Vanderbilt v. Northwestern v. IU Kelley; Help Needed!

College Search & Selection
1

Hello everyone!

I originally chose Kelley on account of my family’s finances, however our situation has changed slightly to where other schools became plausible options, hence my application to Vandy and NU.

In the months before decisions, I’d like to contemplate the possible options and have a rough idea of my plan in the case I am accepted to either school.

Currently I pay around 18K a year at IU, and will be leaving with an actual surplus of money. I am assuming (EFC) that at Vanderbilt and Northwestern I would leave both schools with around 45K in debt.

I am studying Finance/Economic Consulting currently at IU, but would change my major for Economics at NU/Vandy. I’d like to become a consultant primarily, however, I am also interested in Investment Banking.

How would these schools stack up in comparison in the case of my acceptance into all, considering my debt/lack thereof. Mainly, is it worth it for either school to take on debt, do they place signifanctly better than Kelley? I know my fit at Kelley isn’t great which is why I want to transfer, but that aside, how is placement/etc?

2

I went to NU, and my husband went to Kellogg. He became an investment banker. I know NU has an excellent Econ department, and it does help to go to NU if you want to go to business school at Kellogg. There used to be a program where you could do both in 5 years, I believe. You might want to check into that.

3

Kellogg is actually my target MBA school above all other universities, so it’s defintely something I’ve been considering. Do you know how much acceptance rates go up if you went to NU for undergrad? Right now I think I would choose NU with the debt regardless, however I don’t know how to compare debt-free Kelley to 45k debt Vandy.

4

Bump

5

You’re a transfer student? You’ve posted in the college search threads so I’m confused. First,my guess is that transferring to either school is super difficult and, secondly, $45K is a lot of debt.

6

@homerdog Yes, I’m a transfer student. The thread I chose was “College Search and Selection” so I figured the selection aspect fit the discussion. I’m not looking for a chance, I want to discuss the hypothetical question of how the colleges stack against one another in the case of the debt.

7

Bump

8

@privatebanker might be able to compare Vandy, Indiana and Northwestern for undergrad business , with a goal of getting into a top MBA program.

9

Thank you! @Coloradomama

10

@Coloradomama Thank you for connecting me here.

So you have a bit of a conundrum @AQArgo

If you didn’t say that you were unhappy at Kelley, my advice would most likely be different.

——this is my opinion only. I am not a recruiting manager at jp gs or boa. Others may differ. I work at one of these firms and others. This is my honest appraisal as if I were speaking to my own child ——

The most important thing for you is to perform. And I do not believe you can do that with one eye on the door and the other down the road. You really need to focus like a laser beam right now. Classes. Clubs. Connections and friends. Internships. All very important to you. Not just to land a job a Bain, but to be prepared for the job you do land. And succeed. And to ace Gmats. But generally that is after some experience for the top b school programs.

-In a big vacuum, that doesn’t exist.
-Removing individual drive and grit.
-And breaks.

There is a decision tree that can emerge here. And when people say you can achieve exactly what you are looking for from all of the schools you are considering - and dozens more. They are not kidding or paying you lip service.

So in the broad generalities notes above.

IB

-Finance is a better path.
-Econ in a business school > BA Econ
-BA Econ and top 20 b school is certainly excellent.
-BA Econ is great for academics or to actually become you know, an economist.

Overall schools NU and Vandy > IU
IU Kelley Star > NU Econ and Vandy Econ
Current options specific to you
Kellogg >Kelley > Vandy

Kelley IB workshop as good as it gets at that level. For JR year finance internships.

Regional boutiques like Kelley and Vanderbilt a lot.

For IB programs. The top 10 schools account for 30 percent of each new class. No more than 4 percent from any one school, at any single firm, on average each year So the rest of the class is rounded out by other school’s top top students. But these are big name schools as well. All of yours in this list.

Private Equity.

NU and Vandy in the south > Kelley
Any with top MBA Better than ug stand-alone Wharton Hbs tuck Kellogg Johnson Fuqua Carroll UCLA Cal Hass UNC uva Stern Stanford etc. nearly required on deal side

Consulting.

I only know the big firms and in general. It’s even tougher to land a spot.

