<p>The Set-up:
Kelley direct admit, Honors college and top entrance scholarships to both schools. IUB (6K/year) and IUPUI (8K/year + $2500 study abroad stipend). Did not apply to to the Bepko at Indianapolis but did for the Selective at IUB. Did not get it.</p>
<p>The Visit:
Our first meeting we met directly with the Dean of Kelley at IUPUI and he took us to lunch at the Faculty Club to talk about the "up and coming nature" of the school that he obviously loves. Met with the coordinator and some students to talk about student life and the school. Very nice and successful kids. </p>
<p>At IUB we saw third and fourth tier administrators who couldn't answer all of our questions, and a very nice kid who got a job with Deloitte for about 5 minutes.</p>
<p>The Housing:
At IU, McNutt is a 70+ year old cinder-block ice box and dorm room room with underwear in the middle of the floor and a community room right out of 1979. The huge bonus is that it is part of “party” neighborhood of IU. The housing coordinator at IUB was clear to tell us about her need to meet certain "ratio" criteria. And students who don't meet diversity criteria and do live in Indiana needed to “knock her socks off” with 5 essays.</p>
<p>The Tower at IUPUI where the KLLC is, is the best housing option in the Midwest . (IMHO - we looked at several). Beautiful, big, private bathrooms, inviting and convenient. It used to be a 4 star hotel.My kid gets in to the Tower KLLC and/or Kelley Honors floor at IUPUI automatically.</p>
<p>The Feel:
Two of the top faculty at IUPUI Kelley stopped us to talk with us and offer mentor-ship throughout my kids college career whether a student there or not. We toured the Honors college at IUPUI. High tech, quiet, it's own kitchen and advisers on-site. Nice people and awesome space. </p>
<p>At IUB no one went out of their way for anything, pretty much the opposite.We asked to see the space at IUB. They didn’t have the time to show us.</p>
<p>The Skinny:
Most people don’t know about IUPUI because they have not done the research. Bottom-line, there is NO DIFFERENCE in curriculum and reputation despite what some might say.</p>
<p>We have a lot of people tell us, “why would you consider anything else than IUB”? There are many kids with a 3.5 or 3.6 high-school GPA stressing to get in to Kelley at IUB. Does everyone know there were 1200 direct admits last year at IUB? Probably more this year. How exclusive is that? There are around 120 at IUPUI and the advisers have already been in touch with us.</p>
<p>The reach is different for students and employers. The admission criteria is a bit lower at IUPUI admitting more Indiana locals and older students but the curriculum is the same. Washout at IUPUI for core classes is higher. IUB caters to more finance and corporate accounting companies outside Indiana while IUPUI is very connected to Midwest firms. </p>
<p>The faculty at IUB are almost ALL academics (a lot of publications, little real experience) while the faculty at IUPUI are actually in business (just blocks away).</p>
<p>Just as a point of clarification. All of the National statistical rankings (US News, Forbes etc.) include BOTH campuses. Many folks will make broad (and incorrect) statements to the contrary. So, basically the campuses share the same success levels for quality, placement and internships.</p>
<p>This conclusion is after literally hundreds of hours of research, dozens of emails and 6 visits (3 each) Make decisions based on opportunity and the cost/benefit ratio. Not what someone else says. </p>
<p>I hope this helps some people!</p>