Help Please - UGA vs IU

Wow that’s so ironic! If you don’t mind me asking… how was your experience at UGA?

@grant123: A difference of $25,000 to $27,000 per year is too much. One reason that I was unsure of the cost difference is that some state schools waive non-resident tuition surcharge (meaning a non-resident would just pay in state rates) if awarded a scholarship of any amount, including as little as $500. I cannot recall the state that was well known for this. (Not sure, but I thought it was either Iowa or Indiana. I was familiar with this regarding law school admission.)

@grant123: Getting into undergraduate business schools is much more competitive today than it was 10 years ago. Part of the reason is that many refuse to pay high MBA tuitions plus sacrifice an income for 2 years during a full time MBA program. Today, many expect an undergraduate business degree to deliver what an MBA used to be used for. This has also given rise to one year specialty masters degrees in business such as marketing, marketing research, finance, data analytics, etc. instead of pursuing the traditional 2 year full time MBA.

I think UGA is really on the “up and up”. It’s now all the way up to 46 (21 for business) for top national universities, and the new business school is absolutely beautiful. Hopefully all this progress will soon result in them becoming more nationally recognized… like IU

Please stop telling the OP that they will be limited to Atlanta and the South if they go to UGA. That’s completely false. My D is at UGA and many of her friends got internships and full time jobs in NY with companies like Deloitte. If they wanted NYC, they got it. Many want to stay in Atlanta. So if you want to go to NY, those opportunities will be there. Terry is an excellent business school and will not hold you back. Their placement is excellent. IU, while an excellent business school, does not offer significantly better opportunities than UGA. My D turned down a full ride at IU for UGA and has no regrets whatsoever and has not seen any difference in business school quality as a practical matter (and not based on rankings). She has a tippy top internship lined up for next summer. Choose the school that is the better fit, go there, and be excellent.

Btw, while Terry is competitive entry, most students have no trouble getting their first choice major. Look at the admissions requirements and educate yourself about what is involved. Entry isn’t difficult.

Wow, that’s very impressive! Does your daughter like UGA?

@grant123 She does! She’s very happy with her decision. The only negative so far is that college is only 4 years. lol There are so many great opportunities, too little time. You will not be disappointed with Terry.

I’ve attended two accounting residency programs at terry over the past two summers, and I absolutely loved it! I am just scared that I will look back and regret not going to a more prestigious college (granted UGA is no slouch). However, at UGA I LOVE the new business school building, and the fact that they have good sport teams. I suppose it’s just a battle between fit and prestige.

I am not sure that “prestige” is a correct description for IU-Kelley. “Well respected” is more appropriate in my opinion.

And, with respect to direct admission, apparently–as per another poster’s recent posts about Terry–it is a bigger deal at Kelley since applying later on often results in disappointment.

@itsgettingreal17 : I may be confusing you with another poster, but isn’t your daughter a Foundation Fellow at UGA, or in the Honor’s College ?

@Publisher She is both and has two Terry majors.

Just FYI, please talk to people with actual experience and not just those who read rankings. Most of my D’s friends are in Terry but are neither FFR nor honors. The ones that graduated last year and the seniors had/have excellent internships and full time jobs lined up by senior year, comparable to IU. Most Kelley grads stay in the Midwest (Chicago mostly) and Terry grads stay in the South (Atlanta mostly). That’s typical for big state schools. Average/median salary differences not significant to begin with and are nonetheless due to cost of living differences. I would not decide based on USNews business rankings. Both are top notch business programs and your outcome from either will depend far more on what you do in college rather than whether you attend the higher ranked business program (IU is higher by 11 spots, which isn’t worth even close to $100k difference). Also consider the difference in curriculum when considering fit.

One other thing. IU honors really shouldn’t be a factor. Most Kelley students don’t even bother with the honors college as its hard to fit in with Kelley requirements.

I think that advising students that membership in an honors college should not be a factor is incorrect. Also, it is important to distinguish between business honors & university wide honors programs.

Please remember that many posters have sons & daughters & nieces & nephews at UGA & may have different, yet well founded, experiences & knowledge to share.

OP: It is fairly easy for you to check out recruiting at IU-Kelley versus UGA-Terry. An important factor relates to size of each schools’ respective MBA program.

UGA-Terry has about 103 full time MBA students while IU-Kelley has about 392 full time MBA students.
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IU’s MBA program has higher admission standards than does UGA-Terry.

It is easy to verify which school attracts more recruiters.

Also, recruiting/placement opportunities are different for the approximate 20 Foundation Fellows at UGA then it is for other students so Deloitte & MBB & New York City recruiters are not banging down the doors at UGA.

Nevertheless, the cost difference of $25,000 per year is substantial–even though it may be affordable for your family.

With respect to MBA school, the best programs typically demand 3 to 5 years of post undergraduate work experience. Certain firms & companies feed more employees into M-7 MBA programs than others. So, for a variety of reasons, post undergraduate placement is important. Because of Atlanta’s significance in the business world, great opportunities are available in Georgia. Because of IU-Kelley’s reputation, standards, programs & size, great opportunities are available from IU-Kelley.

And, yes, I understand that you are not in the MBA program at either school, but you can benefit from a strong MBA program as an undergraduate business major in a variety of ways.

I just checked the minimum qualifications for IU-Hutton Honors College. Either a 32 ACT score & top 7.5% of high school class, or 34 ACT score & top 10% of one’s high school class. The benefits regarding advising, class registration, special courses & housing can be substantial if one takes advantage of all that is available to them as honors students. In my opinion, the most impact is made during one’s freshman year. You are in the Honors College at IU, but not at UGA.

In your sophomore year, as a business major, you may should eligible for Business Honors at IU. Very important for internships, job placement, advising & teacher recs.

At UGA you are neither a Foundation Fellow nor a member of the Honors College.

AT IU. your 32 ACT score just made the minimum cutoff for the Hutton Honors College. The students with whom you associate while in business school can be important–especially with respect to joining business clubs that match your interests & result in internship & job placement interviews.

@Publisher My D attends UGA now. I’m posting current information. You have no idea the students I’m talking about. I’m not talking about other Fellows. I’m not sure where you keep getting your misinformation. I’m also not sure why you are always posting non-responsive information about MBA programs when a student is asking about undergrad. It’s not relevant. At all. You are very misinformed.

Funny you talk about Fellows now when the first time I saw you on a thread you swore Fellows had no chance at top companies. Please stop.

Your information about IU is also incorrect. As my student was heavily recruited by Kelley 2 years ago and took classes at IU, I know what I’m talking about. Where are you getting your misinformation? I’m starting to think you’re a student with too much time on your hands.

Sorry that you feel that way. I am not a student. And you’re guessing in post #56 is wildly incorrect. Also, the information that I have offered is verifiable.

As for relevance of MBA programs, I agree that it has little impact at UGA, but disagree with respect to IU-Kelley.

Again, please understand that others have valuable insights, experiences & knowledge to share about UGA.

Getting lost in this discussion is the fact that the OP is not even in the business school at UGA.

MBA placement numbers are publicly available for both UGA-Terry MBA grads & IU-Kelley MBA grads. The average starting salary & signing bonus in 2017 shows a significant difference between the two schools. IU-Kelley MBA grads started at an average of $120,649 while UGA-Terry MBAs started at a much lower $100,200 despite being within 75-90 minutes of Atlanta.

And, yes, this is MBA, not undergraduate business numbers. You should be able to get placement & internship info. from each respective undergraduate business school.

How is that relevant? Why are you cluttering up this post with irrelevant information to the question asked? Just post the undergrad data instead. ?