I Got Lucky

I recently came back from Chicago after attending my 1-year reunion for business school. That's right, a one-year school organized reunion. A lot of folks kept asking me, "a one-year school reunion? That's too soon! Who does that?!" The funny thing is that for the 2008 MBA class at the Kellogg School of Management, the reunion couldn't come soon enough. We looked forward to reconnecting with friends who had been a daily part of our lives over the course of two years.

As I look back, I think the strong bonds I formed with my classmates at Kellogg were mainly due to the student culture, the location of the school itself, and our overall personality compatibility. As it's well documented, Kellogg instills a culture of teamwork in its academic curriculum. In fact, Kellogg applies its teamwork philosophy almost to a fault, since certain projects might be better served if they were worked on an individual basis. For example, I once had to write a 10-page paper in a team of five other classmates and it certainly felt like there were too many cooks in the kitchen. But for the most part, working in numerous teams prepared us well for the working world, which calls for us to take on leadership as well as supporting roles when working in groups.

In addition to its culture, the school's location within the university nurtured strong relationships among its student community. Kellogg is located in Evanston, which has the benefits of a tight-knit college town yet is close enough to downtown Chicago for students who have the urge to get away. All my friends lived blocks away from each other, so meeting up never required much planning. There were a few bars blocks away from campus that we inevitably found ourselves in multiple nights a week. And while I can't be certain, I swear I could hear the chorus to the Cheers theme song somewhere in the background every time I walked in to one of our college bars.

Needless to say, our first-year reunion was a blast. The reunion lasted from Friday till Sunday and it basically felt like one long party. More than anything, the reunion affirmed my feeling that Kellogg was the right business school for me. To a certain degree, I got lucky. I only got a small taste of Kellogg life during my initial campus visit. While the admit weekend that Kellogg runs gave me a better glimpse into what my life as a student would be like, it didn't establish much differentiation between other schools. At the end of the day, I trusted my gut and it worked out. With Eyes On Campus, no one needs to rely on chance anymore. Visit the site and contribute your knowledge so that you and others can find the best fitting school possible.