My child was admitted to IU Kelley, Tulane (w first year honors program) , and SMU Cox as a BBA Scholar and Honors program. Received merit at all 3 and cost will be approximately the same at all 3.
If interested in finance and entrepreneurial startups which is the best choice?
I don’t know very much about Tulane’s business program, is it direct entry? Obviously Tulane is a fantastic school.
My son is also considering SMU as a BBA Scholar. I like that there isn’t a secondary entry requirement, small classes, and a lot of opportunities in Dallas. He decided not to apply to Kelley because of the large size of the school, but it’s also a great program.
I think it really just depends on what your student is looking for as far as culture.
Sorry, not much help 
Are we voting? If so…I vote for SMU. Lots of businesses in the greater Dallas Fort Worth area…
Finance is good there. @Catcherinthetoast
At Tulane Guaranteed admit for business school and invited to first year honors program. We visited, loved the school. The business school seemed entrepreneurial minded and very collaborative. Kelley is highly ranked and has a great reputation but concerned that the program is too large and it will be competitive to get into specialized workshops etc.
SMU definitely appears to have abundant internship opportunities in the area. We are from the east coast so not very familiar with SMU or Dallas. Most likely my child would like to return to the east coast after college and work in NY, Miami or Boston.
Has he visited all 3? Where does he fall on the competitive vs collaborative continuum? Does he want Greek Life?
Definitely wants a collaborative environment where he can get to know professors and the other students. We have not yet visited SMU or IU. Open minded about Greek life and considering pledging. But if he decides not to doesn’t want Greek life to be the only social outlet. Enjoys live music, restaurants, and places to go out.
Is he waiting for any more decisions? If not, I would definitely make plans to visit SMU and/or IU. We’re attending one of the Destination SMU days and it does say that there will be a session for BBA Scholars.
I’ve known students at all three schools. I expect your S can get to know profs at all these schools. I’m just one person, but my perceptions:
IU Kelley is competitive, and male centric. Some bro culture. Competitive for many of the business/consulting/banking clubs. Beautiful campus. Greek life prevalent. Big10 sports. Students from many socioeconomic levels. Good job outcomes…many in Chicago, but east coast as well.
Tulane. Overall seems less competitive for grades and clubs. Some Greek life. Less school spirit relative to IU. Tulane has around 70% of students who have no financial need. Good job outcomes, maybe a bit lower than IU and SMU, but probably picking nits. Not sure on path to east coast but I’m sure it’s possible. Path to Nashville, Dallas, even Chicago. Fairly significant Jewish population.
SMU. Greek Life centric. Lots of wealth. Nearly 70% of students have no financial need…meaning most are full pay, unless they get some merit aid. School spirit on the upswing, but not to Big10 level…maybe that will change now that they are in the ACC. Good job outcomes, many in Dallas. Not sure about the path to the east coast, but I’m sure there are alum there.
I would visit SMU and IU if possible, so he can determine the best fit. Even better if he can talk to business majors there, and guys who are and aren’t in frats. SMU can be an unforgiving social environment, IMO of course, YMMV.
All great choices(congrats!) so IMO the student’s personal preference should drive the decision. Hopefully you can visit the three colleges before making a choice.
I believe @cinnamon1212’s son graduated from SMU Cox and now works in finance/banking. She may have insight.
What aspect of finance or is it related to working in VC ?
I wouldn’t worry about the geography of where you end up. With the internet today, you can go anywhere.
Here are rankings - and placement reports.
You can toggle majors at IU and see saiary and where kids end up but remember that’s often by choice.
SMU isn’t quite as elaborate but you could ask for a detailed report.
I don’t see a current report for Tulane. Maybe someone has but they can give to you. As far as places to eat nearby, in my opinion IU wins - with lots of ethnic food within striking distance. The others too but a bit further - like the French quarter etc
The best news - all are great !! No bad choice.
