bp2013 wrote:
For reasons that I can't fully articulate, my heart was dead-set on going to Booth. The hopes of attending this school were the primary reason I moved to Chicago in the first place, I have colleagues and friends that are Booth alumns and have praised Booth for years, and the facilities are top notch. I attended a Launch event with a buddy in the program, and really felt at home. For personal goals, I feel like Booth would be more of a fulfillment, in part because of their prestige and rank.
At the same time, I recognize that my feelings are primarily emotional and this may not be entirely logical. Would I be crazy to consider trying to defer Kellogg until the fall and reapply at Booth? I would take a couple classes at Graham (Booth's affiliate), and perhaps retake the GMAT (although I would dread this). I am also due for a promotion at work.
Profile:
GMAT: 660 (44Q/37V)
Undergrad cumulative GPA between 2 schools: 3.0
WE: 7 years in financial services, currently hold 2 roles, 1 as a Manager of Business Intelligence, 2 as a Business Process Outsourcing Manager.
Goals: become VP of BI at my current company (a PE backed company). Long term: move up to our parent company at PE fund level, overhaul multiple company's BI platforms simultaneously.
For PT programs, Kellogg is a great name. I have personally seen PT MBA folks getting invited to FT recruiting and networking events. It is actually encouraged. I dont think that is the case at other top schools. Yes, allure of Booth is great but you need to be realistic here. GPA of 3 and GMAT of 660 (Q44) would not have gotten you into Booth as they are looking for particular credentials (again, nothing is right or wrong per se but every school has its own 'ideal student' or 'ideal class' expectations and you happened to fall into Kellogg's purview. You are going for prestige and rank and lets be honest that top 3-4 schools are not that far off (especially outside of H/S/W FT MBA).
Deferring Kellogg admission to go to Booth will NOT add to your profile if you are not attending the FT program as there is a definite segregation of programs at Booth. Yes, it will sound fancy when you wil quote your Booth degree but you need to think deep and hard about PT program and expectations out of it for you. After a given number of years of exp, degrees dont count for anything. Yes, it will be a slight leg up for you with an MBA and 7 years of work exp but dont expect that Booth PT will be giving you that advantage over folks with FT MBA. Sorry for being blunt here but if I was in your position, I would take Kellogg's offer and go with it.
Finally, taking a cue from your last point about ST/LT goals, do an exercise to guide you: see what have folks who have been promoted to VP positions in your firm and elsewhere at competitor firms done in terms of degrees and programs to guide you. If you see people either went without an MBA or from a outside-top 10/15 program, then that is your cue that MBA from Booth or Kellogg would be weighed equally but if you see more IBankers or finance folks with PE/HF experience, then Booth will have an advantage given its strong finance program. But then again, you will still have to network like crazy to go up in your company.
Hope this helps. Good luck and let us know if you have any additional questions.
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08 Nov 2018, 21:53
