<p>Getting into Kelley (and out of Kelley--graduating that is) would appear to be easy, but it's more difficult than one may think.</p>
<p>Let me give you a quick example of why that is:</p>
<p>Look at the requirements for the school:
Between 26 and 70 hours of college course work
Applying to the Kelley School of Business for the first time
Completion of ENG W131 Elementary Composition or equivalent
Completion of three or more of the following courses with a minimum grade of C:
MATH M118 Finite Mathematics
MATH M119 Brief Survey of Calculus
BUS K201 The Computer in Business.
BUS X100 Introduction to Business Administration
OR
BUS G100 Business in the Information Age
(only one of these courses—X100 or G100—can serve as an admission course, and students may only get credit for one of them)
NOTE: All students who have met these minimum requirements will be considered for admission. In order to be accepted, however, students need to demonstrate consistent 3.0 (B) academic performance.</p>
<p>Seems simple, right?</p>
<p>However, one of the required courses for graduation is A100 Basic Accounting Skills--a course almost all Kelley applicants take in the first year at the school. A minimum of a "C" grade is required for graduation.</p>
<p>Here are the statistics on this course for the Spring Semester of 2006 (P.S. All course sections are taught by the same instructor, who is the only one who has taught the course for the past three years)</p>
<p>Students getting As (A+, A, A-): 238
Students getting Bs (B+, B, B-): 246
Students getting Cs (C+, C, no C- given): 249
Students getting Ds (D+, D, no D- given): 153
Students getting Fs: 126
Students dropping the course before getting a grade (usually because they were already getting a D or F at the midway point): 661</p>
<p>Note that 56% of the students either got a D, a F, or dropped the course.
I've looked at previous semesters and the statistics are similar.</p>
<p>I believe the point here is that the school uses this course as a "weed out" course for those who aren't up to the Kelley Business School "standard". The reason for this is fairly straightforward--there is only room for 1000 or so students per year to get into the Kelley school. By weeding the group down to 1400 to 2000 or so from the original 4000+ that want to apply, the school can easily weed the remainder down to the 1000 through the GPA and through other means. Also, by only allowing the top students to attend the school, the Kelley school is able to maintain it's USNW "top 15 undergraduate business school" ranking.</p>
<p>Taking this course while in the middle of Calculus, English Composition, an introductory business course and two other courses quickly puts the pressure on--especially when you know you need a 3.0 average at the minimum.</p>
<p>I'm not saying this is fair or not--it just is what it is. So be prepared to study hard if you come to Indiana and want to study business.</p>
<p>P.S. Note that once you get past the first test, you have a 70%+ chance of at least getting a C in this class--so it is my view that the instructor is doing what he can to get this group through. But it is also quite clear that he is weeding out the others without remorse. So, if you show effort at the beginning of the course you will get through, but without a large amount of effort, you will be one of those "weeded out". Also, if you don't keep the effort up, you are actually worse off that the ones that dropped, since then you will be the one getting a D or F.</p>