Kellogg vs LBS

Question

Hi Internet,

I am having a hard time to decide between Kellogg and LBS for my MBA. I am a European project manager within a BI department with about 4 of experience (2 as a tech consultant at an unknown girl). I am looking to transition into management consulting. Preferably MBB, but would gladly take a position at a tier 2 company. So we are looking at a double / triple jump.

The Kellogg program seems incredible, but my girlfriend works in London. She is not able to work in the US, nor will she be able to join me for the first 1-2 years.

LBS has a strong brand internationally and seems to be terrific as well, but the London job market seems te be quite competitive . This scares me. An MBA is a significant investment and I want to maximize my chances to have a positive outcome.

As a back-up plan, I am open to general management graduate programs or positions within tech (PM / business development / general management). I am less flexible on the location however. Set on London or the US.

Love to hear your thoughts on the matter!

bb · Answer

I typed up a reply to you but it seems you have deleted the previous version of the topic so my reply went away with it

Sorry. Maybe I will be in the mood to do the same thing again but not feeling it at the moment.

Undecided003 · Answer

Hi there,
Thank you for taking the time to provide your thoughts! Yes, so sorry if your effort got lost.
I am aware that I am asking for a lot, but could you give the “highlights”? Really curious about your view on the matter.

Posted from my mobile device

bb · Answer

Hi. Here is a quick rundown of the points I would keep in mind: 1. These are great schools and opportunities. I would say that Kellogg is significantly stronger for MBB recruiting and salaries both in the US and outside but your best ROI will be in the US of course. I hear from a number of folks recruiting for consulting and the comp they are offered in EU is 1/2 of what they would get in the US 2. Everyone recruits in London - INSEAD, HEC, LBS, Oxford, Cambridge, IESE, and anyone who speaks English so it is a pretty competitive space. I have a good friend who is graduating from LBS this year and he is still without an acceptable offer and not for the lack of trying though you never know how it will work in your case. 3. The most important part - relationships and MBA. Business school will put a tremendous pressure on your relationships. Most long-distance relationships will not survive it. Most close relationships will be stressed. Many reasons for it but ultimately you will be drifting apart unless you are together and since you are not married/serious status, there is a chance you break up (not as likely with marriage for example) or she kicks you out

so this is one of the sensitive and tricky aspects of it: 1) How serious are you and if they are the most important part of your life, then why are we even discussing this. If they are not, then Choose Kellogg 2) Depending on how involved your girlfriend is and how open you are, you should try to make the decisions with her input. Sometimes people get antsy and they are looking for a moment to break the news (e.g. I am not into you) and she may be having some thoughts. She may not be ready to share them quite yet but you need to get her buy in and that she is taking the responsibility for this decision as well since you will be in it together.... There is also a question where you want to be in the long run. If you want to be in Europe, then LBS is a great choice but if you would like to be in the US for a number of years, only Kellogg will get you there and if your GF wants to be there too, this will be the most likely opportunity to relocate in a few years once you get your H1B. Forgive me if I am crude and insensitive. I feel the choice is in some sense between Kellogg and the relationship rather than Kellogg and LBS. There are people who have totally maintained relationships over the years in business school but it is very hard because you will be a changed person, your interests will be different, she will be a changed person and you will have little in common after 2 years of school, internships, etc. She would meet someone and you would meet suitable partners over these 2 years. I am sure your relationship is different but usually people will have a few fights, misunderstandings, etc. Tricky.

Undecided003 · Answer

Hi there,

Thank you so much for taking some time out of your schedule to provide me with some feedback.

Considering point 1, I mostly agree. Although I do not believe the placement into MBB is considerably higher, it is definitely true that management consulting is way more lucrative in the US when compared to Europe. People tend to argue that cost of living is lower in the EU, but I doubt that it will much of a difference when we are talking about salaries of $175K+ for starting MBB consultants. The (potential) ROI in the US is probably (much) better in the LT.

Your statement on the London job market confirms my fears. Within Europe, there is a limited set of English speaking countries. Amsterdam, London and Dublin are probably the only achievable offices in for most international MC aspirants. Since London is the obvious / most attractive choice to most, I can imagine that is quite hard to secure a good position. From what I was told, the EU job market is also more reluctant towards industry changes?

The points mentioned above are all in favor of Kellogg, but in the end, it all comes down to point three. We are very serious. We have been together for a long time and I truly hope to end up together.
Due to circumstances, we have been (physically) apart for a lot of that time and I am quite sick of that. I would love to live together again.
Yet, I might not want to sacrifice the LT for a short term gain. There are opportunities for her to work in the US for a limited time and I could apply for an exchange with LBS, but in the end, you would be apart for most of those 2 years...

Thanks again for your thoughts!

massan · Answer

First of all, congratulations on amazing admits! no choice can go wrong here, except the relationship.

1. Do you want to be located in EU in long term? say, in 2032? 
2. Where does your current network/relationships reside?

If both answer is EU/EU, I'd go with LBS.

Otherwise, decide on 1. your relationships 2. location you want to settle at 3. fights you have to go through for visa

From my personal experience, none of intercontinental relationships that I witnessed survived during and post graduate schools out of 80+ cases.

From that point, I think you'll have to ask yourself whether your 50k extra salary is worth the relationships you'll sacrifice- I'm not talking about breaking up with girlfriend, just overall ones.

Last thing: If your partner wish to work as well AND you choose Kellogg, her challenges will surpass those of yours unless she can earn visa easily, and this will put her at a position to decide between you and her changes.

bb · Answer

Sorry I missed your reply on Thursday.

I am not sure if there is a difference in MC recruiting in terms of pure numbers and if you are a qualified candidate but I have a feeling US seems to be so much more abundant with offers from the latest reports. I hear of guys out of Fisher getting MBB offers and that's pretty rare, esp for international applicants. A recent US 1st year got 3 MBB offers for an internship. All 3! That's unheard of. I think we are in a rare situation and circumstance and you can't count on this but at the same time, I am not hearing, seeing similar hiring in Europe (but being on the West Coast, I am as far removed from EU as it gets so perhaps it is the communication flow).

At the same time, here is the thing, nobody works at MBB for 10 years. Maybe 1 out of 100. Most don't even work for 5. You spend a few years and you move on... of course having the MBB name on your resume is a huge stepping stone but it is only a stepping stone, not usually the final destination.

How about this - talk to your Significant Other (SO) about where you want to be long term. Is it London, US, etc? It may be hard to answer since you don't know what you are comparing... perhaps you can get a trip to visit the US and get a chance to attend the admitted students weekend (I have a feeling it has passed already for R1)

But if you want to be in London, then it is an easy choice again. I would not worry too much about $$ difference in the US vs. UK vs. etc You can make it work in both places.

Kellogg vs LBS

Kellogg or LBS

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