I know there may be bias as this is a forum for IU but I’ve never had to make such a tough decision and would be thankful for any insight. I was accepted into both Ross at UMich and Kelley at IU. Most people agree on other forums such as wall street oasis agree that Ross is simply the better school, but is the difference that significant? I was accepted as a Fry Scholar to Indiana, and recently heard a pretty convincing pitch from some folks about what the scholarship entails exactly. At first, I thought Michigan was a no-brainer, but now I’m unsure if all the benefits of being a Fry Scholar make it a competitive alternative or if Ross is too good to pass up. Ross would be affordable due to receiving scholarships, but I definitely would have to work to meet what’s not being covered.
Do you have any idea what you want to do when you graduate? You would likely get the same types of jobs at both schools in most industries.
I wish I had a better grasp, but I don’t think I’ve done enough to know what I truly like/dislike. I’m hoping to discover that as I learn more about business in general. If I were to say something, though I’d probably lean towards either investment banking or accounting.
Dude are you serious… Go to Ross. Now. Pay that deposit and dont look back at indiana
@Drizzy248 ignorant
It sounds like investment banking opportunities are better at Ross, but you can definitely get IB jobs through the investment banking workshop at IU, which is very doable to get into.
I think you should take the free ride to Kelley. It would be one thing if you were completely set on IB and only wanted the best IB job possible coming out of school, but I don’t think there is much of a difference outside of IB. Some rankings even have Kelley higher than Ross: https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-best-undergrad-business-schools/
Kelley also does a great job at teaching an overview of all aspects of business. You don’t have to declare a specific major until junior year, so you would have plenty of time to decide. I’m not sure how that works at Ross.
Ross might be slightly better than Kelley overall, but it’s not worth a significant amount of extra money in my opinion. I’d be happy to answer any questions about my experience in Kelley if you want. I’m a sophomore majoring in accounting.
@sgw2021 actually quite the opposite, i’m going to kelley next year LOL. Getting into UMich is hard enough, but he also got into Ross Pre-admit, which is a huge accomplishment in itself. You cannot deny that Ross is superior to Kelley.
Thanks for the info @iubaccounting . That was definitely my sentiment at the start @Drizzy248 , but once again its hard to for me to value the free ride vs the “superior” school. Anyway, I’ve yet to visit so maybe that’ll be the tipping point into making a decision.
As a parent I’ve had to make this decision twice in two years. Both my kids are in great state schools with near free rides (who knew financial aid does not cover cat food). Mind you, every school will nickel and dime you to oblivion, so a free ride is usually NOT free (U of M parking, or U of M’s practice of charging lab fees and having a lab assistant check your ID at the door - 30 years ago, EECS, I’m sure they have a better way now). IU’s pretty good about nickeling and diming too, my daughter’s bursar statement is alarmingly long…
Are you in-state for either? If one is in-state, go there. If they are both OOS, go to Ross.
-Visit both schools if you haven’t already done so.
-Look VERY closely at the curriculum for each school. Make a spreadsheet to compare the actual courses you will be required to take every year. This exercise is often the make-it-or-break-it factor in the decision.
-What will the cost be for each school after accounting for scholarships and financial aid?
-Consider the overall student body and the overall offerings. If it turns out that the business school is not to your liking or not what you expected (in either school), would you be happier going to IU or to Mich?
-Which one is easier to travel to?
BTW, you don’t have a major in Ross. All Ross students major in business administration. Also note that at Michigan you are in LSA the first year (liberal arts school) and start Ross sophomore year. Students are required to have 54 liberal arts credits.
You don’t have a major in Ross, but you do have a concentration. It amounts to the same thing.
^^No.
http://www.bus.umich.edu/pdf/BBABulletin.pdf
“Students complete a required set of sequenced courses to ensure knowledge of all functional areas of
business – there are no officially-defined majors or concentrations.”
Thanks once again for the advice. I’ll start analyzing the curriculums and am planning the trips based on my parent’s flexibility. I live in Maryland so not in-state for either. The cost of IU is zero, but as @turbo93 brought up, there are probably miscellaneous costs that’ll pop up. The cost for Michigan will be about 14k per year before any outside scholarships.
I don’t know anything about the business schools but if you visit each campus, especially in springtime, you will be impressed with IU. It is one of the prettiest campuses of all, especially in spring and fall. Bloomington is generally less expensive than Ann Arbor as far as incidentals go. Passing on a free education to a highly ranked school seems like an odd business decision! Good luck with the process.
Actually let me throw in a few more tidbits of wisdom. If the omens go our way my older girl will be at Michigan in a year or two (PhD). The younger is at IU. I have many friends who went to Michigan, or their kids did. It’s expensive, and Ann Arbor is expensive. Probably up there with Northwestern in terms of incidentals, apartment or dorm, etc. And Ann Arbor is a great college town, don’t get me wrong, but if money is remotely an issue… Both schools are a pain to get in and out of by air (Detroit Metro vs Indy).
IU is very pretty - and I’ve seen some pretty nice campuses. It’s a big campus but doesn’t feel hugely like OSU or even U of M. Sports, probably U of M. Food and culture… depends what you want. Ann Arbor food, well, you have to really try to go hungry there. Back then it easily rivaled Austin and Cambridge food wise, and I lived in both. Also for things to do. I used to live in SE Michigan and attended many cultural events with my Indian buddies there. Bloomington has a lot too.
Kelley is big, well, yea. Every time I walk past Kelley I wonder… how do they fit that many students there :). But they have a lot of different majors, options, concentrations, etc. And some pretty smart kids. Look for where people from either school are placed. I used this argument successfully with my older girl. While she had a free ride at a highly ranked school, it was in a relatively ho-hum location and she was reluctant at first. What tipped the scale was looking at many firms principles and realizing her school has LOTS of graduates out there in powerful positions. Do the same for IU vs U of M.
There are some areas where U of M is the defacto Harvard :). Like the Big 3. As I said I used to live up there and work with Big 3 customers early on in my career. U of M was the king of the hill, then OSU / Purdue / UIUC / Wisc in no particular order. So you want a business type job at Ford, U of M was your ticket.
There’s also specializations or minors. Purdue (my alma mater) has an awesome business degree with operations management / industrial engineering type focus. Maybe IT or Computer Science. Statistics. Math. What have you. Foreign languages. Study abroad (IU is undisputed king there).
Finally, grad school, if you want an MBA. Will Kelley pave your path to an Ivy league? Ross? (if you’re interested). Another thing to consider.
But at the end of the day, passing on such a free money payola is pretty hard as a parent, and my kid will have to make a VERY good case or bring me this week’s Powerball ticket.