Does anyone who has gone there/is currently there have any insight into the following-
What is the environment like, especially safety wise?
What are the internship, networking and recruiting options like?
What are the classes and professors like?
I know it’s ranked top 10 as a business school but how good is it if I want to major in finance?
Pros and cons?
Just got in and I wanna decide if I should go out of state to attend or not so if anyone has gone there/is going there please let me know what it’s like!
At the DA Day last weekend, they advertised the Kelley School of Business as having the largest living network on the planet. The students and professors all seem to be top notch and truly love their job and have a passion for helping students succeed. From what I’ve heard, nearly all Kelley students attain some form of an internship, and the study abroad programs are phenomenal! I am also an out of state prospective freshman, and I believe Kelley truly deserves its #4 undergraduate business ranking (Bloomberg).
- I think the campus is pretty safe, but I'm a 6'5" guy so I'm probably not the best person to answer that. Campus definitely well-lit at night, but not so much when you get off campus. You'll spend almost all of your time on-campus as a freshman though.
- There's always networking events going on at Kelley. I have had 1 interview for an internship this year and have another next week, but I haven't secured anything yet. I'm only a sophomore though. The career services office is great and will help you if you seek it.
- I enjoy the majority of my classes. There are some great professors, and some that aren't as great, but I've yet to run into any that are truly awful. There is also a big emphasis on working in teams in many classes.
- The finance program is well-regarded at Kelley based on what I have heard. Every Kelley major takes the same classes until 2nd semester of junior year, so you will get a well-rounded business education no matter what you choose to major in.
- In my opinion, if you have an in-state business school that is well-regarded, I would probably go there. Kelley is extremely expensive for OOS and while I think it's great, it's probably not worth 2-3 times the cost of an in-state school if you have one that excels in business. However, if your in-state options aren't good, I think Kelley is just as good as any other OOS business school.
Any information on how hard it is to transfer to Indiana University from out of state as a sophomore. Also, how hard is it to transfer to Ohio State?
@redshipman I can’t speak on IU, but I know it is traditionally VERY easy to transfer into Ohio State as a sophomore.
@redshipman If you want to transfer into Kelley, I’ve heard the process can be somewhat annoying. I’m not sure about details or other schools at IU though
DS3 is a senior graduating this May. He has thoroughly enjoyed his time at IU Bloomington. He was fortunate enough to secure a solid finance job offer (similar in quality to what he would probably have gotten if he went to a better school). The following is based on his experiences:
Pros:
-Great exposure to practical skills (Accounting, spreadsheet software, rudimentary data analysis)
-Network and skills gained through Investment Banking Workshop
-No personal experience with recruiting/internship opportunities through Career Services, but says that many friends secured solid offers through on campus networking and recruiting events (Deloitte, PwC, EY, P&G, etc.)
-Extremely diverse student body
-beautiful campus and relatively safe (no personal experiences with dangerous scenarios)
-Early gen-eds and prerequisites can be hit or miss, but professors in high-level courses are generally good and enjoy helping/conversing with students who take advantage of office hours
-“Greatest college social scene in the world” (he specifically cited greek life/bars)
Cons:
-A LOT of useless required classes (Anything “leadership/development/personal-branding” related)
-Didn’t enjoy I-Core; nor did he enjoy many of the required finance electives. He and many peers agreed that I-Core concept good in theory, but wasn’t too useful in practice in terms of developing real-world skills and knowledge.
-If your end goal is the cream of the crop job opportunities (consulting - McKinsey/Bain/BCG or IB - Goldman/JPM/Evercore) he says you are better off going to an IVY/Stanford/Duke/Northwestern/ND if you can get in
-Kelley places on average ~5/6 kids into those type firms every year; so not impossible, but very unlikely
-Top ten ranking is sort of misleading in his opinion (most Ivy leagues/Duke/Northwestern caliber schools don’t have undergrad business programs)
Summary:
If you are smart and work hard, Kelley will provide good enough teachers/classes/opportunities for you to get a solid job. You probably won’t get the very BEST jobs, but at the end of the day, those jobs would be tough to get anywhere else. Campus is beautiful and safe. IU Bloomington can offer plenty of fun, whether you are the partier type (greek life/bars) or more culturally-inclined (plenty of ethnic restaurants/museums/shows/speakers/sporting events).
Keep in mind that this is one 22 year old’s perspective. Take this all with a large grain of salt.
Any more thoughts? We are trying to make the same decision vs Boston College in the next few days. Thank you, NYUgirl!!