Meet The Incoming Kellogg Class of 2017

Corey White

Corey White

Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management

Hometown: Homewood, IL

Undergraduate School and Major: University of Chicago, Economics

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: Burger King Corporation (Credit Analyst, Business Analyst, Manager / Franchising, Senior Manager/ Market Planning

Recalling your own experience, what advice do you have for applicants who are preparing for either the GMAT or the GRE? Take the time before you begin studying to put a plan together for how many hours you are going to commit to studying each week and what your schedule is going to look like. Write that plan down and stick to it. Prep programs are expensive, but help provide the structure and direction you will need to efficiently attack your weaknesses and achieve your full potential on the exam. Without the program that I took, I did not know what to study or when to study it and was not making any progress. Invest in yourself and take one of the classes.

Based on your own selection process, what advice do you have for applicants who are trying to draw up a list of target schools to which to apply? Look for places that will help you continue to grow as a professional, but also as a person. The MBA should definitely advance your career and you should reflect on what you want to do and which schools can help you the most due to the resources, alumni, curriculum, etc. However, you also want to be pushed from your comfort zone and be surrounded by classmates and professors who will bring out the best in you.

What advice do you have for applicants in actually applying to a school, writing essays, doing admission interviews, and getting recommenders to write letters on your behalf? Talk to as many current students and recent alumni of the schools you are applying to as you can. They are an enormous resource to learn about the culture of the school; what the classes are really like; and which companies recruit there the heaviest, but they can also help you see if the school is a good fit for you and what kind of people you can expect to be around. As for the actual materials that you will submit, make sure that you get feedback from people whose opinion you trust that know you well. Your recommenders should also know you well and be able to speak to your character and work product. I know everything seems very complicated and intense, but above all else just be yourself.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? From the first time I visited Kellogg I knew this was where I was going to get my MBA. What set Kellogg apart for me was the combination of a culture that emphasizes collaboration and learning through interacting with your peers and a curriculum that leverages strength in multiple disciplines to create impactful leaders prepared to solve a wide range of business challenges. I was looking for a place where I could be challenged intellectually, but also create lasting relationships with great people. Every current student, alumnus, and admissions officer that I interacted with reinforced my high expectations for the program and helped to solidify my decision to enroll here.

What would you ultimately like to achieve before you graduate?

I would like to lay the foundation for becoming a transformational leader with the vision and communication skills to inspire change and growth in organizations. By graduation, I want to have expanded my knowledge of business exponentially by pushing myself in classes and clubs that my previous experiences have not prepared me for. The beauty of a school like Kellogg is that I know that I have like-minded peers and we can build each other up to achieve our goals.

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