My son got into all the three business schools as a direct admit for their Undergraduate Finance Major.
Geis school is our in-state school. Kelley has offered a $11k scholarship and Wisconsin school of business Madison has not offered any.
But looks like Kelley’s selection process is not as rigid as Wisconsin’s Finance, Investment and Banking major. He met some of the Direct admits at Kelley who couldn’t get into WSB but were accepted at Kelley. Plus the class size is huge.
Though money wise it would make sense to go to either Geis or Kelley, but WSB is what interests him due to the rigor of the selection process. He feels he would be more challenged at WSB since all the kids in that major would be equally competent.
But Kelley has more brand value than WSB ( that is what I think).
Any thoughts?
They are all pretty closely ranked, with similar career outcomes. https://poetsandquantsforundergrads.com/2019/12/20/wharton-again-tops-pqs-best-undergraduate-b-schools-of-2020/4/
I assume UIUC is still cheaper even with the Kelley scholarship?
Is he a Wisc BBA direct admit?
If the money doesn’t matter, have your son choose which program he likes best (assuming direct admit at all 3). If the money matters (meaning loans would be needed, or financial burden to family) choose UIUC.
Yes, he is a direct admit to WSB’s BBA program.
As someone who has recruited Inv Banking Students out of both Kelley and UW, I would say the programs are of similar cache, HOWEVER, Kelley is a much stronger overall business school and Finance major overall (from a perception perspective - they are both great schools with incredible environments). Kelley also has a superior career center. All three schools are great, but I would say Kelley has the broadest national recognition among employers. He can’t make a wrong choice, and ultimately, he will do things that make him stand out at the place where he feels most confident and comfortable.
I would narrow down to UIUC Geis and IU Kelly. If you want to work in Chicago, UIUC has the edge.