My dd has been accepted to Kelley and has narrowed her choices to Syracuse, U of Miami and Kelley. Kelley has a VERY strong reputation and she is very impressed with the program, placement and students. Her issue is, she is intimidated because it is such a strong program. She has heard it is extremely difficult. She is a bright girl and has a good work ethic but wants to enjoy her college experience as well ( have a social life, join a sorority etc…) She is worried of the demands of Kelley. Has anyone else dealt with this? What advice can you offer? Thank you in advance for any feedback, the decision is torturing her.
Hi oliver17, I know you asked for help from a current student but I wanted to give my perspective as a mom of a current student. As a direct admit, IU is already confident of your dd’s potential to succeed at Kelley. It IS a very strong program, but strong doesn’t necessarily mean difficult. I can’t compare the level of difficulty of Kelley to U of Miami or Syracuse, but there are plenty of students who do very well at Kelley and still have time for non-academic pursuits. I personally think the key skills for success at Kelley while still having “a life” are good time management and taking advantage of academic resources like office hours, practice exams, etc. At least so far, my daughter is an example of how you can do it all and still succeed at Kelley. She was a very good high school student but not top 1% and she was not involved in many extracurriculars. She has “bloomed” in college at IU - doing well academically (mostly A’s, a few B’s), joined a sorority where she has an executive position, has a part-time job, goes out with friends, and is involved in a few other extra-curriculars. Sure there are times where she feels overloaded, but it has never gotten to the point of a melt-down. As a parent, I am extremely happy with Kelley’s curriculum and programs. They are learning skills that are immediately useful to landing a job (resume building, advanced Excel skills to name a few). With the opportunities available at Kelley, my dd got an internship this coming summer between her sophomore and junior year. If your dd does choose IU and Kelley, I would suggest taking a light schedule first semester to ease into college and have time to pursue non-academic interests. If she has time this summer, she can take a summer school class through Ivy Tech or your local CC to knock off a core requirement or two (Calculus, Finite, Macroeconomics or Microeconomics are some good options). Or there is a little-known program at IU called IFS (Intensive Freshman Seminar), where you arrive at IU a few weeks early and take one class for 2 weeks. My daughter participated in IFS and I highly recommend it! See http://ifs.indiana.edu/programDetails for more info.
OK, now I’ve given you much more than you asked for, but I hope you find it helpful.
Signed a very happy parent of a Kelley student
Another parent chiming in. I would echo stbemptynest’s input. My daughter is a junior and has found Kelley to demanding but not impossible. Your daughter WILL have to put in the time (completing the practice exams is especially good advice!) but most Kelley students are involved in activities (Greek life, clubs, sports teams, etc.) Kelley encourages students to get involved and seek out leadership opportunities to begin building their resumes. Kelley is structured like a 4 year corporate leadership development program! But there is plenty of time to go to football/basketball games, parties, etc.
A cautionary word about IU sororities though - sorority recruitment is brutal! If your daughter has her heart set on living in a sorority house that may not happen at IU. Only about 60% of the girls who start rush get bids. Many girls drop from rush when they don’t get the “houses” back that they want but there are still many (100+) who go through the process and end up bid less. My daughter really wanted the “housed” sorority experience but it didn’t work out (she was crushed…awful experience as a parent). Ultimately, she joined an “unhoused” sorority and loves it. She has made great friends and had leadership opportunities she probably wouldn’t have had otherwise. I bring this topic up because you and your daughter should be aware that IU sorority recruitment will be a very different process than at Miami or Syracuse.
Here’s another perspective. I have a D at UMiami. She is in a sorority, but at UM they do not have houses. She wishes she were able to live in a house. I understand about 20% who go through rush do not get a bid.
I strongly echo WistfulThinking’s comments about IU sororities! My daughter had the identical experience last year. (WistfulThinking, I wonder if our dd’s are sisters) If your dd does decide to attend IU and decides to go through sorority recruitment, be sure to come back here for some advice and emotional support 
This is very helpful feedback- both school wise and sorority. ( Something else to worry about!) She is going to look at U of Miami again in a few weeks so that might help her make her decision. Thank you again for all your feedback.