Kellogg Business School

Essay 1

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)

Video Essays

We’ve read your essays, we’ve read your resume — now we want you to bring all that to life in a video. Show us the person behind all those carefully crafted words.

The video will be comprised of three questions, each designed to help you showcase your personality and share some of the experiences that brought you here today.

Some 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 30 minutes to complete, which includes time for setup. 

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.

Re-applicant Essay
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 word limit)

Additional Information

We know that life is full of extenuating circumstances. Whether you want to explain gaps in work experience, your choice of recommenders, inconsistent or questionable academic performance or something else, you can use this section to briefly tell us anything we need to know about your application. (280 words)

Click the videos below to learn more about Kellogg's full-time program