Hello everybody! I need help with deciding between the University of Georgia, and the Indiana University. I was admitted into each, and am in state for UGA. I would be going to UGA for only room and board (tution paid by zell Miller scholarship). Also, I received 9,000 dollars in scholarships for Indiana. However, at Indiana University I also recieved admission into there honors college and direct admit for the Kelley school of business. My main problem is that A) I don’t want to stay in the South for the rest of my life (UGA), and B) not sure if the extra prestige of Kelley business school is worth the extra money. Any help will be very appreciated!!!
What do your parents say and how easy/hard is it to pay the extra $ to go to IU Kelley? UGA is, as you know, a very good school and great option, including business. But IU Kelley is better known nationally and, as you say, gives you an opportunity to spread your wings by living in another part of the country.
Families do choose the more expensive college option for reasons such as the ones you gave above – but it really comes down to how they and you feel about spending the extra $ and your family’s overall financial picture.
One thing to consider – would your parents give some of the cost difference to you for grad school? Attending IU Kelley (or UNC Flagler or UVA Darden) for an MBA down the line might ultimately make a bigger difference in your career trajectory as it’s the grad school that big employers are most interested in…
Congrats on two great options!!
This is not even a close call with respect to the better choice if costs were equal. Indiana University Honors College & Direct Admit to Kelley with a partial scholarship is clearly the better opportunity.
Of the approximately $25,000 per year difference in cost, how will that be paid ?
Can you get resident tuition after a year in Indiana
The OP will not get resident rates at IU unless his/her parents move:
I have talked about grad school with my parents, and they do seem on board with your idea of using the saved money for a prestigious grad school. That being the case, do you feel UGA would be the better option?
Do you feel you could be happy at UGA. ? I know my D , even though we are in state, never applied as she could not see herself there. She did get into IU though,(not kelly) and decided in the end to go somewhere else, but between UGA and IU she would have chosen IU. That said we could afford it. She ended up at another private and we have stated we are not paying for Graduate school if that comes up. so things to consider. 1. would you be fine with UGA (some kids want to get far away from HS /etc)., 2. Do you see yourself going to Graduate school. 3. Would you take full advantage of what Kelly has to offer. There is no simple answer here, as sometimes the extra money is worth it, and sometimes its not.
I see myself at UGA, but I’m just scared that I’m limiting myself by going there. The opportunities that Indiana offers, and the fact that I would have direct admit to there business school and the honors college is just very hard to say no to. However, UGA is a very good college, and has gotten very hard to get into as of late.
If you are a Zell Miler scholar, won’t you be in the Honors College at UGA? If you want to live in the SE after school, Is I would say UGA because of the networking.
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What are your parents saying about this decision. Ultimately, they’d have to be okay with spending the additional $$. Do they want you to ‘convince’ them it’s worth the extra and you’re not sure it really is?
Remember – college is more about what you do there than where you go. You have two excellent options. If the decision is fully yours to make, then trust your gut and don’t overthink it.
I think my parents would be willing to pay the extra money. However, the problem is that even thought they are willing to pay I don’t want to put that on them if it’s not truly worth the extra money. I feel that UGA is a better culture fit for me, but I am aware of the extra opportunities that Indiana provides. So all things considered do you feel that Indiana is worth the extra money over UGA if it were your decision? Thank you for all your help!
So you feel that Indiana would be worth the extra $$$$
If grad school means getting an MBA, then IU is the better option.
The best MBA programs almost always demand 3 to 5 years of post undergraduate work experience thus making reliance on your parents for tuition less likely. Some employers pay or reimburse for MBA programs.
An undergraduate business degree from a highly respected business school makes the need for a traditional two year MBA far less likely. A one year specialty masters should suffice. That one year masters program will save you one year of tuition & relieve you from sacrificing a second year of income. This makes the cost difference disappear.
You wrote that you want out of the South. Only one of your options is located outside of the South.
Again, how would you pay the annual cost difference of $25,000 ? If all by loans, then consider UGA. If half or less by loans, then IU all the way.
P.S. Direct admit to Kelley is a significant accomplishment as is admission to the honors college.
What will you study at UGA if not admitted to the business school ?
@grant123: Your prior posts share that your ACT score was a 29, but increased to 30 if superscored. In my opinion, your acceptance as a direct admit to IU-Kelley is a bit lucky–although your high school GPA was & is outstanding.
Since you plan to study accounting, IU offers a top ten ranked accounting programs. All Big 4s recruit at IU-Kelley.
Of the top ten undergraduate accounting programs, you would be competitive for admission only to three.
Thank you for all that information! Very helpful! As far as the proposed situation at UGA, I honestly don’t know. I have always been a business minded person, and have completed a marketing internship, and a data analyst internship throughout my years in high school. But the further and further I have continued to discover myself, I have started to question if a more service oriented job such as a lawyer or a doctor would be a better fit for me. Which also contributes to another concern with going to Indiana for me, which is that academically it is not as well rounded as UGA. As a result, I’m scared that there’s a chance that I make my parents pay all that extra money to go to Indiana for the business school, and I don’t even end up in the business field. I know they can afford it, but it’s just a scary outcome.
Oh sorry that wasn’t updated… I ended up with a 32 ACT, and a 4.12 gpa with 9 ap’s. Sorry should’ve included my stats somewhere.?
If you want a career in marketing, the University of Georgia has a great 10 month masters program in marketing research. Classes/cohorts usually realize 100% employment by graduation. UGA was the first school in the country to offer this degree. Started in the late 70s or early 1980s, I believe.
KPMG offers about 50 top accounting students a free masters degree in data analytics (or something similar) at 8 universities throughout the nation. I believe that KPMG pays all related costs & guarantees a position with excellent pay at the end of the 10 month program.
If you are a hard worker, then accounting & employment with a Big 4 accounting firm will be rewarding. Grades earned in college are very important.
@grant123 – We can’t make this decision for you, but I think you’re fully equipped to make the right choice.
What I’m sensing is that you think you should want to attend IU b/c its more prestigious in your current desired major but something inside of you is telling you you might regret that decision down the line b/c you’re not completely sold on being a business major. And there’s the higher pricetag.
You could do the famous flip a coin thing and see if you’re excited or disappointed with which college wins.
Talk to your friends and family and, again, trust your gut. Good news – you have some time to make the decision, right?
It’s $100,000 dollars over 4 years after tax. Roughly $125,000 in earned income to achieve.
If the $100,000 is not essential to your parents - emergency fund, retirement or for another child needing help for college in the future- then IU and Kelley School for a business career head start is better academically. UGA is pretty outstanding too. So if the facts above are not your family situation then UGA is the obvious choice.
You can still apply to the UGA honors program either in the next couple of weeks or once you start college if that is important to you. There is a benefit to being in the honors program at UGA with regard to registering early for classes, and it is sometimes difficult to get into certain classes without that extra advantage.
You are spot on with your assessment. That’s exactly how I feel about IU. However, when I visited UGA everyone just made me feel welcomed, and I love the passion everyone has for the school. So basically I have to decide fit vs better job opportunities/location, and not sure which matters more for me