Northwestern / Kellogg MBA Deadlines 2026-2027
The Kellogg School of Management has released the 2026-2027 deadlines for its two-year full-time MBA program.
Applicants should note that all materials must be submitted by 5:00 PM Central Time on the date of each deadline.
| Round | Application Deadline | Admissions Decision Released |
|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | September 9, 2026 | December 9, 2026 |
| Round 2 | January 6, 2027 | March 24, 2027 |
| Round 3 | March 31, 2027 | May 12, 2027 |
Required Materials
A complete application must include transcripts from all colleges and universities attended, a resume, GMAT or GRE scores, responses to essay questions, letters of recommendation, and video essays. The video essay is accessible once the application and fee have been submitted. The $250 application fee must be submitted with the application via credit card. Fee waivers are granted to applicants who are active duty US military or US military veterans who have been on active duty within three years of applying, and candidates employed by Teach For America, AmeriCorps or the Peace Corps within the last three years. Forte MBA Launch, JumpStart Network, Posse Scholar, Reaching Out MBA (ROMBA) and Riordan Program members, fellows and alumni may also request consideration for a fee waiver.
How are Interviews Scheduled?
Admissions interviews at Kellogg are typically conducted virtually.
All applicants must indicate their time zone in their application. Interview invitations are sent on a rolling basis throughout the evaluation period up until decision release. Then, the adcom will reach out via email with scheduling instructions.
Interview slots are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis. Interviews typically last 30-45 minutes and are conducted Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and select Saturdays.
The first 2025-2026 Round 1 interview invite from Kellogg was reported on LiveWire on September 10, 2025, with more rolling out in October. Kellogg rolls out interview invitations up to the decision release date for a given round. The first 2025-2026 Round 2 interview invite from Kellogg was reported on LiveWire on January 9, 2026.
MBA Applywire
Working at a small strategy management software company, currently 4 people.
Athletics (Rowing) have been a big part of my life: Scholarship for US college (captain of D1 team), National team, rowed across the Atlantic and raised $100k for youth development charities during that.
Additionally some mentoring/volunteering.
Likely aiming for consulting post MBA, long term entrepreneurship or sustainability in CPG. Would like to avoid going into debt for the MBA.
Profile Review: 334 GRE (170Q), Indian Male (Non-Engineer! / Govt & Diplomacy), Targeting HBS, GSB, CBS, Yale SOM & Oxford Said for Big Tech Public Policy
Hi r/MBA,
I am finalizing my applications for Round 2 and would love a brutal, objective reality check on my profile. I know "Indian Male" is the toughest demographic bucket, but my background is entirely non-traditional (zero engineering, zero IT, zero corporate finance). My career has been spent exclusively in political campaigns, national governance execution, parliamentary policy, and G7 diplomacy.
My primary concern is whether admissions committees will view my varied government/political roles as a cohesive upward trajectory or a disjointed series of job hops, and whether my post-MBA goal makes sense to commercial recruiters.
Here are the details:
Background: 27, Indian Male.
Undergrad: Bachelor of Journalism from DU
Post Graduation: MA in Human Resource Management from JMI
GRE: 334 Total (170 Quant - 89th percentile, 164 Verbal).
Work Experience (5+ Years Total)
My career has been a deliberate progression up the governance chain: from state election campaigns, to drafting laws in Parliament, to national execution, and now bilateral diplomacy.
Current Role (Diplomacy): Political & Economic Officer at a G7 Diplomatic Mission in India.
Previous Role (National Gov Execution): Analyst at a National Government Apex Body.
Previous Role (State Gov Execution): Associate Fellow at a State Legislature.
Previous Role (Legislative): Policy Assistant to a Federal Member of Parliament.
Early Career (Campaigns): Field Research Lead at top Political Consulting Firms.
Extracurriculars & Impact
\* COVID-19 Oxygen Network (April 2021): Built and managed a two-stage verification and routing pipeline staffed by 50 volunteers during the healthcare collapse. Maintained strict operational discipline to prevent routing families to occupied beds, connecting over 1,200 families to verified medical care over two months.
\* Migrant Worker Crisis (April 2020): Volunteered with a labor-rights collective during the sudden national lockdown. Spent three days coordinating directly between two state governments and railway officials to clear transit bottlenecks and secure a special relief train for 500 stranded migrant workers.
Post-MBA Goals
\* Short-Term: Public Policy and Government Affairs Manager at a global tech multinational (Google, Meta, Apple) covering South Asia.
Target Schools
\* Reach: Stanford GSB, Harvard Business School (HBS). Applying to Stanford MPP + HKS MPP ( If possible can be combined with GSB & HBS)
\* Target/Reach: Columbia Business School (CBS), Yale SOM.
\* Target (UK): Oxford Saïd (1-year MBA).
My Questions:
The "Job Hop" Perception: I have had 5-6 distinct roles across campaigns, state assembly, parliament, national execution, and the diplomatic mission. I frame this in my application as a deliberate progression, but will adcoms view this as instability?
Tech Policy Feasibility: Is my goal of transitioning into Big Tech Government Affairs directly from an MBA realistic to adcoms?
School Selection: Given the heavy public-sector/diplomatic background, are there any other programs I should be targeting for massive merit aid?
I am currently in operations and my post mba goal is to pivot into supply chain consulting. My undergraduate degree was in English and it was 10 years ago. I have a master’s in logistics and supply chain management with a 4.0 GPA. Applied to round one and got waitlisted by Gtech Scheller and UTK Haslam.
Wonder what I could be doing wrong
I am hoping to begin my Transactional practice at an Am200 Law firm and then transition into my MBA to look for PE/VC opportunities