Tuck ($$) vs. Kellogg

Question

Hi everyone,

I've had the fortune of being admitted at Tuck ($$) and Kellogg (No $). A little about my background and plans:

I'm from Latin America and I work in PE. My intention is to stay in PE or do corporate finance inside companies (NO IB). I can consider consulting (MBB) if PE doesn't work out.

My plan is to work in the US for a couple years after the MBA and then return to Latin America (maybe Kellogg can help me more on this side). Initially I was very driven to Tuck due to the $$ and proximity to Boston/NY, but now I'm having second thoughts. I'm a little concerned about lifestyle at Tuck (I like outdoors but not sure that much) and the difficulty of recruiting for PE / other companies (different than consulting /IB) if you are not in a big city. On the other hand sometimes I perceive that Kellogg has a week brand in finance and that Tuck might be better for PE and finance roles.

Any ideas?

kardonirish24 · Answer

If you're going to go into a high paying job like PE or even consulting, then I don't think the scholarship money should matter as much, and you should go where you think you would enjoy your 2 years better. Getting into PE anywhere will be difficult, but having the PE background, I think being in a city like Chicago (which has a lot of PE firms) may help a little more in landing a job than having to travel a lot if you were at Tuck. Then again, Boston and NYC are only a drive away, so it wouldn't be impossible at Tuck either. I do know that Kellogg has the PE/VC pathway and the PE lab, which would give you hands-on internship experience with a PE firm during the year.

https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/programs/full-time-mba/academics/majors-pathways/venture-capital-and-private-equity-pathway.aspx

https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/research/heizer/curriculum/experiential-learning/buyout-lab.aspx

Tuck also has the Center for Private Equity and Entrepreneurship, so I would look into that too.  https://cpee.tuck.dartmouth.edu/

I would also go on Linkedin and perhaps reach out to recent alums from each school who are in that field. Current students are also always an amazing resource as they're going through the experience right now and can probably give the best and most relevant advice related to what you may experience when you're in that position over the next 2 years.

Hopefully this helps, and for how much I love the culture at Tuck, I would personally pick Kellogg, but they are both amazing options and the money at Tuck doesn't hurt either.

Good luck on your decision!

bb · Answer

PE is a tight industry that many people would like to break into. Neither school will guarantee it or even give you a 50/50 chance. The chances are much lower so you should hope for it but assume you won't get it and then see which school does better in terms of plan "B" placements - Corporate Finance. (Booth traditionally is the finance school in Chicago) and Tuck is the consulting powerhouse. Both Kellogg and Tuck place into finance well, however.

I would not be too scared of the remoteness of the Tuck's campus - it builds a strong community feel that's hard to get in more urban and sprawling locations such as Chicago, LA, or NYC. That's an attractive and a big selling point for many looking to get into Tuck. However, I have heard a few current students mention that if you are not looking to get into consulting, you will be a minority in terms of recruiting, clubs, and electives. Since Tuck is a smaller school, it would likely have fewer options than Kellogg.

I can suggest speaking with some current students about this (preferably those from your country/region and those with similar career goals). Admit weekend is a good idea too. I can tell you that nobody will badmouth their school and nobody will raise a big red flag (if they badmouth their school, ignore them since they are an idiot) but with most other people they will give you warning signs and they will indicate weaknesses but it will be very subtle. You will need to listen for it and seek them out. Many are so determined to go to one program or the other that they completely miss them.

Congrats on your admits by the way! Very well done in the Top 10 department!

ENGRTOMBA2018 · Answer

I agree with  kardonirish24  and  bb  . Both will not directly place you in PE roles. As a matter of fact, outside of H/S/W, no school can guarantee you a direct entry into PE. Unfortunately, your LatAM PE experience will not count for anything in North America, especially for middle market or small cap PE companies as most of these companies are search funds or are looking at ETA. I am involved with Kellogg PE club this year and would be happy to answer your questions. PM me. PE in the mid west and on the east coast is all networking based and outside of the regular recruiting cycle. So you must be patient and keep chugging along even when you will see your classmates getting offers by Jan. PE recruiting typically happens in March-April. Another point to note here is that the large PE fund (Carlyle, KKR, Blackstone, Apollo) will not come on-campus for both of these schools and these require prior US based IB or PE experience to get an interview. This leaves you with mid cap and small cap PE funds that are present in mid-west. Thus making Kellogg a better alternative.

