UW-Madison/IU-Kelley/Prestigious Transfer

College Search & Selection
1

Hello,

I’ve been struggling recently on my college decision, and am hoping for some opinions to be shared to help me finalize my decision. I am between three options; UW-Madison School of Business (Direct Admit) for four years, IU-Kelley (DA) for four years, of UW-Madison for 1 year, and then transfering for the remaining 3 at a more prestigious university (Dartmouth, Cornell, Berkeley, Georgetown, Northwestern, UVA, UNC, Duke, WashU, UT-Austin).

Here is the surrounding information:

UW-Madison is my instate school. After four years, I would graduate debt-free with a surplus of 40k. All my life I have been surrounded by “Badger Mania,” something I have quite simply grown tired of. UW-Madison simply does not impress me. I know this may be clouded by my surroundings and upbringing in Wisconsin, but I want to move out of Wisconsin and simply experience something different. While UW-M is a great school, it is ranked only modestly in terms of undergraduate business.

IU-Kelley is another choice. My first year would be 48k, however the remaining three years would be in-state, around 24k. With yearly 10k scholarship here, I would leave after four years with zero debt and 60k in surplus. My problem with Indiana is while it is quite a ways away from Wisconsin, it is not substantially different. I also have family here, and in all my visits it has not struck me in any way more favorable than Wisconsin. More concerning to me is Indiana U as a collective school. While Kelley is a top 10 ranked business school, IU has a 70% acceptance rate and a ACT range of 24-30. I am scared I would be one of the more academically gifted students on campus. I have learned that I prefer to be with equal, and more favorably, smarter students than myself as it helps push and motivate me.

My final option would be to go to UW-M, as it is cheapest for the first year, and then to transfer to one of the named schools above for the remaining three. For my entire academic “career” I have pushed myself in hopes of attending a prestigious university, and at this point I would feel regretful if I did not. However, if I choose this option, I also choose to bear significant debt, around 50k-70k.

Here are my concerns: Is it foolish of me to undertake that amount of debt simply for prestige? Many people have told me that an undergraduate degree is simply not worth that sacrifice, and I am better off saving the money for graduate school, which I am planning to attend for my MBA. However, will my chances of attending one of my dream universities be reduced if I attend UW-M or IU rather than attending a prestigious undergrad school?

Any opinions would help so so much! Am I undervaluing my two current options? Any thoughts at all would be very much appreciated, whether it be on the quality of IU or UW-M, the advantages of prestigious schools, the disadvantages/underestimated pitfalls of debt, etc etc etc!

Also, some quick stats if needed:
33 ACT Composite
3.93 GPA UW, 4.3 GPA Weighted
Top 10% Ranked
9 AP Classes (Out of around 11 offered)
Entrepreneur- Reselling Apparel Company
Involved in around 3 clubs- no major leadership positions, I was mainly focusing on business.
Major volunteer hours all 4 years.
Hispanic

2

If it helps, I am looking to pursue either Management or Finance Degree. The second would be to pursue a career as a investment banker, a career where a prestigious university is perhaps required/extremely favored. While some of the colleges listed do not have a undergrad finance degree, they do have economics degrees. Also, the lack of a finance degree does not seem to sway banks such as JPMorgan/Goldman away from hiring graduates.

3

Also! Sorry last addition. Anyone have any knowledge, experience on transferring into any of the mentioned schools? I know the ivies are notoriously difficult to transfer into, but aren’t UVA/UNC significantly easier? I don’t quite know anything about UT-Austin, Duke, Georgetown, WashU, Northwestern.

4

Don’t worry, you will not be one.

You may want to recheck your assumption that you will change from a nonresident to resident after your first year. Normally once you matriculate, it is very hard to change classification.

5

@AQuinnA Congratulations on your acceptances. Know that many students would be thrilled to have such outstanding choices. However, I understand. Neither one of my daughters wanted to attend our flagship state school because they wanted to spread their wings and experience something new.

My younger d was in a similar situation when it came time to choosing an undergraduate school. She had been waitlisted at a couple of ives and a few of her other top choices. She opted to attend Purdue OOS as they did offer a scholarship. When she tried to transfer for her sophomore year, we discovered that scholarships and financial aide were nonexsistant. The schools look to transfers as a source of $. The top schools take a very limited number of transfer students. Ultimately, she choose to stay at Purdue as their engineering program is so highly rated and the cost was manageable (after scholarships). My advice would be to either consider a gap year and reapply or attend UW and save your money for a top rated graduate program. Also, look into their study abroad programs. It may give you the change of scenery you’re looking for. Best of luck on your decision!

6

Ok - your odds of successfully transferring into an extremely program are low and if you’re planning on getting an MBA, it makes no sense to go into debt before then. MBA programs can be expensive. With zero debt, you have MUCH more flexibility for where you go for grad school. I know it seems like forever to get through college, but it is such a blip on the radar over having that debt follow you for the next 10-20 years of your life.

