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Help picking final school - Marketing - Kelley vs McCombs?

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cpgmba
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Help picking final school - Marketing - Kelley vs McCombs? [#permalink] New post   22 Jun 2008, 15:00
I'm having a hard time deciding between Kelley and McCombs for my safety school. My current list includes Kellogg, HBS, Wharton, Fuqua, and Ross. I'd like to have one safety school where I would essentially be "automatic" if all else fails. I would like to continue my career in CPG brand management. Ideally, I would love to work for Frito-Lay in Dallas, TX as we love Dallas, family is only a few hours away, and from what I heard it's a great company to work for. However, a lot can change between now and then so I'll definitely consider and look at other companies post-MBA.

Kelley seems to be a better school for CPG Marketing. The Consumer Marketing Academy is very appealing and they have great relationships with the top CPG companies (ironically except for Pepsi/Frito-Lay). McCombs has a slightly better overall reputation and good ties with Frito-Lay but I'm not sure how their reputation for CPG Marketing compares to Kelley. A risk here is that if Frito-Lay doesn't work out while I'm in school, there aren't as many other CPG companies recruiting at McCombs. While Dallas/Frito-Lay would be nice, I'll definitely say it's not at the top of the priority list compared to happiness and career prospects...it would just be a bonus.

Thoughts? Thanks!
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riverripper
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Re: Help picking final school - Marketing - Kelley vs McCombs? [#permalink] New post   22 Jun 2008, 16:15
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I tend to think that if you are deciding between two regional programs which Kelley and McCombs both are then go with the one in the region you want to live. Overall rep of McCombs and it actually makes the top 10 in the USNews marketing ranking which Kelly doesnt.

You can contact the schools career services department and ask them for more specific stats in certain industries and you can even ask how well they place students in certain companies. They probably will be able to quickly get you that info.
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cpgmba
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Re: Help picking final school - Marketing - Kelley vs McCombs? [#permalink] New post   22 Jun 2008, 17:27
That's a great point. I've emailed career services to see what data they can provide.

Hopefully the data will help as even though McCombs has a better reputation and is in a more desirable location, it still feels like Kelley has the better program for CPG Brand Management.
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Toploader
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Re: Help picking final school - Marketing - Kelley vs McCombs? [#permalink] New post   Updated on: 23 Jun 2008, 04:19
If it's not totally obvious from my avatar, I'm headed to McCombs. I couldn't tell you the first thing about CPG there, however (I had to look up what CPG meant just a few months ago!).

I know you didn't ask, but based on your goals I think Rice's Jones school might be a great match. Frito-Lay recruits there, and while Rice's MBA program doesn't have the national recognition or ranking that Kelley or McCombs do, let alone your other schools, the Rice name is second to none in Texas (the average Texas is going to assume that Rice's program is superior to Texas' - seriously). If that's really where you want to end up then it might be worth considering. Also, if you're competitive at your target schools, there is an excellent chance that you'll get into Rice with a sizable scholarship.

squali83 is at Rice and is interning in a CPG position this summer.

Originally posted by Toploader on 23 Jun 2008, 02:10.
Last edited by Toploader on 23 Jun 2008, 04:19, edited 1 time in total.
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kryzak
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Re: Help picking final school - Marketing - Kelley vs McCombs? [#permalink] New post   23 Jun 2008, 03:02
Region is key for the two schools you're looking at. If there's a remote chance you'll stay in the Texas area, the McCombs will get you a lot farther. Even outside of Texas, McCombs and Kelley are pretty close in reputation and you won't go wrong at either (except maybe in the Chicago area, where Kelley probably is a bit stronger).
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cpgmba
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Re: Help picking final school - Marketing - Kelley vs McCombs? [#permalink] New post   23 Jun 2008, 17:33
kryzak wrote:
Region is key for the two schools you're looking at. If there's a remote chance you'll stay in the Texas area, the McCombs will get you a lot farther. Even outside of Texas, McCombs and Kelley are pretty close in reputation and you won't go wrong at either (except maybe in the Chicago area, where Kelley probably is a bit stronger).


Haha, funny you mention that. The other place we would really like to end up long-term is Chicago. :) However, a prominent career with a great CPG company is more important than living in Texas. (That's why Frito-Lay is so appealing to me.)

I really need to reach out to current students to get a better feel for the programs. That's been the most helpful thing so far with the other schools.

Thanks!
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Mark4124
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Re: Help picking final school - Marketing - Kelley vs McCombs? [#permalink] New post   25 Nov 2008, 01:31
I'm a finance guy at Kelley, marketing isn't really my thing, but if you are into CPG, I would say this is the place to be... P&G recruits every year and marketing is huge here.
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Re: Help picking final school - Marketing - Kelley vs McCombs? [#permalink]
25 Nov 2008, 01:31

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