Columbia ($) vs. Kellogg (no $) vs. Fuqua ($$$) for consulting?

Question

Hi everyone,

I am lucky enough to have been admitted to CBS with a $40K scholarship (one-time), Fuqua with a $100K scholarship and Kellogg with no scholarship and am having a very tough time choosing. My post-MBA goal is MBB consulting. LT - VC (healthcare) or a strategy/corporate dev role in the healthcare space. A strong general management program with the opportunity to specialize through a healthcare program track is very important to me.

Kellogg - I love the people here. Everyone has gone out of their way to make me feel welcome and supported. It seems their emphasis on collaboration and team is genuine. Furthermore, they have the top ranked general management program out of my options with great placement in MBB. Healthcare track seems strong. Evanston is very affordable. Cons - no $ money, location in Midwest (more limited networks)? Seems like they are still very much a marketing school as well...

CBS - I love NYC and can't think of a better place to spend 2 years. B school name and university brand are both very strong. Great placement with MBB and finance roles (across lots of industries). Deep networks in NYC. Healthcare track exists (have received mixed reviews). A little money is great too. Cons - lower general management ranking. Too much emphasis on finance? I also hear the student body is pretentious/competitive. Facilities are old. NYC is expensive.

Fuqua - The people seem great! Top notch healthcare track. And the $$$!! Cons - everything else. Very low placement in MBB. Location. Weak school brand...

Any help would be appreciated!!

wmay · Answer

I don't think Duke has a weak MBB placement and $$$ should not be something to scoff at. I'd never thought I'd say this but maybe since Kellogg did not offer any $ you could rule that out. CBS places ok into MBB and it is moving to a new building in the near future I heard? I'd take CBS over the other 2.

AM76N · Answer

Congratulations on three awesome acceptances! In your position I would go to CBS. In terms of career placement, I think you'd do equally well breaking into MBB from Kellogg or CBS. While the ranking for general management might be higher for Kellogg, you'd really be splitting hairs between the two programs. Being located in NYC is a major plus that can't be discounted as not only does CBS have a deep network in all industries, but the most prominent strategy, finance, and healthcare firms are next door. NYC is more expensive but with that 40k scholarship, your overall cost for CBS will still be significantly less than for Kellogg. Overall, I do think Fuqua is a step below the other two and I wouldn't consider it, even with the great scholarship offer. Good luck!

stevenfuqua · Answer

First off - congrats on the admittance to three great schools and being in an enviable situation. Fuqua gets enough exposure to MBB that I wouldn't worry about getting placed there. Let's put it this way - if you didn't get into MBB at Fuqua, that doesn't mean that you'd get into MBB simply because you went to the other school. MBA recruiting is all about the individual's background and talent.

Recruiting stats are useful for making sure the firm recruits there - that's it. When firms recruit they compare individuals against individuals. The $100k in scholarship will give you a positive ROI right out of b-school. Not having debt is a big deal and gives you the freedom to make the most of your 2 years.

The one issue may be office choice. If you absolutely have to be in NYC or Chicago, then going with a local school can be a real benefit. However, it sounds from your post that apart from NYC being a great city, location post MBA isn't that big of a deal.

If you send me a private message with your email, I'm happy to put you in touch with Fuqua's consulting club leadership to further discuss this issue.

AjMBA · Answer

Hi healthchick, as a current student at CBS and one who went through consulting recruiting I would be happy to chat about what you could expect if you decide to attend CBS. Also happy to talk about other things such as NYC, community, etc. Send me a message if your interested!

mgg234 · Answer

just FYI, Kellogg does need/merit scholarship after you submit FAFSA. I got no scholarship originally, but got $12k a year after submitting my FAFSA from them.

I'd recommend choosing between Kellogg and Duke...my friends at Columbia aren't having very much fun, and you'll literally end up spending an extra $40k there anyways.

gcb09173 · Answer

If it was me in your shoes, personally Duke on a 100k would be tough to turn down but I would likely be between CBS and Duke - Where do you want to end up living/working post MBA - If it was NY then I would be considering deeply CBS if i could make the financials work, otherwise anywhere else or generally non-fussed I'd be going to Duke.

AjMBA · Answer

Mgg234, while everyone is entitled to their opinions I'm curious as to why you speak negatively about certain schools on these forums. I think that these forums benefit tremendously from having current and former MBA students involved, but I do think that benefit comes from speaking positively about their own experiences rather than disparaging other schools.

Personally I recommend that the OP visit schools for the "admit" weekends and talk to as many people as possible. Everyone has a different experience and all these data points are useful in determining one's fit with a school.

That being said CBS is a ton of fun (and my classmates would agree)! Additionally, there are plenty of resources here to help you succeed at recruiting for consulting. I'd be happy to discuss my personal experiences recruiting in a private message if the OP is still interested.

qshdz · Answer

I'm a first year at CBS just got an offer from MBB. I was in the same situation a year ago. Here's what's good/unique at CBS:

Consulting:
- great peer resource to practice case
- tremendous help from 2nd years
- strong network in NYC

Healthcare:
- very strong HC club
- lots of people with HC background

Overall:
- very nice, genuine people who go above and beyond to help you
- if you like party there is no better place

CBS is awesome and NYC is the best. Shoot me an message and we can jump on a call/email, or if you want to visit school I can help with that too.

