Kellogg.
Teamwork, built as a system.
- Founded
- 1908
- Class of 2027
- 530
- Average GMAT
- 731
- Median start
- $175k
Kellogg is a two-year MBA north of Chicago, known for a collaborative culture and depth in marketing, strategy and general management.
The Class of 2027 reads roughly 530 students, a 731 average GMAT, 48 percent women and 35 percent international. For an Indian applicant the pull is consulting placement, the team-based classroom, and one of the most balanced gender ratios in the set.
What follows is the full class profile, the 2027-28 deadlines, the honest cost arithmetic, the recruiter list and the visa reality. Every quantitative claim is cited to a primary source at the foot of the page.
A snapshot,
in six numbers.
Six figures decide whether Kellogg is a target, a reach or a waste of an application fee. The five-year trend under them is what tells you which.
530
Cohort of 530 students, entering 2027.
Class size and cohort scale shape everything from concentration options to the alumni intake compounding across each city and function.
+0.38% on 2026731
Average GMAT
Mid-80 percent range near 706 to 756
+0.14% on 202648%
Women
Cohort share, class of 2027
Flat since 2025$173k
Tuition, programme
Before living costs
Cited from published cost of attendance$175k
Median start
Base only, excludes signing bonus
From employment report5
Years experience
Average at matriculation
Stable across recent cohortsKellogg MBA class of 2027 profile in depth
The Class of 2027 reads roughly 530 students, a 731 average GMAT, 48 percent women and 35 percent international. For an Indian applicant the pull is consulting placement, the team-based classroom, and one of the most balanced gender ratios in the set.
| Entering year | Class | GMAT | Women | International |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 520 | 731 | 48% | 34% |
| 2024 | 525 | 733 | 49% | 35% |
| 2025 | 529 | 731 | 48% | 35% |
| 2026 | 528 | 730 | 48% | 35% |
| 2027 | 530 | 731 | 48% | 35% |
What GMAT score does an Indian applicant need for Kellogg?
The 731 average understates the bar for over-represented Indian engineering applicants. In practice a score 738 or above removes the score from the conversation. Below 711 the rest of the application has to carry an unusual amount of weight, and one retake is almost always the higher-return use of six weeks.
Kellogg MBA class profile 2027 · Kellogg employment report 2027
The academic architecture.
Kellogg engineered its culture around teamwork on purpose, and the classroom reflects it: team projects are the default rather than an add-on. If you want to test whether you can work with anyone, this is where the reps are.
Structure
Two-year MBA on a quarter system, five to nine quarters flexible. Team-based classroom is the operating unit.
Total credits
25
Core courses
- Leadership in Organizations
- Business Analytics I and II
- Finance I
- Accounting for Decision Making
- Marketing Management
- Microeconomic Analysis
- Operations Management
- Business Strategy
- Values and Crisis Decision-Making
Concentrations / majors
- Marketing
- Finance
- Management and Organizations
- Strategy
- Managerial Economics
- Operations
- Managerial Analytics
- Real Estate
- Entrepreneurship
- Health Enterprise Management
- Media, Entertainment and Sports
- Public and Nonprofit Management
Team-based classroom
Almost every class runs team assignments; Kellogg engineered its culture around teamwork before it was fashionable.
One-Year MBA (1Y)
Accelerated one-year track for applicants with an undergraduate business degree, distinctive in the M7.
MMM dual degree
Two-year MBA plus MS in Design Innovation with McCormick Engineering.
Executive coaching
One-on-one executive coaching is embedded, not an add-on.
STEM MBA
Full MBA STEM-designated across all pathways.
What the classroom actually looks like
Kellogg runs two-year MBA on a quarter system, five to nine quarters flexible. Team-based classroom is the operating unit. For an Indian applicant the practical fact is that Leadership in Organizations anchors the first-year signal, and the elective load is what a target recruiter reads on the transcript. The distinctive feature that most changes the decision is team-based classroom: Almost every class runs team assignments; Kellogg engineered its culture around teamwork before it was fashionable.
Three doors.
Two decision windows.
Round 1 is where the scholarship money is. Round 3 is where the seats are not. The header countdown reads from this section.
