Kellogg – An Insider’s Guide (2024)

To continue our ‘Insider’s Guide’ series, this week we’ll turn our attention to Kellogg. You may have heard of Kellogg’s reputation as a marketing school. Yes, it has a very strong marketing department with renowned faculty members and a strong recruiting pipeline into marketing roles. However, most students at Kellogg actually aren’t focused on marketing. The faculty and alumni support are strong across all disciplines and students’ interests are very diverse.

Read on for more insights about Kellogg that you won’t readily find on the website.

The Basics

Kellogg is located 30 minutes north of downtown Chicago in Evanston. The school opened a newly constructed building in Spring 2017 that was designed to be ‘excessively public’ and foster additional collaboration. The ‘Global Hub’ hosts nearly all full time MBA classes (as well as a gym and marketplace).

In addition to the traditional two-year MBA, Kellogg offers several specialized and joint degree programs:

  • MMM – M.S. in Design Innovation + MBA
  • MBAi – New five-quarter tech MBA for students with a STEM undergrad and technical work experience
  • JD/MBA – JD + MBA in three years
  • 1Y MBA – accelerated program that runs June-June targeted at those with a business undergrad

One notable difference in Kellogg’s approach to admissions is that the school interviews nearly every applicant. Interviews are conducted mainly by its vast alumni network around the world.

Academics

Kellogg’s curriculum is one of the more flexible of its peer set. The 2Y MBA includes nine core courses, but students with suitable undergrad coursework can waive select core classes and/or take an accelerated version of finance (‘Turbo Finance’). Most students begin taking electives during winter quarter of their first year. Popular electives include:

  • Negotiations – lectures on negotiation tactics and strategy as well as multiple negotiation simulations
  • Marketing Strategy – students work in teams on a course-long simulation accompanied by lectures with top professors
  • Public Economics for Business Leaders – teaches the economic principles of public policy
  • Launching and Leading Startups – survey of the entire process of launching a business, from discovery to scaling to the role of CEO
  • New Venture Class Series – experiential series of three classes (Discovery, Development, Launch) that guides students though launching their own business

There are three ‘types’ of classes at Kellogg in terms of teaching method: case-based classes, lecture-based classes, and experiential classes. In reality, there is some of each type of learning in pretty much all classes. There is also a team component in virtually every class. Group members’ rating of each other often factors into the participation grade. The value of participation on a grade varies class to class from 0% – 50%. Many professors will cold call.

Kellogg does disclose grades upon employer request (i.e., banking and consulting) but does not rank students. Approximately 90%-95% of students receive either an A or B in each class. Up to three classes (excluding core classes) can be taken ‘pass/no credit’.

Culture & Student Experience

Kellogg students are friendly, positive, and humble. You often aren’t aware of classmates’ accomplishments until you’ve known them for a bit. Kellogg students are remarkably supportive of each other – you always feellike they ‘have your back’.

Kellogg’s culture is very student driven in terms of running clubs and conferences, influencing course offerings, etc. It is also very social, with lots of intramural sports and club-related events as well as small group dinners to get to know classmates in a more intimate setting.

Kellogg places students in 60–70 person, extremely diverse sections that serve as an additional network throughout the two years. There is no class on Wednesday, and this is when many club events and group meetings occur.

The vast majority of students live in Evanston, mostly in off-campus apartments. As such, a lot of socializing occurs in Evanston first year, especially during the week. People explore the city on Saturdays and generally more second year. Public transportation to the city is available 24/7 from campus.

Extracurriculars

Kellogg has the largest number of student clubs of any program, all 100% student-run. There are three types of clubs at Kellogg – Professional (ex. Consulting Club), Affinity (ex. Black Management Association), and Fun (ex. Wine Club).

Kellogg has an open club policy, meaning that any student can attend any club’s events. Being “in” a club essentially means signing up in the campus system and receiving their club email updates. It is common to be involved in 1-2 clubs in a leadership capacity. The time commitment for a leadership role varies, but ranges between 1-4 hours per week.

Popular events include:

  • KWEST – weeklong trips for first years before pre-term that about 80% – 90% of incoming students participate in and are led by second years
  • Ski Trip – one of the largest MBA trips with 800-900 students attending; if you aren’t a skier there are daytime activities such as poker tournaments, curling, movies and brunches
  • Career Treks – a great way to learn more about an industry and get to see a variety of companies; past treks include Marketing and Private Equity in New York, Clean Energy and Fin Tech in San Francisco, and Media/Entertainment in Los Angeles
  • Bollywood Bash – event organized by the India Business Club that includes a live dance performance followed by a celebration and Indian food dinner; students from all backgrounds participate
  • Special K – student run musical and comedy performance that makes fun of the quirks of business school and Kellogg
  • Charity Auction Ball – formal event where students and faculty donate creative items for auction (dinner at professors’ houses, cooking lessons from students, themed parties hosted by students)

Kellogg alumni are very engaged with the student body and the culture of paying it forward extends well beyond the two years on campus. Students often share that an email to a Kellogg alum has a 100% response rate.

Closing Thoughts

We hope this article provided insight into aspects of the Kellogg experience you won’t easily find on the school’s website or in the forums. Having a nuanced understanding of what makes each program unique will not only help you decide where to apply (or attend), it will also help you put your best foot forward during the admissions process. Best of luck on your journey. If we can be of assistance, reach out to request an initial consultation.

