We welcome back Steve Thompson, Senior Director of Admissions at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, in this Admissions Director Q&A.
As the leader of Full-Time admissions, Steve is focused on attracting the best and brightest candidates to Kellogg’s portfolio of Full-Time MBA programs. Steve has played a critical leadership role at Kellogg since January 2018, when he first joined the team as director of the Executive MBA Program. Prior to Kellogg, Steve worked at IE Business School as the Executive Director of the International MBA Program.
Keep reading to find out how to prepare for your interview with Kellogg, how to craft an authentic essay, and how to put your best foot forward on your application.
Clear Admit: What is the one aspect of your program that you wish applicants knew more about?
Steve Thompson: It’s hard to choose, here are a few:
- The strength and legacy of our healthcare programming. Healthcare at Kellogg started in 1945, making Kellogg the first business school to focus on the business of health. As a result, we have alumni that are business leaders in all facets of the healthcare ecosystem including leading Fortune 500 healthcare companies, biopharmaceuticals and healthcare startups. A highlight of our offerings is the unique Deep Dive immersion program in healthcare. Taught over three intensive weekends, this popular course connects students from across the Full-Time, Evening & Weekend and Executive MBA Programs to learn from leading practitioners and researchers. Additionally, the prestigious Hawryluk Scholars Endowed Fund is awarded to a handful of Kellogg MBA students who have a proven interest in the biopharmaceutical field. These scholars benefit from an immersive education, direct access to industry leaders and dedicated mentorship from Kellogg alumni and healthcare industry experts.
- Our increased focus on private equity. Private equity (PE) is the top destination for our students seeking jobs in financial services, with 10% of our Class of 2023 graduates accepting a job offer in this field. To meet the increased demand from students, Kellogg has been expanding its PE resources, including adding the Advanced Private Equity Experience (APEX). This highly competitive opportunity provides students with an innovative academic and student experience that includes 1:1 industry mentorship, an accelerated PE curriculum with an advanced deep-dive course, as well as mentorship from Kellogg faculty.
- Our broad portfolio of programs. A unique benefit to Kellogg’s full-time MBA program is the flexibility combined with a portfolio of five distinct MBA programs that have been intentionally designed to fit students’ personal and professional interests. And while these programs provide distinct core curriculums, the elective period gives all our full-time MBA students with the opportunity to take classes together and learn from each other’s unique insights.
- Our MBAi Program is designed to prepare professionals to drive strategic business innovation while understanding the complex nuances of the technology that enables it. The unique curriculum includes machine learning, robotics, computational thinking for business, fintech, introduction to the frontiers of science and technology and how data science and artificial intelligence drive innovation. This fast-paced program lasts five quarters from start to graduation and includes a full-time summer internship. Students will also have the option to participate in industry engagement opportunities including a San Francisco trek, local company visits and an opportunity to work on a corporate project through the capstone course. Graduates receive a joint MBA degree from both Kellogg and the McCormick School of Engineering.
CA: Walk us through the life of an application in your office from an operational standpoint. What happens between the time an applicant clicks “submit” and the time the Kellogg admissions committee offers a final decision?
ST: By the time an applicant clicks submit, we understand that they’ve put extensive time, effort and thought into the application. With that in mind, we thoroughly review each application to best understand the experiences and motivations of each candidate. For this reason, we introduced the video essay several years ago as a way to provide a valuable opportunity for candidates to tell us more about their story and experiences, beyond their application.
All of these inputs come together to create a holistic review process that enables us to understand not just what a candidate hopes to get out of their MBA, but also what they will bring to the experience of other students and the Kellogg community.
CA: How does your Kellogg admissions team approach the essay portion of the application specifically? What are you looking for as you read an essay? Are there common mistakes that applicants should try to avoid? What is one key thing they should keep in mind as they sit down to write?
ST: We are looking to get to know candidates beyond their test scores and resumes. The essays are a terrific opportunity to go beyond what you do for a living and show us “the how” and “the why.” We want the essays to be authentic and encourage applicants to avoid a generic response.
Our first written essay question asks candidates to reflect on their personal journey, motivations and why Kellogg is the ideal environment to propel their career forward.