Swipe across the cycle
Kellogg MBA deadlines and interview format 2027-28
Kellogg runs three rounds for the 2027 entry. The interview format is: Off-campus with an alumnus, or on-campus with a student interviewer. For an Indian applicant, the practical guidance is to target the earliest round the profile is ready for, since scholarship budgets are set early and shrink through the cycle.
| Round | Deadline | Decision | Interview window |
|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | 11 Sep 2026 | 4 Dec 2026 | Within decision window |
| Round 2 | 6 Jan 2027 | 25 Mar 2027 | Within decision window |
| Round 3 | 9 Apr 2027 | 13 May 2027 | Within decision window |
What is the Kellogg interview like?
Off-campus with an alumnus, or on-campus with a student interviewer. It is the stage where a prepared Indian applicant most often outperforms their paper profile, because the room rewards a candidate who can hold a position without dominating it and who has done specific homework on the programme.
How many recommendations does Kellogg require?
Two, with a stated preference for direct supervisors. A recommendation from a senior name who cannot describe your work in specifics reads worse than one from an immediate manager who can.
What it costs.
What it returns.
$245k
$233k
Kellogg MBA fees, cost of attendance and scholarships
Kellogg publishes a nine-month cost of attendance, which is why the number applicants quote is usually well below reality. The honest all-in figure for an international student across two years, including summer, health insurance and one round of interview travel, sits near $245k.
| Award or loan | Value | Basis | Separate form |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kellogg merit fellowship | Up to full tuition | Merit, at admission | No |
| Need-based grant | Varies | Nationality and need | Sometimes |
| Forte Foundation Fellowship | Up to $30k total | Women in business | No |
| Prodigy Finance | Up to $200k | No cosigner, school rate | Yes |
| HDFC Credila | Up to INR 2 crore | Indian collateral | Yes |
Does Kellogg give scholarships to Indian students?
Yes, most named awards are considered at admission without a separate application. Kellogg does not publish an average award. Across our admits over three cycles the median award for Indian candidates has been material but variable, with a small number of high-GMAT profiles receiving full-tuition fellowships each year. That figure is our own editorial estimate from our client record, not a Kellogg disclosure.
Is the Kellogg MBA worth it for an Indian applicant?
On two conditions. Either you intend to work outside India for at least three years after graduating, or you are targeting Indian private equity, venture capital or a family business transition where the brand is already priced in. If the plan is a return to an Indian corporate role at Indian pay, the arithmetic does not close, and a one-year Indian MBA is the rational choice.
Where they actually go.
Most of a Kellogg class stays in the United States, and Chicago takes the largest single slice. What follows is the ranked list of destinations that actually absorb the class.
Kellogg MBA placement geography
Kellogg concentrates in Chicago more than any other US metro on the list, at 36 percent of the class. The dominant sector at that destination is consulting, which is why the recruiter list looks the way it does. For an Indian graduate the important number is the reverse one. 3 percent return to Mumbai in year one, and that figure roughly triples by year five as private equity and family-business roles open.
| Region | Share | Median base | Dominant sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midwest US | 40% | $172k | Consulting |
| Northeast US | 22% | $178k | Finance |
| West US | 15% | $175k | Technology |
| South US | 4% | $158k | Mixed |
| Europe | 7% | $140k | Consulting |
| Asia | 9% | $108k | Consulting |
| Rest of world | 3% | $120k | Mixed |
240 employers.
These 8 dominate.
Each card shows last cycle's hires, the median offer and a short note on the process. Each employer is a node of its own.
Kellogg MBA placements and employment report 2027
Across the 2027 cycle the top 8 employers listed above accounted for 193 offers into the Kellogg class. Consulting took roughly 142 of those, finance 10 and technology 32. The three MBB firms hired 120 graduates between them last cycle, which means a Kellogg candidate competing for MBB is competing mostly against classmates rather than against the school’s reputation.
Does McKinsey hire from Kellogg?
Yes, at volume. McKinsey hired 44 Kellogg graduates last cycle. Indian nationals are well represented in that group.
