Before students even began describing the quality of their educational experiences with Julie Hennessy (“Marketing and Marketing Strategy”) to mbaMission, they noted that she “cares a lot” and “makes herself available to chat and talk about recruiting.” In addition to teaching MBA students, Hennessy teaches executive education at leading firms, and students we interviewed reported that she draws on these experiences in class, but does not just tell stories. Instead, Hennessy challenges students and teases out the responses that facilitate learning. Students with whom we spoke also referred to her as “funny and energetic.” Not surprisingly, then, Hennessy won the school’s 2007 Lavengood Award for Outstanding Professor of the Year—an award voted on by Kellogg students. According to the school’s Web site, Hennessy focuses her writing efforts on producing new cases for class discussion; she recently completed cases on TiVo, Apple iPod and Zithromax.

For more information about Kellogg and 14 other top-ranked business schools, check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guides.

Before the two-week Complete Immersion in Management (CIM) orientation program, incoming students at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University gather for the four-day Kellogg Worldwide Experiences and Service Trips (KWEST) experience, during which they engage in volunteerism and tourist activities alongside the veritable strangers that will soon become their friends. KWEST experiences occur throughout the United States and internationally; the 2010 trips were to such locations as the Cayman Islands, Greece, Egypt, South Africa and Turkey. Some students even participate in a mystery trip: they do not learn their destination until they check in at the airport! During KWEST, students are not expected to discuss their work experience or academic/professional plans. Instead, students get to know each other on a more personal and intellectual level, returning to campus well acquainted and even bonded.

For in-depth descriptions of social and community activities at Kellogg and 14 other top MBA programs, check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guides.

According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, factors such as class size, time/day of the week, topic and professor can affect the price of a course. But students are not just blindly bidding up courses—they are researching historical prices for courses, talking to former students and checking teacher ratings. This bidding system “pushes faculty to work harder on their teaching,” according to Stacey Kole, deputy dean at Chicago Booth and, in most cases, students who truly value classes are the ones who will find their way in.

Kellogg also has an Entrepreneur in Residence program, wherein an experienced entrepreneur hosts half-hour sessions with students who aspire to careers in this field or are seeking advice on their already active projects. MBA student entrepreneurs coming from or planning to enter a family business will likely be interested to learn that Kellogg’s Center for Family Businesses not only publishes research and cases on family business, but also confidentially consults to family-run companies. Indeed, this is all just the tip of the iceberg…

Go beyond the stereotypes. For in-depth information on Kellogg and 14 other leading business school programs, check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guides.

A winner of the Lavengood Award for Outstanding Professor of the Year (2008), Harry Kraemer (“Management and Strategy”) is a Kellogg alumnus (MBA ’79) and was CEO and president of Baxter International (a $9B health care firm) before becoming an adjunct professor at Kellogg. Kraemer remains active in the business community as an executive partner at Madison Dearborn, a Chicago-based private equity firm. Students we interviewed described how Kraemer fuses theory and practice, bringing CEOs from some of the biggest companies in the United States to his class, but outsiders need not worry that such a successful individual would be out of touch with the common student—Kraemer is known for offering students one-on-one career guidance, even if they are not enrolled in his class.

For more information about Kellogg and 14 other top-ranked business schools, check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guides.

True to Kellogg’s reputation for fostering a robust community, its annual ski trip is typically attended by a remarkable 750 first- and second-year students. According to a second year we interviewed, “Kellogg’s ski trip was the first and remains the biggest of its kind. Like everything else at Kellogg the trip is student run … from logistics to marketing to sponsorship. … First- and second-year students work together to make it an unforgettable weeklong adventure.” For the 2010 trip, the participating students stayed at the Aspen Snowmass resort in Aspen, Colorado. Skiers can avail themselves of three-, four- or even five-day passes while nonskiers can enjoy activities such as cooking classes, snowshoe lessons and spa treatments (at reduced prices). The evenings feature theme parties, such as an ’80s party and a “shipwrecked” pirate party. “The entire event is a phenomenon,” said the second year we interviewed. “It’s a great break for everyone … as first years blow off steam from their hectic initial quarter, while second years immerse themselves in their final ski trip.” Although Evanston is quite a distance from the Rockies, we learned that skiing is nonetheless serious business at Kellogg.

For in-depth descriptions of social and community activities at Kellogg and 14 other top MBA programs, check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guides.

b) MMM Program applicants – Briefly assess your career progress to date. How do the unique characteristics of the MMM Program meet your educational needs and career goals? (600-word limit).

Because Personal Statements are similar from one application to the next, we have produced the mbaMission Personal Statement Guide,  which helps applicants write this style of essay for any school. We offer this guide to candidates free of charge, via our online store. Please feel free to download your copy today.

For a thorough exploration of Kellogg’s academic program, merits, defining characteristics, important statistics, social life, academic environment and more, please check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guide to the Kellogg School of Management.

Essay 2: Describe your key leadership experiences and evaluate what leadership areas you hope to develop through your MBA experiences (600-word limit).

