Kelley School of Business vs Northeastern University.

Colleges and Universities A-Z Indiana University - Bloomington
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<p>OMG, I never in a million years thought that making the decision to go to college would be so freaking hard! :p
Ok, so I got into Northeastern and IUB. Initially, (during the summer, the beginning of the semester) I was all in for Northeastern, no doubt in my mind. Then I started reading stats from last year and I was very wary that I would get in early action, so I started looking at Indiana again and fell in love with it all over again.
Then when it came time for early action decisions, I got in (yay!) and I was very happy. (:
So I dropped Indiana and fell back in love with Northeastern. (FYI: I live in GA so I have the whole OOS tuition at Indiana and Northeastern gave me a lot of money)
Then Indiana sent me a bunch of stuff saying that I was getting all these scholarships (and a really cool harry potter scarf) and that that I qualified for their Fry Scholars scholarship. (which is a full ride pretty much) I don't know much about the program but it's for minorities that got directly admitted into the KSB. I don't know how competitive it is, but because IU takes your weighted GPA I have a 4.0 so I think I have a good chance at winning, but the winners dont find out until April and I really dont want to still be on the fence about college then.
So my dilemma comes down to which school is great for me. I truly do like both schools. At Northeastern I would be doing their BSIB program which I believe is a great experience since I would get to live and work in France for a year and then also get to do another co-op. And at IU I would be doing Economic Consulting with a minor in International Business. And I understand that those are two completly different things, but somewhere down the line of my life I want to do consulting and I want to live abroad, so IU is the obvious choice for that, but NU I believe has the better opportunity for me to have work experience and become fluent in French which is a plus and I have the chance to graduate with a degree from NU and the school in France.
So since I am so conflicted I have made a pros and cons list:</p>

<p>NU:
1. I love Boston. I haven't visited the school, but I used to live in Rhode Island and I love the area and I know that if I do stay in the US for my career I would want to either live there or NYC.
2. BSIB. When I first heard about the program I couldn't believe it. I think it is the coolest and greatest opportunity for a student to have.
3. Co-op. Since I have to go abroad for so long I wont have the regular 3 co-ops, but I'll still have two which is still really good guaranteed work experience.
4. Diversity. I love learning about other cultures and Boston is a super diverse town with so many different people and such a rich history.
5. Atmosphere. While I still haven't visited, the type of atmosphere that I get from the school is a very career orientated place. Like everyone is so passionate about what they are doing and what they want to accomplish and I love it. I love being around smart intellectual people.
6. $$. They gave me a lot of money.
7. Family. I have family in Rhode Island and in New York which will definitely help when I cant come home for fall break and short breaks like that.
8. Internships. Because of ^^ it will certainly help me get internships over the summer. (I could stay with my family in NY and travel to the city)
Cons:
1. $$. While they gave me a lot of money, I still have to conjure up like $4,000 and they have me like $5,000 and I know that a ton of people would kill for FA like that, I cant come up with it, I applied to a ton of scholarships so hopefully I get some.
2. Jobs. So I said I really want to do consulting or some sort of business overseas. I just don't have that definite feeling with the different types of co-ops or job opportunities with a BSIB. (For example, "Oh, I can get a job doing _____")</p>

<p>IU:</p>

<p>Pros:
1. Campus. I love their campus. It's nice and big, it's green and pretty. I love it.
2. Bloomington. Bloomington is a great place. When I was walking around it seemed like a super laid back place and everyone was nice.
3. KSB. If I were to base my decision just off of ranks IU would win. Their Business school is really good. Period.
4. Kelley LLC. If I went to IU, I would stay in the Kelley LLC which I think would help me getting to know people etc.
5. Fry Scholars. If I get it, I would pretty much go for free.
6. School Spirit. I am not dependent on really tight knit community. I just think it's really nice to celebrate a win with your peers and what not.
7. Job. With IU, I just feel that their Economic Consulting degree will pretty much secure a consulting job for me. </p>

<p>Cons:
1. Not so smart people: I know that I would probably get this at every school that I go to, but I really don't like to see people wasting their college years away and not taking things seriously. And in general, IU is a pretty easy school to get into, so I fear there would be a lot of people like that.
2. Fun. While parties and Bloomington are great. I don't just want to depend on that to have fun or travel all the way to Chicago to have fun.
3. $$. While I think I have a really good chance at winning the Fry Scholars thing, I dont know for sure and I wont find out for a long time.
4. Not diverse. IU tries really hard to get a bunch of different cultures and races at their school, but a huge majority of them are white.</p>

<p>Those are my pros and cons. And I know that I wrote so much, I just don't know what to do.
While at times I'm just like NU all the way, I still get that feeling. And I know that IU will certainly prepare me for a really good job, I just feel like the opportunity I'd get at Northeastern with their co-op and BSIB program is really once in a lifetime, but idk. </p>

