Shortlisting business schools to apply to can be a challenging task. Especially if the choice is between two elite M7 business schools, located in the same region, with each offering the same world-class infrastructure, top-notch faculty and an unparalleled MBA experience, it could be a toss-up between the two.
In this article, we’d go on to compare two such leading business schools – Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, to give you varied perspectives and insights so that you can take a call on which one is the best fit for your profile.
Kellogg vs Booth: Campus location
Kellogg is located in Evanston, Illinois, an urban suburb, 30 minutes north of downtown Chicago along Lake Michigan.
A college town with a picturesque surrounding that offers a sense of community with abundant cultural events, outdoor activities, restaurants, parks and lakefront beaches.
The Global Hub, the building where full-time MBAs would spend most of their time offers an amazing view of Lake Michigan and the Chicago skyline.
Students can live at the The McManus Living Learning Center that houses around 250 students and a 15 minute walk from the Global Hub; others can choose their off-campus accommodation based on their preferences and budget.
At Booth, you’d be studying in a vibrant city in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. The city is well connected and can boast of excellent public transportation, diverse food options, clubs, sports and cultural activities, parks, playgrounds, beaches and an excellent network of biking lanes.
For accommodation, there are plenty of options available depending on your affordability. You can choose to live in different parts of Hyde Park or other neighborhoods based on what suits you the best.
Kellogg vs Booth: MBA rankings
Booth has a long-standing reputation for being a top program for finance, similarly Kellogg has earned a solid reputation in marketing. Let’s take a peek into the various MBA rankings for both the schools:
In the 2023 Best Business Schools ranking by U.S. News, Booth ranked no. 1 while Kellogg was at no.3. In the rankings for MBA specialties by U.S. News, Booth ranked 2nd (next to Wharton) in Best Finance MBA Programs while Kellogg earned the number one position in Best MBA Marketing Programs.
Taking in account Financial Times (FT) MBA business school rankings over the past 25 years, Booth had an average rank of 7.6 while Kellogg had an average rank of 13.04. The topmost FT ranks in case of each of the schools over these years were as follows: Booth ranked 3rd in 2022 and 2021, while Kellogg ranked no. 5 in 2022.
The most recent FT business school rankings 2023 showed both the schools slip down four places from the 2022 rankings with Kellogg taking the 9th place (5th in 2022) while Booth was at no. 11 (7th in 2022).
Kellogg vs Booth: Program structure, format and overview
The Booth MBA programs comes in various formats including the Full-Time MBA, Evening, MBA, Weekend MBA, and the global Executive MBA.
The full-time MBA program begins with an experiential program – LEAD with a focus on leadership development. Booth MBA students have the flexibility to customize their MBA experience and choose their own path by making their own choices of courses and concentrations. Students can take 3-4 courses per quarter and choose from among 13 concentrations.
The study mode would vary and include a mix of group projects, lectures, case studies, hands-on learning through lab courses, classroom debates and discussions.
The lab courses would be a good opportunity to gain practical work experience while working with a client organization to develop a business plan in a variety of industries including private equity/venture capital, social impact, healthcare analytics, entrepreneurial discovery, developing new products and services.
Booth is known for its analytical and data-driven approach. A unique methodology involves use of cases to illustrate fundamental frameworks and theories and making use of these principles to explain your viewpoint.
Kellogg offers the following MBA formats – Full-Time MBA, Evening & Weekend MBA and executive MBA. The full-time MBA comprises the one year MBA, two year MBA and the joint/dual degree programs – MBAi, MMM, JD-MBA.
The two-year MBA program starts in September with graduation in June. The MBA curriculum comprises nine core courses in various fundamental areas including accounting; management and organizations; marketing; finance; managerial economics; decision sciences; operations; and management and strategy.
Students have the flexibility to select from a choice of eight majors or opt for general management and not pursue a major.
Additionally, students can explore pathways to gain expertise in evolving areas like data analytics, asset management, social impact, entrepreneurship, healthcare to name a few. Students can choose to take up any number of pathways.
The coursework includes hands-on experience, like the Global Initiatives in Management (GIM) or the Analytical Consulting Lab which allows students to solve real-world problems for clients.
Students can participate in one or more of the global opportunities like the GIM, full-time exchange programs in collaboration with 25 partner schools across continents, global lab and Kellogg worldwide experience and student trips. There is an internship requirement of 6 to 12 weeks during the summer quarter between year 1 and 2.
