Northwestern Kellogg: An MBA Guide for Veterans

The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University is an M7 business school with dedicated admissions counselors and career coaches for veterans, and a community culture it builds deliberately from day one. This profile was shared directly by Kellogg's admissions team to help veterans considering business school understand what the experience really looks like. Kellogg offers the MBA in several formats, and some of the answers below speak to the Executive MBA in particular. Those are flagged where they appear.

"Any M7 program is basically teaching the same thing with a different emphasis for each school. What you want to do after school should dictate your choice in school. Every school is known for a different thing, so go with the school that most closely aligns with you."

Which military backgrounds thrive

Kellogg singled out special operations (SOF) and intelligence backgrounds in particular as ones that thrive in the program.

Your first six months

Kellogg's answer here was specific to the Executive MBA, where no relocation is necessary, so the disruption of a move is off the table from the start. If you are looking at the Full-Time MBA instead, ask admissions about the relocation picture, because the answer will be different.

Key resources for veterans

Kellogg has dedicated admissions counselors for veterans and dedicated career coaches. The admissions team also tries to pair veteran prospective students with current veteran students for campus tours, webinars, and information sessions, so you can ask the real questions of someone who has already made the same move. Kellogg publishes its veteran resources and scholarships in one place.

Where veteran alumni land

Kellogg veterans land in private equity, venture capital, finance, healthcare, mergers and acquisitions, and defense tech.

Geographic reach

The network reaches nationwide, with a particularly strong concentration in Miami and Chicago.

Financial planning and funding

• Your cohort drives the cost. There is a significant difference in price depending on which cohort you enroll in, so confirm the numbers for the specific program you are applying to.
• Budget for travel, not just tuition. Plan for travel to school, travel for electives, and travel for global network week. These are real costs that sit outside the tuition line.
• Ask about your loan options if you are fully disabled. Kellogg's advice for fully disabled veterans is to make use of student loans and to look into forgiveness and deferment once the program is finished. Confirm the details of your own situation with the VA and with Kellogg's financial aid office before you count on any of it.

Traditions and community

• Launch week. The program opens with a launch week that forms strong bonds early.
• Bonding through shared adversity. Kellogg describes the approach as similar to military boot camp: they put the cohort through adversity so that people bond more closely and learn to rely on each other. For most veterans this will feel familiar.
• KVA. Kellogg also has KVA for full-time students, which helps build a sense of community.

Connect with the program

• Program and admissions: Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University
• Veterans at Kellogg: Veteran resources and scholarships
• Student contact: Kevin Aldana, Student Admissions Ambassador (kevin.aldanahurtado@kellogg.northwestern.edu)