Coming back to consulting, Kellogg is the strongest brand for consulting (in NA and LatAM) and places students worldwide for MBB. Tuck is a great school but not of the same level in terms of access to resources and alumni network. Without knowing the exact scholarship amount, I would definitely nudge you towards Kellogg., given the tremendous amounts of resources at hand for PE and consulting. I have done PE lab and will be working with a PE/VC fund this winter again. Kellogg has done a lot since 2014 to improve its "weak brand" but it has now become a hidden gem for finance based roles. All major companies from automotive to Oil n Gas recruit for corporate finance while for IB, all major BB banks come on campus for recruitment. So dont really think Kellogg is a 'weak brand in finance' anymore. Given your choices, go for Kellogg!!

Finally, go to DAK that will take place in Feb (reach out to your admissions liaison at Kellogg for more information!).

Good luck and keep us posted on what you choose.

letta1900 · Answer

After many weeks talking to students and alumni and reading all types of blogs I’ve made my decision. I’m going to Tuck!. I'm going to leave my reasoning here since it might be useful to others in the future:

Career:  
Plan A - Private Equity: More specifically in infrastructure/energy investments. Is true that is hard to get in from either school, but Tuck might give more to these type of funds due to alumni presence, location and brand. In addition, Tuck and Dartmouth have apparently more presence in small PE funds (I’ve found some articles talking about Tuck being a hidden gem for PE)
Plan B - Corporate Finance: Tuck places significantly better in finance related roles. For the class of 2017, 22% of Tuck grads went to finance roles, while 14% of Kellogg grads went to finance (a difference that has been maintained year over year). Finance roles have been #1 or #2 for Tuck in terms of placement in the last few years, but #2 or #3 for Kellogg. That fact, combined with a smaller class size was a key differential for me. 
Plan C – Consulting: Both schools have a strong brand and presence in consulting. Kellogg has an edge since it is the consulting powerhouse and has more recognition in the consulting world in Latam (and maybe in general).

School size / MBA style : Something very appealing to me about Tuck is that the school has remained true to the idea of the 2Y MBA experience, the school does not offer any other full time programs and the executive education offerings are very limited. At Tuck all the school resources are focused on “just” ~600 students, the access to faculty is hard to match (Tuck also has one of the best faculty/students ratio) and taking the most from the educational experience is important to me. On the other hand, at Kellogg the resources are shared between the 2Y MBA, the 1Y MBA, the weekend MBA, the executive MBA and other executive education offerings. In my opinion the large variety of programs at Kellogg can distort the overall MBA experience. However, Kellogg larger size contributes to a higher variety of classes, clubs and network activities, something that Tuck can’t match.

Lifestyle : Evanston/Kellogg was my preferred location, it has the best of both worlds; a nice campus feel that allows bonding between students but close enough to a big city. In addition, Kellogg’s brand new global hub is awesome. Tuck has also a great campus feel, top notch facilities and allows for deep bonding between students, but you have to sacrifice the proximity to a big city. I have convinced myself that since probably I’ll be spending the rest of my life in big cities, living a couple years in Hanover is not a big deal and on the positive side I’ll have all the time and energy to fully focus on my MBA. In addition, Tuck allows for a lot of outdoor activities and sports (I mean A LOT), which can make the MBA experience even more interesting.

Brand/Rankings : Kellogg has an edge on this side. If you take the P&Q ranking Tuck has been on average ranked #7 and Kellogg #5, the difference is relatively small. Kellogg has the recognition that comes from being a large M7 School, but Tuck shares the prestige of its Ivy League parent institution. In Latin America, Kellogg is more recognized (mostly because of its size), in terms of recruiting the both schools are regarded almost evenly.

Financial support / Costs:  Lastly, the scholarship doesn’t hurt (I received 50k) and I have to admit that it’s nice to say that I’m going to business school with a partial scholarship. Living in Evanston is also more expensive that Hanover (about 500-600/month for me, or a total of ~$10k during the 2 year), but that’s a very small factor.

Tuck ($$) vs. Kellogg

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