R2 - Booth vs Kellogg Decision

Question

For those making the Booth vs. Kellogg decision what have people decided or what are people leaning towards?

I would choose Kellogg but Booth gave me just over a 50% scholarship which is why I think I will choose Booth...

how about everyone else?

cheetarah1980 · Answer

I am still undecided. Booth also gave me a scholarship for over 50% of tuition. It definitely puts a point in Booth's corner, but I haven't found that one thing to definitively tip the scales in either direction. I need to hurry up and figure this out though.

Jacksparrow1906 · Answer

What I always say is, if everything is even in terms of what you are looking for in culture/fit, job placement, etc. then go with the money. If Kellogg is where you prefer to go, but booth gave you more money, I would consider your post MBA career. You will get a fairly large bonus if its a traditional path which will cover a large portion of tuition, and some firms (consulting/finance) will actually cover atleast one year of tuition if you accept a full time offer. So, the money looks good today, but in the long term, if your plan is to go down a traditional path, then money shouldn't be a deciding factor. If your plan is to go down a non-traditional/lower salary (non-profit) type of job, then I would consider the scholarship and any post mba financial support each school has offered or can offer you.

robface · Answer

Good luck - hopefully we can get comfortable with a decision fast! I've heard varying points of view but I would definitely consider debt into the equation, but it does put a wrench into things...

BStand · Answer

For what it's worth, I chose Booth over Kellogg. I had just about equal $$ at both schools, so that wasn't a factor. I don't think you can go wrong with either choice.

For me, I think Booth is better positioned to help me achieve my post-MBA goals. I've had a number of conversations with recruiters who straight up told me (surprise, surprise) that Kellogg is the place to be for marketing, brand management, but that otherwise Booth had a slight advantage and currently has more momentum.

Beyond that, I like living in Chicago and I know from talking to Kellogg students that the default social experience is the strip of bars right there in Evanston (or house parties).

Good luck making your final decisions!!

robface · Answer

Thanks for the reply...that's the first time I heard of some firms actually covering at least one year of tuition if I accept a fulltime offer...

i mean, i have heard of the sponsorship opportunities for people committing to join their firms after the MBA but I have not heard of firms offering an upfront "signing bonus" which covers tuition as well...do you know if this is fairly common or does anyone have additional insight on this?

Jacksparrow1906 · Answer

When visiting schools, Deloitte was given as an example of a company that in many cases will cover your second year of tuition if you accept a full time offer. With regards to a signing bonus, if you are doing the summer internship and are offered a full time job (in which you accept) they will some times give you the signing bonus upfront at the end of the summer to help pay tuition. I'm also assuming signing bonuses to be in the 40K area depending on where you will be working, which doesn't always cover a full year, but goes a long way.

Caveat: This is all new to me as well, maybe others can confirm.

robface · Answer

thanks for the additional info...good to know

maki04q · Answer

Among Booth, Kellogg, and Tuck, I chose Kellogg ($ wasn't a factor for me...). I wouldn't say my decision was easy tho.

1) I connected with Kellogg students better at the Admit Week vs. Booth students. Tuck's class of c280 was just a bit too small for me personally. Networking and meeting new ppl are high on my list, and I felt like K does a better job in creating a scene for everyone to mingle and get to know one another outside your background and/or ethnicity... I prefer to work by myself vs. in teams but I thought this team culture at K will really ground me and allow me to build strong network with peers.

2) Unlike other tier 1 schools (20 firms hiring c70-80% of MBAs), Kellogg attracted diverse employers (200 firms hiring c80% of K MBAs), opening up diverse opportunities post MBA. This is crucial especially for ppl who are unsure of their post MBA goal.

3) Opportunity to lead others: I got the sense that K provides more opps for students to lead others thru clubs, events, and etc. DAK was totally student run.. are you kidding me? DAK was ran and organized so well. I think this type of student led exp is really underestimated but sth that is extremely important wherever one is employed.

4) Well-rounded school: fun and collaborative culture, great social entrepreneurship / non-profit, top notch general management (not to mention brand mgmt and mkt), underestimated finance program (this is actually pretty sick - I was pleasantly surprised that Asset Mgmt Practicum allows students to manage $4mm, an amt greater than any other top school), solid decision sciences/operations/supply chain... and on and on and on.... I got away thinking that it is a very well-rounded school.

At the end of the day, I don't think anyone can go wrong with either B or K. It is what you make out of the MBA experience more so than which top school you attend. I would go where you feel more comfortable... Good luck!

cheetarah1980 · Answer

I made my decision today. I will be heading to Booth in the fall.

rhyme · Answer

!@#! skippy.

robface · Answer

congrats cheet! great decision...

I submitted my deposit as well so hopefully we'll get the chance to meet among all the students next year, although it will be pretty tough to tell who each of us are...

anyways, enjoy the summer and good luck next year!

rob

cheetarah1980 · Answer

I am sure that we can organize a GMAT Club meet and greet before classes start. I already met several GCers at Admit Weekend.

MYCambridge · Answer

Booth absolutely.

R2 - Booth vs Kellogg Decision

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