What is the Kellogg exchange program experience like and why do people do it?

Developing a global perspective is a key pillar of the MBA education at Kellogg and one of the many many opportunities to develop this is by studying abroad for a term. So, while the cold was hitting Chicago during our winter quarter, I went along with four other Kellogg students to study on exchange at the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad. More than 10% of the class goes on exchange programs to different locations such as London, Paris, Barcelona, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Buenos Aires. For me, it was a unique opportunity not only to attend classes and even recruit abroad (if desired), but an opportunity to hang out with local students and gain a wider perspective through traveling in and out of India. 

As I write about my experience at the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad, let me start out by mentioning a few things to give some context of my experience and views I may have because of it. First, for the purpose of writing this, I call Indian Americans like me ABCDs, and hope it doesn’t offend anyone. Second, the Indian School of Business is a school started by Kellogg, Wharton and LBS, so a large part of the school runs like ours. Third, I was the only ABCD attending school on exchange at ISB (there are a couple of ABCDs studying full-time there), and spent many of my summers growing up in India (in Chennai). Lastly, many points I make below could be expanded, but if you know me, you know how much I talk, so you may not be inclined to listen to the expanded version! Therefore I will keep short.

My overall experience at ISB was phenomenal! While there were a ton of great things at ISB and in Hyderabad (amazing growth), the people at ISB were simply great. In all honesty, they were not too different from our friends at Kellogg. They too, have a strong academic environment, have the best recruiters at school, and have a “healthy” social life. Some differences exist, though. 

Academic Environment: ISB, albeit not the quarter I was there, is known for a very heavy workload, and intense academic environment. People take their grades VERY seriously. They have terms that are 5 weeks, not a quarter system, and they are a 1 year program trying to cram everything into 2 years. Whereas at many of the b-schools in the states grades are not disclosed, at ISB, grades are one of the single largest determinant of getting a job. Therefore extra-curriculars are not exactly top priority (although many do participate in clubs) compared to Kellogg. I know we have some gunners here at Kellogg, but I feel comfortable in saying that grades are significantly more important there. In class, most professors are currently visiting professors, as ISB is trying to ramp up its local teaching staff. One similarity I had to laugh about was seeing the number of people raising their hand to “piggyback off of what (enter name) was saying” to get their participation points for the day. As for studying, many of my meetings started at midnight, as many ISBers sleep during the day (or maybe have other things they attend to) and study late at night. Overall, academics is a much larger priority there than it is for us and people take it extremely seriously. 

Professional Recruiting: I know many are going through recruiting now, and would likely not want to read anything more about jobs, so I will keep it short. Recruiting at ISB is similar to Kellogg in terms of the order. Banks/consulting firms, marketing firms, so on…BUT, everything is highly compressed. All consulting firms are doing interviews on one day, and often you may get held back and miss another interview. At Kellogg, we are pretty tired if we did four case interviews in one day. I met multiple people at ISB who had gone through nearly 20 case interviews in one day. All rounds are completed in one day, and the offer is given that night, with a need to sign immediately stating your intention to join the firm. It is extremely intense, and as mentioned above, is highly driven by academic performance. 

Social Life: The social life at ISB, similar to Kellogg, revolved around three things (in my case): socializing in your study group (therefore taking four hours to do something that likely could be done in one hour), coffee chats, and of course, parties. While there are not as many large, school-wide parties, you can always find some people out having a beverage or two either on campus, or out at a local bar. Most events happen on campus, as the school, like Kellogg, is in the suburbs of Hyderabad. The social life is definitely alive at ISB, people like to have a great time, and you can always find something going on.

When I decided to go on exchange to India, most of my ABCD friends were like “why are you going there, you already know India!” This probably explains why I was the only ABCD at ISB. My experience in India proved to me that I only knew one aspect of the country – my family, and how they live. There are so many facets to India, and even this time, I was likely exposed to such a minute part of the country. But in having the opportunity to attend school and live a life along with people in a different country who are going through a similar experience as I am (business school), I came to realize a few things. First, and most importantly, there are far more similarities between us ABCDs and Indians than there are differences. Second, there really are endless opportunities in India, and more than technology (which most of us ABCDs seem to think that is where the opportunity is), it seems to me the opportunity is in many basic things such as infrastructure, access to clean water, training skilled employees, etc. Third, I find India to have fast forwarded quickly over the last 10—15 years, and while there are still processes and mentalities that do not match up with some of the advancements, it is important to understand that in a country of 1 billion people, change (in mentality) is not overnight and is a process.

There are many more thoughts to this, some likely new learning for me but old learning for others, and some opinionated thoughts that many may disagree with. It was a fantastic experience, though, and I would encourage anyone, if they have the opportunity, to spend some time in India (especially us ABCDs since we likely have a lot of family there).

Prakash Venkataraman (KSM '10) is a VP of the India Business Club. Before school he worked in the financial services and non-profit industries and will be joining Kraft Foods in a marketing role post school. He can be reached at pvenkataraman2010@kellogg.northwestern.edu

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What kind of Indian food options are available in the Evanston / Chicago area?