NU in any discipline that you knock out of the park. Best entre. Vanderbilt close. Econ is perfectly good. Kelley ? Not sure.

Asset management. Mutual funds. Analysts etc. all three schools are great. CFA and other things help. Econ with math. Every strong.

Public Accounting or tax consulting, Kelley
Law school and/or cpa track important.

I would go to NU Kellogg and check out the five year b school track. Don’t know it at all. But sounds great. Econ is fine. But really buckle down and don’t forget to get involved and meet people.

And have a little fun.

I would not normally suggest 45k in debt for nu ba econ vs free for Kelley finance but you don’t like IU and these were the options you have.

11

MBA.

Great grades
Great GMATs
relevant experience. Doesn’t have to be ib or consulting in any way

As an example. My deal “lead gen” person. 2 years in sales support in our family office practice and then 2 + years with me. Think business analytics. Great and super regular kid from a normal public high school in upstate NY. BC Carroll- Finance UG. Just finishing first year at Duke Fuqua MBA. Doing great. And went to most duke home hoop games. Not bad.

12

@privatebanker I cannot express my thanks enough, all of this information is extremely hard to find without search a thousand places and attempting to connect it all. I completely agree with the “one eye on the door and one on the road,” I know that in my time looking at other schools I’ve missed small opportunities here. So I’m excited to get my decisions to choose, and then as you said, to focus in. It sounds like for IB; Vandy would not be worth the extra price, however, in PE and Consulting it might be worth it? That’s what I garnered. If I am accepted into Northwestern I know that I will accept. However, Vanderbilt I am far less sure of. I don’t want to spend 45k for simply a lifestyle change.

13

Northwestern is significantly better than Vanderbilt for your objectives.

Vanderbilt admission is easier as a transfer than as a first year applicant.

14

@AQArgo You have summarized it well.

15

I wouldn’t sweat MBA that much. It may not be as hard to get in as one may think. Regardless, I don’t think it matters much which of those three you end up going.

Some anedotes: I know someone who just got into UChicago biz and he barely spoke understandable English 7 years ago and he certainly didn’t have the kind of biz acumen one might expect for a top biz school candidate. Of course there’s a possibility that one can have a drastic change in 7 years. Or maybe he got help in application. I also met some in top b-schools that came from China/Japan and they just weren’t what I’d expect. Maybe it’s easier to get in if you are international (I am not bashing them as I was one at one point)? Otherwise, it seems like if you score well on GMAT, you already win half of the battle.

16

GMAT score is not as important as being presented in this thread. Many with scores of 760 get closed out each cycle.

Admission to the most elite MBA programs–such as the M-7 (Harvard, Stanford, Northwestern, Chicago, MIT, Penn-Wharton, & Columbia)–is really a package consideration with four primary factors–one of which is one’s GMAT score & the most important being one’s post undergraduate work experience.

17

@pubkisher. 100 on point.

OP I hope this was clear in my post. It all counts but as I mentioned focus on the internships leading to jobs and connections. In school. Grades matter. For the intitisl job.

18

@privatebanker I know you mentioned being a “star” at Kelley. I understand part of this skill is accumulated in classes and experience, but what things can I do to learn on the side. Books, hobbies, etc.?

19

Grades
Clubs, activities and outreach
Recommendations

  • look for existing IB, investment,mentorship service clubs.
  • Meet others and learn from them. -Be an advocate for your school. Volunteer to do some tours. It will make you appreciate it more explaining it to others. And seeing how desperate and nervous they are for the opportunity that you already have. It also may give you some great connections.

-Find out how the internship process works.
-Get involved with your big IB forum.
-Connect with the leaders of the career center. Maybe try and get a job inside there or volunteering. Good inside info on best opportunities.

-Look up and find out where some Kelley grads are working in your desired fields. Either through LinkedIn or school. Try to nicely connect with them.
-Perhaps there is a business school alumni group. Get involved and get info. It’s power.
-Ask some successful seniors with jobs lined up and grads for advice.

-Especially any recent grads and connect with leaders in business from Kelley. Good connections.

-use social media and IU Kelley forums and peruse for tips and info