HELP! UW-Madison Debt Free vs. Kelley (IU) Possible Debt?

Hello,

So I have an odd, difficult situation here.

My two options are the University of Wisconsin-Madison (SOB) and Indiana University (Kelley).

UW-Madison is my in-state school at the moment, and would allow me to go 4 years with zero debt.

However, Indiana University, while an out-of-state school at the moment, could possibly change my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year. My family is from Indiana and is looking to return this summer indefinitely. While I would not qualify my first year, I may petition successfully for my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year. However, this is not a guarnteed prospect. While my parents have made it clear they are trying to move to Indiana, they might also end up Ohio, or Kentucky.

Worst case, I don’t get instate tuition and I’ll end up with $50k in fees I will personally be held accountable for. Best case, I’ll actually save $20k on account of instate and a scholarship I currently have at IU.

I favor Indiana University. I think it has a far superior business school, and is also a better choice for my two possible fields which are finance or consulting. I also favor the weather and change of state from where I’ve lived my entire life. Additionally, I’ve heard IU Kelley places better in NYC and Chicago, which is where I’d like to end up.

Opinions on playing it financially safe (UW-M) vs. my favored, risky, unsure school (IU)?

Also any opinions on the qualities of these two schools in my field would be much appreciated! Thank you!

I think of them as peer schools. With my favorite being UW if I had to choose. Price wise it’s complicated for you. I would go uw if the price was the same. For less UW

@privatebanker Would you not consider Kelley the better of the two? From what I’ve heard it seems to place far better, in terms of percentage, salary, location, and employer prestige.

Kelley is a major destination for corporate recruiting, so the possible debt you could have may not be a big deal if you get a good job right out of undergrad. Both are good schools, but IU Kelley is much much better for business than UW. You are also correct that lots of Kelley grads are in Chicago and NYC, if that is somewhere you’d like to end up.

@Aw1ck808

Yes. It has a great reputation. But college life doesn’t begin and end in Econ 101 etc. there’s a whole host of reasons to look at the school in totality. It’s a good set of options you are facing. Just offering a point of view.

Gods luck whatever you decide.

If your parents move, will you lose your in-state status in WI?

Have you been accepted directly into the business school at both places?

If you go to IU, and your family doesn’t move there, who will co-sign the extra debt for you?

Are you direct admit at Kelley?
Can you take Finite Math at Ivy tech (local community college) in the summer before you start? (Finite math is a killer weed out class and it’s really hard to it waived. Most colleges make calculus weed out but don’t add an extra weed out math class ).
Wisconsin has more national prestige but IU is really well-known for foreign languages and business. Note that the IB workshop is selective and it helps to be in the honors college.