IU's Kelley vs. Michigan's Ross

<p>So, I was notified that I was a direct admit to Kelley last week. IU has always been an appealing school to me especially with a relatively high ranking for a public university in terms of business. I would love to go there, but, I am out of state (Michigan) and it's going to cost 26k with the scholarship I was given. I was accepted to the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor to the College of Literature, Science, and Arts (LSA) as well, but I still have not heard word from Ross School of Business for the pre-admit program (similar to the IU direct admit) nor do I realistically expect to get in. Ross though is still very much in reach as I could apply as a college freshman after first semester and get in. Also Michigan Educational Trust guarantees tuition coverage so the only thing I have to account for his room/board for U of M. My question is this: should I go to IU Kelley knowing with certitude that I can graduate with an degree in Finance or should I take the financially easier route of Michigan with the chance of doing Finance but at the worst graduating with a degree in Economics? Ross vs. Kelley... which should I take?</p>

<p>You might go to Michigan, get free tuition for a year, and if you don't get into Ross, transfer to Kelley.</p>

<p>You could take classes at Michigan freshman year that will transfer to IU and Kelley in case you don't get into Ross.
Take:
Microecon (I-core pre-req, will transfer to Kelley; required to apply to Ross)
Freshman writing (I-core pre-req, will transfer to Kelley; required to apply to Ross)
Calculus (I-core pre-req, will transfer to Kelley; required to apply to Ross)
Intro to Business (Not an I-core pre-req, will transfer to Kelley and help get into Kelley)
Speech (I-core pre-req, will transfer to Kelley)
Two Arts & Humanities electives that will transfer to IU
Two Social & Historical electives that will transfer to IU</p>

<p>That will give you 27 hours that can be used for the Kelley degree. You will have 12 hours of the 41 I-Core pre-requisites. You could take the rest of the I-Core pre-requisites in the two sophomore semesters. You could take the two technology classes Soph 1 and Soph 2 semesters. Take A100 Soph 1 and A201 Soph 2 semester. And possibly take A202 Soph 2, but that would be tough taking it the same semester as A201, in order to be on course to take I-Core in fall of junior year, and I-Core is a pre-requisite for a lot of the required finance courses. Or take A201 Junior 1 semester and take I-Core your Junior 2 semester and maybe have to go an extra semester to get all your finance classes in.</p>

<p>You would be applying to Kelley during second semester of sophomore year.</p>

<p>Hopefully, you will get into Ross as direct admit. It is really tough to get into Ross during freshman year, as they only accept about 350 students each year. Good luck.
Kelly</a> School of Business Undergraduate 2008-2010 Online Bulletin: Table of Contents</p>

<p>Thanks for the insight bthomp1!</p>

<p>I just checked for specific classes at Michigan that would transfer to IU. I could not find equivalent courses at Michigan that would give you IU credit for BUS X100 Intro to Business or Finite Math. There might be other I-Core prerequisite courses that would transfer from UM at the credit transfer site:
Credit</a> Transfer Service Home: Office of Admissions ~ IU Bloomington</p>

<p>So the advice I gave you to take classes at UM would help for the I-Core prerequisites microeconomics (ECON 101), calculus (MATH 112), business communications/speech (COMM 100 - Public Speaking), and English composition (ENGL 125, and maybe some others, too) which is twelve hours of the I-Core prerequisites.</p>

<p>You could add to this six hours by taking some community college courses in Michigan, but these classes might not help you at with the business program at UM. Ones that commonly transfer from Michigan CC's to IU are Finite Math and Introduction to Business. Doing these two at a CC and the other four at UM would give you 18 credit hours of the 41 credit hour I-Core prerequisites, which is a pretty good amount to get out of the way in one year.</p>

<p>Also, you might look at the link above to see which liberal arts type classes transfer to IU from UM and a specific Michigan CC. You need 27 liberal arts or college of arts and sciences classes to get the Kelley degree. These are the college of arts and sciences classes that fulfill the distribution option requirement at Kelley. And UM uses the same kind of distribution system, only with three courses required in each of the three areas, while IU has two classes from two areas plus five classes from one area. You could probably find lots of freshman level classes that would transfer and help meet requirements at both schools.
College</a> of Arts and Sciences 2008-2010 Online Bulletin: Appendix II: Approved Distribution Courses</p>

<p>The 27-hour requirement is explained here:
Kelly</a> School of Business Undergraduate 2008-2010 Online Bulletin: Table of Contents</p>

<p>I-Core prerequisites
Academic</a> Policies and Procedures: Student Life: Undergraduate Program: Kelley School of Business: Indiana University Bloomington</p>

<p>Good luck with whatever you do. You gave some tough decisions to make!</p>

<p>I think that Kelley is on the rise, but Ross is still the better business school. If you have a strong work ethic you're likely to get into Ross. However, I'm almost positive that Ross has more applicants from high schoolers who try to become direct admits then they do from freshmen who are trying to enter as Sophomores. When I saw this statistic, I realized how difficult it must be to maintain the grades required to enter Ross. I'm sure any highly motivated students can make it happen, but if you're motivation is questionable, I wouldn't risk it. As far as where they both rank for finance, I know that Kelley is somewhere in the 7-10 range, and I'm not sure where Ross stands. Ross may be slightly better, but I'm sure they're very close. Considering all these things, Kelley might be the better decision if they were the best price. However, since you're a in-state student at Mich, I think you should definitely enroll there and transfer out after freshmen year if you have any problems.</p>

<p>A correction: X100 is not an I-Core prerequisite, but you need to take it to apply to Kelley after you transfer.
Transfer</a> Students: Admissions: Undergraduate Program: Kelley School of Business: Indiana University Bloomington</p>

<p>Thanks guys. I really appreciate the input.</p>