Booth vs Kellogg

Question

I have been accepted to both of these great schools. None of them have given me any scholarships so there is no money issues involved here.

I am planning on switching to management consulting after the MBA. Both schools have very good placement rates in management consulting (Kellogg slightly better than Booth).

The issue is that Booth is going up in the rankings while Kellogg is losing ground.

I would really appreciate any comments or suggestions!

Thanks!

kingfalcon · Answer

Booth is ranked a little higher, but Kellogg places a little better at MBB. At the end of the day, these are peer schools; the differences are truly at the margin. Talk to as many students as you can, get to know both programs as well as possible, visit the sell weekends if possible, and then make your decision on people and fit.

DefyingGravity · Answer

While Booth is on an upswing, Kellogg is still viewed as a top school. Plus, Dean Blount is doing some amazing things for the program. In this case, I don't think there is a significant enough difference in rankings to influence your decision.

mgg234 · Answer

If I had gotten into Booth, I was going to personally choose Kellogg over Booth (I wrote about it a bit in my "Share your application experience" thread before I got the Booth reject). I too want to switch into Management Consulting.

The reason I felt this way was for two main reasons: I wanted a close-knit student community, and I wanted a collaborative environment away from finance people. I went to Stern for undergrad, which had both not a strong community (people lived spread out throughout NYC) and a cut-throat finance experience, and contained people with poor social skills...I really didn't want to repeat that experience.

People have posted the Booth community has improved the last few years, and people are very supportive nowadays, but honestly I wasn't going to risk it. I've worked in investment banks for 5 years, and I know what those type of people are like (in general), and I don't want to be around those type of people anymore.

For you personally, I'd visit both schools, it really comes down to what type of culture and environment you want. There's plenty of things in Booth's favor...newer building, marginally higher rank, flexible curriculum, urban instead of suburban environment, etc There's no obvious right choice here - they are peer schools and both place great in MC - so it's just going to have to come down to your subjective feelings.

domotron · Answer

Speak to as many students, alums and attend the respective admit weekends if possible. Kellogg and Booth have very different personalities and you should look for fit rather than rankings or placement stats because frankly, there is very little between them on both fronts.

ddigwal · Answer

I have a similar dilemma, though i am going part-time. I got an admit from Kellogg just before i hit submit for my Booth app. Now, I am not sure if i should even apply to Booth.

I am in consulting and want to continue to work in consulting (might look to change companies). Kellogg does seem to place a lot more students in consulting than Booth. So seems like Kellogg is a slightly better choice as far as Consulting is concerned.

That said, i agree Booth that has moved ahead of Kellogg in every ranking. Are the rankings a cause of concern or am i over thinking this?

mgg234 · Answer

I'm biased of course, but I think you're over thinking. Kellogg is a top 5 school with the best career services in the business. They're still peer schools, even though Booth is marginally up in the rankings this year.

ddigwal · Answer

Thanks mgh234- I thought i was over thinking this too.. Just wanted a prospective from someone else. Its definitely a tough choice. I think it comes down to fit and post-MBA goals.

gmat245 · Answer

Although Kellogg currently has a small advantage in consulting placement, Booth has improved and surpassed Kellogg in rankings (for the past 6-7 years). This may have an effect on placement numbers on subsequent years, so in the long-term, although both schools will have solid placement numbers in consulting, I feel that Booth will have better ones.

ddigwal · Answer

I agree with your assessment, but the Kellogg places almost 40% of its class in consulting. I don't foresee this changing in coming years. Booth places less number of student in consulting because lot of its student opt for finance related jobs.

That said, Booth's rise in ranking in last 6-7 years is commendable. It's difficult to say what will happen in 2-3 years, but i expect both schools to still be in Top 5.

hbsgeek · Answer

I would go to Booth. Booth places great in consulting and has less competition for these jobs (many people want to go to finance related jobs). Kellogg on the other hand, places a few more people in consulting, but the competition is much tougher.

I think Booth is the way to go!

I think Booth is the way to go!

mgg234 · Answer

I disagree that competition is "much tougher." Kellogg is huge in marketing/CPG/etc, and a ton of people go into that, just like a ton of people go into finance at Booth.

ddigwal · Answer

I would disagree with that point as well. MBB hire more at Kellogg due to higher interpersonal skills of its students. Easy to put in front of clients... I don't think it has anything to competition. Higher alumni in consulting further help hire more at Kellogg.

mbaapp25 · Answer

I agree with you. I think the competition at Booth will be lower. If you are a career switcher with no previous experience in consulting, I think Booth will be a better option because you will have less competition and a slightly better chance of getting the job you want.

kingfalcon · Answer

The competition point is silly. To get through resume screening and first-rounds, you just need to be above a certain bar. For final rounds, yes you are competing, but at that point you are competing with everyone who is applying for  that specific office , not your classmates.

domotron · Answer

I would be highly suspicious of a user with only 3 posts and all saying Booth is awesome.

I don't buy that there is less competition at all. Frankly if you can get into a top-tier MC firm at Booth, you most likely would be able to at Kellogg too. Both are core schools for MC firms.

mgg234 · Answer

Poet and Quants did an indepth comparison of Booth and Kellogg a few years ago: https://poetsandquants.com/2010/07/02/ch ... gg-school/

ddigwal · Answer

I remember reading this article sometime back. Kellogg seem to be slightly better for strategy/general management.

I am going part-time, so OCR probably won't be a factor for me. On the other hand, alumni strength in MC would benefit highly when i look to change jobs.

mgg234 · Answer

All,

gmat245, undecided2343 (creator of this topic), hbsgeek, and mbaapp25 have posted by the same IP and are duplicate accounts of the same person. So it looks he made this thread, then made alternative accounts to push "booth".... really weird.

I've raised it to the other admins how they want to handle it (aside from banning him and his IP's). Presumably these topics will be deleted, but want to give everyone a chance to read what happened before then.

ddigwal · Answer

Haha.. That's so weird.

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Booth vs Kellogg

Booth vs Kellogg

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