In your essay response to this question, you might offer two simple vignettes that showcase your leadership experience via narratives, and then evaluate yourself and denote certain areas in which you believe you can improve. Although you are expected to be critical in discussing these areas for development, take care not to deride your strengths. Rather than examining the ways in which you are lacking as a leader, focus on the ways you could become a more complete and capable one. In this essay question (much as in essay question three), specific reference is made to your future experience as an MBA student at the school. So, you should seize this opportunity to illustrate a connection between you and Kellogg by showing that you understand how certain resources at the school will directly facilitate your development as a leader.

Essay 3: Assume you are evaluating your application from the perspective of a student member of the Kellogg Admissions Committee. Why would you and your peers select you for admission, and what impact would you make as a member of the Kellogg community? (600-word limit).

No doubt, many candidates will wonder whether they should respond to this question in first person (I, me, my) or third person (he/she, him/her, his/hers). We would guess that most applicants will choose to respond in third person, but neither choice is definitively right or wrong. What is really important is that your content is compelling.

At mbaMission, we always recommend that before you begin writing an essay, you outline your thoughts, but we especially encourage you to take this approach with this essay, because it is so open-ended. Similarly, take care to avoid simply reviewing every single element of your candidacy. Many applicants will fail to write a compelling essay here because they will instead focus on discussing their transcript, GMAT score(s), professional history, GPA, community activities, personal life, etc. You have only 600 words with which to craft your message in this case, so give careful thought to what an objective outsider might think about you, and play to your strengths rather than offering a survey of everything in your profile. In short, we encourage candidates to think in terms of anecdotes for this essay and not default to simply “listing” qualities and accomplishments.

A strong self-assessment will prepare you to effectively bring color to certain events and attributes and link them to elements of the Kellogg MBA community and experience. By doing so, you will not only present your strengths in a compelling manner and a unique light, but also clearly illustrate your fit with the school and prove to the admissions committee that you profoundly understand how you will contribute.

Note: A misperception exists that candidates cannot add any new material in their answers to this question, other than what they have already provided via their resumes and other essays. Logic would dictate that AdCom members would not want to spend their precious time reading about experiences that applicants have already described.  If Kellogg wanted applicants to summarize the rest of their applications into this one essay, they would have provided that direction. We offer the exact opposite advice –  make sure that the reader continues to learn about you in this essay so that you continue to maintain his/her attention.

Essay 4: Complete one of the following three questions or statements. (400-word limit)

Reapplicants have the option to answer a question from this grouping, but this is not required.

a) Describe a time when you had to inspire a reluctant individual or group.

Inspiring the uninspired—isn’t that what every successful Hollywood sports movie is about: a coach or player finds a way to unleash the talents of a group of misfits who ultimately win the big championship? Indeed, a leader who can somehow rouse others to action is unquestionably likeable and compelling. So, to write an effective essay for this question option, you will need to explain exactly how you connected with your hesitant team or individual and what steps you took to creatively motivate them (him/her) to succeed. Your motivational techniques, not your results, should be the primary focus of this essay, though the results should be validating.

b) People may be surprised to learn that I….

We suggest that before writing your essay for this question option, you give a significant amount of deep thought to the image of yourself that you have presented thus far in your application, and especially in your other essays. Often, applicants believe that they are offering a unique perspective on their experiences and personality when they are really just presenting a different side of the same coin: “You know that I am an engineer, but did you know that I also do training?” (This just will not work.)

For this to be a successful essay, your reader needs to be truly surprised—and pleasantly so—by what he/she learns about you. For example, the former college shot putter now performs in an ethnic dance troupe, or a former drama star now competes regularly in crossword puzzle championships. Of course, your story need not be as over the top as these, but you should certainly present a new, interesting and ideally courageous side of you that your reader may not have otherwise expected or assumed.

c) The riskiest personal or professional decision I ever made was….

To successfully discuss a risk you have taken, you will need to show that a great deal was at stake for you; this means you will likely also have to reveal that consequences were impending should your actions (or inactions) go awry. You need not have started a business to discuss a risk you have taken, nor does your risk need to be financial in nature. Switching careers (or even leaving a career to pursue a personal interest), giving less-than-glowing feedback to a supervisor, changing a marketing message, intervening during a time of perceived crisis and other similar actions could all fit the bill for this essay. The bottom line is to make sure you show the reader just how bold you were—albeit in a humble way—through a detailed narrative that illustrates this fact without your having to state it directly.

Richard Honack (“Service Marketing and Management,” “Sports Marketing and Management”) is known for integrating alumni and speakers into his popular “Service Marketing and Management” class, which focuses on how one can deliver excellent customer service. Students with whom we spoke raved about the class’s practicality and about the way Honack unifies theory and real-world application. Further, students reported that they appreciate Honack’s warm personality; one told mbaMission that Honack is “interested in each student’s life,” adding, “He wanted to know what your goals were and what students wanted to get out of his class. He made connections for students and wanted to enrich their overall experience at Kellogg.”

For more information about Kellogg and 13 other top-ranked business schools, check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guides.