<p>Hey everyone. I am trying to get some unbiased and outside insight as I choose between my last two college choices. I was accepted into Indiana University, but did not receive direct admission into Kelley. I was also accepted into Miami University, and did receive direct admission into the Farmers School, as well as the Honors programs there too. I will be majoring in finance, and eventually would like to make a career for myself on Wall Street. I strongly believe it will not be a problem for me to get the grades my freshman year so I can gain admittance into Kelley my sophomore year, but college is a different beast from high school and that may pose problems I have not faced. Do you guys think having the direct Farmers and Honors admission will outweight the slightly lower ranking and prestige that Kelley has? I am attempting to make an unbiased list of the pros and cons of each school and any insight received will be much appreciated!</p>
<p>OK - I’ll take a stab at this. My son is at Farmer and our neighbor is at Kelly. Both kids are happy, challenged and have an active social life. There is a lot of on campus recruiting at both schools. My only comment regards your certainty about getting into Kelly. My son, who has a 3.9 at Farmer, has told me that each semester there is an influx of kids from IU who did not get to transfer into Kelly. Stories abound of one or two B’s keeping you out. The reality is that both scools are well respected - if you didn’t qualify for direct admit to Kelly, I’d take the?bird in the hand.</p>
<p>I agree with ChicagoBear. While I know nothing about IU Kelley, I have a son in the Farmer School (although very far from a 3.9!). Luckily my son was a direct admit because despite all his great plans, he would’ve had a stressful time transferring in with the new requirements. Things like his fraternity and his sport have taken up a lot of time and he hasn’t studied as much as he should have studied. </p>
<p>Since both are very well respected, I don’t think you can go wrong with either but as ChicagoBear said, a bird in the hand… Son number two is now a hs senior. Him getting direct admits into the business schools at the colleges he’s applying to will heavily weight our decision process.</p>
<p>S’s good friend is a finance major at Miami and really has had some nice experiences including trips to Chicago and Wall street and he is only a sophomore. Also got a very nicely paid internship last summer and has an even nicer one lined up for this coming up summer both in investment banking. One other factor - are you an Ohio or Indiana resident? Even if you receive scholarships to reduce the tuition so they are similar, keep in mind that you will need to maintain a certain gpa to keep the scholarships. As you mentioned, you have been a good student in high school but things can be different in college. If you are an Ohio resident, I think the clear choice would be Miami, particularly since you are already admitted to Farmer. If you live in Indiana, I would want to consider the financial package Miami was offering compared to Kelley and your parents finances. Out of state tuition can be very expensive.</p>