Hi guys,
So I’ve been accepted to both IU and WashU as a finance major, but I’m really torn on which to go to. There are pros and cons to both, and I love both schools, but I’m just not sure which to choose. I’m hoping to use finance as a jumping off point to enter corporate law later, but that’s still in the works. Anyway, here’s a breakdown of the decision I’m looking at:
IU
Pros: offered a full ride, direct admit, accepted to honors program, higher post-graduation salary, big fish in small pond, large alumni network
Cons: state school, less prestige, not a lot of competition, don’t really fit into the Kelley kid demographic
WashU
Pros: love the campus, love the people, more prestigious institution, smaller class sizes in Olin
Cons: paying ~25k, far from home, possibly small fish in big pond, smaller alumni network
My main concerns are money and prestige. I could go to IU for free or WashU for 25k. However, IU overall isn’t a super respected and WashU is more prestigious. My goal for the future is to go to an Ivy League law school to get my JD, and I’m just not sure which school would be my best bet. I know both are great options, and I’d be happy with either, but it seems like they each bring something different to the table and I can’t find the balance yet.
If you guys have any advice, I’d love to hear it! Honestly, I need all the help I can get right now.
Also, additional information, I’ve wanted to study abroad for as long as I can remember. At IU, I’m guaranteed one semester abroad with the scholarship, but I’m not sure if I could afford the same opportunity at WashU. It’s not a deal breaker, but it’s something I’m considering.
Free college really is hard to turn down. I’m going to UVA over IU but I definitely was not offered a full ride at IU. The investment banking workshop at IU has around a 95% placement rate. It’s hard to get into but if you work I’m sure u can. I would argue that for finance specifically IU has more prestige than WashU. If you decide to go into any other field though, WashU is going to have more prestige. Fortunately you really can’t go wrong here. Personally I would probably pick IU. After visiting Bloomington I could really see myself going there. Plus food there is really really good.
What do you mean when you say you don’t ‘fit’ with the Kelley kids’? How are they different from the WashU kids?
Law school admissions is not about undergrad prestige, it is about your own gpa and test scores. And the debt for law school is staggering – (I’m a lawyer) – so holding onto existing college savings to put towards law school would be a big plus.
However it all depends how well-informed the goal of law school is. If it’s just “I don’t know what to do in college and I don’t like math so I guess I have to do something after college and there’s law school”, it’s different from someone who has shadowed a lawyer and has an inkling of what the job entails. (Clue: not Suits and not For the People.)
Law school admission does include prestige to a certain extent though - not for primary selection (it’s purely LSAT*GPA) but for the next step it seems to matter. It does seem to impact what law school you’re admitted to more than for med school and only top law schools are worth attending these days (ie., your flagship’s and top 14-20).
Really only T14 unless you get to go to law school nearly free.
But I don’t think the OP is very well informed about law schools. He refers to “Ivy League law schools” rather than T14 or T6.
For the same cost, most would choose non-Ivy Chicago over “Ivy League law school” Cornell (and almost all would choose SLS over Cornell).
@MYOS1634 by “fit in” I mean that there’s a stereotype that follows Kelley kids, almost like a Wolf of Wall Street type of deal. On campus they’re known to be stuck up, greedy rich kids, and although that stereotype may hold true to all business schools, it’s really apparent at Kelley compared to Olin (from what I’ve seen, at least).
And for how well informed my law schools plans are, I’d say somewhat. I’ve gone to summer law camps and seen what lawyers actually do, but right now it’s more of what I think I want to do rather than a really well formulated plan.
It sounds like a no-brainer. Unless your parents are willing to co-sign you into $80k worth of loans, there’s no way you could afford WashU. Even so, that much debt would squash you like an insect. It’s not worth the money. A full ride scholarship in an honors program is actually something you could put on a resume, and you’re graduating debt free.
You will not be a big fish in a small pond at IU. Also don’t know why being a state school is a con.
Totally understand your concern- I will say that you can find a lot of really kind, intelligent and unpretentious kids at Kelley depending on the organizations you join. If you don’t mind me asking- which full scholar are you? (Cox, Wells, Fry or Kelley?) I only ask because I know the Fry program specifically consists of a lot of really great kids that don’t fit your Kelley stereotype 
@MatthieuPicard I got one of the Cox scholarships! I’ve heard they’re a good, well respected cohort, but there also aren’t a lot of Kelley kids.
Congratulations! I’m a Fry and some of my closest friends are Cox Scholar: really intelligent and kind bunch. You’re right about the relatively low percentage of Kelley majors too, most of them are in more academic subjects. If you don’t think that you would be a good fit with the typical business school kid, (I know I’m not, thankfully with such a large school I’ve found my people haha) Cox could be a great opportunity to meet people you might connect with better. Just my 2 cents, happy to answer or help in any way. I remember this time of year being pretty stressful haha