Kellogg 2 YR vs full ride at UNC?

Thanks Stratusprep and Mo2men for your inputs.

I had a talk with a lot of other people and it seems a 50-50 poll between the two choices. Though I know that the student community at both schools will differ with Kellogg having the better advantage here. How much do the academics and other activities differ? Everyone keeps talking about brand and network, but how much does attending a top 10 vs attending a top 20 MBA impact your growth in these 2 years?

I would go with Kellogg. Firstly, it's a no brainer when it comes to brand value.

Secondly, in terms of job prospects in consulting, Kellogg is at the apex

Thirdly, and this I think is the most crucial point. You have 12 months to work on in the US after your study duration under the norms of the F-1 visa. So let's say you land a job with MBBD, you can spend one year in the States. After this, in case you don't get H1-B, there are many international offices where you could work. I have heard of folks who did not get an H1-B when they were working in consulting and shifted to the London or Toronto office of the firm.

Lastly, in case you want to move back to India - Kellogg is well-known and is considered to be an elite MBA program. Might help in terms of recruiting since 'Brand name of the University you attended' still counts for quite a lot in India. So you might want to think about that too.

I totally get that you don't want a huge student loan debt, but in this case I would absolutely go for Kellogg if I were in your position.

I think the choice is kellogg here. It is arguably the best of the top MBAs for consulting with quick access to some of the biggest offices of all the top firms. And if you score an offer your salary should be high enough to pay off the loan at an accelerated pace. Also, consulting firms have many international offices so employment will not be an issue in the US or globally. UNC is not on the same tier as Kellogg but the money is certainly enticing, however you will not nearly have the same career opportunities which is kind of the whole point of you going to b-school.

Thanks everyone for the inputs.. seems like we are still divided 50-50 over this decision..Would really love some insider perspective here.. Any current students or alumni have any inputs

Anyone else who has been in similar situation?

I'm an applying to programs this year as well, and have been admitted to KF with a 75% scholarship. While I have not yet been admitted to any of the higher ranked schools I applied to yet, I have thought over those "what if" scenarios regarding the more prestigious schools. When I think about these hard choices here is a couple things I keep in mind that may help you make your choice.

The first thing I did, which is very beneficial if you having yet done already, is to frame what "B-School Success" looks like for you. For some people, this may truly be MBB or bust. This may be especially true for individuals with very high paying jobs already or with very high aspirations. However, I suspect many people say "MBB or Bust" without analyzing if that is what they consider b-school success for them (note: I have no desire to go into consulting so am not as familiar with what all the options are outside of MBB and what they entail). However, what your B-School Success looks like may be very different -- it could be to have a more rewarding career, to switch roles, to move to the Untied States, to make over X dollars a year, or any mixture of these or other ideas.

Why is setting these goals important? Because I think people, especially in the MBA process, become victim of what I call "aspiration creep". Don't get me wrong, there is NOTHING wrong with setting high goals for oneself. However, one enters the process saying "I want to switch industries to consulting", which becomes quickly, "But only at these top level firms", to "Only at MBB", to "Only at the most highly sought after offices of MBB". Likewise with schools, people can quickly move from "I want to get into a Top 20 school" to "Only top 5 for me!" very quickly. This is why before you spend time thinking over your choice, you should take a half day to figure out what success looks like for you. The risk otherwise is, to put this in a real world scenario, to walk into a car dealership with the full intention of buying a family sedan for $25k with what you need, 4 seats, A/C, a radio, and a sunroof, and slowly but surely get talked into a BMW 7 Series with massaging seats and a champagne cooler for 100k+ (which they bought on a larger loan since they only budgeted for the 25k family sedan). By setting your goal now for B-School Success you can better determine the best choice for you. Because just like some need a family sedan, some might really need that BMW 7 Series if they are planning on going to Monte Carlo to gamble tonight!

In sum, define b-school success from the personal and professional side for you, look at all the opportunities, and define what will best get you there.

The second part is to really spend some time to think about what prestige means to you. As no matter what, even if you determined UNC and Kellogg can equally lead to your personal B-School Success, you will know you didn't go to the more prestigious school at the time and in some circles people may be aware of the prestige gap. However, the VAST majority of people will not know whether one school is more prestigious than another. Most people would be aware that UNC and Northwestern are very good schools and that you probably are a very smart lady. I think there is a value in prestige, but it is far lesser than what the average person attributes to it.

Those are the two things I'm am spending time thinking about now. I apologize for this long post. However, I have one more quick anecdote that might be beneficial. I made a friend moving into my new apartment building who is a resident physician in a highly, highly sought after field. We were discussing one day her life over drinks and she mentioned how she turned down med school at a very, very prestigious medical school and instead moved across the country to a flagship state university, which is far less prestigious. After a little prying she admitted she did it as the state university gave her a full ride. I asked her if she was happy with her choice, and she said absolutely. She discovered a new place, made great friends, and most importantly of all, she knew she wanted to be in this competitive medical field and was able to leverage all these extra opportunities to make her dream come true. She now is a doctor, with 0 debt, doing her dream job. She has 0 regrets. Nobody I know thinks she is any less intelligent, less impressive, or less accomplished for what she did. Whether you chose Kellogg or UNC, you will still be you. You will probably have great experiences either way. The average graduate of either of these schools is in the Top 5% of US Single Income Earners.

Best of luck and I hope you make it to the admitted students day at KF! I'll be there!

Hi Hornet,

Thanks for the great post. It definitely got me thinking a lot about "Why MBA?" again. The thing is I am currently in consulting and I am very happy with it. For me MBA success would mean doing consulting in US. And while UNC is a great school and a safer bet for sure, I think its important for me to find out how realistic it is to break into consulting post UNC for internationals. A lot of firms are currently not willing to take a bet on internationals due to visa issues and this would make the opportunities even more scarce. Current students from either schools, would really love your views here.

if i were in your shoes, i would choose the full-ride. its not like you got a full-ride from a non-branded school. you got a full-ride from a top 20 school. you only lack spots for MBB. And that isn't even guaranteed. also, if i were you i would consider the class size. do you want to be in a medium size class or a large class. do you want to be close to a city or in a smaller town.

If I were you, I would choose Kellogg and don't think twice. Multiple reasons for that, most of which people have already mentioned above.

I know both schools personally- and I don't think it is a slam dunk here. Lots to be said that is good for UNC also- I have seen many people go there and get exactly what they want and be successful in MBB. Now yes- there are more people going to MBB from Kellogg but also more competition and in this uncertain economic climate I think there is a lot to be said for a full ride... and not just that but the extra access you get to recruiters and to other fellows as a scholarship holder at UNC. Both are great options... but I don't see it as so easy... and I am someone who does know both schools!

Curious to know what you finally choose?

Hi everyone,

I finally decided to go with Kellogg. It was definitely one of the hardest decisions I made but I am finally happy . Thanks for taking the time to give your advice and sorry about the late update.

I think you made the right choice..See you at Kellogg