JackDaniels · Answer

I think the $ at Columbia will be offset by NYC expenses, so there does not seem to be a big difference there. Both have great placements at MBB: they will both get you an interview. After that, it basically comes down to your own skill sets, not the school you attend.

Furthemore, would your life be over if you did not get MBB, but Deloitte S&O instead? The latter recruits heavily at Duke and even pays for your second year of tuition, if I am informed correctly.

dontquixote · Answer

I Would go to columbia!

LEt us know!

lalalala7896 · Answer

First off - congrats!

I personally will not pick the school based on $$$ because you will have the rest of 30 years to realize the return. I say go deep into each program and figure out which school will most likely put you to MBB.

Lastly, I would choose between Kellogg or CBS if I were you.

dontquixote · Answer

I don't understand what you mean by the difference would be realized... I doubt there are much difference between going to duke compared to the other schools.

The amount you will realize over 30 is so tiny if anything. You shouldnt think about that. You have to think about how much debt you will have and the interest and the effect of this debt on your life.

Not going on vacations.. Not taking time off to pursuit other opportunities. If you go to kellogg you sign up for Kellogg + 4-5 years of work. If you sign up for duke you dont need to have that commitment.

I say go to duke but if you really want M7. Go to Columbia. Dont even think about kellogg

Posted from my mobile device

pedrostudy · Answer

Columbia just for the sake of location haha. NYC is a lot of FUN!

Cuse2Duke · Answer

I know this is an old thread, but I thought I'd try to contribute. When I saw your last line about low Fuqua placement in MBB, I figured I'd look into it via Kellogg's and Fuqua's employment reports. According to their reports, ~26% of Fuqua 2015 grads who went consulting (30% of the class of 2015) went MBB vs ~33% of Kellogg 2015 grads who went consulting (35% of the class of 2015).

While the number is lower, I don't think the numbers are skewed so far towards Kellogg as one might think. Essentially, Kellogg grads who went consulting did 7% better at placement at MBB vs. Fuqua grads this year.

Congrats on your admits, and best of luck at whatever program you chose! I hope to be in such a fortunate position come Jan/Feb of next year!

mgg234 · Answer

At Kellogg, Around 60% of students who do consulting do MBB, not 33%...Duke is a great school, but MBB is still very tilted towards M7 + Tuck.

Cuse2Duke · Answer

I may be looking at the wrong numbers, but according to the 2015 employment report, Kellogg had 636 students looking for jobs. 35% went consulting (~222 students). 74 went M/B/B (about 33%).

Again, maybe I'm way off, but I don't see the numbers supporting your claim.

EDIT: Whoops! Those are Kellogg 2014 grads. My mistake. But the numbers are all the same.

mgg234 · Answer

You're looking at wrong numbers: 1) Thats internship, not full time 2) You're looking at internships, instead of full time, but including 1 Year students and sponsored MBB in total student count. The 2 Year program class size is 480, remove the 60 or so sponsored students, so its 420 Full time people who are looking for jobs. About 1/3 will go into consulting, and ~100 of those will end up at MBB. You can also look at internship hires. ~100-110 people get consulting internships each summer, around 60-70 are MBB. Lastly, here's a good P&Q article that highlights the difference between Kellogg and Duke: https://poetsandquants.com/2014/01/17/wh ... sulting/2/

Cuse2Duke · Answer

You're right, running 420 as opposed to 636 does change it significantly. The other numbers I was using seem to be correct and for full-time offers, though. Running only those looking for work changes it to about 50% Kellogg consulting at M/B/B to 30% Duke consulting at M/B/B at graduation.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

billmurray · Answer

Congrats! Given your goals, I view Kellogg > CBS > Fuqua. To make it tough for you, they offered scholarships with an inverse correlation to this.

While a large proportion of the Kellogg class size enters consulting, the proportion of alumni in consulting that work for MBB is only slightly higher than CBS. Duke is substantially less but they are still a target school and a solid proportion of their consulting hires are MBB. However, if you got into Kellogg and got a scholarship at CBS, I think you are capable of getting an MBB offer if you attend Duke. I don't think attending Kellogg or CBS versus Duke will make a huge difference at getting into MBB or not if you put adequate work into case interview prep and networking.

After adjusting for differences in tuition/fees and living expenses, I would estimate the CBS scholarship maybe $5-10k relative to costs at Kellogg. CBS tuition + fees are $8k more over two years versus Kellogg assuming no substantial divergence in tuition/fees in the second year  . NYC is very expensive and CBS students like to go out, so most of the remaining $32k of CBS scholarship funds will go towards the higher price of living in NYC.

If you want long-term healthcare I would recommend going to Duke or Kellogg because you can develop a network of peers that want to enter into healthcare and can help you transition out of MBB down the road. At CBS, you will have less peers entering the healthcare industry and more entering banking versus Duke/Kellogg.

If I were you, I would take the money and go to Duke. MBB likes to hire the best students of each top school, and having that scholarship on your resume will help establish that. If the program, people, brand, and support network at Kellogg is worth the extra $100k to you (depending upon your currrent finances and prefrences) -- then I would go there. I wouldn't go to CBS given your other opportunities unless you REALLY want to live in NYC now.

Columbia ($) vs. Kellogg (no $) vs. Fuqua ($$$) for consulting?

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