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Days81
I visited Kellogg last week for my on campus interview. Apparently they had high volumes of interviews while I was there, so I was interviewed by an alum that they had asked to come in and help. All the questions were pretty straight forward. The only one I hadn't expected was, "what is a common misconception about you?" Overall, I think it went well, but it was shorter than I thought it would be. It lasted only about 20-25 minutes, but I feel comfortable with the way I presented myself and I said everything I wanted to say.
I was able to attend 2 classes. I enjoyed the professors and was impressed with the class participation even though they weren't the most exciting topics. I was late to sign up for the classes, so I missed out on the most popular ones. The student hosting the tour was very friendly and had many positive things to say about the building even though it is getting old and a bit out-dated. The info session was different from that at other schools. It was done by a member of the adcom who addressed FAQs with relatively few questions coming from the attendees. Thursday night I met up with a current 1st year student I had networked with beforehand and had dinner with his family. His background and goals are very similar to mine, so I was glad to get his take on the school and hear about his experience. I was also fortunate to attend the TG event on Friday evening. It definitely showed a social side to the school and I met several other current students who were very welcoming and willing to share their experiences. Overall, my visit was excellent and did nothing to dethrone Kellogg as my preferred school should I be fortunate enough to be accepted. Best of luck to everyone in Round 2.
Sorry to call you out bro but you posted that Ross is your top choice on the Ross thread and about Kellogg on this. You do realize adcom doesn't monitor this website, right? Ha ha...
I think what would be very useful for most here is a list of differences you observed between the two schools. What did you find unique about Ross that was missing at Kellogg and vice-versa. Many here haven't had the opportunity to visit both schools and would gladly welcome your insight. Thanks, and good luck!
I don't mind being called out. I know adcom doesn't monitor, just stating my preferences at this point. I understand the confusion between my posts. Kellogg is my #1 choice between the two. However, Ross moved up my list out of all of my schools and is among the top schools on my list. That's all I meant on the Ross forum by stating it is at the top. If I were to be accepted at both schools, it would be a difficult decision. Kellogg has the edge because of it's brand/reputation in marketing, which is what I will be pursuing. When discussing classes, Kellogg students had a level of respect I didn't find at Ross. On multiple occasions, I heard Kellogg students mention professors and classes by name, whereas, I don't recall hearing one mention of a professor by name at Ross. The main thing mentioned at Ross was their MAP projects, which is their mini-consulting projects and takes their whole focus during the last quarter of the first year. That seems to be unique to Ross.
I reached out to students at both places before my visit. At Kellogg, the current student I met went out of his way to introduce me to some of his good friends, who also introduced me to some of their friends. With the students I had contacted at Ross, we chatted and then went our separate ways. I didn't expect any other introductions, but that turned out to be a difference.
The student hosts at the schools seemed to have different attitudes also. This would be my only negative about Kellogg. The Kellogg hosts (not all of them) seemed to be performing their job. They were friendly and insightful, but they seemed to be attending the events more as part of their duties than helping through the recruiting process. At Ross, the hosts made sure we felt comfortable, cracked jokes, and just genuinely seemed happy to get to know us and spend time with the prospectives.
The locations of the school couldn't be more different. Ann Arbor is definitely a college town, major athletic programs. The current students say it fosters a tight-knit community in the business school because most people leave friends in other major areas to come to Ann Arbor, so all they have is each other. A lot of students mentioned how much fun they have socializing at the football games. On the other hand, Evanston is so close to Chicago that it still has the big-city feel. There's a lot to do outside the school, so it's up to you to do things with or without your classmates. Kellogg has the edge here for me, because I have never lived in a major city and would like to have that experience. Although Michigan football would be exciting, I'm not choosing a school based on its athletics.
Anyway, I hope this is more helpful to you and answers your question about differences I observed. I visited the campuses mainly because I wanted to get a feel for the students and see if I would fit.
21 Feb 2011, 18:34
