Greetings Fellas!
As you must’ve already seen in the title, these are all the schools I got into for pursuing my undergrad as a business major. A little background about me follows below:
• International Student from India (CBSE)
• Prospective Finance and Accounting major
• Ready to work my ass off to crack a BB/EB offer at NYC
Indiana University-Bloomington
PROS- Direct admit to the ‘Kelley School of Business’ whose undergraduate business program has been ranked #11 by US News, IBW is stellar for IB placements, Cheapest option ($11k scholarship per annum on the $37k OOS Tuition fee), Great campus in a beautiful college town
CONS- Primarily worried about getting into the IBW, have heard that getting in is pretty hard, especially for International students (any info regarding IBW admissions welcomed in the comments), Overall low prestige of IU
Emory University
PROS- Admitted to both Emory and Oxford college, Wonderful overall reputation of Emory University, Low acceptance rate, Great Location (Atlanta)
CONS- Higher costs (around $50k per annum tuition), would have to apply to the Goizueta Business School for a finance major post sophomore year, Job placements mostly concentrated in the South-eastern part
UIUC (Gies College of Business)
PROS – High ranked accounting program (even better than Wharton), pretty much the same cost as IU ($35k per annum, no scholarship), decent overall reputation of the university
CONS- Much more renowned for engineering programs than business, pretty slim chances of cracking IB at NYC
Northeastern
PROS- Admitted to the NU.in. Program (first semester abroad) and the D’Amore McKim SOB, Awesome Location (Boston, the greatest college town), prestigious brand name, low acceptance rate
CONS- That high cost doesn’t really complement the decent business school according to me.
Penn State
PROS- Direct admit to Smeal, proximity to NYC (probably beneficial in networking), Have heard decent about wall street placements at PSU
CONS- Don’t know why but university park seems kinda boring, I haven’t applied to the Sapphire Leadership Program yet and I don’t think I would be able to do it now
SMU-Cox
PROS- Great Location (Dallas), Wonderful campus
CONS- Again, a costly alternative with a BSchool not that highly ranked as Kelley or Goizueta
Also, I accepted a place on the waiting list at UNC Chapel Hill. The Kenan Flagler Business School there is surely another great option to consider. The only issue I face with UNC is that you need to apply to KF in your sophomore year and acceptance to the school might be competitive and hard (any views regarding UNC are also welcome in the comments) PS: I hope I get off the waiting list there;
Lastly, thanks to everyone who read this post and helped me out finalise my college decision!
As someone who was interested in Emory (did not get in) I say take it. While Indiana has a great reputation for Business, Emory is just as good if not better. Also reapplying shouldn’t be difficult, 88% of those who apply get in (at least those who already go to Emory or Oxford) get in. Also people get jobs all over at Emory, not just in Atlanta. Illinois is not as good as Kelley so I would not take that, same thing with Penn State and SMU. Northeastern would be a good option but NUin just is not worth it from what I’ve heard. I think Emory is your best option but Kelley is good too, and UNC should definitely be an option if you get off the waitlist. You have some good options so rest assured you will be getting a good degree.
I’m not sure any of the top-tier IB firms recruit at these schools. If they do I’m assuming Kelley would be the most likely.
Did you get into the BBA Scholars program at SMU? Look at their alternate assets program.
If you want an urban environment you should cross-off Kelley, PSU and Gies.
Lots of financial companies are moving south, away from NYC.
They’re all excellent B schools but Kelley would probably have the most name recognition. UNC would also be on that list if you get off the waitlist. After that I don’t think it would really matter. I would rate them all about the same. It would come down to cost and fit.
S20 looked at NEU and SMU. He was accepted as a BBA Scholar at SMU. He chose Georgia Tech. Good luck.
I don’t know much about Emory other than it’s a really good school with a pretty campus. We’ve stopped by a few times and my son goes there once-in-awhile to walk around and eat. It’s expensive and I’m not sure your outcomes would be any better than Kelley. However, a school like Kelley has thousands of business undergrads. Schools like Emory or SMU have much less. You get more personal attention.
If money is a concern then Kelley is your best option by far. If you can get off the waitlist for UNC that would also be a great option. If money isn’t a concern I would still consider Kelley and UNC but Emory, SMU, and NEU would be great second choices. I wouldn’t rate any better than the other. Pick the one that fits best.
Emory (not Oxford College) is head and shoulders above the rest. Do not be fooled by any rankings you may be seeing. If the money is an issue, I like Northeastern and Indiana next best, in order. Next, I would select UIUC and Penn State - same level and SMU, last (but still good).
As far as applying into the b-school at Emory in 2 years, that is something I do not love. On other hand, good students get in and since that would be your plan - I would not let it hold me back, assuming right choice.
One of my sons graduated from SMU Cox, and another is currently at Emory. I agree with the advice above. I feel Emory is better known nationally. That said, SMU is very highly regarded in Dallas. It would be tough to go to NYC from SMU, but top investment banks (ie Goldman) is making a big push to move out of NY and into Dallas and Florida since it’s so much cheaper. I do know Cox grads who got jobs at Goldman right out of undergrad. Goldman’s real estate division is headquartered in Dallas. So it can be a great choice, although, again, I agree with what the posters above wrote.
Thank you soo much everyone for taking time out and helping me make a wise college decision.
I have somewhat narrowed down my list to Emory and IU Kelley.
Although I agree Emory is pretty much better than IU Bloomington in terms of its reputation etc., but do you think the premium (the almost double $) i’ll be spending on it is worth?
I would really appreciate if all people replying to my comment could also just mention their choice in One word (Emory or IU Kelley)
Thanks again people!!