Hi! I’m in the process of making quite a hard decisions. I plan on going into marketing and advertising and I have two schools I love thay I have to choose between. For marketing, IU is #4 while Marshall is #10, but name wise, USC is more well known. I just wanted some advice from people who knew more about tue two schools from experience. What would be the advantages/disadvantages of going to either? Thank you!!
Hi, I am facing the same situation now except that I am not aiming in advertising, but marketing or accounting. I am also struggling between these two.
I don’t know your situation for IU. Since I am a transfer, I am not directly admitted to Kelley. That means that if I end up choosing IU, but do not get into Kelley. I am so dead :(( since IU is not very well-known for its other majors. I did visit IU two months ago. The campus looks good, but the city is in the middle of nowhere or I will say it’s kinda boring. Ofcoz, if base on b-school rankings, Kelley ranked higher than Marshall. And I have heard that Kelley courses are practical.
For Marshall, it is located in urban city. Very convenient for everything, while IU might not. The Marshall program is good, but not as high ranked as Kelley. I don’t know how do people think about these two business programs. This is also my concerns in making the decision. As mentioned, Marshall is better known in the west coast and maybe Asia area. Since I am an international student, I don’t want to but have to take the reputation into consideration because Asian cultures care about that. One more drawbacks for Marshall is the security in USC area. Both Marshall and Kelley have really good alumni network.
If you don’t mind, please share your decision with me once you decide it. Good luck and thank you!
Go with Marshall if they are both similar in price. @LyCOuu You should definitely go for marshall, because if you don’t get into for Kellel for some reason that is not gonna be good. USC is strong in so many more areas then in business.
Do you think you would change your mind out of business down the line? I would say go for IU Kelley if you were confident you wanted to go into business. However, if you’re unsure and want that name (and the finances are good), go for USC.
I think the OP would have decided by May.
Hi, @SternBusiness ! Thank you for your advice! Yeah, this is the major concern that I have for Kelly. If I don’t get into Kelly, I really don’t know what to study in IU,but I still have that expectation on myself. This is a really tough decision. Sigh…I think the tuition for USC will be still relatively higher than IU, since it is a private school, but I don’t think that much differences will keep me from choosing the right University for me. Thanks again! 
Hi, @TheDidactic ! Thanks for your advice! I am very sure that I want to go into business. I also have high expectation on myself, but I just afraid of contingency. If I choose IU, then I need to take my risk. I might not get into Kelly, and I need to have a backup major. For USC, I have other concerns as well. I have only been lived in California so far, and I don’t how are others impression of it. If you don’t mind, could you please share your impression of USC? Thank you!
Hi, @happy1 ! That is for freshmen. I am a transfer. The application deadline for transfer is on June 1.
Wait, @LyCOuu, are you directly admitted to Marshall already? If so, I would go there instead of risking not getting in to Kelley. USC has its own advantages as well (strong alumni network and other good programs outside Marshall).
If you are already admitted to Marshall at USC, go there. It’s always better to have a semi-guaranteed spot in grad school.
USC is a big school with a diverse amount of people and a huge sports culture. If you go on u n i g o .com, you can find more here: (https://www.■■■■■■■■■/colleges/university-of-southern-california)
@TheDidactic, I believe this is for Marshall undergrad.
Kelly is not that difficult to get into. During our visit we were told that nearly everyone who wants to gets in (I’m sure some minimum gpa is required so you have to decide how strong a student you are) but it’s not nearly as difficult as getting into some of the other top b schools after freshman year.
Go to USC but don’t flaunt your wealth there and you will be ok. It’s a poor area.
@singermom4, when was that? BTW, maybe that is the spiel that the tour guides give out to get people to apply and attend, but the reality on the ground is that if you get one grade lower than a B in any class, you don’t have a chance at Kelley any more.
Personally, I don’t see the sense of taking that risk.
This is a typical assessment or comparison of two US schools by an international student.
USC is “convenient to everything” and Bloomington “middle of nowhere its kinda boring”
Neither of these things are true, not even partially true.
My guess is you haven’t visited. All Big Ten campuses are in great towns, with great, affordable, easy-to-get-to attractions, bars and restaurants. The towns are an extension of the universities.
USC is in a ghetto of expensive, sprawling, dirty, congested LA.
Another international student described Ithaca NY the same way. “Isolated”. This student hadn’t visited either.
@PurpleTitan - Yes, it was a student on a tour we took last year but if you look at the freshman admit rate and size of the b school there are many more spots than in many of the other top b schools. I did add that good grades need to be maintained but that is not enough for most of the other ones due I think to size mainly. I find it impressive that Kelley maintains such a high ranking with fairly easy direct admit qualifications (min ACT 30 and weighted GPA used) and subsequently large b school. Perhaps there is a lot of attrition (weed out?) after the first year which makes room?
One thing to note, if you are International, it will be more costly and time-consuming to travel in and out of Bloomington than from LA.
@singermom4, yes getting in to Kelley is easier than, for instance, getting in to Haas/Ross/McIntire, though it isn’t quite at their level either.
Kelley is indeed huge, but in the business world, nobody actually looks at rankings. There’s not really any weeding out at Kelley that I know of, but if you want to get in to the “prestige” industries of IB and consulting, Haas/Ross/McIntire are target schools, but at Kelley, you’d almost need to get in to their IB Workshop or Consulting Workshop (or some other special workshop/group) which takes in less than 10% of Kelley students.
However, considering that one grade lower thn a B would sink your chances at Kelley, why take that risk if you already have an admit in to Marshall?
Post #14, your description is not correct either. I’ve been to Cornell and USC. I feel Cornell is an isolated location while USC is not in the ghetto either because I work near a ghetto. Dirty? Well I’ve the same feeling about most place in the East coast, old, dirty, dilapidated. So we all are biased.
Thanks a lot for all the advice! I need to clarify that I had indeed been to IU and USC. I am not saying either one is bad. In fact, I pay more attention to academic than the living area around the school. They both have their own specialties. I am still waiting for two other schools’ admission decision. I will make the decision once everything is out, even though I don’t think I will get in those two. 
Anyway, I really appreciate all of your advice.Thank you very much!
OP here. Just wanted to say thank you for your advice. I did end up choosing USC Marshall for its location and academic possibilities outside the business school. I think I wouldn’t have wanted to be at Kelley and decide to double or change majors, and realize that other departments didn’t offer as much as Kelley did. I wanted to leave that possibility open, and it’s a good thing I did, because now I’m on course to a double major and a minor (also…as an international student…LA is just so much more convenient than Indiana).
USC, though I was terrified about the location, actually isn’t too bad. You just have to be smart and know where you are. The school is completely aware of these concerns and has police and DPS stationed all around. I will say, LA has been a positive experience so far. I love the weather, and the sun really seems to have a positive affect on people’s moods. I haven’t visited IU, so I won’t say anything. But I think no matter where you choose, you’ll find a way to fit in and go after the things you’re really passionate about.