Ep 25 | 5 Minutes on the Kellogg School of Management

In this mbaMission podcast episode, Harold Simansky interviews Kimberly Hoey, an mbaMission colleague and Kellogg MBA alum, about her experience at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. Kimberly shares that Kellogg was transformative for her, helping her pivot from finance to brand management. She highlights Kellogg's strong teamwork culture, reflected in its collaborative learning environment, SimWeek, and QuestTrips.

Kim also notes that Kellogg is highly student-driven, with students leading clubs, conferences, and other initiatives, providing hands-on leadership experience. She mentions Kellogg’s new Global Hub, which fosters teamwork and enhances the student experience. Contrary to the perception that Kellogg primarily focuses on marketing, Kim points out that consulting, tech, and finance careers are also popular post-MBA options.

Finally, Kim speaks about life in Evanston, describing the town's strong campus atmosphere and proximity to Chicago, which balances a campus feel with city access. Harold closes by inviting listeners interested in Kellogg or MBA admissions to book a free consultation through mbaMission.

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Transcript

Harold Simansky (00:18)
Hi, this is Harold Simansky with the mbaMission Podcast, and back again is my colleague, Kim Hoey Hi,

Kimberly Hoey (00:23)
Hello, Harold. Good to see you.

Harold Simansky (00:26)
Nice to see you too. Kim, do I understand correctly that you went to Kellogg? I'd love to just get a sense of how your experience was as well as just what's happening more recently at

Kimberly Hoey (00:30)
I did.

Yeah, yeah. Well, Kellogg was amazing. I greatly enjoyed my experience there, just transformational experience. Some of my best friends to this day are my Kellogg, some Kellogg classmates. So definitely absolutely a wonderful experience that also enabled a career pivot for me. I personally I moved from finance into brand management. So I was thankful to Kellogg for helping me to achieve those career goals. But yeah, it's a fantastic school. think some of

Defining characteristics would not be surprising. think teamwork is definitely somewhat synonymous with Kellogg, but it's so true. It's really ingrained in the culture of the school. Not only before you even start classes with QuestTrips and SimWeek, but once you do begin classes, also just with your learning teams and just a lot of team -based learning as well.

And so if you're not comfortable with a lot of teamwork, et cetera, may not be the right school for you. There is the new global hub. It was not there when I was at Kellogg. So it's a very nice addition to the school now, but it definitely facilitates teamwork as well, just with the physical layout and benefits of the building. Also, Kellogg is very student -driven. Clubs, conferences, events, et cetera, students run it all, which...

I really appreciate it because I felt like it was a fantastic opportunity for additional leadership experiences and also to get more deeply ingrained in my future career path in industry beyond just classwork, et cetera. So that's another thing to note. I Kellogg is looking for applicants who they feel like are going to step up and be deeply involved in the school and contribute to that school community. So that's another thing I would note about Kellogg.

But one thing that I do think is interesting when you look at Kellogg's stats is actually where students are placed and what those post -MBA careers are directly after Kellogg. I may be your classical case for Kellogg because I went into brand management in the CPG space directly after Kellogg. actually when you look at where students are placed, marketing and brand management careers ranks number four, only about 10%.

of each graduating class. yeah, consulting, technology, and finance, all are ahead of the careers in marketing, at least directly post MBA. So I think that's just something to note, because I think sometimes there is this very specific view of Kellogg only being a marketing school, and that absolutely is not the case. And so I wanted to note that as something I think sometimes people find surprising.

Harold Simansky (02:46)
Right. That's interesting.

Kimberly Hoey (03:12)
But the last thing I'll note about Kellogg is just Evanston, the town of Evanston. For me, it was a great experience because you truly get that on school campus environment and kind of the camaraderie and the bonding that happens because you are truly on a campus. Most people are living just slightly off of campus, walking to class together, et cetera. But you're only a few minutes away from Chicago, right? Super easy to get into the city.

super easy to get to the airports, several major airports, to fly to other parts of the country for interviews, personal travel, et cetera. So for me, it was kind of the best of both worlds. But for someone who truly wants like an urban type of business school experience, it's not necessarily gonna be that. So it may not be the right school for you if that's what you're seeking. But Evanston is a great little town and right on Lake Michigan

Harold Simansky (03:59)
Now that makes sense. And I've been there and it's absolutely beautiful. And that global hub is really spectacular. Honestly, Kellogg is a great school. And if people want to talk to Kim more about Kellogg or really anything about their application, anything about the process, you can do so by signing up for a free 30 minute consultation by going to mbaMission.com Right on our homepage, can click the button, choose Kim, choose me, choose one of our other 20 colleagues or

Kimberly Hoey (04:05)
It is.

Harold Simansky (04:27)
in order to spend 30 minutes just talking about really anything you want when it comes to MBA admissions. With that in mind, this is Harold Simansky and Kim Hoey at the mbaMission Podcast. Thank you, Kim.

Kimberly Hoey (04:39)
Thank you.