At large universities, there tends to be something for everyone. Doesn’t Kelley have an average ACT around 30? UW-Madison has an average around 29. You can definitely find “your people” in both those settings if you set your mind to it and find clubs and activities of interest. I would choose one of your first 2 options, go and enjoy yourself and dive into campus life. See how it feels. If it’s a train wreck, you could consider transferring but I would not go to one of these schools with that thought in mind. You will thank yourself many years in the future if you avoid heavy debt for undergrad when you have such great choices at your fingertips.

7

UW-Madison for an undergraduate biz degree is just as prestigious as a lot of your other desires.

Save the money and enjoy it. Get top grades.
Work for a while and then try some place more selective for an MBA.

8

We are in-state for Indiana, and my kid went to Wisconsin – a student who starts out of state at IU does not become in-state for tuition purposes after one year, so you would be looking at out of state tuition for 4 years. Take a look at the residency policies – https://policies.iu.edu/policies/usss-07-rules-determining-resident-nonresident-student-status/index.html . A student must live in Indiana for 12 months to get instate tuition BUT being in Indiana for college does not count. So a student would have to move to Indiana, live and work here for 12 months, and then start college – then they could be instate.

UW is a premier public university, one of the gems.

9

Thanks for all the comments and opinions! I only say I would receive in-state tuition after the first year on account of my family moving to Indiana this summer. Would this not then count for residency not this following fall, but the next? My mother seems to be convinced of this, but I would not doubt if she is mistaken.

10

(1) While you are intelligent and accomplished, I think you need to check your ego a bit because there will be plenty of equally accomplished, if not moreso students at Madison. The idea that you would be one of the only “academically gifted students on campus” belies a severe lack of awareness of the achievements of your fellow in-state students.

(2) Transferring to Ivy League and similarly caliber schools is extremely, extremely difficult… much more difficult than freshman admissions for the simple fact that most of these schools have very high retention rates and there just are not that many openings. Also, transfer admissions at top schools have strong preferences for students who have very compelling reasons for transferring (coming from a community college, folks from the military, recruited athletes)… and seeking more “prestige” is generally NOT a compelling reason. You would have a very difficult time convincing an admissions officer that you have to transfer because you have a lack of opportunity at Madison.

(3) It is next to impossible to get your residency changed. Otherwise everyone would do it to avoid paying OOS tuition. The rules are generally very, very strict and they most certainly do enforce them.

11

If your parents move to Indiana, and it can be shown it is NOT for the purpose of getting in-state tuition, then you could be eligible for instate tuition the semester after they move. Sit down with your family and review the policy linked above. Here is an excerpt from that link:

© An unemancipated person under 21 years of age who is lawfully present in the United States may be classified as a resident student without meeting the 12-month residence requirement within Indiana if his or her presence in Indiana results from the establishment by his or her parents of their residence within the state and if he or she proves that the move was predominantly for reasons other than to enable such person to become entitled to the status of “resident student.”

(d) When it shall appear that the parents of a person properly classified as a “resident student” under subparagraph © above have removed their residence from Indiana, such person shall then be reclassified to the status of nonresident; provided, that no such reclassification shall be effective until the beginning of a term next following such removal.

12

In response to H&B (sorry I dont quite know The workings of this site so I’m not sure if hitting “reply” will notify you), I’d agree with you that my wording did sound alittle concieted, I wrote an initial draft and it was erased so I wrote the second without much thought or elaboration. To better state my meaning, I actually prefer a campus where I am in the lower 25% of the campus (academically). Indiana U, while having a extremely competitive and capable student body in Kelley, and most likely other successful fields inside the school, is, as a whole, a lower academically ranking school, and as a consequence, I would be closer to the 75% percentile. I think I just like the thought of a collectively gifted student base. Once again, I know this is true of UW-M, however, no one can refuse the academic standard is held higher at other universities.

13

Thanks for the info! I’ll read it over with my parents. The move is to be closer with our relatives, alongside a presented job opportunity. So while in-state is defintely a perk, it is far from the sole reason of our move, and will be carried through whether or not I go to IU.

14

@harvardandberkeley Seems the “@“ is the way to go!

15

If you want a career in IB, then Kelley is a better option as a semi target than Wisconsin. Transfer options for target schools include some within your reach such as Texas, NYU (Stern), or Michigan (Ross).

16

“I actually prefer a campus where I am in the lower 25% of the campus (academically).”

Why?

17

I understand your concerns about the student body at IU; I had them myself haha (1540/34). Rest assured, I am continually learning and being humbled from my peers. There is no shortage of really smart, driven and unpretentious kids here from my experience. It’s all a matter or who you choose to surround yourself with :slight_smile: Also, as an entrepreneur you should definitely look into the entrp program at Kelley!

18

Have your parents call the registrar. If they move to Indiana before your first semester starts, you should be eligible to be reclassified as an in-state student for your first year.