Northwestern Kellogg values individuals; who you are as a person, what you’ve done, and how you will engage with the school’s greater community are all very important. Yes, academics and work experience are also key parts of your profile, but the school’s essay prompts seek to elicit more information about your personality, values, and goals so the adcom can determine your “fit” with its program. That is one of the reasons the school also requires video essays.

Kellogg has an excellent video on preparing its application, and I urge you to watch it so you’ll understand better what the school is looking for. In addition, Kellogg provides detailed explanations of its different MBA programs so you can find the one that is right for you. Each MBA program requires that you submit essays, and in some cases, you must provide an additional essay related to the specific dual degree being pursued (e.g., MBA/JD, MMM, MBAi).

Ready to get to work on your Kellogg application? Read on. 

Kellogg application essay tips

Question 1:

Intentionality is a key aspect of what makes our graduates successful Kellogg leaders. Help us understand your journey by articulating your motivations for pursuing an MBA, the specific goals you aim to achieve, and why you believe now is the right moment. Moreover, share why you feel Kellogg is best suited to serve as a catalyst for your career aspirations and what you will contribute to our community of lifelong learners during your time here. (450 words)

This essay seeks to elicit an honest answer from you as to why you want an MBA from Kellogg. It isn’t that different from the typical question “Why do you want an MBA?” but requires a more thoughtful and personal answer. I suspect that Kellogg has chosen this specific wording to weed out essays written by AI, which tend to be vague generalizations. Please don’t respond with canned responses like “I need to hone my business skills” or “an MBA from Kellogg will enable me to advance in my career.” That really says nothing! You can hone your business skills on YouTube or Coursera; you can advance your career by having a mentor or transferring to a different functional area in the company.   Even worse is saying you’ve reached a plateau when you only have a few years of work experience. Such a statement implies that you don’t have anything else to learn at your job, and for most jobs, there is always something new to learn because of outside forces or changes in the C-suite. Reflect on your real reasons for pursuing an MBA, and respond with specific examples. This could be an instance from your past when you realized you didn’t know how to manage your team well, or perhaps you’ve observed coworkers with MBAs and seen how they approach problem-solving strategically. 

For this essay, you need to think back on times when a lightbulb came on, and you thought, “Wow, if I had studied XXX, I could do this job faster and more efficiently.” This is true whether or not you have a business background or degree. And you need to be specific about your goals. “I intend to be a project manager with Amazon, Google, or Microsoft” is a poor answer, as is “I want to do strategic consulting.” Many of these companies have recently been laying off employees, so if you don’t know about current trends in your area of interest, you need to bring yourself up-to-date as soon as possible. These are also banal answers. 

To ensure that you’re offering a crisp and feasible career goal, look at the job descriptions on your target company’s website. What positions is it hiring for, and what do applicants for that position have to know? Demonstrating that you have this information will show the committee that you have done your research and that your goals are concrete and achievable.

As for what you will contribute to the Kellogg community, find something in your background that sets you apart from other applicants. This doesn’t have to be a professional quality. If you say, for example, “I am a strong leader and good at managing my team,” how does that help you stand out from the pack? You can reasonably assume that other individuals applying to Kellogg also have this quality. Don’t just say that you are suited for strategic consulting because of your problem-solving abilities and critical thinking. Again, those are very common claims that most of the candidates applying to Kellogg will also be able to make. Think about values that you cherish, hobbies that might help bring a group together, ideas for a business to start discussions, or even research you’ve done on your own. And take a look at Kellogg’s class profile to see where your classmates have come from, not just country-wise but industry-wise. Finally, if you are an international candidate, you can always discuss how things are done in your country, compared to how they are done in the United States. Talk about cultural and educational influences on business in your country. 

Lastly, be specific about why Kellogg is where you need to earn your MBA. Discuss courses that will fill the gaps in your knowledge, research by Kellogg faculty members that focuses on what you are interested in, and/or specialized centers that will give you hands-on experience.

Question 2:

Kellogg leaders are primed to tackle challenges everywhere, from the boardroom to their neighborhoods. Describe a specific professional experience where you had to make a difficult decision. Reflecting on this experience, identify the values that guided your decision-making process and how it impacted your leadership style. 

Those applying to or listing a specialty program as their alternative choice will be prompted to complete an additional question.

Again, this essay requires a specific example, not a hypothetical one. Kellogg doesn’t expect you to discuss how you found a cure for cancer or brokered peace in the Middle East. It can be something relatively small that nevertheless made an impact on the company, on you, or on someone else. For example, perhaps you realized that women were underrepresented in a specific department, so you brought that up with the department head and volunteered to help recruit more women and develop programming to keep them. 

