<p>Okay, my gpa and sat scores are avg (I was rejected from Stern ED). 3.6 UW and 1240 (28 ACT). </p>
<p>I'm applying to:</p>
<p>Boston College
Boston University
Penn State
University of Michigan
Northeastern
Fordham University
Cornell (Maybe)</p>
<p>(I'm in NYC)</p>
<p>I doubt I will get into UMich, BC, and Cornell, but am trying for it anyway. Which schools from the rest of the list are the best to go to? I'm thinking Penn State (Smeal), but not sure.</p>
<p>Also, does it really matter what undergrad school you go to? Penn State is usually a safety for UPenn and other ivies, especially for people from PA. Lets say if I went there and earned a 3.8+ GPA while getting internships. Would that give me good standing for Graduate Schools like Columbia, MIT, HBS? </p>
<p>I'm really not sure what to do right now. I'm trying to decide whether spending a lot of money for a less than stellar school like Northeastern and BU is really worth it. I'm trying to find a school with a great atmosphere, location, and academics. I haven't visited any of the schools on my list so I don't know how much I like them. I chose them just because of their location and business program. </p>
<p>Can you please add other schools to my list. Thanks</p>
<p>The Kelley school of business is a good school for finance, I've heard.</p>
<p>Over a dozen finance professionals have told me that the best undergrad major for work in the financial industries is actually accounting. This is because accounting focuses more on the reasons behind financial decisions, and how a company is put together financially. </p>
<p>Both majors are pretty similar, Finance is simply accounting's evil step sister! ;) Can you tell I'm an accounting major?</p>
<p>heh, I've heard accounting is a B*TCH...a lot of people have told me to apply to Kelley, but I'm not so sure about the location (i haven't visited it), but being in Indiana doesn't attract me. Have you visited it? Any other schools that I should apply to? Thanks</p>
<p>Bloomington is a classic college town. It's an absolutely beautiful campus that experiences all of the seasons, yet isn't too cold in the winter. It was named the Hottest Big State School by Newsweek, USA Today named Bloomington one of the top 10 cities for campus culture. Sports Illustrated on Campus rated Bloomington the No. 6 sports town in the nation. Go to it's website and check out the photos, or take a campus visit. </p>
<p>As for Finance, Indiana is ranked 7th in the nation. It has top 10 programs in Accounting, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Information Systems, Management, Marketing, Operations, and Supply Chain/Logistics for it's undergraduate program. It's undergraduate program has the 11th overall ranking, although that's been falling essentially for no reason. It's in the top 10 in all major categories, yet not in the top 10 overall.</p>
<p>I got into Indiana with nearly identical stats to you (3.6 GPA, 29 ACT) and was offered a 6,000 per year scholarship for 4 years. I should also be getting more as I was directly admitted to the business school, something your test scores just barely don't make you eligible for. </p>
<p>You are right, your UG school isn't that important compared to your grad school, but not many UG schools have a better business program than Indiana that you would be admitted to. Indiana has a better UG program according to US News than all the schools listed except for Michigan.</p>
<p>A2Wolves...is it too late for me to apply to kelley? I don't meet the cutoff for ********* :(. My ACT score is shy of 1 point. Is there a way I can still be admitted freshman yr?</p>
<p>There is no cutoff in the date for the freshman early admit to Kelley. However, you won't qualify unless you improve one of your test scores in a re-take. I feel your pain - i'd be getting a full ride if my ACT was one point higher. You'd have to re-take either the SAT or ACT, get the scores back.</p>
<p>Register for the January SAT (right now because today's the deadline, or do late registration) OR February ACT (Jan 6 deadline), study for them, and hopefully those scores can be just slightly raised.</p>
<p>I know that they have 3 different ways to get into the business school. Indiana doesn't care what major you have when you apply for admission - it's not a requirement and you can change at any time. You won't be taking any classes in your major until you have taken your general ed classes, then you can apply.</p>
<p>From what I understand, it's mainly based on your GPA at IU, which isn't too hard to get A's in many classes. The graduate school was ranked 23rd by the US News ranks, but of the 22 ahead of them, 9 don't offer any undergraduate programs. Of those 13 UG/G school combinations, Indiana has a higher recruiter assessment score than 7 of those schools, meaning their job oppurtunities and starting salary is going to be better, as employers view the students coming out of Kelley as better students. </p>
<p>There isn't much of a better option than IU for a 6 year business education. I'd only put Penn (Wharton), MIT (Sloan), Berkeley (Hass), Mich (Ross), and UVA (Darden?) as schools definitely ahead of Kelley.</p>
<p>A2Wolves...does IUB have good connections w/ ivies / toptier schools for MBA? I plan on going undergraduate somewhere and going to either Columbia, Harvard, or MIT for MBA. Not sure if I asked this before, but can I still apply to Indiana? Is the application lengthy? </p>
<p>Also, how are the internship opportunities around the school with companies? I want to get valuable work experience while in college. Do firms from NY recruit there?</p>
<p>Pankhs notes,"heh, I've heard accounting is a B*TCH..."</p>
<p>Response: Yes, accounting is very tough and probably harder than finance. However, finance gets very tough too. There is some sophisticated mathematics involved. However, you won't get into the real tough courses until you hit your senior year. By then, however, it is too late to switch.</p>
<p>Panikhs, I can't say how all firms react to each major; however, in my opinion, accounting majors get more respect and have more job opportunities than finance majors.</p>
<p>An interesting anecdote occurred with Villa Julia College. My son was looking into their graduate program in forensics. They wanted a minimum of 3.0 GPA. However, they noted that because he is in accounting, and knowing that accounting is a very tough major, they reduce the required GPA by .2 for accounting majors!</p>
<p>Undergraduate business specialties:
Finance</p>
<ol>
<li>University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)</li>
<li>New York University (Stern)</li>
<li>University of MichiganAnn Arbor </li>
<li>University of CaliforniaBerkeley (Haas) *</li>
<li>University of TexasAustin (McCombs) *</li>
<li>Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (Sloan)</li>
<li>Indiana UniversityBloomington (Kelley) *</li>
<li>Ohio State UniversityColumbus (Fisher) *</li>
<li>Carnegie Mellon University (PA)</li>
<li>U. of North CarolinaChapel Hill (Kenan-Flagler) *
Univ. of Southern California (Marshall)
University of Virginia (McIntire) *</li>
<li>U. of IllinoisUrbana-Champaign *</li>
<li>Pennsylvania State U.University Park (Smeal) *</li>
<li>University of Florida (Warrington) *
University of Washington *
Univ. of WisconsinMadison *</li>
<li>Boston College (Carroll)
Purdue Univ.West Lafayette (Krannert) (IN)</li>
<li>University of Notre Dame (IN)
Washington University in St. Louis (Olin)</li>
<li>CUNYBaruch College (Zicklin) *
University of IllinoisChicago *
Univ. of MarylandCollege Park (Smith) *</li>
</ol>