Kellogg ($$$) vs Wharton (no $). Goal: PE

Question

Would love your thoughts. Tough decision. Goal is to do PE our of business school. Paying for school on my own, so the full scholarship is meaningful. I know the Wharton brand is stronger in the PE world.

Posted from my mobile device

Posted from my mobile device

Luck4Tuck · Answer

First off congratulations on getting into two great schools.
I would call both schools and find out which PE shops that you want to work for do OCR. Also where do you want to work? If every Mega Fund recruits at Wharton and none at Kellogg and you only want MF, then take the hit on the loans.
What city do you want to work in? I’m sure both have strong alumni networks all over the place but I think picking a school in the same city as the job you want is underrated.

Posted from my mobile device

bb · Answer

Congrats on your admits and scholarship! Fantastic job!

PE and is an elusive industry and hiring is better from Wharton but PE is a hit and miss. It is highly competitive and unpredictable unfortunately. I don't think the chances are that high but it really depends on how much of a possibility or probability you think you have vs. other applicants and HBS/GSB grads.

On the other hand, a $150K scholarship is pretty certain.

I can see passing Kellogg full ride for HBS just to go to the best school (though people have been known to pass up HBS for a full ride before).

ak139 · Answer

Congrats on the offers! Full caveat - Wharton alum here with no interest in a career in finance.

For most careers, I'd say that there's no difference between the schools - mgmt consulting, tech, general mgmt. But for finance? And PE in particular? Wharton hands down. Mktg? Arguably, a slight edge to Kellogg - although there's a reason that Wharton is the number two school in mktg.

I think that the key edge that Wharton enjoys is that it has a more active community for PE recruiting - it has more of a critical mass of students, alums and companies that you can benefit from - particularly for something that requires as much 1-on-1 networking as PE (as opposed to the more regular, structured on-campus recruiting that takes place for IB / MC). No disrespect to Kellogg intended, I just suspect PE recruiting is more of an individual endeavor at Kellogg, with less of a community to tap into (OK, maybe a little disrespect to Kellogg's PE/VC community lol).

As a point of comparison - check out Kellogg's PE/VC club (sorry not allowed to post URLs) - it's interesting to me that they have no upcoming events and they haven't finished building their website (see the generic purple box on the bottom right-hand corner). LOL. Just compare the Kellogg to the Wharton PE/VC club - and see how much more active the Wharton club is.

And none of that is necessarily a bad thing. PE recruiting is such an individual endeavor anyway -- it's really down to your individual attributes. So if, for example, you were a shoe-in anyway for a PE career based on your pre-MBA experiences, don't mind/ need the community, and have strong fit with the Kellogg vibe, then by all means -- go to Kellogg and have what will surely be an awesome time.

On the financial front, I'm sympathetic. But I generally agree with others who've suggested you bite the bullet and go to Wharton, given your interest in PE and assuming you can afford to bear the cost. Sitting on the other side of b-school experience, I can say that the debt doesn't last, particularly if you were interested in a field such as PE.

What can you practically do? Don't just rely on random opinions on an online forum - ask both schools to connect you to current students and alums (either who had PE/VC backgrounds before school, are currently recruiting for those roles, or are currently in them). Or just reach out yourself directly to the PE/VC clubs. It'll maximize your signal to noise ratio.

Good luck!

webster7 · Answer

I would go with Kellogg because you don’t know what the job market will be like in 2.5 years. Having a huge debt may restrict your decisions upon graduation. You also may change your mind on what you want to do by the time you graduate.

Posted from my mobile device

Posted from my mobile device

ENGRTOMBA2018 · Answer

Great selection options. Kellogg alum here. Had this been a question of Kellogg vs Wharton (no schol); Wharton would have been a no brainer but with $$$ involved at Kellogg, Kellogg wins if you are more interested in MM funds. I do take an offense to ak139 's statement above

but over the last 3-4 years, PE club and PE Lab courses at Kellogg have attracted a lot of funds based out of East Coast and Midwest. Echoing bb 's points above; PE is a very elusive industry and without knowing your background, it would be hard to advise either way. If you already have IB exp or even prior PE exp, Kellogg will win with $$$ on offer. If not, breaking into PE will be difficult (even though you can still go the operations route) and Wharton will be a better option here. Wharton def has a leg up when it comes down to mega funds. Back in the day, I did interview with Wharton and have a quite a few friends graduate from there over the last 3-4 years. So, I do have a good understanding of both, Kellogg and Wharton. Let us know what you finally decide and feel free to reach out if you have additional questions. Good luck.

Kellogg ($$$) vs Wharton (no $). Goal: PE

Kellogg ($$$) vs Wharton (no $): goal PE

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards