Columbia vs. Kellogg

Question

So I've seen quite a few of these come up on the forum lately, but hadn't seen a CBS vs Kellogg thread.

I was lucky enough to get into both and am now torn between both schools.

I've had a whirlwind application process...in the beginning I was 100% Tuck, but after visiting the school I didn't feel that it was a great fit and didn't want to sign up to spend two years in such a small town. Then my attention turned to CBS (I work at a PE fund with many CBS grads) and I'm still leaning that way, but the more I talk to people from Kellogg the more I get the sense that people there geniunely LOVE that program.

So breaking down my top 2/3 pros and cons...

CBS:
Pros:
Very strong in PE/VC
NEW YORK!

Cons:
Not closenit / is a commuter school
Facilities

Kellogg:
Pros:
Strong culture and program
Great school for general management vs CBS which leans on finance

Cons:
I'm not super excited about the idea of living in Eavanston, but that leads to tight night community
I'd like to live in the Southeast/Southwest, so I think CBS might have an edge on name recognition?

Interested to hear your thoughts!! Unfortunately there admit weekends are the same dates

CobraKai · Answer

Kellogg has pretty crappy facilities too, so that really shouldn't be a con for CBS if the competition is Kellogg.

Both have great name-recognition with employers, so I don't think that should be an issue either. Sure the man on the street might say Columbia is a better school than Northwestern, but he's not the guy doing the hiring.

The biggest factor here looks like NYC vs. Evanston. Is community more important? Then point Kellogg. Is exploring a large city during your tenure at B-school a priority? Point CBS.

Like you said, you're leaning towards CBS which doesn't surprise me since you turned down Tuck, a school that's very community driven.

Yes, the people at Kellog LOVE the program...the more important question is: Will you?

kingfalcon · Answer

You listed "strong in PE/VC" as a pro for Columbia and yet you listed "great school for general management" as a pro for Kellogg. I would argue those are definitely pros for each school, but I don't see how those could BOTH be pros for you. What are your goals? What do you want to get out of your b school experience?

Also, I've heard many people say DAK swung them towards going to Kellogg. I've honestly never heard the same of Columbia's admitted student weekend. Would you consider going to DAK and taking a separate, self-initiated visit to CBS?

hookemhorns612 · Answer

I visited and applied to both.

First CBS is a very tight knit community. Yes, it's technically a commuter school, but the program is structured so that you have a clusterand learning-teams who you are incredibly close with. I visited with people in their second year and they mentioned the night before they were out until 2 AM with their cluster...started with dinner and ended at a bar....and they do it monthly at least. He said they're some of his best friends. That added to the fact that people show up at CBS in the AM and spend the day there...some say they think they are closer b/c if it wasn't a 'commuter' school they'd probably split and go home all the time instead of hanging out...this doesnt even cover club involvement...hopefully that helps there.

Bottom Line - CBS is really under-recognized for its sense of community. Facilities do suck.

Kellogg - great tight knit program with some of the best spirit out there. facilities are okkkkk, not great, not as bad as CBS.

I'd say overall...if you want to continue with finance and specifically, PE, I'd go to CBS...I think reputation the two schools are interchangeable...maybe on the other side of the world, Columbia has more clout than Northwestern b/c its an Ivy and more commonly known name (b school names aside). However, if you want gen management and a diff career path consider Kellogg.

Congrats and enjoy the problem you have right now!

codytravers · Answer

Great problem to have. I'd go to CBS, but that's because I don't want to live in the middle of the country. I also feel like going to CBS if you're into finance is a no brainer.

machichi · Answer

These schools are so different. I don't even know how you ended up applying to CBS given the other schools you applied to and got into! Tuck, Yale, and Kellogg are all so touchy-feely. CBS seems much more no-nonsense.

For me the no-brainer is to  not  choose Columbia, but for others the no-brainer would be to go to Kellogg. I think the moral of the story, is that the schools offer very different experiences and if you visit them you'll most likely figure it out pretty quickly.

Also, Chicago is awesome.

Columbia vs. Kellogg

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