Good luck.
https://careers.kelley.iu.edu/outcomes/#!bWFqb3I9RmluYW5jZQ==
Thanks @DramaMama2021 . Yes, my oldest went to SMU and did get a job in finance, first at Goldman Sachs, and now at a private equity firm. I didn’t chime in because I can’t really compare the schools.
My son had an excellent experience; he was not in any investment banking club or consulting club. I would not discount location, Dallas is booming, and this means substantive internships/part time jobs during the school year. Goldman’s commercial real estate division is headquartered in Dallas.
My son was in a fraternity. I don’t think he found the social side cutthroat, but he is also very social. I do think the dynamic for women isn’t great (a lot of pressure wrt appearance).
The SMU alumni network is definitely a thing, and there are quite a lot of alums in NYC.
Just to clarify the direct/guaranteed admit. Tulane doesn’t admit ANY student directly to a program. Everyone comes in undeclared - though they certainly select what program they are aligned with and get advising appropriate to that. By the end of second year they are expected to declare a major. Depending on your point of view it’s one of the selling points of Tulane - the academic flexibility to mix/match majors/minors (there’s many double majors from completely different programs and students with 3 different minors). Provided they’re fulfilling the requirements of the degree and are getting the grades, they just declare the major.
Greek life can be very competitive for the females. Last numbers I saw was ~50% of females join a sorority. For males it’s a much lower participation rate (20-25%) and a much more casual membership/process to join. The general sentiment seems to be that while a good % of the population might be in greek life it doesn’t dominate the social scene.
We understand Tulane does the admits to majors a little differently but the acceptance letter and invitation has language which we interpreted to mean it was essentially a direct admit since he can start taking classes in the business school immediately as a first year honor scholar. We will have to investigate this further.
It says “your admission offer comes with immediate access to any of our undergraduate schools” .
Correct - my son is there in Architecture and his curriculum and one of his advisors is from the architecture program and he immediately started taking courses related. So they sort of DO slot you into your desired program but it’s not your “declared major” until a little later.
Ok that is good to know. I suppose, as long as they have access to the desired courses starting freshman year, then it doesn’t matter what they call it. How has your son enjoyed his time at Tulane so far? We’d also like to get some input about the dorms and the housing situation there. Are there decent off-campus housing options for upperclassmen? My son was less than thrilled hearing about the mandatory three years on campus with the exemption if they study abroad junior year.
Yes, he’s enjoyed his time there so far. There’s so many options to do things - extracurricular, academic, surrounding area - that initially it can be overwhelming but once he settled in he realized there’s no expectation to do everything. That dynamic isn’t so different than most any other mid-large school though.
The housing situation is this. As you outlined, req’d first 3 years unless they study abroad semester 5 (as you note). The asterisk there is also that there is no guaranteed housing for semester 6 - once you opt out of on-campus housing you’re likely not getting a space back.
First year students are put in the older double-room, community bath style dorms. Second+ years have better options available to them. Suite style (two rooms that share a bath). 2 new buildings opened this Fall '23 and there are another 2 opening this coming Fall to accommodate the 3 year requirement. There is a building that is apartments but ignore that it’s even there. Unless you’re an athlete or have a very very early selection time slot, it’s not happening. A nice feature of the dorms at Tulane are that they’re mixed in with the academic buildings so a short walk to classes in most circumstances.
I have no firsthand knowledge/experience with the off-campus options yet. The parents FB page suggests that many landlords used to request/require 2 year leases and subletting is pretty commonplace. With the 3 year requirement it’s going to pull about 2K kids out of apartments and onto campus. That’s going to increase supply substantially in the near term and should allow for some negotiation and shorter lease terms. TBD if that really happens.
If you have more specific questions feel free to drop me a DM.
Thank you for all the info! I will definitely reach out. I’m glad to hear there are some good on campus options for sophomore year. Tulane is a top contender!
I asked a very similar question last year and got some very good responses, might be worth a read if you haven’t seen this thread already: https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/t/smu-cox-vs-tulane-freeman/
My daughter is now a very happy Tulane freshman! Both are wonderful schools, but if you have any questions on our specific rationale for choosing Tulane feel free to drop me a DM