Program Overview
The Kellogg School of Management emphasizes the development of well-rounded individuals through three key educational objectives: partnership, leadership, and scholarship. Kellogg strives to produce “leaders equipped to thrive in the challenging global business landscape.” To achieve this objective, Kellogg emphasizes leadership and teamwork, with a focus on group projects and evaluations, to prepare students to thrive in the evolving global business environment.
Kellogg is a general management program. People incorrectly peg it as a marketing program. While it has a stellar marketing curriculum, it is a very well-rounded program with fantastic resources in all major (and minor) business subjects. The overall goal of the program is to provide you with the tools to become an effective manager and business leader.
Key to Kellogg is its culture. Team-oriented, collaborative, and student involvement… are all ways to accurately describe the very unique culture that is cultivated at Kellogg. While the class is comprised of driven, high-achieving students, and the environment can be very intense, it is not cutthroat or competitive. Kellogg’s unique culture is partially a result of its policy of interviewing all applicants, thus emphasizing the personal aspect of the application more than almost any other school.
This also makes it a highly sought-after choice among recruiters. The placement office is consistently ranked among the top in comparison to other schools. Top companies, such as McKinsey and Boston Consulting Group, in particular, love Kellogg.
Kellogg’s most recent acceptance rate was 28.6%. Also, the program ranked #2 (tied) in US News & World Report‘s Best Business Schools ranking.
We asked the former Kellogg admissions officers on the Stacy Blackman Consulting team to profile what Kellogg seeks. Their consensus is:
Kellogg is looking for leadership, strong academic record and a track record of involvement. Leadership can be demonstrated at work, during undergrad, and/or through extracurriculars. Depth (long-term commitment) and breadth (involved in many activities) are valued.
Contact us for an assessment of your Kellogg MBA candidacy today. Here’s a snapshot of our Kellogg expertise on the SBC admissions consulting team:
Admissions Stats
Here is a snapshot of how Kellogg compares with Chicago Booth.
| Class of 2026 Admission Stats | Kellogg | Booth |
| Average GMAT | 733 | 729 |
| GMAT Range | 640-780 | 590-780 |
| Average GPA | 3.7 | 3.6 |
| Acceptance Rate | 28%* | 28%* |
*Estimated
Booth and Kellogg admit a high percentage of students who majored in either business or economics during their undergraduate studies. Kellogg has retained more poets than Booth, with students who completed their undergraduate work in liberal arts or humanities representing 24% versus 13% at Booth. It’s noteworthy that Kellogg brings in as many students with STEM backgrounds, given Chicago’s quantitative reputation.
| Undergrad Degrees* | Kellogg | Booth |
| Humanities | 24% | 13% |
| Engineering/Math/STEM | 39% | 30% |
| Business/Economics | 49% | 49% |
*Estimated and doesn’t account for overlap
| Enrollment Stats for MBA Class of 2026 | Kellogg | Booth |
| Enrolled MBA Students | 524 | 632 |
| International MBA Students | 40% | 35% |
| Women MBA Students | 50% | 42% |
| Minority* | 42% | 46% |
*Estimated
Application Essays, Tips & Candidate Evaluation
The Kellogg essay prompts often embody intrinsic, holistic and/or value-based attributes. Here are the 2025-2026 MBA essay questions.
Essay 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)
Essay 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)
SBC’s essay tips can be found here.
Also, check out this blog post, Kellogg MBA Program: Get the Inside Scoop, for a deep dive into what it takes to get in with SBC consultant Beth, the former director of full-time admissions at Kellogg.
Sample Kellogg Essays
Winning essays from our successful admits are new on the SBC site and can be found here:
More Kellogg Application Tips
View our extensive overview of how the application for Kellogg varies from that of Booth here.