Or maybe you noticed that there was a lack of team spirit and collaboration, so you organized a team sport to get people involved and interacting outside of the workplace. The key here is to refer back to the values you hold that propelled you to take action for the good of the company.

Reapplicant Essay:

Reapplicants will receive a prompt about their growth since their last application: How have you grown or changed personally and professionally since you previously applied and what steps have you taken to become the strongest candidate you can be? (250 words)

For this and any other reapplicant essay, you need to show what’s changed since your previous application. It could be a new test score, a promotion, or simply a reevaluation of your goals and the realization that what you thought you wanted to do wasn’t really feasible. Keep your message short and to the point, and don’t reiterate anything you said in your previous application essays. 

Video essays:

Things to keep in mind as you prepare to complete this section:

• Video essays are due 96 hours after the application deadline.
• A video essay link will appear on your Application Status Page after you submit your application and payment.
• You will need an internet-connected computer with a webcam and microphone.
• The video should take about 20-25 minutes to complete, including setup time.

Here are some additional tips:

• There are practice questions that you may complete as many times as you like to get comfortable with the format and technology. The practice questions and experience will simulate the actual video essay experience to help you prepare.
• We encourage you to practice so you are comfortable with the format once it is time to complete the official questions. You will not have an opportunity to re-do the answer to the official video essay questions.
• You will have a brief moment to think about the question and up to one minute to give your response.

Your video essay doesn’t need to be a Hollywood-perfect documentary! Don’t over-rehearse or read from a script. You won’t know the questions until you’ve submitted your application, but they are usually about something you know, and you will have time to prepare for them.  

Practice speaking into a camera, and record yourself to be sure you are looking at the camera lens and not somewhere else. Also, speak slowly and clearly. If you rush, you’ll look nervous, and worse, your listeners might not be able to understand what you are saying. Have a neutral background with lighting in front of you. And lock the doors so no one can interrupt you while you are recording. 

Kellogg isn’t trying to trip you up with this video component; the admissions committee wants to find out who you are apart from your work, and they are looking for reasons to admit you, to see how you will add to their community, so breathe deeply, do a few practice runs before you begin (to be sure your equipment is working), and don’t forget to smile!

Kellogg application deadlines

	Application Deadline	Decision Released
Round 1	September 10, 2025	December 10, 2025
Round 2	January 7, 2026	March 25, 2026
Round 3	April 1, 2026	May 13, 2026

Source: Northwestern Kellogg website

***Disclaimer: Information is subject to change. Please check with Kellogg directly to verify its essay questions, instructions, and deadlines.***

Kellogg class profile

Here is a look at the Kellogg MBA Class of 2026 (data taken from the Kellogg website):

Class size: 524

Women: 50%

International: 40%

LGBTQ+: 11%

First-generation: 10%

U.S. Veterans: 6%

Average GMAT score: 733

GMAT score range: 640-780

Median GRE Verbal: 162

GRE Verbal range: 152-170

Median GRE Quant: 163

GRE Quant range: 149-170

Average GPA: 3.7

GPA range: 2.9-4.0

Average years of work experience: 5

Undergraduate majors:

• Economics/Business: 49%
• Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics: 39%
• Humanities: 24%

Industry background:

• Consulting: 32%
• Financial services: 18%
• Technology: 18%
• Other: 8%
• Healthcare: 7%
• Consumer products: 5%
• Media and entertainment: 5%
• Military: 3%
• Government/Education/Nonprofit: 2%
• Manufacturing: 2%
• Energy: 1%

Getting into Kellogg, or any of the top-tier MBA programs, is very competitive. Schedule a free consultation, and we’ll match you with an experienced admissions consultant who will work with you one-on-one to create an outstanding application and prepare you to ace your interview. So give yourself the edge, and get accepted!

Dr. Christie St-John has more than 25 years of higher ed and admissions experience, including ten years in admissions at Dartmouth Tuck. She was formerly the director of MBA recruiting and admissions, director of international relations, and an adjunct faculty member at Vanderbilt University. Having also served on the board of directors of the MBA Career Services & Employer Alliance and the Consortium for Graduate Studies in Management, Christie has a deep knowledge of MBA and other graduate admissions. Want Christie to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related Resources

• Which B-School Is Best for You?
• Accepted’s Business School Selectivity Index
• Admissions Straight Talk Podcast for MBA Applicants