Mr. Paper Pilot

You sound like a Kellogg guy. Your deep concern about community and your desire to contribute to the MBA community through volunteering and organizing on-campus clubs is a very big plus at Kellogg. The fact that you are a nontraditional MBA applicant from the government sector is also a plus. While Kellogg does not disclose GRE scores and your current score converts to the equivalent of a 650 GMAT, well below the latest class average at Kellogg of 730, that could be a problem. But I sense that your story will overcome that, particularly because you are submitting a GRE and not a GMAT. The school’s acceptance rate is about 26% these days and I would think your odds are nearly twice that for the reasons stated above. You must visit the campus, schmooze with students and alumni, and attend admission events because of your standardized test score and the fact that you did not go to a prestige university for your undergraduate studies. By the way, I am also assuming you live in the Bay Area. That is a definite plus because Kellogg would like to bring to the campus more people from the West Coast.

Your professional profile is quite modest, especially the “Coordinator” title, after 6 years of work experience. While the government sector doesn’t feature lofty titles, “Coordinator” implies the absence of leadership or strategic duties. What’s your quantified impact on the job? Your undergrad academic profile is respectable with a good GPA as a Finance major. Your GRE is okay but not impressive — why not try again and knock it out of the park? Your non-work activities are good but “committee member” roles don’t shout leadership. Step up and show your initiative in the community to help counter a soft professional profile.

Hi, it’s Nisha from mbaMission! I would need a bit more information on your professional career to assess your odds for Kellogg. For example, you’ve been doing government contracting work for 6 years – what type of impact and progression have you made in this role? Have there been promotions and/or increases in responsibility/compensation (hopefully, as this is necessary for such a competitive school)? Have you built strong relationships with potential recommenders who can speak to your strengths, achievements, and growth (especially vs. peers)?

It’s great to see that you care so much about your community. Regarding your involvement in the organizations you’ve listed, you’ll want to make sure that you describe your impact on your resume and in your application. Is there an opportunity to take on even more leadership within these orgs? If so, definitely take advantage of it, as it will only distinguish your profile further. Additionally, Kellogg is huge on social impact, so be sure to communicate how you’ll apply your experience towards being involved in the program’s specific organizations.

Your GPA is solid, and your GRE is a bit below average for Kellogg – see if you can boost it since you still have the time before Round 1. In such a competitive process, you want to be able to tell yourself that you did everything possible to succeed.

Hope that helps – best of luck!

Hi Mr. Paper Pilot—This is Donna Bauman from Stratus Admissions weighing in on your candidacy. On the plus side, you have a strong GPA in the Kellogg strike zone, demonstrate loyalty if you’ve been working at the same firm for 6 years and you present as someone who values community and collaboration—and those attributes are particularly valued at Kellogg. However, there are a few challenges that I see. First after 6 years of working I’d expect to see a title beyond project coordinator. Perhaps this title does not fully capture the scope of your responsibilities so be sure to capture your specific impact and results on your resume as part of your application. If you have been promoted in your current company be sure to highlight this. Encourage your recommenders to highlight your specific impact as well. If you can convince Kellogg adcom of your strong impact at work and have exceptional recommendations your chances improve. If you want to increase your odds, I suggest you spend this time before R1 to retake the GRE or GMAT to increase your score, take the time to visit Kellogg to understand how you can contribute specifically to clubs and the community at large and learn more about specific career clubs and opportunities so that you can be a bit more specific on some of the tech firms that interest you. Also look to connect something from your current work experience to your post MBA goal of working in tech so that Kellogg can more clearly see how there is a natural progression between your pre and post MBA career paths.