BusinessPundit 2026 Rankings
#6 Best Full-Time MBA Programs

Kellogg School of Management

Northwestern University · Evanston, Illinois · Private

“Still the standard-bearer for marketing and general management, with the most collaborative culture of…”

Reviewed by David Krug · July 2026
30 student interviews · data from the audited class profile

Kellogg School of Management
94.6
ExcellentBP Score
$170,298Tuition, total
731Avg. GMAT
21.1%Acceptance rate
94.6%Placed at 3 months
$165,000Median base salary

Scorecard

Four pillars, weighted into the BP Score
Career outcomes 94
Return on investment 88
Academic rigor 94
Student experience 95

Our review

Still the standard-bearer for marketing and general management, with the most collaborative culture of the M7.

Students we interviewed described the program as demanding but transparent about outcomes: the placement engine, the alumni response rate, and the true cost of attendance all held up against the audited class profile. The honest caveats are in the scorecard — weigh the geography and the sticker against your own target employers before committing.

What impressed us

  • Verified placement. Employment numbers audited against the class profile.
  • Alumni responsiveness. High cold-outreach reply rates in our survey.
  • Real curriculum signal. Employers cite the flagship program feature unprompted.

What gave us pause

  • Sticker shock. Total cost keeps climbing faster than salaries.
  • Geography. Recruiting gravity favors the home market.

The verdict

Still the standard-bearer for marketing and general management, with the most collaborative culture of the M7.

94.6 #6 Full-Time MBA

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