Hey all, now that we’re closing in on May 1st I’ve started to narrow down the list of colleges I’ve been accepted to. Two colleges in particular that I’m interested in are Kelley school of business at Indiana University and D’amore-McKim school of business at Northeastern University. I’ve had long talks with my family about the pros and cons of each school, and I thought I would also want to ask what other people think as well.
The main things that make Kelley attractive to me are:
Ranked #6 undergraduate accounting program nationally (I’d be an accounting major at both schools)
Tuition is much less expensive (~$33,000 with a scholarship I qualified for)
Lots of school spirit
The only real thing that seems to be a downside of Indiana is that the rest of the school outside of Kelley doesn’t seem to be prestigious. Not that I care too much about prestige, but my mom in particular is worried that I wouldn’t be challenging myself academically.
The main things that make D’amore-McKim attractive to me are:
Overall, very good academic school
Co-op program would give great work experience
Boston is a fun city
The two main things that I dislike about Northeastern are their lack of sports/school spirit and their low business school rankings. Once again, I don’t really care about the rankings but having a significantly lower ranking than Kelley worries me about how businesses view each school.
When comparing the two schools I’d prefer if you mainly look at the academic side of things. Of course, student life is a major part of any college, but I personally would prioritize academics over it. Any advice or thoughts you have about the two schools is welcome.
Congrats on your admissions results! I would not pay more for an accounting degree. And you don’t need co-ops for accounting. Kelley is excellent and seems to offer the undergraduate experience you prefer. You’ll be plenty challenged. Go there.
You will be plenty challenged at Kelley if you apply yourself. S20 really liked NEU for the reasons you mentioned but the cost was too much. Go to Kelley and don’t look back.
I hadn’t heard of this name. Northeastern has made great strides. However, IU’s endowment is $2.5B vs. $1.1B at Northeastern. The Kelley SOB is a gem with great placement. Northeastern seems to be stronger in engineering. As long as a school has strong Big 4 placement, go with the lower cost that’s still challenging and fun.
Sounds to me like Kelley is more attractive to you in terms of student life, is a higher ranked b-school, and it is cheaper. I say go Hoosiers!
There is no need for a co-op program in accounting – accounting firms are set up for students to do a summer internship (typically the summer before they have the 150 credits).
IU is an excellent flagship and you can definitely be challenged academically. The b-school curriculum will be challenging and you can choose to seek out humanities classes that interest/excite/challenge you.
And less expensive is a plus – to become a CPA one now needs 150 credits. Some people can do in in four years with APs, some overloading etc. but many (including my son FWIW) do go on for a one year MS in Accounting. The money you save by going to Kelley over Northeastern can be put towards your MS should you go that route.
Both schools are great. Note that the undergraduate business school rankings are near-meaningless and mostly incorrect. The average Freshman profile of a student at Northeastern will be stronger than Kelley. Both schools get the same accounting firms to recruit on their campus with “maybe” some differences in the city you end up in after.
If the OP does follow through with an accounting major and qualifies to/chooses to work for one of the large firms he/she should be able to get a job in any city from any college. Their recruiting is national – typically a first interview on campus and then a second interview at their preferred office location. My S interviewed from a school in the Midwest and had no trouble securing multiple Big 4 offers in the NYC area (his preferred location). (FWIW I am a CPA as is my H and my S.)
I like how you say any college. I’m guessing UNLV is not on anyone’s top school radar. My nephew did accounting there. Guess what - plenty of kids ending up in SF, LA, Denver, etc. at the big 4. If you have an accounting degree and some hustle, you’ll find your way just fine.
That is sometimes, but definitely not always the case. Depends on a variety of factors to include whether the firm is recruiting nationally or locally from a school - college recruiting is a real profession, with a real strategy - and there is a process. Either way, getting a job outside the region is reserved for the stronger students and better candidates. Good that it worked out for your student, but that does not work out a good amount of the time.
I did say “qualified students.” But as a rule all Big 4 (but not every firm certainly) do recruit nationally. However, let’s end this here since the question is not the focus of the OP’s question and debating is not allowed on CC.
The applicable point associated with the OP’s question is that it may be a mistake to want a big 4, in a particular region, and not consider that when choosing between IU or Northeastern.
