<p>Is anyone else going into SPEA as a direct admit, preferably in Environmental Science?</p>
<p>I am not, but congratulations. I am sure you will enjoy your five years at the School of Partying and Easy A's!</p>
<p>"School of Partying and Easy A's"... I like that</p>
<p>I'm glad the topic of SPEA came up. My freshman is home for break, is interested in Kelley, and from what I gather, could probably get in, and I support him if that is his decision.... Kelley is obviously held in high esteem. Still, I am encouraging him to at least look at SPEA for what I perceive to be the following good reasons:</p>
<ol>
<li> He can obtain a mgmt degree still, while taking what appears to be a more diverse range of courses.</li>
<li> SPEA, too, is well regarded nationally.</li>
<li> The economy is in poor shape, and likely to be so for at least a few years. If so, jobs in the public sector may be easier to attain than, say, IB or MGMT Consulting. (My perception, perhaps erroneous, is that SPEA caters to public and Kelley to private sector, generally)</li>
<li> If one is serious about the private sector, he probably should consider an MBA from the best program he can get into at some point after graduation.</li>
</ol>
<p>I'm curious for your point of view on this.</p>
<p>Considering that most business professionals have their graduate school paid for by their company, I feel that your 4th point is somewhat ill-founded. Additionally, Kelley has one of the strongest Career Services department among the top-ranked undergraduate business colleges. In fact, this is one of the most-praised aspects of Kelley; you are practically guaranteed a job right out of college. </p>
<p>Plus, can't other classes still be taken as long as your son has open spots in his schedule (if I recall correctly, there are spaces for electives, especially sophomore year)? Personally, I'd rather have the reputation of Kelley, as well as the business oriented education that would be usable both in the public and private sectors.</p>
<p>On a more personal note, one of the major things about Kelley that stood out to me was the Junior Year program (I-CORE), and in all of the other business schools I have visited, nothing similar was mentioned. If your son hasn't mentioned this as a benefit of Kelley, be sure to ask him about it.</p>
<p>Thanks IOMR. Your point about the excellent job placement from Kelley is well-taken. I checked their web page and the percentages are outstanding. The skeptic in me says that the percentages may go down as corporations are laying off employees in droves - but the best b-schools, of which I consider Kelley to be among, should fare better than others I suppose. Thanks for pointing this out. To be honest, I'm not sure what percentages of corporations pay for their employee's MBA's. But if a Kelley degree would precipitate such action, no one would be happier than me - the dad paying for the schooling! My thought process is to get as diverse of an undergraduate education as possible while you can, do well, and then specialize. It is what I did in the old days as a liberal art major and then an MBA - but then again, I had to pay for grad school - so maybe you have the right idea! Thanks again.</p>
<p>You do bring up some good points, Hoosierfriend. However, if your son wanted to, he could major in BEPP at Kelley. BEPP, or Business Economics and Public Policy, really looks at both the public and private sectors. Also, your claim about SPEA's public leaning is somewhat erroneous as, according to the SPEA website, in 2004 75% of graduates worked in the private sector. Another thing to consider when choosing either Kelley or SPEA is the return on your investment. While I do not have the figures on this, I would think that a Kelley degree would yield far more lucrative job offers than a comparable SPEA degree.</p>
<p>If I do attend Indiana, I will being majoring in Economic Consulting through the BEPP department, and I agree that it looks at the public and private sectors, as that's what initially attracted me to the program. I do tend to disagree with your second point Hoosierfriend, as jobs in the public sector will be the most difficult of any kind of job to attain in a struggling economy like the one economists are projecting. When the private sector for the most part stops hiring college students, demand for jobs in the public sector will increase astronomically. Considering the establishment of most public jobs and that they are already filled for the most part (the government is not exactly on a hiring spree right not), the additional rise in demand for public jobs will not be met, therefore making any job very difficult to get if the economy gets as bad as they are saying it will.</p>
<p>Jarad, your thought process is a little off. First of all, from an economic standpoint, if the private sector stops hiring, that will increase supply of potential workers, not demand for jobs. Also, if you look at what the U.S. has done in past economic downturns (The New Deal, etc.), the amount of jobs in the public sector will actually increase dramatically in order to keep unemployment down. A fair amount of these millions of jobs that future President Obama talks about will be public jobs, or at least be jobs financed through public funds. You are right in saying any job will be very difficult to get.</p>
<p>Sir, with all due respect, you are under false premise. The "New Deal" is what got us into this mess in the first place. These new public jobs will NEVER happen! People speak of the mortgave crisis and the housing market as the largest cause of our current economic problems. Look back before this year, and ask yourself how the US is paying back the 53 trillion in social security debt.</p>
<p>Thanks both of you for your comments. I know more now than I did this time yesterday. Thanks again.</p>
<p>Sir, will all due respect, your thought process is a little off in my opinion. The New Deal is what got the US in this mess in the first place. As for the new jobs that Obama will allegely be creating, I would LOVE to hear your thouhgts on how the US will finance this effort...and if you think the mortgage crisis and housing market is the source of our economic problems, I invite you to look further back and recall the $53 trillion debt of the social security system.</p>
<p>Jarad, I never said I agreed or supported the plan to create more government funded jobs. I know that we cannot support this plan. If all politicians took E202 (Macroeconomics), then maybe public policy would be a little bit better.</p>
<p>at last common ground!</p>
<p>If the SPEA program actually does grade easier (which I have no idea if it does or doesn't), then it might be a popular choice for those interested in getting into a masters or law degree program. The Kelley School is reknown not only for being a tough program, but also for having a large number of "weed-out" classes which one must go through prior to being granted admission--(and which direct admits must also go through).</p>
<p>These tough courses build character and teach the necessary skills for going directly into business, but also make it difficult for Kelley students to get the college GPA required for admission to some of the professsional programs at the top schools.</p>
<p>P.S. It is my understanding that the Obama economic program is geared to creating additional jobs in both the public and private sectors, not just the public sector--but I'm not looking to change the focus of this thread to concentrate on that topic.</p>
<p>Thanks Calcruzer. Your point about the weed out courses potentially putting the hurt on a GPA for grad school applications is one that I had not considered. I wonder if anyone out there has a sense of how many Kelley undergrads, percentage-wise, go on to get an MBA, JD, etc.?</p>
<p>Copied from Kelley's website under "The Kelley Advantage":</p>
<p>In 2007, 91 percent of graduating seniors were hired or accepted to graduate school before they received their diplomas, and more than 90 percent of our MBA and specialized master’s degree students received a job offer by graduation.</p>
<p>True, JaradW, but that really doesn't answer Hoosierfriend's question on how many eventually end up with masters or other professional degrees--a question I wish I knew the answer to as well, since my son (currently in Kelley) is hoping to go on for a law degree about 3 to 4 years after he graduates from IU-B.</p>
<p>We are happy, however, to know that about 91% to 92% have historically gotten jobs (or gone on to grad school) right after graduation--and at good salary levels.</p>
<p>yea... unfortunately, thats the only thing i remember seeing... i tried looking for it in their career placement info, but thats all that turned up, because i am quite curious myself</p>