Mr. Boutique Consultant

Great profile and stats. Congrats.

Honestly, you should stroll into Kellogg. Your super GMAT score of 760 is well above Kellogg’s latest 732 class average. Your GPA from a great university is above the 3.6 average for the latest cohort at Kellogg which accepted 26% of its applicants for last fall’s class. So you are solid on the basic numbers. The rest of your profile is very strong as well, but what really catches my eye is the fact that you have been promoted by your two employers and in a relatively quick timeframe. That is super important and impressive. If there’s anything lacking in your profile, it’s that you worked for what I presume to be a startup that is not well known and a boutique consulting firm that is clearly not MBB. But your post-MBA goal is perfectly in line with your experience and Kellogg is an ideal place to fulfill your ambition to work at MBB or in brand management or strategy in the CPG industry. Still, with a 74% reject rate, you never know what can happen. But I am placing my bet on you at Kellogg.

Your strong stats will convince that Kellogg that you’ll excel in the classroom (while helping them boost their averages), while your breadth of experiences (in-house & advisory; tech & cross-industry) means you’ll be able to contribute to the learning experience of your classmates. Also, Kellogg is a great match for your goals (though I’d want to know a little more about why CPG and/or food & bev – make sure that Kellogg understands why you’re passionate about that space specifically). And PS: I love your love of learning & that you’re constantly pushing yourself to grow, be it in your career or in your passions outside of work. I think Kellogg will take note as well.

Hello Mr. Boutique Consultant! Thanks for posting. Krista Nannery here from mbaMission. I believe the form asks you to indicate what Class and Round you are applying for but we don’t unfortunately get that information on the front-end here. I’ll try to build on what Liza and John have already said and add new information.
You do mention being a legacy and I need to warn you: b-schools have told us that if they took every legacy or person with a strong connection to a legacy, there’d be no room left in the class. I say this because I want to make sure you don’t rely on this overmuch…do your own networking with Booth, visit and show your interest. (And hey, maybe it makes for a nice father/son trip?)
Then we need to talk about timing. (And I apologize again for not having this information.) If you’re considering applying to b-school now, with 3 years of work experience, I’d want you to invest in making sure that your resume shows business impact and that your recommenders stress your maturity and ability to hang with the C-suite. It can sometimes be a little tougher, in my experience, to apply as an American male consultant with slightly less experience than the average. With your stats, you’re going to get their attention…now you just need to keep it!
Last thing — extracurriculars. Looks like maybe you did a lot in college but don’t have much going on now? That could be something to beef up in the coming months. You don’t need twelve things but pick one or two things (and/or go back to something you’ve done before) and try to do more with it. Firm-related CSR activities count!
Hope that helps!
Krista

Hi Mr. Boutique Consultant, this is Donna Bauman, Senior MBA Admissions Counselor at Stratus Admissions commenting on your profile. You have some serious academic chops with the 3.67 from Vanderbilt and the 760 GMAT! I am also impressed with your consulting experience and your promotions. When you are speaking with your recommenders encourage them to comment on your fast promotion schedule as it carries more weight when a recommender says this. Kellogg certainly has a strong history of CPG excellence and I could see you exploring CPG or MBB consulting opportunities with Kellogg. In terms of your profile, I think it is more interesting to seek the MBA to gain marketing, finance and operations knowledge that you’d need for CPG brand management but do some further self-reflection about whether you see yourself going MBB or CPG post MBA. I think your profile supports either move—and using the time now prior to the application process to speak to people in both roles might help you gain more clarity that will be useful in the MBA application process. I love that you are always learning new things—sounds like the Kellogg “growth mindset” and that you are preparing for Jeopardy! I think you will present well at many of the schools you are considering and so I encourage you to do your research now to understand how each program can best help you achieve your goals. I would leverage your family MBA connections to learn more about the culture and opportunities at each program you are considering to put your best applications forward. While you do have an excellent profile, be sure you take the time to submit thoughtful applications as all of the schools on your list have many qualified applicants to choose from!