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Quick Answer
The Kellogg MBA essays include 2 required written essays and a video essay. The written essays typically focus on your goals, leadership, and values, while the video essay assesses communication and presence. Strong Kellogg essays demonstrate self-awareness, collaboration, and a clear connection between your goals and Kellogg’s culture of teamwork and innovation. Keep reading to learn Kellogg’s essay prompts, what the admissions team values, and tips for writing essays that stand out.
Here are the topics we’ll cover:
- What Are the Kellogg Essay Questions?
- How Do You Write the Kellogg Career Goals Essay?
- How Do You Write the Kellogg Values and Leadership Essay?
- What Should You Know About the Kellogg Video Essay?
- What Does Kellogg Look For in MBA Essays?
- How Long Should Kellogg Essays Be?
- Tips for Writing Strong Kellogg Essays
- Key Takeaways
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- What’s Next
What Are the Kellogg Essay Questions?
For 2025-2026, Kellogg’s MBA application includes the following essays:
Question #1
Intentionality is a key aspect of what makes our graduates successful Kellogg leaders. Help us understand your journey by articulating your motivations for pursuing an MBA, the specific goals you aim to achieve, and why you believe now is the right moment. Moreover, share why you feel Kellogg is best suited to serve as a catalyst for your career aspirations and what you will contribute to our community of lifelong learners during your time here. (450 words)
Question #2
Kellogg leaders are primed to tackle challenges everywhere, from the boardroom to their neighborhoods. Describe a specific professional experience where you had to make a difficult decision. Reflecting on this experience, identify the values that guided your decision-making process and how it impacted your leadership style. (450 words)
In this article, we will dive into the Northwestern Kellogg essay analysis.
KEY FACT:
Kellogg’s MBA application features 2 essay prompts: the career goals essay and the values and leadership essay.
How Do You Write the Kellogg Career Goals Essay?
Let’s dig into Kellogg School of Management essay tips.
Kellogg’s career goals essay asks:
- why you’re pursuing an MBA
- what your goals are
- why now is the best time
- why you want to go to Kellogg
- what you intend to contribute
Successful Northwestern Kellogg MBA essays address each of these points. Additionally, you must provide quite a bit of information in relatively few words.
Take note that the prompt asks about “intentionality.” Specifically, Kellogg seeks candidates who make deliberate choices to drive their careers and MBA experiences.
Then, the prompt asks to share why you want to attend Kellogg. Be selective about what you highlight — Kellogg does not want to see an exhaustive list of courses, programs, and clubs!
Finally, the prompt asks you to share what you’ll contribute to the Kellogg community. So, you must consider what you know about the program and articulate how you can make a unique contribution.
TTP PRO TIP:
When making your case to Kellogg, be specific about how the program will help your goals.
How Do You Write the Kellogg Values and Leadership Essay?
Next, let’s discuss our Kellogg MBA essay tips for the values and leadership essay.
Kellogg’s MBA leadership essay asks you to describe a professional experience involving a difficult decision. Specifically, this decision should reveal which values guided your decision-making and have some influence on your leadership style.
Take note that you should choose just ONE professional experience to discuss in your response. However, this constraint enables you to go deep in your storytelling and analysis.
You can use the CAR format (context → action → result) to tell this story. First, provide the context for the situation. Second, describe the action you took in making this difficult decision. Finally, share the result, along with the values that guided your decision and how the experience influenced your leadership style.
Remember, a story alone won’t satisfy the prompt. Specifically, you must reflect on the experience and discuss your values and leadership style, too. This is a crucial portion of the essay and one that candidates often overlook.
TTP PRO TIP:
Share only one professional experience in your response to Kellogg’s second essay question.
What Should You Know About the Kellogg Video Essay?
The Kellogg video essay must be submitted 96 hours after the application deadline. At this stage, you’ll get the opportunity to share more of yourself with the admissions team.
For the video essay, you’ll be asked 3 questions, each of which will be related to your experiences and your motivations for pursuing an MBA. Specifically, questions might include:
- Why Kellogg?
- What are your career goals?
- How will you contribute to the Kellogg community?
You will have time to think about your response for each question, and up to 1 minute to record a response. Additionally, there will be some practice questions to help you prepare.
You can practice for the video essay by recording your responses to commonly asked questions. Then, watch the video back to identify ways to improve.
Check out the Kellogg MBA admissions website for more information about the video essay.
KEY FACT:
You’ll have up to 1 minute to record your response to the video essay.
What Does Kellogg Look For in MBA Essays?
Kellogg’s MBA admissions committee seeks candidates who demonstrate:
- Leadership — not just titles, but impact professionally and otherwise
- Collaboration — an ability to work in teams and cross-functionally
- Values — self-awareness, integrity, and a growth mindset
- Clarity of goals — a vision that aligns with Kellogg’s offerings
- Authenticity — application materials that reflect your true intentions and story
Additionally, your application materials should connect your experiences with the Kellogg School of Management’s culture.
How Long Should Kellogg Essays Be?
Kellogg application essays are limited to 450 words. This is challenging, but not impossible!
However, it generally takes time to revise and refine your essays. So, we recommend that you allocate plenty of time to perfect your Kellogg essays.
TTP PRO TIP:
Start early on your Kellogg essays — these are too challenging to complete at the last minute!
Tips for Writing Strong Kellogg Essays
Here are some of our tips for writing strong Kellogg essays:
- Research Kellogg’s program and culture. Attend info sessions, talk to students, and form a strong understanding of how the program can help you.
- Show fit with the program. Ensure that your research shows up in your application essays. Remember to incorporate these offerings thoughtfully, rather than writing long lists of program features.
- Be authentic. Share real stories about your true experiences, rather than what you think the admissions committee wants to hear.
- Get some feedback. Ask a friend or family member to review your essays. Also, get help from one of TTP’s MBA experienced admissions consultants.
- Practice for the video essays: Record yourself and review the footage to ensure that your communication is clear and confident.
TTP PRO TIP:
Share real stories and your genuine perspective, not just what you think the committee wants to hear.
Key Takeaways
Kellogg’s MBA program is incredibly competitive from an admissions perspective, but it also delivers a strong ROI for its students.
The Kellogg MBA essays are your opportunity to demonstrate fit with the program. By following our Kellogg MBA essay strategy, you can create standout admissions essays and make a strong case for admission!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What are the Kellogg MBA essay prompts?
The Northwestern Kellogg MBA essay prompts are:
- Question #1: Intentionality is a key aspect of what makes our graduates successful Kellogg leaders. Help us understand your journey by articulating your motivations for pursuing an MBA, the specific goals you aim to achieve, and why you believe now is the right moment. Moreover, share why you feel Kellogg is best suited to serve as a catalyst for your career aspirations and what you will contribute to our community of lifelong learners during your time here. (450 words)
- Question #2: Kellogg leaders are primed to tackle challenges everywhere, from the boardroom to their neighborhoods. Describe a specific professional experience where you had to make a difficult decision. Reflecting on this experience, identify the values that guided your decision-making process and how it impacted your leadership style. (450 words)
How long should Kellogg MBA essays be?
Each essay is limited to 450 words.
What does Kellogg look for in MBA essays?
Kellogg’s admissions team looks for leadership, collaboration, values, clear goals, and authenticity.
What’s Next
If you’d like help with your Kellogg MBA essays, book a free consultation with one of our expert admissions consultants today.
