Special interview with Kellogg MBA graduate

Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University is one of the top business schools in the US, and its MBA program is ranked at the top 10 by all major rankings. ARINGO had a short interview with Matan Gabay, Kellogg MBA graduate, in order to learn more about the school, the MBA program and the admission process:

What is special about the Kellogg MBA? What differentiates it from other Top MBA programs?

What sets the Kellogg MBA apart from other top MBA programs is its unique focus on collaborative learning and a strong emphasis on teamwork. Kellogg’s culture promotes a sense of community, which might sound “fluffy” but it is actually noticeable and impactful. In addition, the school’s dedication to experiential learning is also noted, one of the best ways to learn is by doing. One of the “classes” that I took was a lab that was de facto an internship in a top Venture Capital firm.

Can you share some details about the atmosphere in the school? between students, between students and faculty? How do you spend your free time?

This is one of the key things that really sets Kellogg apart from other top schools. The campus atmosphere is founded on fostering friendships, meaningful connections, and the creation of new social circles. Regardless of how you choose to spend your time, there’s always a club or social group to support your interests and passions. Whether you’re drawn to functional clubs like “KTech” or the “consulting club” or prefer to engage in sports and wine-related activities, Kellogg offers a vibrant and inclusive community. In addition, these connections and activities are not only for the students, but also for the Significant Others (we call them JVs) or even clubs for the kids. If you have any time left, there is always a costume party happening somewhere. In my time we didn’t have classes on Wednesday, so Tuesday was always a party night.

In addition, there are some experiences that are unique to Kellogg. One of them is “KWEST”. This is an opportunity to bond with a small group of 20 students before the school even starts. They randomly (with some preference adjustments) assign you to any location you can think of in the world, and you are going to a 7 days trip with these people that become your best friends. We went to Hawaii!

Can you share some details about the area/city?

Kellogg is located in Evanston IL, its basically a beautiful northern suburb of the greater Chicago area. It has a decent small city vibe located on the lake, with many restaurants, bars, and whatever you need to do, and Chicago is 30 minutes train away. The best thing about it, is that it makes all the students be super close to each other which make the social culture I mentioned above so strong. Most of the students live in 2-4 main buildings close to campus. Oh and it’s cold.

Can you share some details regarding job opportunities and summer internships for students in your school? How strong is the career office? Did the school name/brand give you any advantage when looking for a job? Are there any specific recruiters who mostly recruit from this school?

As you might already know, Kellogg is an elite business school and is very recognized throughout the US. All major employers come to recruit in our campus (Google, McKinsey, MSFT, BSG, Cisco, just to name a few). Kellogg has another advantage because Chicago is a major city with multiple mega-employers in finance, tech and consumer goods. Given the close proximity and the large number of Kellogg alumni in local companies they tend to recruit many Kellogg students (these are companies like Pepsi, the local offices of McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Pharma, and many boutique finance shops). IMO the career management center (CMC) in Kellogg is relatively strong. You are assigned with a personal consultant that helps you with everything, from shaping your resume, prepping for interviews, to get you in touch with former alumni in the companies to get a better inside view and referrals.

What did you like about the school/program? Any classes / clubs you would recommend for future students

Kellogg has a very experimental approach I didn’t even expect. For example, I took a marketing class called “Marketing Analytics”. It was amazing to actually how learn to code in R/Python and leverage big data and apply machine learning to make actionable decisions on businesses. Not only that, Kellogg has access to actual companies data and case studies as part of a collaboration with senior alumni in the companies, which makes everything very realistic.

What kind of candidates is the school looking for? Who will especially enjoy this school? who will be a good fit to the school?

Beyond the obvious things that are common among the top schools, Kellogg is looking for people that can perform very good in a group setting, people with leadership experience or potential.