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Many MBA applicants feel that they are purchasing a brand when they choose a business school. However, the educational experience you will have is what is crucial to your future, and no one will affect your education more than your professors. Today, we focus on Julie Hennessy from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Before students even began describing the quality of their educational experiences with Julie Hennessy to mbaMission, they noted that she “cares a lot” and “makes herself available to chat and talk about recruiting.” In addition to teaching Kellogg MBA students as a clinical professor of marketing and serving as associate chair of the Marketing Department, Hennessy teaches executive education at leading firms. 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 L.G. Lavengood Outstanding Professor of the Year Award—which is voted on by Kellogg students—in both 2007 and 2017. In addition, she has won six student impact awards and five Chair’s Core Course Teaching Awards—most recently in 2017 and 2010–2011, respectively. And in 2016, Hennessy received the school’s Certificate for Impact Teaching Award.

Kellogg’s website notes that Hennessy focuses her writing on producing new cases for class discussion; she has completed cases on such brands as TiVo, Apple iPod, Invisalign Orthodontics, and (as separate cases) the antibiotics Biaxin and Zithromax.

For more information about Northwestern Kellogg and 16 other top-ranked business schools, check out our free mbaMission Insider’s Guides.

Are you applying to business school this year? If so, you can enroll in one of our free business school workshops, which are offered both online and in person in major cities across the country!

This December, the event lineup includes the following sessions:

• December 3
  Writing a Standout Harvard Business School Essay (Online)
  Harvard Business School (HBS) receives more than 9,000 applications each year. An experienced senior consultant will help prospective MBAs learn how to ensure their essay will grab the attention of an overworked HBS admissions officer.
• December 4
  Assessing Your MBA Profile (Online)
  How will admissions officers weigh your MBA application? An experienced senior consultant will help prospective MBAs understand how admissions committees choose from thousands of strong candidates to fill a relatively small number of spots in their classes.
• December 13
  No Stone Unturned: Your 2019/2020 MBA Application Starts Now! (Online)
  Planning to apply to business school in 2019 or 2020? It is not too early to start planning! By taking action now, you can dramatically improve your chances of gaining admission to a top MBA program in the coming years. Indeed, it is never too soon (and certainly not too late) to take several crucial steps to shape your MBA candidacy.

To enroll in one of our free seminars, click the event title in the list above. We look forward to having you join us!

Are you applying to business school this year? If so, you can enroll in one of our free business school workshops, which are offered both online and in person in major cities across the country!

This November, the event lineup includes the following sessions:

• November 6
  MBA Appliation Essay Writing (Online)
  How can you write essays that grab the attention of MBA admissions committees? An experienced senior consultant will use this simple but often perplexing question as the starting point to a workshop for prospective business school applicants.
• November 8
  Challenges and Opportunities for the Family Business MBA Applicant (Online)
  In this webinar, we will advise family business applicants on the kinds of issues that can affect their candidacies, including recommender selection, resume construction, and how to tactfully discuss certain topics in essays and interviews. Join us to learn how to bolster your strengths and mitigate your weakness as a family business applicant, so you can be at your most competitive throughout the admissions process.
• November 9
  MBA Interview Workshop (Online)
  What do you need to do to prepare for your business school interview? An experienced senior consultant will help prospective MBAs understand the types of questions that may be asked to best prepare for interviews.
• November 27
  The Last-Minute MBA Application (Online)
  Applying to business school in a few weeks? Worried you won’t have enough time to complete your applications? During this webinar, an experienced senior consultant will review practical ways of making the most of the time you still have to complete your applications.

To enroll in one of our free seminars, click the event title in the list above. We look forward to having you join us!

Are you planning to apply to business school in 2019–2020? If so, now is the time to start preparing for your applications, and we can help! The leaders in the MBA admissions space—mbaMission and Manhattan Prep—are coming together to make sure you will be ready for next year’s MBA admissions season. Join us for a free, three-part webinar series called Next Year Starts Now. In this brand-new event series, mbaMission Senior Consultants will address and explain different significant admissions components and provide a checklist for successful long-term planning, while experts from Manhattan Prep will help you tackle some of the toughest challenges GMAT and GRE test takers face, offering valuable insight and advice.

Please sign up for each session separately via the links below. Space is limited!

Part One: The GMAT vs. GRE and Setting a Goal Score (October 16)

Taking the GMAT or GRE exam is a crucial part of your application to business school. Nearly every top MBA program will accept either one—so, which one should you take? Join us to learn the differences between these exams, how schools feel about them, and which one is right for you. We will also discuss how you should set a target score for either exam based on your goals and desired MBA programs.

Part Two: How to Get a Top Score on the GMAT/GRE (October 18)

How do you get a “Harvard-level” GMAT or GRE score? What level of difficulty should you be prepared to face? Join Manhattan Prep’s expert GMAT and GRE instructors to see the toughest content on both tests and strategies for succeeding at these levels.

Part Three: Long-Term Planning for Your MBA Applications (October 23)

Start planning now! By taking action right away, you can dramatically improve your chances of gaining admission to a top MBA program in the coming years. Indeed, you can never start too soon to take several crucial steps to shape your MBA candidacy.

These live webinars will run from 8:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. EDT. Attendees of each event will receive access to a checklist of takeaways and to-dos so they can put what they learned into action.

Do not miss this chance to start your MBA journey early so that you are prepared to submit your most compelling application next year. Enroll for free today!

In the past, we have debunked the prevailing myth that MBA applicants must follow a specific “right” professional path to be accepted to business school. This time, we want to dispel the similar myth that candidates must have a certain kind and level of life experience. Applicants often worry that they lack an appropriate amount of international experience, for example, but having international experience is not a prerequisite for or guarantee of admission to a top program—and a dearth of such experience does not suddenly disqualify you, either.

That admissions officers want a geographically and experientially diverse class is generally understood, and most MBA candidates these days have had some international exposure, either through personal travel or work. However, keep in mind that international exposure is not limited to physically leaving one’s home country. If you are dealing with suppliers abroad or running a weekly conference call with a team in another country—even if you are an American dealing with this from the United States or an Indian managing these tasks from India—you still have international experience.

However, even if you are an American working for a U.S. company with a U.S.-based product or service and U.S.-based customers—as unlikely as that is these days—you are not applying with one hand tied behind your back. If you have not had the personal resources or the professional opportunities to gain international experience, you can still become a business leader—the two are not mutually exclusive. So, like all candidates, you will need to explain to the MBA admissions committee how your degree will help you achieve your dreams. Gaining an international education and international exposure through your MBA may just be a crucial step in reaching your goals.