<p>PLEASE HELP ME!! AHH! Going crazy! I don't know if that feeling I'm getting is God telling me not to go to NU or just whatever! I just need people's opinion because my mom is so casual about this, "it's okay honey, just choose whatever school you think is best." <em>sigh</em>
Thanks if you did read all of it. (:</p>

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<p>Take a breath, and know that you have 2 great options! Also, believe me, April will be here before you know it. </p>

<p>To keep your options open, I hope you have applied for the Fry Scholars program. I had not heard of it before, but it sounds like a fantastic opportunity.
[Fry</a> Scholars Program: Kelley School of Business: Indiana University Bloomington](<a href=“http://kelley.iu.edu/promo/fry/index.html]Fry”>http://kelley.iu.edu/promo/fry/index.html)</p>

<p>As for Con #1, as a Kelley DA you will be surrounded with other students that are pretty smart. Also, school-wide, the standardized tests scores have been going up over the past 5-6 years, and it’s not the safety school that it used to be for many. Are there still kids there that aren’t serious about school? Sure, but in a school as big as IU, you will have plenty of other students around that put academics first, and then fun.</p>

<p>I guess, I already addressed Con #2 as well. One note, though. I don’t think you’ll find many students coming all the way to Chicago for fun. It’s 4.5 - 5 hours away. Boredom shouldn’t be a problem at IU.</p>

<p>Con #3, you do have a great chance at getting the Fry Scholar. But, you won’t know if you don’t apply for it. If you don’t get it, you will have your answer, without having to make a choice. Again, April is NOT a long time from now. : )</p>

<p>Con #4, lack of diversity is a problem. I guess a lot depends on you and what kind of environment you are comfortable in. Is your current school very diverse? Do you socialize easily with others outside your race? I give IU credit for really trying to increase diversity through programs such as Fry. </p>

<p>One last thing. My son’s roommate spent a semester in Seville that included work as well as school. I don’t know if IU has a similar program set up in France, but you should check it out.</p>

<p>Good luck with your decision!</p>

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<p>Thank you so much for your help. I really appreciate this. (:</p>

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<p>I understand you don’t want to wait to make your decision, but I really think that is the best option for several reasons. First, until you find out about the Fry scholarship you can’t do a cost comparison. As a future business major, I would suspect analyzing the financial side of the schools should be important. Second, you have time to make a decision, use it. </p>

<p>I can add that my D was concerned about “not being challenged” and some “not so smart people.” She ended up making friends with a very smart group of friends and has felt challenges. </p>

<p>Having experienced B-ton as a student, a graduate student, an alum, a parent, and for the past decade as a resident, I can tell you first hand, you won’t be bored! There’s things going on all of the time from opera to ball games to comedy to music to museums, etc. Lots to do here in a very easy to get around town. </p>

<p>One other thing I’m going to mention that weighs in IU’s favor is the name recognition. When you apply for jobs people will recognize the name and that will work in your favor. I honestly never heard of Northeastern until I joined CC a few years ago. I’ve been in restaurants in Canada and the bartender knew IU. (The taxi driver in Puerto Rico also knew IU, but that’s not a pleasant association as longtime IU Bball fans know.)</p>

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<p>ohsnapitsfaux, My D had the same dilemma 3 years ago, she received scholarships to both Kelley and Northeastern. She is from NY and loves Boston and NYC so I assumed she would choose Northeastern because of the location. When we went to accepted student day , to my surprise, she did not like Northeastern at all. She did not feel a sense of school community or spirit. She also wanted more of a campus. Also, we asked several questions about coop that the school rep could not answer, they took my daughter’s email but never contacted her further. When she attended a scholarship event in NYC for IU she really clicked with the school representatives ,who did a great job of making her feel like IU was really interested in her. She visited and fell in love with the school. These are two completely different schools, you must visit Northeastern, see the dorms, talk to students and professors before you decide. I can not emphasize this enough: visit and go with your gut feeling. My D has never had an issue with being bored or academically unchallenged. Kelley has many very bright students. Good luck to you.</p>

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<p>Just wanted to point out that you have to consider u’ll be in the idniana business school, which means, for the most part, u’ll be with kids who are acdemically higher then in most programs. Bigger schools tend to have kids of all acdemic levels, and caring, but harder programs usually widdle those kids out. Plus there isnt really a hige diffenrence between kids at either. From my personal exprience, northeastern isn’t better in that department.</p>

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<p>I know this was posted a long time ago, but turns out i got the scholarship so I will be attending Indiana University.</p>

<p>Thank everyone for all the help and replies, i truly appreciate it!</p>