Kellogg vs Booth: Class profile
| Kellogg | Booth | |
| Class size | 503 | 621 |
| Program duration | 21 months | 21 months |
| Female students | 48% | 40% |
| International students | 38% | 37% |
| Average work experience | 5 years (62 months) | 5 years (3-7 years) |
| Average age | 28 years | 28 years (26-31 years) |
| Average GPA | 3.7 | 3.6 |
| Average GMAT | 729 | 729 |
| GRE | 163 – median GRE (Quant) 162 – median GRE (Verbal) |
164 – average (Quant) 163 – average (Verbal) |
| Undergraduate majors |
– Science, technology, engineering, mathematics 38% – Economics/business 45% – Humanities 24% |
– Business 25% – Economics 25% – Engineering 24% – Liberal Arts 13% – Physical Sciences 9% |
| Countries | – | 57 |
| Student led clubs | 120 | 70+ |
The incoming batch at both Kellogg and Booth saw the highest numbers with majors in business and economics – at Kellogg, this was 45% while at Booth it constituted half the class.
At Booth, the pre-MBA industries of the incoming MBA class was as follows – 25% from consulting, 19% from financial services, 13% from technology. At Kellogg, 24% were from consulting, 19% from financial services, 17% from technology.
Kellogg had an enrolment of 503, while the number of applications was not disclosed, while Booth received 4352 applications and an enrolment of 621.
Also read:
– 16 things every Chicago Booth MBA applicant should know
– 16 things every Kellogg MBA applicant should know
Kellogg vs Booth: MBA Salary and Careers
So, is Kellogg a marketing program and Booth a finance program ? Let’s see what the MBA employment statistics reveal:
At Kellogg, 79.41% of the students got job offers through school-facilitated channels.
Here’s the industry wise placement distribution. The highest number of students (40%) got into the consulting industry, followed by technology industry at 21%, next came financial services at 16% followed by consumer-packaged goods at 10%.
We compared the two year full-time MBA placement data over the last five years and these were the findings:
The students being placed in consulting role has remained the highest ranging between 35-40%. The biggest recruiters in 2022 were the big three consulting firms MBB (McKinsey & Company) (59), Boston Consulting Group (50), and Bain & Company (40).
Those opting for finance/accounting roles showed a slight rise at 19% for the recently graduated class and ranged between 15-19% over the last five years. Private equity and venture capital are areas with highest recruitment in finance.
As far as marketing/sales sector is concerned which is Kellogg’s forte, the 2018 batch saw 19% of the class get into this sector, however that figure has been seeing a decline in the recent years and was at 12% for the class of 2022. Business development roles have been in the 1-3% range.
Those choosing technology roles were at 10%, this number has been steady at 8-10% over the last five years. Amazon was the biggest recruiter in tech with 26 hires, followed by Google at 9. The median salary in tech was $145,860. The job roles for those recruited in tech were varied including product management, marketing and strategy.
At Booth, 100% of the first-year class students got internships out of which 71.5% were through Booth-facilitated channels.
Though Booth is a popular option for finance, the last few years since 2019 have seen more students being placed in the consulting industry rather than finance though 2022 saw equal placements in both.
The 2021 placements had seen a surge in tech jobs however financial services and consulting industry had seen a dip. The class of 2022, saw the financial services industry bounce back with more than one-third of the class – 35% finding jobs in this industry, a 8% jump from last year’s figure of 27%.
An equal number 35.5% got placed in the consulting industry, a 1% jump from last year. The technology sector at 14.9% showed a sharp drop from last year’s figure of 22.9%.
279 companies recruited Booth students with 96.8% getting placed within 3 months of graduation. Students found worldwide internship opportunities in more than 240 companies. There were 350 corporate events that provided students a good chance to explore internship options.
Kellogg vs Booth: MBA Placements
| Kellogg | Booth | |
| Students receiving/accepting job offers within three months of graduation | 99% | 96.4% |
| No of recruiting companies | 279 | 170+ |
| Post-MBA median base salary | $165,000 | $175,000 |
| Median signing bonus | $30,000 | $30,000 |
| Post-MBA jobs in consulting industry | 40% | 35.5% |
On an unrelated note, are you aware of the Booth vs Kellogg: Battle of the Bands? It’s an annual face-off that sees two bands from each of the business school put in a great performance to win the music battle.
There’ll be many more exciting activities to look forward to during your MBA journey. So, go ahead and choose the program that’ll be the best fit for your profile and make the most of the golden opportunity!
Success stories from India
Our team at MBA Crystal Ball has helped tons of candidates get into the top business schools including Kellogg and Booth. A few of those stories made it to our blog (listed below).
Check out the profiles and application strategies followed by these Indian applicants.
– Profile building for second MBA after IIM: M7 (Kellogg) admit with scholarship
– How I got into Chicago Booth MBA – M7 Admissions Consulting Review
– How I got into Kellogg: MBA reapplicant and waitlist strategy
– Kellogg One Year MBA admission with scholarship after GMAT score jumps by 90 points
– Chicago Booth Executive MBA admit for Indian Architect
If you need admissions consulting help with your applications, get in touch with us: info(at)mbacrystalball(dot)com
All the best!
