Prompt (550 words maximum total for Parts I & II combined):
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
Part II: Now turn the lens outward: beyond what you hope to gain,
Describe this moment in your career. What are your ambitions?
Kellogg uses the word “reflection” for a reason. You will be leaving to pursue your MBA – where are you at now (good or bad) and where do youwant to go? Be authentic and honest, and show your ability to reflect on your decisions.
What are the big moments in the past that have brought you to this point in time and this decision to leave for your MBA?
In this part of the essay, your narrative must lead naturally to answer how your ambitions and goals been shaped by your past. To some extent, you are describing how you learn from your experiences.
In addition, answer the following questions:
In sharing your pivotal experiences and decisions, you are providing context to your current situation and the motivations behind your current career and your future goals. Consider both your personal life and your professional life.
In addition, consider how you are expanding your application. In thinking about professional experiences or decisions to share, consider what either doesn't appear on your resume or what on your resume that you really want to expand upon.
There is a difference between experiences and decisions.
Even if an experience has been thrust upon you without your actively pursuing it, you may gain a lot from the experience and/or reflection upon that experience. However, your essay must demonstrate that you are active in your own life, and you are the driver. If you write about an experience that happened to you, then you must pair it with the decisions that you made in response.
Kellogg has traditionally asked how your values have driven your decisions. Although Kellogg does not ask about your values in this essay, I believe that your decisions should still reflect what you value.
Definition of values: a person's principles or standards of behavior; one's judgment of what is important in life.
Even if your decisions may be forced by an experience or situation, values are still integral to your decision-making.
In other words, your decisions are not made in a vacuum. They are the product not only what you have learned but what you most value. They underlie your motivations.
Why now? Here you reveal your logic and long-term decision-making skills.
In the second part of the essay, identify the perspective, knowledge, and/or skills that you have gained from Part I’s experiences and learning from decision-making, allowing you to contribute something uniquely valuable to your fellow Kellogg students.
In other words, what have you learned, what makes it valuable to other MBA students, and how will you apply it to enrich the Kellogg learning community?
Think of your fellow students as classmates, project teammates, club members, and entrepreneurs. You should know what clubs you want to join, pathways that you want to follow, etc., and be able to explain how whatyou bring will enhance their learning experience.
You really must demonstrate your research and understanding of the Kellogg program.
Prompt: What does a successful career look like five years after you graduate from Kellogg? (500 CHARACTERS maximum)
This short answer was available in the 2025-2026 application.
Describe a definite, specific, ambitious, and longer term purpose for pursuing an MBA, beyond the simple "I will go up the career ladder" or "I want to switch careers." What is your vision for yourself as a professional?
Prompt: Share with us the motivations behind your desired industry/function after graduating from Kellogg. (500 CHARACTERS maximum)
This short answer was available in the 2025-2026 application.
What is your "why"? Describe what from your past is motivating you to pursue your post-MBA career goal. This is not a "Why an MBA" essay, of course. It is describing the origin of your goals.
Prompt: 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)
This space can be used to address any extenuating circumstances that you would like the Admissions Committee to consider. Use to address:
Use this essay to turn a potential weakness into a strength. Tell the Admissions Committee what happened and why it happened. Be honest in your self-evaluation. Most importantly, tell them what you have learned from a negative experience, and how this learning has influenced future actions.
You have 96 hours after the application deadline to submit your video essays. It comes up pretty quickly, so you have to prepare well in advance.
You will be asked FIVE questions. For each question, the question will be read by a person in a video (usually a member of the Admissions Committee). You will be prompted to respond, with a very brief pause (10 seconds) to prepare.
Video essays are due 96 hours after the application deadline.
Kellogg asks for a video essay component. You have 96 hours after the application deadline to submit your video essays. It comes up pretty quickly, so you have to prepare well in advance.
You have one minute to answer, and that is what you need to practice: The One Minute Answer.
These will all be random questions.....
"Introduce yourself by telling us something that we wouldn't know from your resume."
"Why an MBA?"
How have you bettered your community?
"Please introduce yourself to the Admissions Committee."
There are five main components to the self-introduction.
Think of something to describe yourself or what you do that will stick with people, something that's engaging, interesting and short.
Example Hook: Someone who was creating a meditation app: "I create the monk in your pocket."
You might start with something personal from your background and tie it to the professional, or the opposite.
Example Hook: Someone developing consumer technology: "It all started with my 87-year-old grandmother saving my father's business by selling 5,000 plastic bags on the streets of Guatemala."
(Source for examples: Tatiana Kolovou, senior lecturer in the Department of Communication, Professional and Computer Skills at the IU Kelley School of Business)
If you have an international background that does not show up on your resume, work it into the introduction.
I recommend using a little humor in your video introduction - don't take yourself overly seriously.
My client James was accepted to Kellogg, and here is one of his practice runs. I think that he did a great job. Obviously, when he did the real video, he wore a suit and tie, and he had the laptop aligned with his head and shoulders. I provide this to you just a reference - you should develop your own "introduction." (Also, don't pass this around to anyone else.)
"What specifically about Kellogg MBA draws you to the program?"
“What path are you interested in pursuing, how will you get there, and why is this program right for you?”
Again, you can develop a script, and post bullet points just behind your web camera, but memorize it, so that you're not obviously reading.
This is your Why an MBA & Why Kellogg answer condensed into one minute.
Don't just provide general reasons that could be applied to other schools. Search for reasons why Kellogg the BEST school to help you reach your goals. This includes the Majors & Pathways that you would follow.
For this answer, you should definitely script out what you will say, and have me review.