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.
Our second written essay is designed to learn about each candidate’s unique experiences and decision-making processes.
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.
We prompt our applicants with these questions as a means to uncover the details of what motivates and inspires them. What drives them when they get up every morning? How will this make them meaningful members of our community at Kellogg? How will it shape the kind of leader they will become one day? We’re confident that these essays will help our team identify the candidates who will thrive at Kellogg.
My advice for candidates is to avoid telling us what they think we want to hear. Make sure your essay represents you and only you. Is what you are conveying broad and lacking in substance, or are you giving us concrete insights into how you think and work? If it’s the latter, your essay is probably on the right track.
CA: Could you tell us about the Kellogg admissions interview process? Approximately how many applicants do you interview? Who conducts the interview (students, admissions officers, alumni) and what is the nature of the interview (resume-based, application-based, behavioral)? Will your admissions interviews be in-person or virtual for the 2024-2025 admissions season?
ST: Because collaboration and forming connections is such an important part of the Kellogg culture, we seek to interview as many applicants as possible. With that said, the number of candidates we ultimately interview will largely depend on the volume of applications we receive in each round. Though, while we highly value the interview, it is important to remember that it is just one way for us to get to know an applicant.
We will continue to have virtual interviews this year.
CA: What is your testing policy? Do you offer exam waivers? Why or why not?
ST: Kellogg’s application requires you to submit a GMAT, GMAT Focus or GRE score; no preference is given to one particular test, so choose the option that works best for you. Anyone living in a region impacted by conflict or war, and thereby with limited access to internet and test-taking facilities, may request a test waiver to Kellogg.
All non-native English speakers will need to show proficiency in English as part of the application process. Any of following criteria will satisfy this requirement:
1. You have completed an undergraduate or graduate degree from a college or university in the United States.
2. You have completed an undergraduate or graduate degree at a college or university where English was the only language of instruction.
3. You have worked in the United States (or an English-speaking nation) for at least two consecutive years within the last five years.
If none of the above criteria are met, English proficiency will be evaluated throughout the application process and interview in combination with a valid TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo English score.
CA: In the application data form, many schools ask for information about work experience, activities, hobbies, and much more. What advice would you give to applicants as they approach this component of the application process?
ST: Think about your application holistically. Pursuing an MBA is a catalyst for personal and professional growth. What do you want to accomplish by pursuing an MBA? How have you grown in the past? How do you intend to grow at Kellogg? We also want to see how our applicants approach leadership and teamwork, which are integral parts of the Kellogg experience. How have you been a leader? What challenges did you face and how did you handle them? Thinking about these factors before you apply will only help strengthen your application for business school.
CA: Tell us briefly about two popular courses at your institution.
ST: The importance of artificial intelligence in the current business landscape requires understanding not only the technology itself, but the societal, ethical and organizational implications of this technology. In addition, navigating these issues involves increasing collaboration with these technologies. Our course Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work, taught by Professor Hatim Rahman, focuses on building an understanding of the relationship between AI, organizations and work.
What Every MBA Should Know About Climate Change, taught by Professor Meghan Busse, is of high demand among our student body that is increasingly focused on sustainability. Over the next several decades, climate is going to become a significant part of every job function. This course will teach students what they need to know to be climate-capable business leaders. Students will gain climate literacy, enabling them to understand and engage with current public and policy discourses on climate change.
CA: Is there anything else you’d like to highlight about your MBA program or Kellogg admissions process?
ST: Kellogg equips leaders with a unique combination of analytical, creative and social intelligence that enables them to lead diverse teams and navigate companies through today’s rapidly evolving marketplace.
Business education has never been more important as future business leaders prepare for the rapid change the world is facing day in and day out – from navigating emerging technologies and adapting to shifts in stakeholder expectations and changing workforces, to analyzing consumer behavior.
Our admissions process utilizes a strong, holistic evaluation process that assesses a candidate’s curiosity and capability to understand and tackle complex issues in business and society. We seek to understand their abilities on many fronts, including academic accomplishments, professional experiences and leadership potential, to name a few.
