Kellogg, Fuqua, Ross, Tepper

I've been lucky enough to get accepted to Kellogg, Fuqua, Ross, and Tepper in R1. While I'm thrilled with those results, it makes for a very tough decision. In the interest of hearing other people's views, it would be great if people could chime in with their opinions.

My background: male engineer from the midwest, undergrad at Michigan.

Post-MBA I'd like to get into a general management leadership development program preferably in the midwest or northeast. John Deere's LDP is a perfect example; they are a company that I am definitely targeting. I'm pretty open in terms of industry, but my prior work experience makes companies such as John Deere and Eaton logical fits. I read an article from a couple years ago that had a quote from a John Deere HR associate saying that they only hire for their LDP from Kellogg, Fuqua, and Booth. I don't know if this is still the case, but it's something that I'm keeping in mind.

The schools: I've visited all of them and have really liked all of them. I really didn't see a big difference in terms of culture; each school had really smart, down-to-earth, social people (or at least those were the kinds of people on the student admissions committees). The students I met at each school preached teamwork and talked about how many team assignments they had. So in other words, I was neither wowed nor turned off by any of the schools' students and/or cultures.

Here is my breakdown:

Kellogg: the highest ranked school of the four; best reputation in terms of business schools. Facilities are a bit outdated, but it’s not like the building is falling apart. I think I would have access to just about any company/LDP here. I also have an interest in marketing and there is no better place for marketing than Kellogg.

Fuqua: they definitely seem to be on the rise in terms of reputation, also, the Duke name is nice to throw around. Facilities are very nice. Location is both good and bad: I’d love the warmer weather, but Durham is the farthest from my family as well as my fiance’s family. Deere recruits here along with some of my other target companies. Offered me a small scholarship ($5-10k/year).

Ross: reputation in the business world is solid; lots of alumni. Did my undergrad here so I feel like I already have the Michigan network, however, I love Ann Arbor and the school as a whole, so I would have no problem spending another two years there. Building is great, best of the four. No Deere, but a number of other top companies with LDPs.

Tepper: national reputation is not as strong as the other three (with the exception of some specialized areas). Facilities are about the same as Kellogg, a little outdated but usable. A relatively large percentage of the class goes into general management LDPs (11% last year). Offered me a significant scholarship ($40k/year).

Another factor, which is small in the long run but feels bigger now, is a pre-term trip. Kellogg and Ross have them and Fuqua and Tepper don’t. I am getting married in June and not going on a honeymoon because of my fiance’s work/school schedule; we agreed that a pre-term trip could double as a honeymoon for us as well. Again, in the long term, probably not a big deal, but it would certainly be nice to take a vacation and get to know some classmates before school starts.

So… we have Kellogg, Fuqua ($), Ross, and Tepper ($$$). What do you think?