Worried about food options while at Kellogg? Within the precincts of the Chicago area, there are enough options to keep you well fed on your favorite Indian Cuisine for your two years here.  Here's a quick summary: 

What are the Indian options in and around Evanston? 
Easy Indian food options are limited in Evanston.  Mt. Everest (630 Church Street) is the only Indian restaurant within convenient reach of the Kellogg School.  As the name suggests, it’s Nepalese owned but serves decent Indian options, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian.  The daily lunch buffet offers a good spread of some of their best dishes and is excellent value for money.  Most Indian students are also excited about the opening of another Indian restaurant on 1728 Sherman Avenue.  Apart from these, Jacobs Centre (where you will spend the majority of your waking hours) has packaged Indian meals (rice, vegetable and / or meat options) that you can heat in the Atrium.  Some people also hire Indian “aunties” who come home and cook a week’s supply of your choice of Indian food for $10 an hour.  The Whole Foods Supermarket (1640 Chicago Ave) also stocks certain ‘heat and eat’ options.  As one would expect, Chicago, in general, has a lot more Indian options.  However, the ones which are easily accessible are mostly on Devon Avenue – the Indian bazaar of Chicago.  It is a 10 minute drive and you can also take a direct bus (No, 93).  Try Punjab Sweet House (6411 N Western Ave) for awesome samosas, Kamdar’s for amazing Bombay street food and chaat, Mysore Woodlands (2548 W Devon Ave) for South Indian fare, Hema’s Kitchen (6406 N Oakley Ave) for regular Indian, and Osmania (2244 W Devon Ave) and Sabri Nehari (2511 W Devon Ave) for awesome kebabs / Pakistani food.  Another convenient Indian restaurant is Indian Garden (247 E. Ontario Street) in downtown.  It’s very close to Kellogg’s downtown campus, where you can get to using the free Northwestern University shuttle.  

Where can I buy Indian groceries? 

While Fresh Farms or Patel Brothers on Devon are the best places to buy a whole range of Indian vegetables, masalas, and an assortment of groceries (Patel Brothers also has an online store from where you can get stuff shipped to anywhere in the US), Whole Foods and Jewel Osco (1128 Chicago Avenue) carry a whole bunch of “exotic” fruits and vegetables such as papaya, okra, aubergine, etc.

What non-Indian options would you recommend?

Evanston offers a lot of other options that can delight the Indian palate.  Amongst the multitude of Asian options, Thai Sookdee (1016 Church Street), Joy Yee Noodles (519 Davis Street), Zoba Noodle Bar (1565 Sherman Avenue), Ruby of Siam (1125 Emerson Street), and Koi (624 Davis Street) are the most popular.  For a not-so-far-off cousin of Keralite appam and stew, try Addis Abeba (spelt with an ‘e’, yes) which serves great Ethiopian food.  The Mexican fare at Lupita’s (700 Main Street) is absolutely tasty and delicious, as is the food at Davis Street Fish Market (501 Davis Street).  Try Buffalo Joes (812 Clark Street) or Buffalo Wild Wings (1741 Maple Ave) for finger-licking good, spicy chicken wings, Le Peep (827 Church Street) for yummy American pancakes and eggs, and Bravo – Cucina Italiano (1701 Maple Avenue) for wholesome Italian food.   

My personal favourites, without which these two years would never have been the same, are Joy Yee Noodles, Addis Abeba, Le Peep and Buffalo Joes.  Happy eating! :)  

Sonal Tarneja (KSM'10) was a first year Director of the India Business Club.  She worked as a consultant with the Monitor Group in Bombay / London prior to Kellogg and will be joining Novartis Pharmaceuticals back in London (which has awesome food options, BTW!) post-MBA.  She can be reached at starneja2010@kellogg.northwestern.edu

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Does anyone really move back to India after Kellogg?

This seems to be a question many Indian applicants think of when applying to a B-School abroad. Numerous factors play into the decision-making factor such as including the work-experience in a different country, the financial liability (yes, b-school is expensive, and even more expensive when you earn in Indian rupees!), and the possibility of moving back to India as an expat. Over the years, not more than 1-2 people typically tended to move back to India from a graduating class at Kellogg. However, this year, 5+ students (including me!) have already decided to make the move back. So here are some basic considerations:

How do I get the job?
In terms of recruiting and actually getting a job, many major recruiters especially Management Consulting firms recruit for the India offices on campus. It involves networking at school as well as the home office as far as possible. Some people directly approach recruiters in Indian companies and the Kellogg MBA often helps in opening doors. For the company that I intend to join, an executive search firm, I went through 2 rounds of interviews in the Chicago office before moving onto interviews in the Delhi office. It’s best to let the recruiters know of your interest in moving back early on. With the Indian markets growing tremendously, they usually welcome top talent from a leading business school in the India offices.

