CLASS OF 2000 GRADUATE COMMENTS
Editor's Note: BusinessWeek collected graduate comments in 2000 during its ranking of full-time MBA programs. The next ranking is scheduled for fall, 2002.
Too much is made of entrepreneurship and e-business. The most valuable courses at school to me were the ones that gave me the basic foundations (strategy, marketing channels, organizational behavior). --Marketing
I believe that Kellogg is a truly great school, in which students and faculty members work together very well. Further, the administration is able to quickly response to suggestions of students. This, I believe, will hopefully make the school stands out from its competitors. Overall, I view Kellogg as a top school, which really takes care of the legitimacy of its students. I am determined to return to my family business after Kellogg. --Finance
I am an older student making a mid-career switch. I am a physician, and I leave Kellogg with a remarkable spectrum of new skills, never dreaming that I would graduate with a thorough understanding of statistical analysis, regression analysis--a tool kit full of quantitative type decision analysis skills. I keep my course notes nearby for my ongoing interviews. --Anonymous
It might be expensive and it may have a big opportunity cost, but I cannot think of an experience that would have given me so much in two years. The people, the materials, and the environment have been incredible. --Consulting
I gave up more than most of my fellow students to return to Kellogg in that my wife and I had a beautiful four bedroom home with acreage in Litchfield, Conn., and had built a very comfortable lifestyle with boats, sports cars, and other toys of "the good life." We sold the house completely furnished, sold all of the creature comforts, and loaded up our clothes and dog and moved into a small one-bedroom apartment in Evanston. After less than two years, I have several six-figure job offers with McKinsey, Bain, Booz, etc. and have chosen to put these opportunities on hold to pursue an entrepreneurial venture.
During a business plan competition as part of a Kellogg course last December, myself and two of my classmates received significant angel funding to start a [business-to-business] recycled auto parts marketplace. Since December, while finishing up our coursework, we have built a great team of twelve people, secured follow-on venture funding, and are launching our pilot product the week following graduation.
The MBA experience and the Kellogg experience in particular exceeded all of my expectations and beyond. We showed up in Evanston with our entire life in the back of a U-haul and eighteen months later I am leaving Kellogg with not only a top business education, but also as the co-founder of a real company that is poised to revolutionize the recycled auto parts space. Couple this with the great network of friends and associates and the option to return to McKinsey, Bain or Booz in the future, and I really cannot think of anywhere else that I could have accomplished as much in such a short period of time. For people who have attained a high standard of living, and are achieving financial success without one, the fulltime MBA is a tough decision to make, however it is one that I would repeat in a heartbeat. --Entrepreneurship
Before starting B-school, I feared that I would be surrounded by passionless business people and Wall St. drones. I was pleasantly surprised by the diversity of my classmates' backgrounds: race-car driver, health clinic manager, rock-tour manager, filmmaker, author, classical musician, and many others. Classmates cared about things besides business and did many, many things astonishingly well. --Venture Capital/Private Equity
Coming from a management consulting background, I didn't expect to learn too much in business school. People always tell you the analyst program at a major consulting firm is equivalent to an MBA. Frankly, I somewhat expected a two-year vacation. I was pleasantly surprised by the extraordinary challenge of the Kellogg curriculum. I not only learned much more than I ever expected, but much of what I learned was highly relevant, opened my mind to new areas of interest, and really challenged me. I truly believe I grew not only as a manager, but as a person having attended Kellogg. Plus, the people I met and became friends with are extraordinary: from an Indy 500 racecar driver to Beck's tour manager, an aquaculturist to an astronaut. Happily, not everyone at Kellogg was a consultant or [investment] banker, nor did most of them leave that way. Great academics, great people and an incredible experience all around. --Anonymous
Much of the buzz about e-commerce and the Internet is just that. I came from a background in high-tech and the Internet, and I agree that there is much value in technology, but many students are too interested in classes that just teach them what they can learn in a magazine. Luckily, Kellogg held back and didn't give in completely. There are a couple courses that are "current trend" related, but much is focused on solid business concepts because at the end of the day, that is what differentiates a leader/manager....the trends will always change...and the survey courses they have provide students with the opportunity to study areas of interest and work with/visit the companies. That being said, many of my ratings on concerning e-commerce and the such do not rank Kellogg as putting a superior emphasis on it, but they did it at the level that is appropriate -- to give students skills to build solid analytical frameworks that relate to business yesterday, today, and tomorrow. --Venture Capital/Private Equity
I believe that there is a strong misconception about our program. While the reputation regarding the quality of our marketing department deserves merit, I believe that the strength of the finance department is hugely underestimated. Evidence of this was clear throughout my academic experience as our students would consistently defeat students at the University of Chicago (the supposed powerful finance school) in corporate finance case competitions between the schools. Additionally, the amount of finance courses available is extremely comprehensive and surpasses that of any other major. --Investment Banking
Kellogg is a unique and truly amazing place. I commend the leadership of the program (Dean Jacobs, et all) for being able to consistently recruit truly talented, well-rounded, team players. The students at Kellogg MAKE the school as successful as it is. Where I am disappointed is in the extreme amount of focus (money and resources) on the executive MBA program at the expense of the full-time program. The Kellogg administration relies on the students to run everything (clubs, conferences, speaker events, etc.), and takes for granted how much the club leadership does for the school. Kellogg's administration should double in size just to help brand the school, support the clubs/students, and take some of the "weight" off these students who have to PLAN EVERYTHING! And they wonder why there is apathy lately among the students (who are tired!)? If all the student club leaders boycotted the administration, NOTHING WOULD GET DONE! --Marketing
I feel the school is extremely responsive to students' request and always ready to change. I also feel that the school encourage the students to run the school. The student's extracurricular life is impressively active and colorful, which I believe is the direct result of such policy. I feel the school and the student body form a very encouraging and welcoming environment. --Nonprofit
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