nsurpr wrote:
@ mbalady: i'm interested in Southeast Asia
I think with Sloan, they do a lot of experiential lab classes to do work in China/India/emerging markets for consulting projects, which I think is really cool. And the name is top notch all over the world. But I didn't get a strong sense of belonging when I went to AdMIT day. Felt too techy/engineer-ish for me? Not that it's a bad thing but my inner gut tells me that I would connect better with Kellogg kids (TBD at DAK...)
With Wharton, the brand abroad is amazing as well, and they have the student run social venture fund which is affiliated with acumen and looks pretty great too. But my concern is the schools incredibly finance oriented and I'm looking to get a more diversified experience (have done banking and private equity for 6 years now)
That's not to say I won't go back into finance, but only interested in emerging market impact investing. K and W seem best there, I'd venture to say W with the edge but K not too far behind?
Good stuff. For careers that are off the beaten path, my general suggestion is to go to the school that will equip you the best in that area - both in learning and career prospects. I know Kellogg has resources in the SE/Impact Investing space... I actually just did some quick googling and found that opportunities abound at Wharton as well. Keynesmba also provides good information above.
That all being said, my suggestions are:
1. Go to both admit weekends if you are able to and assess how you fit at each school.
2. While at each school, inquire about the specific initiatives that interest you/ find out if there are other efforts that aren't on the website but are relevant to your goals.. and learn how much access students have to them.
From what I have gathered, Wharton's reputation as being super-quant/stiff/unfriendly does not hold true, so even though it is strong in Finance, you will probably find folks who are interested in the same thing you are. In the same vein - Kellogg is much more than 'a marketing school'. 60k is a lot of money - however, if Wharton is the better school for you and your goals, that experience will be worth much more than 60k.