBA applicants to fulfill before applying. Here is the details:
http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/Programs/FullTimeMBA/MBA_Programs/1_Year_Program.aspx
For 2-year MBA, MMM and JD-MBA program, business background is not required. There are many engineers in Kellogg MBA programs every year.

The average age for 2010 intake is 25-31, which represented the mid 80% of students (as far as I know). But MBA is all about timing, if you show that it's the right timing now, your age would not be too relevant.

Hope this help! Good luck to your application!

Best regards
Zonia

daisylee2010

dear zonia:
I am pleased to ask you sth confused me for a long time.I am a college student ,and my major is accounting .I am so intersted in marketing and want to apply to you kellogg,  but i also heard that kellogg only has Marketing within the MBA program that more available for the applicants who have work experience more than 2 years, but I have no work experience,however, I work so hard to fulfill my goal , and i have nearly completed my college study while i am a junior student in a 4-year university, at the same time, I have tried my best to do some part-time jobs and internships to improve myself in my spare time. now, i am preparing for the Gmat and TOEFL, for my last gmat score is not very good, and i have not started my application.do you think it is realistic for me to apply for the admission of the next fall.
thank you so much!!

regards!!

nkos2009

Dear Zonia,

First of all, I want to appreciate your kindness of making feedback to everyone's questions. Now I have a a question to ask you. I live in Tokyo. My problem is that I have received the interview invitation, but because of a business trip I missed checking e-mail just one day. When I logged into the interview registration website, even though there still remain some open spots, all the timeslots have been locked. I understand the first come, first served basis. However, isn't is unfair for those received invitation but can't send e-mail everyday? Does that mean there are no chance for me to make an interview? or the admission organization will set other interview days for those have not registered interview yet? Thank you very much.

来得及时

Sorry to inform you.
There is almost no chance in getting in Kellogg without >2 years of working experience, full time.
Marketing is also hard to international students.  Most companies wants someone who knows about US culture.

dear zonia:
I am pleased to ask you sth confused me for a long time.I am a college student ,and my major is accounting .I am so intersted in marketing and want to apply to you kellogg,  but i also heard that kellogg only has Marketing within the MBA program that more available for the applicants who have work experience more than 2 years, but I have no work experience,however, I work so hard to fulfill my goal , and i have nearly completed my college study while i am a junior student in a 4-year university, at the same time, I have tried my best to do some part-time jobs and internships to improve myself in my spare time. now, i am preparing for the Gmat and TOEFL, for my last gmat score is not very good, and i have not started my application.do you think it is realistic for me to apply for the admission of the next fall.
thank you so much!!

regards!!

-- by 会员 daisylee2010 (2010/10/29 18:03:58)

来得及时

Haha, i have to say one more thing. So daisylee2010, how old are you?  Do you know the average age of students at Kellogg is 27?  If you are 22 or so, why would you want even try to hang with people who are much older rather than work in the industry first to know what you like do and prove your self.    That is the question.

Sorry to inform you.
There is almost no chance in getting in Kellogg without >2 years of working experience, full time.
Marketing is also hard to international students.  Most companies wants someone who knows about US culture.

dear zonia:
I am pleased to ask you sth confused me for a long time.I am a college student ,and my major is accounting .I am so intersted in marketing and want to apply to you kellogg,  but i also heard that kellogg only has Marketing within the MBA program that more available for the applicants who have work experience more than 2 years, but I have no work experience,however, I work so hard to fulfill my goal , and i have nearly completed my college study while i am a junior student in a 4-year university, at the same time, I have tried my best to do some part-time jobs and internships to improve myself in my spare time. now, i am preparing for the Gmat and TOEFL, for my last gmat score is not very good, and i have not started my application.do you think it is realistic for me to apply for the admission of the next fall.
thank you so much!!

regards!!

-- by 会员 daisylee2010 (2010/10/29 18:03:58)

-- by 会员 来得及时 (2010/11/1 1:40:56)

zonia

Dear Zonia,

First of all, I want to appreciate your kindness of making feedback to everyone's questions. Now I have a a question to ask you. I live in Tokyo. My problem is that I have received the interview invitation, but because of a business trip I missed checking e-mail just one day. When I logged into the interview registration website, even though there still remain some open spots, all the timeslots have been locked. I understand the first come, first served basis. However, isn't is unfair for those received invitation but can't send e-mail everyday? Does that mean there are no chance for me to make an interview? or the admission organization will set other interview days for those have not registered interview yet? Thank you very much.

-- by 会员 nkos2009 (2010/10/30 7:18:23)

Hi nkos2009,

I'm sorry to hear what has happened for the interview scheduling. I'm quite sure you can email the admission department to arrange some other time or a phone interview if the schedule is really too busy to arrange an in person interview. Good luck with that!

