Re: Kellogg vs Sloan - International admit, no scholarship
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19 Feb 2019, 10:09
Hi all, I decided to attend both admit weekends (had to pay Kellogg's deposit unfortunately, they declined to extend it when I asked).
Funny thing, I saw like 10 people at Sloan's admit weekend that were also at Kellogg's. I spoke to a few of them, many were still undecided.
Most people at Sloan I spoke to were already committed to attending there, while at Kellogg, most I spoke to were still deciding.
For anyone that cares, I will talk about broad aspects that I used to compare both schools after their admit weekends before making a decision.
Welcome/closing speeches, alumni/faculty and student panels
Kellogg brought in impressive faculty and alumni for a variety of panels and remarks. They were fantastic getting everyone pumped up about their experience at Kellogg, tying it in to their success.
Sloan did not really bring in anyone except alumni, and we had a chance to mingle with them after a CDO short session.
While Sloan did not bring many people compared to Kellogg, I did not really think they needed to. Dean Schmittlein gave a very strong, personal opening remark that at least made me feel I was in a 'special' place. They showed a very nice video also, welcoming us to the weekend.
I think both schools did a very good job in this aspect.
Career fair and Academic Deep Dives
Pretty much identical for both schools. In both admit weekends there was an academic deep dive and a small fair with industries and current students that were recruiting for each industry. Nothing really stood out. I mingled around but with so many resources already online and having spoken to many people about it, I didn't really spend much time here.
Housing Info and Tours
Pretty similar as well.
Takeaway is that Cambridge is more expensive than Evanston, but not by as much as I thought.
I don't really mind living in either place so this was not important to me.
I was not able to attend the tour at Kellogg as I was flying back that day, but was able to at Sloan, housing seems to be spread around Cambridge (Inman, Kendall, Central) and there seems to be a ton of on campus housing options as well as off campus. Most people stay off campus while most internationals and families use on campus housing. At Sloan, you have to apply to campus housing, and I was told that usually people end up getting their top options.
Culture/fit/social scene
This is where I found the most differences and is a big part of what is driving my decision.
Both schools were great, people were fantastic at both and I couldn't have asked for more at any place. But as I mention, it became apparent that both are fundamentally different when it comes to how they view the social part of the MBA.
At Kellogg, I noticed that the environment was a lot more party oriented from the beginning. There were parties/events both days of the admit weekend and they were hyping up both events from the very start of the event. I spoke with some people from the LATAM club and students in general and the general consensus is that the social aspect is pretty intense. There are events, parties and get togethers every day. There was also mention that there's an environment for everyone (there's people that don't want to party, etc), but in general, most people were happy with the current social scene and belonged there.
At Sloan, it was pretty different. There were 2 events as well, 1 of them being a low key bar get together (compared to Kellogg's band event, which was pretty lit and fun). People were very upfront about Sloan being more of a bar than club kind of school and their social scene being a lot more diverse. I met people that didn't go out, people that did so sparingly, and also others that enjoyed getting together with HBS folks and headed to Boston to party from Thursday through Sunday.
In terms of culture, both schools are similar, with the only difference being that Sloan is a smaller program. Both places gave me a down to earth, collaborative vibe, with Sloan people being generally a bit more chill, while at Kellogg they were more enthusiastic/intense.
Funnily enough, I met more people with families and kids at Sloan than at Kellogg.
Academically, I could really tell MIT was all about innovation and entrepreneurship. They really reinforced the 'ideas made to matter' motto throughout the event. However, their job placement speaks for itself when it comes to more traditional MBA jobs. As expected, there is a bigger share of STEM professionals in the student body.
At Kellogg, I found a lot more diversity in terms of the student body and backgrounds in admits as well. People came from all over the place, and there was also more diversity on future career goals, while at Sloan, most people wanted to go into technology.
My main concern about choosing between these two programs, academically, was their approach to general management/soft skills.
I spoke about this at length with many people, among students, alumni, CDO staff, etc at both schools. My conclusion was that you don't necessarily need a course or two to develop this aspect, but more so leverage the day to day leadership opportunities, which are plentiful at each program. This is how you build soft skills and improve your leadership potential. In the end, both programs allow you to lead leaders in a learning environment.
Student led events
Both schools had great student led events, though I found a lot more value out of the Sloan activities.
The panels were fantastic at both schools, with focus on what students did inside and outside of the program, their experience recruiting, finding housing and living in Evanston and Cambridge.
Both schools also offered small group dinners at the end of the first day, hosted by current students. My experience was different in each event. I think I had a much more personal, thorough and enjoyable experience at Sloan's than I did at Kellogg's. We talked in depth about their experience, what they really thought about Sloan and I really felt that they were being transparent about their answers, especially what they didn't like about the program. At Kellogg, we ate dinner and the hosts offered us drinks. We had a superfluous conversation, we answered some fun facts about each other and about an hour later our hosts took us to the bar for the after party. I had a feeling that we were only there waiting for the party instead of talking about the program in a more intimate setting. Again, this was my experience, and I am sure there will be different experiences/views on this.
Both schools offered admits the possibility to stay with current students so they didn't have to pay for lodging. This was pretty cool, though space was very limited.
Sloan organized a pretty cool event in which we toured the whole MIT campus, visiting places such as the Media Lab, the Trust entrepreneurship center, the school of engineering, the infinite corridor and other areas. I was able to briefly chat with undegrads and even some faculty. It looks like Sloan really does care about integrating the business school to the entire MIT ecosystem.
At Kellogg, the entire event was held in the Global Hub, the main building, which is incredible. It opened I think in 2017 and its of course state of the art and spacious. There was no tour of Northwestern in the schedule, though I am not sure if this was because the polar vortex was in full effect right before the admit weekend, and it was incredibly cold, especially to me.
Conclusion
This was a very general summary of the activities at the admit weekends, so I would take it all with a grain of salt. Many people probably had a different experience, mostly aligned to their expectations and preferences.
After thinking about it I have decided to attend Sloan because I believe I identify more with their culture, especially about the social scene.
Both admit weekends helped me also understand that both places offer a fantastic education and network, so there was essentially no wrong choice here, as many of you pointed out.
PD. Thank you all who voted and commented in this thread! If anyone has any question please feel free to PM and I will be happy to discuss.
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Never know what they may be able to bring to the table. It could be money or something intangible but still valuable that you may have overlooked originally. 