Katie McQuarrie( Senior Consultant & Director of Marketing )

Katie is a passionate mentor and coach, helping her clients craft a unique, compelling story by leveraging her experience as a corporate executive, alumni interviewer, and campus recruiter. Before completing her MBA at Kellogg, Katie spent five years in banking where she learned practical finance skills as well as how to operate in a demanding, high pressure environment. She pursued an MBA in order to transition to an industry role where she could utilize her finance knowledge to drive change within an organization. Post-MBA, she worked in finance and strategy for a leading CPG firm, progressing to an executive role leading the finance function for a $2B business segment. Her experience managing diverse teams led to a passion for developing others. In addition to her day-to-day responsibilities, she led her firm’s MBA recruiting efforts and served as an alumni admissions interviewer for Kellogg.

April 13, 2023

Katie McQuarrie

MBA Admissions

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Kellogg – An Insider’s Guide (2024)

FAQs

How prestigious is Kellogg MBA? ›

Northwestern University (Kellogg) is ranked No. 3 (tie) out of 124 in Best Business Schools and No. 3 out of 269 in Part-time MBA. Schools were assessed on their performance across a set of widely accepted indicators of excellence.

Is Kellogg a prestigious school? ›

Since the biennial BusinessWeek survey began in 1988, the Kellogg School has been ranked No. 1 five times — an honor achieved more often than any other business school. The survey has long recognized Kellogg as among the top MBA schools nationally.

How hard is it to get into Kellogg School of business? ›

The acceptance rate for Kellogg is 20%. It is important to consider the acceptance rate in the context of the student profile of those who are admitted. For example the average GMAT score is 731.

Is Kellogg Executive Education worth it? ›

Yes, based on Kellogg Executive Education reviews and its excellent reputation it is legit. Kellogg Executive Education bootcamp review ratings are glowing with satisfied graduates. They also commend the courses and curriculum that are comprehensive and easy to understand, even for beginners.

Is Wharton or Kellogg better? ›

Kellogg excels in teamwork and collaboration, focusing on marketing and strategy. Its experiential approach and strong alumni network facilitate learning. Wharton is renowned for quantitative rigor, particularly in finance and consulting, providing vast resources and a powerful global network.

Is Kellogg better than Harvard? ›

However, as per Best Business School Rankings by US News 2021, Harvard as ranked at an all-time low of #6 while Kellogg School of Management ranked #3 in the US. Choosing between the two schools is highly dependent on what an individual is looking forward to.

Is Kellogg 1 year MBA worth it? ›

Pros. You are able to get back to your career faster than in the two-year program. One-year programs are typically cheaper than the alternative; however, two-year graduates earn 9% more than one-year graduates on average. You don't have to take the many core classes required in traditional programs.

What is the average salary at Kellogg school? ›

Average Kellogg MBA salary

Kellogg MBA salary prospects are impressive. At the lower end, graduates from the two-year MBA class of 2023 earned a base salary of $85,000. On average, however, the average Kellogg MBA salary upon graduation is almost double that, at nearly $165,000.

What GPA do you need for Kellogg MBA? ›

Full-time Kellogg students enrolled in the One-Year, Two-Year, MMM or MBAi programs must demonstrate satisfactory academic progress in the following three ways: By maintaining a cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale.

Which is better Kellogg School of Management or MIT Sloan? ›

MIT Sloan excels in technology and innovation management, capitalizing on its strong engineering and entrepreneurship focus. Kellogg, on the other hand, is renowned for its emphasis on marketing, strategy, and collaboration, with a reputation for producing excellent leaders in these fields.

What is the average salary for a Kellogg Executive MBA? ›

Executive MBA Salary Increase
Executive MBA ProgramsPre-EMBA Salary 2020Post-EMBA Salary 2020
Northwestern Kellogg Executive MBA$174,218$228,659
Columbia Business School Executive MBA*$152,500$209,000
Michigan Ross Executive MBA$209,878$260,189
NYU Stern Executive MBA$150,854$204,750
8 more rows

Does everyone get an interview at Kellogg MBA? ›

Since Kellogg interviews all of its applicants, the pool of alumni interviewers is also larger and more diverse than most other schools. As such, though questions do tend to focus on standard MBA interview questions, be ready for anything.

Is Booth or Kellogg more prestigious? ›

Booth tends to have the advantage in rankings, though both schools are nip-and-tuck on various lists. Kellogg and Booth are consistently ranked as top-7 MBA programs. As the rankings are so close, it's pretty much a toss-up. Only two schools are consistently ahead of these two MBA programs: Wharton and Stanford.

What is the most prestigious MBA program in the world? ›

MBA rankings come and go, but Harvard Business School is recognized as the long-term #1 business school in the world.
  • Location: Boston, Massachusetts.
  • Median GMAT: 740.
  • Average GPA: 3.73.
  • Class Size: 938.
  • Acceptance Rate: 14%

Is Columbia or Kellogg better for MBA? ›

Columbia Business School's MBA is better than Kellog not only in ranking but also in terms of prestigue. One of the reason for this is that CBS's parent institute is Columbia University which is part of an Ivy League.

Why is Kellogg's MBA so expensive? ›

The program offers a world-class faculty, a rigorous curriculum, and unparalleled networking opportunities. These intangible benefits contribute to the overall value of the degree and should be considered when evaluating the total cost. See the full Northwestern Kellogg MBA tuition breakdown here.

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