Zonia

zonia

dear zonia:
I am pleased to ask you sth confused me for a long time.I am a college student ,and my major is accounting .I am so intersted in marketing and want to apply to you kellogg,  but i also heard that kellogg only has Marketing within the MBA program that more available for the applicants who have work experience more than 2 years, but I have no work experience,however, I work so hard to fulfill my goal , and i have nearly completed my college study while i am a junior student in a 4-year university, at the same time, I have tried my best to do some part-time jobs and internships to improve myself in my spare time. now, i am preparing for the Gmat and TOEFL, for my last gmat score is not very good, and i have not started my application.do you think it is realistic for me to apply for the admission of the next fall.
thank you so much!!

regards!!

-- by 会员 daisylee2010 (2010/10/29 18:03:58)

Hi daisylee2010,

I know that some of my fellow kellogger already answered your question. But well... here are my 2 cents:
I think it's fair to say that top MBA programs usually requires substantial work experiences. By "substantial", I mean growth in your position, diversity in the experience and leadership opportunity. Even the famous exceptions like H 2+2 would require you to work full-time for some time before getting back to business school. And that's for a reason. MBA programs are NOT for techical skills, for sure we'll get some classes on finance, accounting or so but the key for MBA programs is meeting a bunch of people from different background, share your knowledge and integrate experiences thru a transforming process which turns you a good leader (if not great~). That being said, if you dun have work experiences, you'll waste the great opportunities to leverage your experiences at bschool (if they do admit you, that is). From my experience with different b-school applications, they doesnt count internship and part-time positions. And that's again for a reason! Working as an intern and part-time employee faces totally different challenges from a full-time position, and I think it's also reasonable to say that doesnt allow you to "grow" a lot in either kinds of positions. Hence, I personally don't think you should go straight from college to business school.

If you are planning to get to business school later in your life, try to gain as much experiences as possible in these years, serve the community, work in an interesting job with growth opportunities, travel a lot, connects with the alumni in your designated business school. Be prepared to challenge yourself by new experiences and opportunities, whatever you can find. I was an early graduate from college and I went thru the whole roller-coaster thing in broadening my horizon and prepare myself for law school / business school. It's good that you are determined to get to business school, but it's even better to grasp the coming years to develop your vision for your career and life AFTER business school. Afterall, business school is just a springboard, in all respect, for you to achieve your ultimate goal in life.

So sorry for going too far. (words just flow while i see your question) Good luck in your pursuit of your goals~

Zonia

zonia

up

calvinhobbes

Hi Zonia,

A long time lurker and first time poster here.  Would like to gain some insight and comfort from your advice during this wait period post interview.  

I am currently in the consulting industry/ 24/ 2 years of WE to date, i.e. 3 years by next fall/ have short-term WE in the UK and Australia

I understand that like many other schools, Kellogg prefers students of solid work experience.  Do you think that my profile (25 with 3 years of WE at matriculation) would be an outlier at Kellogg?  Or is this close to the sweet spot?  I keep (overly) worrying that Kellogg might ding me because of my age or work experience.  I understand that this won't be the only factor but still...

Also, from your observation, what obstacles do those younger students face during internship or job hunting season?  Do they get a fair chance to compete with other more experienced peers to nail down interviews and get the offer?

Thank you very much.  Your feedback would be very much appreciated.

C

zonia

Hi Zonia,

A long time lurker and first time poster here.  Would like to gain some insight and comfort from your advice during this wait period post interview.  

I am currently in the consulting industry/ 24/ 2 years of WE to date, i.e. 3 years by next fall/ have short-term WE in the UK and Australia

I understand that like many other schools, Kellogg prefers students of solid work experience.  Do you think that my profile (25 with 3 years of WE at matriculation) would be an outlier at Kellogg?  Or is this close to the sweet spot?  I keep (overly) worrying that Kellogg might ding me because of my age or work experience.  I understand that this won't be the only factor but still...

Also, from your observation, what obstacles do those younger students face during internship or job hunting season?  Do they get a fair chance to compete with other more experienced peers to nail down interviews and get the offer?

Thank you very much.  Your feedback would be very much appreciated.

C

-- by 会员 calvinhobbes (2010/11/18 23:30:45)

Hi calvinhobbes,

First, I really need to make this clear... "substantial work experience doesnt mean long work experience". Like I said in other posts, the quality is more important than quantity. Adcom looks for growth, leadership and management responsibilities in your work experience. So the one question you should ask is how "mature" you are in professional terms.  And for the age, I am turning 24 (since I started my undergrad early, i got longer WE tho)... so (I think) age is not really relevant here. And like always, I want to emphasize that Kellogg LOVE diversity, we have a diverse class from all backgrounds.

So if you have a distinct direction and consider yourself mature enuff (and that Kellogg is "your school"), go for it! MBA is about expanding your comfort zone and taking risks afterall. Good luck!

Zonia