What’ll happen to my loan?
It’s easiest to make the move back if you come sponsored by your pre-school employer who has also committed to helping you pay off your loan. For the rest of us the decision can be much harder. However, a lot of top companies understand the financial liability and are willing to pay salaries (perhaps even a large signing bonus) which make it easier to pay off the loan, especially if you live at home and don’t pay rent, etc.


Should I get work-experience in the US?
Ideally, yes! Working in the US or a country outside your home country is a great experience given the globalization of most companies. Not only does the external work experience help you understand cultural differences but also teaches you how to apply best practices across the counties. But the final decision should also be based on the Employer that you intend to join and the role at which you will start. Working with a great brand name in India continues to remain a better option than working for a mediocre brand name in the US. This coupled with the fact that a lot of companies look for people to go back to the home country may mean that you get additional responsibilities in India itself, contributing to a fantastic post-MBA experience.

Suchi Sethi (KSM'10) is the President of the India Business Club. She worked as a consultant with Deloitte before school and will be joining an executive search firm in Delhi post school. She can be reached at ssethi2010@kellogg.northwestern.edu

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What are the opportunities for Indian students looking for a career in marketing?

As a prospective international student exploring marketing jobs at Kellogg, you will most likely be thinking technology or brand marketing. While these two areas are most familiar to those looking from the outside in, the school also offers a number of opportunities in other areas such as healthcare and financial services marketing. Based on the 2007 statistics, 17% of graduating students accepted a position in a marketing function.

Given Kellogg's strong reputation in marketing, there are plenty of opportunities on campus for traditional marketing roles like brand and product management. Most technology companies hire international students for jobs located in the US. Opportunities for international students in brand do exist but are more limited. However, if you expand your location criteria to outside the US, there are many more brand management opportunities. Others sector that regularly hire international students for marketing are healthcare and medical devices.

While it does help to have a background in the specific industry you are looking for, many students have transitioned both industries and functional areas in the past. A little advance planning can go a long way. For example, if you are interested in healthcare marketing in the long term but have a background in finance within the technology industry, try to look for summer internships in the field of technology marketing and use your summer in marketing to transition to healthcare for a full time position.

The Career Management Center at Kellogg provides multiple resources to help you in your job search, from access to websites and job boards, mock interviews to career counseling. The various career related clubs at Kellogg also offer wikis, interview preparation help and organize company events for you to learn more about marketing in whichever industry you are looking at.Finally, second years are a great resource for you to bounce ideas off, get help with tailoring your resume and preparing for interviews. Use them, they are here to help!

Meghana Patwardhan (KSM'10) is a Vice President of the India Business Club. She worked as a consultant with Deloitte before school and spent the summer of 2009 in a marketing role at Dell Corporation. She can be reached at mpatwardhan2010@kellogg.northwestern.edu

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How an Indian engineering education is complemented by Kellogg's "collaborative-ness"

Let me start by saying that I'm a finance major with a background in management consulting. Yet, I've chosen to write about the teamwork and collaborative aspects of my Kellogg MBA as it is something that often gets associated with the school.

Although the numbers vary from year to year , a significant number of applications from India to a top B-School like Kellogg are from engineers (Class of 2010 had atleat 10 from the IITs and many more from other schools). Given the strong analytical and quantitative skills these candidates bring with them, Kellogg's collaborative and teamwork oriented education helps build an excellent well rounded personality that recruiters look for. Some of the ways in which you can develop these skills are:

• Teams, teams, teams: At any given time I am part of 5 to 10 different teams. You have a study group for every class that you take, in addition most people are part of teams while leading various clubs, conferences, trips etc. And your teams often change each quarter. A rough estimate- that totals to about 30 to 40 teams for an average Kellogg person in two year MBA program. This gives you a change to try and excel in different roles in a team such as content expert, process manager, motivational leader etc. and that too with a very smart bunch of people.

• It’s the Culture, stupid: One of the distinguishing factors for Kellogg as a School is its unique culture which manifests itself in the way that students help each other out in recruiting, academic and recreational environments. A small example - one of the key elements of consulting recruitment is case interview preparation. At Kellogg I've seen students get a lot of practice doing mock interviews with classmates and second years. What surprised me about this was the extent to which second years would go help first years, some people set aside their entire free time over a period of 3-4 weeks just to help others. One of the factors that contributes to this is the fact that Kellogg is an "almost residential" school and not a "commuter" school. People live in the same buildings, eat at the same restaurants, party at the same bars etc. and therefore there is a sense of community here.

• The education of course: I'm personally a big fan of education. For someone looking to explore teamwork, leadership and other generic/people skills, Kellogg offers a number of great classes taught by outstanding faculty. The core class - Leadership in Organizations is one of my favorites.

So, overall Kellogg applies a strong "transformation function" (in engineering lingo!) to create all-rounded leaders and that’s what recruiters from top consulting firms, banks, general management programs etc. look for

PS: This is not a cut/paste from my admissions essay :)

Manvinder Singh (KSM'10) is a Vice President of the India Business Club. He worked as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company before school and spent the summer of 2009 with the Office of the CEO at SAP AG. He can be reached at msingh2010@kellogg.northwestern.edu