Kellogg has pretty crappy facilities too, so that really shouldn't be a con for CBS if the competition is Kellogg.

Both have great name-recognition with employers, so I don't think that should be an issue either. Sure the man on the street might say Columbia is a better school than Northwestern, but he's not the guy doing the hiring.

The biggest factor here looks like NYC vs. Evanston. Is community more important? Then point Kellogg. Is exploring a large city during your tenure at B-school a priority? Point CBS.

Like you said, you're leaning towards CBS which doesn't surprise me since you turned down Tuck, a school that's very community driven.

Yes, the people at Kellog LOVE the program...the more important question is: Will you?
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fWvub_WBho

I visited and applied to both.

First CBS is a very tight knit community. Yes, it's technically a commuter school, but the program is structured so that you have a clusterand learning-teams who you are incredibly close with. I visited with people in their second year and they mentioned the night before they were out until 2 AM with their cluster...started with dinner and ended at a bar....and they do it monthly at least. He said they're some of his best friends. That added to the fact that people show up at CBS in the AM and spend the day there...some say they think they are closer b/c if it wasn't a 'commuter' school they'd probably split and go home all the time instead of hanging out...this doesnt even cover club involvement...hopefully that helps there.

Bottom Line - CBS is really under-recognized for its sense of community. Facilities do suck.

Kellogg - great tight knit program with some of the best spirit out there. facilities are okkkkk, not great, not as bad as CBS.

I'd say overall...if you want to continue with finance and specifically, PE, I'd go to CBS...I think reputation the two schools are interchangeable...maybe on the other side of the world, Columbia has more clout than Northwestern b/c its an Ivy and more commonly known name (b school names aside). However, if you want gen management and a diff career path consider Kellogg.

Congrats and enjoy the problem you have right now!
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These schools are so different. I don't even know how you ended up applying to CBS given the other schools you applied to and got into! Tuck, Yale, and Kellogg are all so touchy-feely. CBS seems much more no-nonsense.

For me the no-brainer is to not choose Columbia, but for others the no-brainer would be to go to Kellogg. I think the moral of the story, is that the schools offer very different experiences and if you visit them you'll most likely figure it out pretty quickly.

Also, Chicago is awesome.
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