Booth vs Kellogg 1Y vs Fuqua (15k/yr)

Question

After spending 2 years on GC, I'm finally able to pose a decision question.
Very grateful for the opportunities after a zero admit season last year.

Background 
- 30+ in age, 7+ years of work-ex in data analytics/market research etc
- International applicant, male, 2nd mba applicant

Post-MBA goals 
- Strategy Consulting; preferably MBB, but will be pretty happy at ATK, Deloitte etc.
- as a secondary choice, open to general management roles as well (rotational leadership programs etc)

Heavily leaning towards Booth, but want to hear alternate suggestions / viewpoints to stress-test my decision.

Booth  
- T5 school, great reputation, strong consulting recruiting
- I have visited twice, and loved the campus + people I met. Definitely felt a great vibe.
- I dig the "analytical rigor" as well, and would love to learn a lot over 2 years apart from recruiting
- I like the Harper Center facilities, and living in downtown Chicago would be a fun experience

Kellogg 1Y  
- Kellogg is a top school as well, but not sure if 1Y will provide the same experience/recruiting opportunities as 2Y
- It does help me graduate a year earlier, but is that worth losing out on the extra opportunities through having an internship?
- Lower cost than Booth (probably will save 50K-60K$)
- Evanston has a nice college town feel, the new Global Hub is absolutely fabulous

Duke Fuqua  
- Really warm and welcoming school. Had a great experience during the application process and I definitely dig "Team Fuqua"
- Pretty decent consulting recruiting, specially in US South offices
- A little bit of scholarship (15K per year) + lower cost of living = maybe will save me 40K-50K$ as well
- Would've been totally delighted to attend if Booth (or Kellogg) was not an option.

Should I just go ahead and pay full price for the 2Y Booth experience? Or is it worth seriously considering Kellogg 1Y or Duke Fuqua?

ak99 · Answer

Kellogg and Duke are both great programs but with a 1Y program you essentially have only one shot at recruiting. Given your goals to transition careers much like many of your peers, you should give yourself a two year program and the opportunity that comes with it. In the grand scheme of things it's another year and $90k yes lots of money but the opportunity is worth it from what I have heard from peers.

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bb · Answer

Hi  stoiczoan !

Great to see your post! Congratulations on getting into Booth, Kellogg, and Fuqua!

We don't have a lot of feedback from 1-Yr Kellogg grads so I am not sure how the program really goes (would be good to reach out to 1Yr students) but my guess it is pretty much immediately into recruiting and you will be engaging with 2nd year students of the 2-Yr MBA program. That's how INSEAD is built and that' show it functions with pretty much immediate recruiting.

While it may seem that a 2-year MBA program will give you more time and opportunity to relax and find your footing, and take it easy, that's not a very accurate description. You may know this already but even for a 2-year program, you will pretty much start doing coffee chats, interviews, presentations, competitions, company visits, and networking sessions for your internship. The main difference is that you can screw up your internship somewhat and recover in the second year, or you can try something completely new, or you can switch roles/industries and get an internship in the area you are looking to recruit in. MBB's have offices in Fuqua, Kellogg, and Booth so you can interact with their reps and you can engage with them - they will be very accessible but there is always the question of you making or not making the cut since not the entire population of those interested will get in/qualify/get selected. I would definitely check with current students to see how they are holding up after the first 2 quarters or first trimester is over (whichever system they are on). They have some time right now, so it is a perfect time to reach out and get their feedback/input,  esp about H1B-related questions and recruiting since not all companies will hire internationals . (I looked at your profile after posting this and it says US, so disregard)

One thing that does play quite a bit into recruiting is brand names on the resume. Will an MBB rep who will most likely be a US-based person, look at your resume and be able to recognize a brand or will they see meaningless information without a point of reference? If you don't have brand names on your resume, within the Booth eco-system you will be somewhat at a disadvantage. Sure, you will beat out guys from Johnson or Ross in terms of MBA prestige but to take advantage of the on campus recruiting and esp competitive positions, you need all the umph you can get. Hopefully your age and experience will help but I would ask the 1YR students about this as well.

The reason I am bringing these things up is I do feel the 1-YR program presents a great value and great opportunity for you not to spend 20 months going to school and be without income. It is a nice option but it has some risk around it, and sorry, I don't really know enough.

