IU Kelley vs SMU Cox vs SCU Leavey

College Search & Selection
1

I’ve been accepted into…

  1. IU Kelley (Direct Admit) with 6k/year scholarship for Entrepreneurship/Corporate Innovation major Pros: Most affordable option, ranks highest, direct admission Cons: Very far from home (live in Bay Area), Cold weather, Huge, Job-placement mostly in Midwest
  2. SMU Cox (Pre-Business) with 20k/year scholarship likely for Management major Pros: Great location, Great job-placement in Dallas, Strong alumni network, Small Cons: Pre-Business, A bit more expensive, Ranks lower than Kelley
  3. SCU Leavey with no scholarship for Management major Pros: Great job-placement/internships in Silicon Valley, close to home (preferred by mom), Small Cons: Program not nearly as strong as Kelley or Cox, Very expensive

I’m still waiting on UW Seattle and Northeastern. I have visited SCU and plan on visiting the other campuses soon.

In your opinion, which business school is my best option? Thanks in advance.

2

Congrats on your acceptances. It sounds like you really like Kelley, and of course it is an awesome opportunity.
Why do you assume job placement will be limited to the Midwest?

3

IU makes most sense if it is the cheapest option. The reason why most Kelley grads are place in the Midwest is because most Kelley students hail from the Midwest and want to stay there after college. But IU is recruited nationally, and if you want to work back West, or on the East coast after college, you should not have too much trouble finding a job.

Even if you are admitted into NEU, it will likely be double the cost of IU, so I would still recommend IU. Not sure about UDub, but I would assume that it too will be significantly more expensive than IU.

4

Thanks for the insight
According to the websites job placement, most of the kids are placed in Chicago, Indianapolis, or back East. While that is not necessarily a bad thing, I would eventually like to be in the West. I know IU is the best option, but just looking at Leavey vs Cox, which do you think is best?

5

Thanks. What are your thoughts on Cox vs Leavey?

6

Kelley no brainer. especially with direct admit. excellent b school and recruiters consistently there.

7

also direct admit more valuable in case you weren’t able to achieve admission to Cox business school for some reason…freshman calculus can be very hard, and they don’t weight classes like they do in high school

8

Thanks DG, so would you say SCU Leavey is my weakest option?

9

I would. But it isn’t weak program. Relative yes.

10

Kelley has my vote too.

11

My SCU MBA didn’t particularly help me much in my career to be honest and didn’t open up many doors if any, but that’s a story for a different day. Met a lot of people though. I’m not sure if SCU holds that much sway outside of the Bay Area. So perhaps the others might be better.

12

Kelley or SMU if they’re both affordable without parent loans.
Yes, SCU is your weakest option.

13

Although Santa Clara has the location, SCU’s placement has not been impressive.

14

I would be curious to hear the story if you have time.

15

I think it really depends on what you want to do. SCU has great placement in tech type jobs but it not as strong in the finance sector. SMU is very strong in finance and not as strong in tech by far. Kelly strongest program but I think the least connected on the west coast. Truly all very good schools and options and has to be where you will be happiest. SMU probably by far the most fun socially.

16

Would you say that the social aspect of SMU, such as business fraternities, would be something to consider because of potential connections?

17

Yes, but the career center and business program’s connections are more important.

18

While I agree with the above comment by @MYOS1634 , business clubs and business fraternities are very helpful with respect to internships & job opportunities. Probably the clearest example can be found at the University of Michigan-Ross School of Business.

19

@DylanAll I went straight to MBA school (well after a 6 month break) and was 24 years old by the time I finished my MBA, when everyone else was way more established in their careers and more primed to take advantage of their MBA. I did the MBA expecting to go into some sort of career involving tech and finance, but wasn’t willing to take a 50% pay cut at the time and start all over, so I never did make much use of the MBA. In retrospect, it was probably a bad non-move, I probably would have made up the salary difference in 2 or 3 years. This was 30 years ago, so I’m sure things are different now.

The more current Santa Clara grads that I see out in Silicon Valley are almost all engineers or other tech. Don’t see much as far as other fields but don’t quote me on this.

20

SMU Cox has great placement and a very strong alumni base that can open doors. The reputation is much more highly regarded here in TX than across the nation perhaps. Kelly Is also a top notch option. Very different campus/Experience overall with Large Public vs. Smaller Private environments. Either one is excellent if it is the right fit for you.