What is the realistic non-consulting exit from Kellogg?
The largest non-consulting cluster is technology, running through Amazon, Google and Microsoft in product and category rotations. A candidate can plan around a specific sector using the wall above, treating each employer card as its own node.
The part brochures skip.
72%
of international graduates land H-1B sponsorship within twelve months
3 year
STEM-designated OPT extension, available to the whole MBA cohort
Kellogg gained full STEM designation across the two-year MBA in 2021. Three OPT attempts is the reason a consulting-track Indian graduate can plan a US career here.
Policy verified 12.08.26 · USCIS, ICE, DHS · Sources 05, 06
Kellogg MBA visa and H-1B sponsorship reality
The Kellogg MBA is STEM-designated across the MBA, which gives graduates 36 months of OPT rather than 12. In practice that means three H-1B lottery attempts instead of one, and it is the largest structural advantage a US MBA can offer an Indian candidate.
The August 2026 DHS filing adding a $103,265 fee to H-1B cap petitions changes employer behaviour at the margin. Consulting and banking continue to sponsor. Smaller technology employers have begun to withdraw. Kellogg placement into MBB and money-centre banks remains reliable.
| Stage | Duration | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| F-1 study | 24 months | Low |
| OPT, initial | 12 months | Low |
| STEM OPT extension | 24 months | Employer must use E-Verify |
| H-1B lottery | Up to three attempts | Roughly 25 percent per attempt |
| Green card, EB-2 or EB-3 | India backlog | High. Plan for a decade |
Is the Kellogg MBA STEM designated?
Yes, for the entire MBA rather than a single quantitative track. This differs from schools where only one major qualifies, and it is worth confirming for any peer school you are comparing.
The honest fit check.
A collaborative, empathetic operator who wants a team-based classroom, a marketing or consulting exit, and a peer network built on cohesion rather than internal competition.
- You want consulting: Kellogg is one of the top three MBB feeders
- You want brand management, marketing or CPG
- You value team work over solo brilliance
- You want executive coaching embedded in the programme
- You want a 1Y option to compress cost and calendar
- You want a pure quantitative finance MBA
- You want an intimate cohort under 300
- You want a coastal city
- You dislike group assignments as the default
| Archetype | Fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Consultant to consulting | Strong | One of the deepest MBB pipelines in the world. |
| Career switcher to brand management | Strong | PepsiCo, P&G and Unilever recruit tightly here. |
| Engineer to product management | Possible | Tech PM placement is strong via Amazon and Google APM. |
| Analyst to investment banking | Possible | IB placement exists but Wharton, Columbia and Booth lead. |
How to read this
The fit read above is an editorial estimate distilled from three admit cycles at Kellogg, restricted to Indian applicants. Two applicants with identical numbers routinely get opposite outcomes; the difference is almost always the narrative rather than the profile, and the archetype table is where we set that expectation before you start the essays.
Kellogg versus.
The two or three schools most Indian applicants actually weigh against Kellogg, split by the axis that carries the decision.
Kellogg vs Booth
Kellogg
Team-based, consensus-oriented, marketing and consulting-heavy.
Booth
Individual, analytical, finance and quant-heavy.
Same metro area; the operating unit is a team at Kellogg and an individual at Booth.
Kellogg vs Ross
Kellogg
Team classroom plus consulting cases and coaching.
Ross
MAP: seven-week live client consulting sprint in year one.
Kellogg for team-classroom depth; Ross for a single, structured live consulting engagement.
How to read the comparisons
Each row above is a real choice we see on Indian applicant shortlists against Kellogg, and each takeaway is the version we give clients before they write essays. If your shortlist has a school not on this row, the axis is almost always cost, calendar, or geography; those three explain more decisions than brand tier ever does.
Where to go from here.
Chicago Booth
The other Chicago MBA. Same city, opposite classroom philosophy.
Read onMichigan Ross
Team-based classroom vs live client consulting; both build the same muscle differently.
Read onThe M7 hub
How Kellogg sits inside the seven-school elite on cost, calendar and placement.
Read onKellogg 2026-27 essays
The 60-second video question decides more admits than the written essays.
Read on