FisherDirect vs. Kelley vs. Smeal

Trinity7
Fri, 07 Feb 2014 18:38:31 +0000

Marketability depends on whole lot of factors: demand for specific skill sets, personal drive, written & verbal communication skills, recruiters’ impression of past graduates, alumni involvement, geography, effectiveness of career center etc.

Take a deep dive into 2013 Business Week’s assessment of Employment section for the 3 universities.

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?;

Indiana ranks well above, with close to all the business graduates finding jobs within 3 months after graduation, followed by OSU (66%), and PSU 52%. However, OSU does well in having 322 companies (692 full time job postings) visit for on campus recruitment, followed by Indiana (308 companies,455 job postings) ,and PSU (215 companies & 2650?? job postings). Note that approximately over 1000 students graduate from each of these schools. It seems many graduates apply elsewhere for jobs, in addition to applying in response to postings from career center.

In terms of internships, 260 interns were hired at PSU, 156 at Indiana, while only 92 at OSU. Despite a smaller # of internships at OSU, it does a decent job of placing its graduates (66%) after graduation. Keep in mind only 83% of graduates were looking for jobs after graduation at OSU.

PSU graduates are recruited for industries mainly located in mid-Atlantic & Northeast, while Indiana & OSU grads are recruited for mid west. So the recruitment is mainly regional for all the 3 schools. On a functional side, PSU provides more diversity, but in all the 3 schools, finance plays a significant role in employment.

Bottom line; find your aptitude (finance/accounting, marketing, operations, MIS etc.), your passion (deep interest), the geography where you like to work, and which (among the student body from the 3 schools) you feel comfortable; these will drive you naturally in making an informed decision. Many pursue MBA after a few years of work experience; graduating with low amount or no loans will be helpful.