Kellogg versus Tuck

Question

Hi everyone,

I know this topic has been discussed here historically as well but perspectives keep changing so Im floating it out there once more.

I received calls from Tuck and Kellogg and need a bit of help deciding. I am tilting a bit towards Kellogg but thats mostly because of the brand name. I must confess the warmth of Tuck has gotten to me. Everyone at Tuck whom I reached out to while I sat waiting for the Kellogg result was just so damn nice that I cant help but wonder if missing Tuck for Kellogg will be a mistake. I am an internatinal candidate so unfortunately haven't had the chance to visit either school.

Any suggestons, thoughts? In particular, we all know the student culture at Tuck is simply fantastic but someone told me that Kellogg is pretty close knit as well. A close knit community matters the most to me.

Will be gratefl for any thoughts.

Thanks!

wmay · Answer

Hey mate, I'm in the same boat. Singaporean applicant based in HK. Was leaning towards Tuck but now thinking a little again about Kellogg.

arthi9487 · Answer

Have either of you thought about the location differences? For me, that made all the difference. I grew up and went to undergrad in a college town, so I want to go to a big city for b-school.....

jasminea12 · Answer

Well the two are in very different settings. Could you see yourself in a tiny town in NH? Or would you prefer to live closer to a city? That was a deal breaker for me-- it's the reason I didn't apply to Tuck.

If you honestly have no preference, then I think that you should consider the following questions in order to make your decision:
-Does either one provide you with scholarship?
-Does one program have greater strengths in your area of focus? Is there anything you're MORE excited about at one place (an international experience, certain classes/specialty tracks/clubs, certain professor)?
-Talk to the Kellogg students now that you got in and see if you feel the same warmth as you did from Tuck folks.

Since you're international, I think it's important to consider that Kellogg is more likely to have a stronger alumni network in your country than Tuck is.

You are lucky to have such a difficult choice to make! Good luck!!

wmay · Answer

I did visit both campuses and to be honest, both have their pros and cons.

I plan to work in NYC post-MBA in banking - that would suggest Tuck makes it slightly easier (4h via DM coach) but I'm pretty sure Kellogg places ok into banking as well but there might be some legwork travelling to NYC.

Still mulling over it. Tuckies I met have been very helpful but I know Kellogg has a pretty close community too.

Sk1ver · Answer

Ok let's make this topic on TOP a popular VS for a lot of us

We are a married couple from Russia (we were both admitted to K and T). Primary post MBA-goal - MC, secondary - strategy or tech.
We received $ from Tuck (both of us), and waiting for $ or no$ from Kellogg
We also admit that the brand of Kellogg seems to be more valued internationally, however as we both want to stay in the US - we look to the US post-mba market... and here the strengths seem the same.

Close-knit community? I guess it will be in Tuck, where you cannot get lost from your classmates
Management consulting? - seems that Kellogg has better placement even for internationals.

So taking into account what I have mentioned:
If you were admitted with your wife to Tuck and Kellogg, you are both internationals, you both want to switch your career to MC or SC and you both want to stay in the US after MBA (preferably @ West Coast) - would you choose Tuck or Kellogg ?

ASP88 · Answer

Thanks for the responses everyone. They are really helpful! Really appreciate it.

In case any more inputs come in, to give a bit more info..understandably the big question should be where I want to land up in terms of industry post-MBA. And in all honesty, I don't know. I am one of those infamous career changers and the only thing I know for certain is that I don't want to end up in IB or consulting. I am inclined to move into media or other creative industries but I am quite open. So that sort of takes away the chunk of big placements anyway. For non-traditional career avenues, are both universities sort of the same? Also, to pick up on the points mentioned earlier in this post, I don't have enough information about the Kellogg community right now it seems (since I have only been admitted for around 48 hours!). It may not be as strong as Tuck but the difference may be negligible for all I know. Any thoughts? But being surrounded by helpful, down to earth, nice people and in a tight knit community is very important to me. I don't think Kellogg's big size necessarily takes that away so that's not an obvious issue for me. Hopefully, we can get in a few more perspectives...fingers crossed! Btw, to all those who posted here with admits...congrats! And to all others, good luck, I hope you get in soon.

Best regards

Kellogg versus Tuck

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