Location
Having the opportunity
to attend games at Soldier Field, the United Center, U.S. Cellular Field, and
Wrigley Field has been a major highlight of being near Chicago. Add to that the Ryder Cup at Medinah and BMW Championship
at Conway Farms, and Chicago is a great place for sports fans. The city is great from a quality of life
perspective, save for the weather. Being
in Evanston affords convenient access to Chicago, while having its own campus
feel and downtown that are both quite nice.
Academics
During the Fall
and Winter quarters of the first year, MBA students are mainly taking the core
curriculum. Beginning in the Spring
quarter of the first year, electives
comprise nearly all coursework. There are
few constraints at Kellogg except that at least one major needs to be
satisfied. This is typically
accomplished with 4 or 5 classes out of a standard 24-course curriculum
(revised downward to 20 for future Kellogg students).
A big difference
between business schools and undergraduate programs is enrollment in
courses. Kellogg has a bidding system where you are given
points upfront in the Fall to last for an entire year. Winning bids are dependent on the course,
instructor, time of day, and maximum capacity.
Some especially popular electives command huge point values (sometimes
more than a full quarter’s worth).
Spending a large amount of points for a given class may result in an
excellent experience, but the downside is that it reduces optionality across
your other 11 classes for the year.
There is considerable research and strategy involved, and certainly some
luck as well, but overall I have fortunately fared well enough to get into the
vast majority of my desired schedule.
New Experiences
Kellogg has
multiple class offerings where students work with companies for academic
credit. For a risk management class, I
was part of a 4-person team that learned about and analyzed the dairy industry
for Land O’Lakes. My teammates did an
exemplary job and produced a model for dairy farmers to help manage their risks
(namely low milk prices and high feed costs).
It was a pleasure working with the Land O’Lakes team, and they provided
opportunities for us to visit its Board Chairman’s Wisconsin dairy farm, and present
our findings and analytical tool to Land O’Lakes corporate representatives and
dairy farmers across geographies. These
experiences even produced an article on the Kellogg website, along with a blog
post that I put together:
Land O’Lakes Board Chairman Pete Kappelman shares
operational experience with the Kellogg Risk Lab team.
Lunch & Learn
MBA students
will attend many of these events over the course of a year. They are typically organized by student clubs
and often involve speakers from Chicagoland firms. Free food always attracts people, along with
the opportunity to learn about topics ranging from: boosting international
tourism to Chicago, developments in healthcare, improving fast food service operations,
private equity trends, increasing statistical analysis of NBA players, and a
myriad of other topics.
Golf
A huge golfing
highlight for me last year was attending a Masters practice round. Back at Kellogg, our Golf Club organizes
events including scramble tournaments, golf clinics with PGA professionals, a Ryder
Cup style competition of Kellogg vs. Booth, and a big golf retreat. This year we are heading to Whistling
Straits, a major championship venue in Wisconsin that is located right along
Lake Michigan. A large group of Kellogg
students will plan to play 36 holes in a really fun setting.
Social
My Kellogg
classmates are impressive in every way, and I feel incredibly fortunate to get
to know them. There are dozens of clubs
that are mainly professional, athletic, or social, all serving as a great way
to connect people with similar interests.
There are a wide variety of social activities organized formally through
student clubs and also informally.
Chicago is a popular locale for Kellogg students to socialize, though
downtown Evanston (10-15 minute walk from the business school) and students’
apartments host the bulk of events. Business
school is also an opportune time to travel, whether it’s during the winter and
spring breaks, long weekends, or even shorter impromptu trips.
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