As to Fuqua, I am not sure it is worth the $15K Scholarship. it is such a drop in a massive debt bucket unfortunately. Obviously every dollar counts but you want all the brand clout you can get to help you with recruiting. Booth and Kellogg will have much better on-campus recruiting due to 1) Rank 2) Location 3) Class size. They will attract more people. Also Chicago is right there full of alums and people who have gone to undergrad so it is easy to network and if you are a Booth/Kellogg alum, you easily connect with people. That won't happen in Durham unfortunately as you won't stay there.

P.S. Booth vs. Kellogg is an age-old debate. It used to be, esp during the hay day of finance that Booth was undeniably the stronger of the two. Perhaps a bit still but not as clear cut any more. I think Kellogg has been giving Booth a good run for its money in all areas outside of Finance.

Mo2men · Answer

Congrat  stoiczoan

According to my direct experience with my friend in 1-Y mba in Kellogg who graduated last year, he could not get any opportunity for any interview as MBB want an internship. He was offered a job in unknown consulting firm without good compensation compared to the industry. He got an offer from consulting firm outside the US but he turned it down for a strategy position in same country for a big corp. It was big risk for him to do 1Year but he accepted the risk and was fruitful.

I would highlight something another issue popped up 4-5 years ago with alumni from Tuck who worked in different consulting firms. it was about your age. He told me that he saw people offered jobs above 33 but it was rare because most firms see this as a problem. You might find a team leader who is younger colleagues who are project managers. This could trigger dispute about managing older consultant by younger one. So the older you are, the less attractive you become. So you need to consider this. But you maybe be attractive as experienced person in certain topic such as data analytics and BCG and Mckinsey will have route for such experienced professionals.

Good luck

stoiczoan · Answer

Thank you so much for your inputs  bb  ,  Mo2men  and  ak99 
All valid points.

Some updates (and clarifications) for those reading this thread in the future -
-- I am based in US but a foreign citizen, so will be on the F1 student visa and recruit as an international

-- I have engaged extensively with the Kellogg 1Y students and they've said that while the consulting recruiting opportunities are the same as the full-time recruiting for 2Y students, the prep time/resources may not be completely comparable. Many 2Ys have already gone through the internship consulting recruiting so are better prepared, and also have existing connections with other fellow 2Ys who are acting as "consulting prep coaches" so maybe get a little bit extra help. Also, a few firms (like Deloitte, ATK) don't really come back for on-campus full-time recruiting, so number of open positions are also lower. Its still doable and a few 1Y students do get MBB offers.

-- Kellogg is obviously a fantastic school, and I'd put pretty much on par with Booth for many post-MBA careers. (And maybe even ahead in a couple) However, in my situation, my current thinking says that Booth will provide the additional opportunities and the complete experience, and I guess will be worth the additional $$.

-- Valid points,  bb  , about the importance of pre-MBA work-ex and brand names on CV while recruiting at Booth with highly accomplished peers. I'm fortunate to have some good global brand names on my CV so hopefully will help me hold my own. The GMAT score should also help. However, I know that consulting recruiting is really competitive (specially MBB), so I am keeping my aspirations realistic and definitely acknowledge that success is not a given. I think I will be pretty happy in general management roles as well, so not toooo hung up on consulting.. no case of MBB or bust.

I haven't officially declined the Kellogg 1Y and Fuqua offers, so please feel free to add additional perspective. I have time till early Feb.

Mo2men · Answer

Hi  stoiczoan

You are welcome.

Just couple of questions. What is your plan B if no consulting? What if you can apply for MBB office in other countries in Europe or Asia......etc, are you open to apply there?

stoiczoan · Answer

-- Plan B is to look at general management leadership programs, internal consulting / corporate strategy roles etc.
-- Not keen on Europe or Asia as locations. Plan is to stay in US or Canada due to personal circumstances.

Thanks again for your perspective.

jessepinkman · Answer

I'd go Booth here - Kellogg 1Y is not really considered as prestigious and you lose a year of networking/traveling, etc plus no internship. $15K isn't enough to even consider Fuqua, if they offered a full ride, it would be worth thinking about imo.

cardinal5500 · Answer

I think the Kellogg 1Y program is intended for those staying within the same industry, or doing 1 pivot out of the 3 key areas (function/industry/location). You have a higher % of consultants/Ibankers/sponsored people in 1Y. For the intended goals agreed the full 2 years at Booth makes sense. The Kellogg 1Y is definitely as prestigious as 2Y/MMM/etc. as you basically skip the first year and enter as a 2Y.

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