How to Answer Kellogg’s Video Essay Questions

If you’re applying to the Kellogg MBA program, you’ve likely seen that the application requires three video essays, which must be submitted within 96 hours (4 days) of the application deadline. For the 2024-2025 cycle, the deadlines are September 11 for Round 1 and January 8, 2025 for Round 2. These Kellogg video essay questions are a key part of your application, offering a chance to showcase your personality, communication skills, and leadership potential beyond your written essays.

To help you succeed, we’ve compiled expert tips for approaching and answering Kellogg’s video essay questions. While the official instructions can be found on Kellogg’s website, we’ve added additional insights and strategies to help you prepare effectively and leave a strong impression.

Timing is Key

From a tactical standpoint, once you see each question, you will have 20 seconds to gather your thoughts and 60 seconds to deliver your response. Our top advice is to focus your practice on mastering the timing – a minute passes faster than you might expect! Over the years, we’ve worked with many clients, and most initially get cut off mid-sentence.

To build your confidence, use the list of potential Kellogg video essay questions at the end of this article to practice answering them (out loud!) with a timer. Repeat this process several times to get comfortable speaking for exactly 60 seconds. Kellogg’s portal also offers practice questions to help you fine-tune your timing – use this resource!

Content Should be Complementary, not Repetitive

Our next word of advice focuses on content. Since the admissions committee will have already read your written essays, it’s important not to simply repeat what you’ve shared. Instead, Kellogg’s video essay questions provide a great opportunity to build on your application and introduce new details.

Additionally, it’s a chance to showcase your personality. Feel free to have a little fun, especially with the first question, which will likely ask you to introduce yourself. For instance, you could mention a hobby you enjoy, or talk about your family, pets, or spouse.

For the second and third questions, while you won’t know the exact prompts, they typically fall into common categories. With that in mind, review the list of potential questions at the end of this article and prepare a few brief stories. That way, you’ll have adaptable examples that can fit several different questions. These should be some of your best stories that didn’t fit into your written essays but are important for the admissions committee to hear.

Delivery is the Icing on the Cake (the Best Part, Right?)

Lastly, put thought and practice behind your delivery. This is what separates good video essays from great ones. Look directly at your webcam, speak slowly and clearly (a computer mic can sound muffled!), and – most importantly – smile!

In our experience, mindset is everything here. Put on the shirt or dress that makes you feel like a million bucks, imagine there is a warm, receptive face on the computer screen and talk directly to it. As we said earlier, this is likely the admissions committee’s only chance to see you ‘live’ (Kellogg’s interviews are done by alums), so make the most of it.

Practice Makes Perfect

When you sit down to record your video essays, it would be unwise to assume you have a comprehensive list of potential questions from a source you found on the internet so don’t get complacent. While Kellogg isn’t trying to trick you with these, they are looking to see how you think on your feet and whether you can communicate coherently and effectively. This is exactly what you’ll need to do in an MBA classroom and as a future business leader.

With that said, after grounding yourself in the stories you might leverage from your arsenal, take a stab at answering the following…in 60 seconds…on camera. Practice will help, even if you end up getting a question that surprises you.

1. Introduce yourself by telling admissions something they wouldn’t already know from your resume. (**Note that this question or a variation of it is asked of all applicants**).
2. Why is Kellogg the right program for you?
3. Tell us about a time when you experienced a team conflict.
4. Share an innovation you made in the past year.
5. Tell us about a time you created value.
6. Tell us about a positive impact that you made. Why was it important to you?
7. Tell us about a time you solved a problem in a creative way.
8. Tell us about a time you contributed to improving a process in your organization.
9. Tell us about a time you worked with a diverse team.
10. Tell us about a time when you initiated something that encouraged people to collaborate.
11. What is the most challenging aspect of working in an internationally diverse environment?
12. Tell us about a time when you faced a conflict on a team that affected its productivity. How did you face it?
13. If you were a team leader and you had a member of your team who constantly under-delivered, what would you do?
14. Tell us about a time you were out of your comfort zone.
15. Share a misconception people have about you. If you had the opportunity, how might you shift their thinking?
16. What will your classmates be most surprised to learn about you?
17. Share an important relationship in your life.
18. Tell us about a time you experienced a professional failure. What did you learn from it?
19. Tell us about a time you’ve asked for help.
20. Tell us about a time you took a risk. What did you learn?
21. What accomplishment are you proudest of?
22. Tell us about a time you created an inclusive environment.
23. Tell us about an organization or activity to which you have devoted a significant amount of time. Why was it meaningful to you?
24. What do you like to do in your free time?
25. Who is someone you deeply admire and why?
26. Whose leadership style do you admire and why?
27. What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received that you also shared with other people?
28. When you have a problem, who do you approach for advice and why?
29. How would your teammates describe you?
30. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be and why?
31. Talk about an environment you work well in and thrive in.
32. How long have you considered an MBA and what have you learned about yourself / your goals in the process of doing so?
33. Tell us about a life experience you’ve had outside of the classroom or the office that prepared you to pursue graduate-level education.

With a little practice, you’ll do great. Video essays tend to stress applicants out more than they need to. This might be easy for us to say from our seat at the table but view them as an opportunity more than a hurdle!

As always, we’re here to help, including with hourly advice on things such as interview skills and waitlist strategy. Click here to request an initial consultation.