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Kellogg Essay Topics Analysis

Launched April 26, 2006
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by pranavc » Thu Jul 16, 2009 12:06 pm
Hello Stacy,
I read your analysis of the Kellogg school Of Management application essay topics. I found them very helpful.
Thank you for breaking it down the way you did. I do have one question though. Essay 1 asks for a brief assessment of
my career progress to date. I was just wondering how far back I should go. I worked for year between graduation from college
and graduate school. Should I include that or should I begin from the stage right after graduate school? Your input on this would
be highly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Regards,

Pranav
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by Lisa Anderson » Thu Jul 16, 2009 1:06 pm
Dear Pranav,

I think it depends on how related that year of experience is to your career as a whole. If it is the first step on the path to graduate school and then your work experience after, then you might want to include it. If it is not related in any way to your career since graduate school, then it might be fine to leave it out of the essay. Most people will probably start with the first full-time job they had, so they would include that year. However, you need to decide what is best for you based on your assessment of your career progress.

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by pranavc » Sun Jul 19, 2009 4:20 am
Hello Lisa,
Thank you very much for your prompt acknowledgment of my post. My year-long stint of work experience between undergrad and grad school was not directly connected to my work at graduate school. Neither is it connected to the work I do now. Yet, I honestly believe that the skills and knowledge I gained there would help distinguish myself in a competitive applicant pool. Furthermore, I believe that skills gained there are valuable in all realms of the corporate world – especially in those dealing with innovation.

Based on this information, is it still worth mentioning? Your opinion will be highly appreciated. Thank you once again for your prompt and helpful acknowledgment of post.

Regards,

Pranav
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by Lisa Anderson » Mon Jul 20, 2009 7:56 am
As I stated previously, if you feel that year of experience is worthwhile, then you should include it in your essay.

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by pranavc » Thu Jul 23, 2009 2:15 am
Hello Lisa,
Thank you once again for your prompt acknowledgment of my post. I guess I have a follow-up question on this same topic. The first part of the same essay asks us to briefly assess our career progress to date. I think it is non-trivial to make an assessment without highlighting the various milestones in my career, and that somehow borders repeating what is on my resume. While writing this essay, is it a safe assumption that the admissions folks would have read the resume? I feel like I am losing a significant amount of space restating facts that have been captured in my resume all over again in the essay. Any thoughts or opinions on this will be highly appreciated. Thank you.

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Pranav
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by Lisa Anderson » Thu Jul 23, 2009 6:40 am
Dear Pranav,

Yes, there will most likely be repetition of your career milestones in your essays. The admissions committee will have your resume with your essays; however, you should not expect them to flip back and forth between the two. While you don't have to give the same level of detail in both, it is important for you to give an overview of your career progress in your essay. Perhaps only highlight the accomplishments that have affected you the most?

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by pranavc » Sat Jul 25, 2009 12:04 pm
Hello Lisa,
Thank you once again for your prompt response to my post. As you can probably guess by now, this essay has been quite a struggle for me. It seems like the topic actually encompasses three topics, namely:

1) Brief assessment of career progress to date
2) Future career goals
3) Reasons for pursuing an MBA at Kellogg.

If I sliced the essay equally between the topics above, that would give me roughly 200 words for each topic. This really is not a whole lot. Furthermore, I run a risk of saying nothing substantial for ANY of the three sub-topics if I slice the essay equally between them.

My questions are as follows:

a. Is there a recommended split (% of the essay) for each sub-topic?

b. For the bit about future career goals, do I need to talk about the specific industry I want to be in (especially if I am a potential career switcher) I want to move into right after obtaining an MBA?

Your input on this would be very helpful. Thank you once again for your help.

Regards,

Pranav
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by Lisa Anderson » Sun Jul 26, 2009 8:18 am
Pranav,

There is not a specific breakdown or the like that is best. You just need to answer the entire question within the word or page limit. How specific your career goals are depends on how specific they are. If you know you want to pursue a particular functional role and/or industry, then you should say so. If you are not sure of the industry, but know you want to be in a finance role or a marketing role, then that is fine. Basically, your career plans need to be specific enough that going to business school makes sense as the bridge between your past experience and desired career path.

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Lisa
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