Help me decide: IU Kelley (non-direct), PSU Smeal, or USC Darla Moore?
Hey everyone,
I’ve been fortunate to get into a decent number of schools, but I’m having a hard time deciding where to go for undergrad. Right now, my top choices are:
Indiana University - Kelley School of Business (but I didn’t get direct admission since I applied late)
Penn State - Smeal College of Business
University of South Carolina - likely switching to Darla Moore from econ (Capstone Scholar offer)
Here’s where I’m at:
Kelley is super highly ranked for finance and investment banking, but I’m kinda sketched out because IU is relatively easy to get into. I didn’t get direct admission either, which makes going there risky since Kelley is competitive to transfer into.
Penn State is known for supply chain (which I might be interested in), and Smeal is strong overall. But it’s ~$60K out-of-state, which feels like a lot—especially if I’m not 100% set on what I want to do.
USC (South Carolina) gave me Capstone Scholars—btw is this even legit? It sounds cool but I don’t know much about it. I appealed to switch into Darla Moore, which I’m pretty confident will happen. It would be ~$30K in-state, which is by far the most affordable option. They’re also strong in international business and supply chain.
For context:
1490 SAT, 4.35 weighted GPA
I genuinely care about learning and try hard in class—I like staying focused and doing well
BUT I’m definitely not trying to be a full-on academic grindset guy. I’m looking for a 70/30 balance of productivity and fun
I love playing sports, hanging out with friends, going out, and just enjoying life while staying on top of my goals
So yeah—I’m torn. Do I go to a top-ranked school with more risk or a cheaper school with a more chill setup? Anyone who’s been in similar shoes or has insight on these schools—I’d love your thoughts.
Nice options. I would scratch Penn State off the list. Nice place but expensive and no direct admission to Smeal. Not an upgrade over IU or South Carolina.
Any other schools you’re considering?
How soon will you know if you can transfer to Darla Moore? Capstone is a nice perk. Perks are nice to have at a large school.
What are the odds you won’t get into Kelley? Can you afford Kelley without loans?
In the end, you want Direct Admit - why stress the first year. So are there other acceptances ?
What’s your budget?
The fact that you mentioned Supply Chain (can be done anywhere) and I Banking - tells me - you should go to U of SC. Supply Chain jobs are everywhere - and will be moreso with tariffs - can’t grow revenues - gotta save. Yes there are favored schools, one of which is PSU but companies hire supply chain everywhere.
That’s you’re not hell bent on IB tells me non direct at a higher price doesn’t matter.
So in this case all the schools (if you get in) are substitutional - and if you stay with Econ all are substitutional.
Capstone is another good thing.
If you can afford more then sure go where you want.
But I don’t think, other than IB which you’re not sold on, any school is better. And guess what, if you decide later for IB, all three schools do place - so it’d be hard work but not impossible.
Those who meet direct admit criteria have to apply EA. If the student applies RD, they have to submit the direct admit review request/petition if they want to compete for a direct admit spot, even if the student’s stats meet the criteria. There are many petitions filed each year, which go thru a holistic review process. OP…did you file a petition?
I have direct admission to Smeal and it’s pretty decent. I am not considering any other schools. I will find out about Moore in a few days probably. 50/50 odds for Kelley. I can afford it all, cost is not a major factor, but obviously cheaper is better.
I am not considering any other colleges. yes, i agree direct admission is preferred. i dont rlly have a budget as my parents are willing to pay for any school. is the university of south carolina good for investment banking?
it says i got direct admission to smeal: I am pleased to offer you admission to the Mary Jean and Frank P. Smeal College of Business with the intended major of Business Administration (Pre-Major) for fall 2025 at Penn State University Park.
admissions rep said if space opens up ill get moore. yes to get iu kelley it is in my control but idk if i can get in its gonna be rlly hard. yes they are all affordable
The choice would be U of SC IF you were in Darla Moore - if you get that, it’s an easy choice.
At PSU, all students are premajor (except nursing and turf grass science). The process is straightforward: you can’t major in x if you can’t pass z but if you meet the criteria there’s no interview, no set limit on places, no holistic review, no competition.. you’re in. For instance, you can’t major in Engineering if you don’t pass Calculus and Physics + have a 2.6 GPA, you can’t major in Communication if you don’t pass English and Econ, etc.
Business has one of the highest requirements: you need to pass calculus, statistics, English, Macro and Micro Econ, and have a 3.2+ (3.5 for finance). But if you don’t meet these criteria you have to switch.
IU Kelley has further criteria with a competition for the places left to those not admitted as freshmen so it’s riskier.
At this point, don’t deposit anywhere and do so at U of SC as soon as you hear about being in Darla Moore. If that doesn’t come through, weigh cost and risk.
From experience, transferring into business schools can be frustrating. Assume it will be 50/50. I sometimes also struggle with balancing IU’s admit rate and the quality of Kelley. Even so, that is where I would go.
I’m pretty sure Smeal is not direct admit for now. I think that might change in the future but not now. Finance is very popular at PSU. It has high hurdles for entry.
It places well but I don’t think it’s a top tier IB target school. Their alumni network is huge. Could you still get there? Yes but it’s not a target school.
There are more knowledgeable people on this board about IB and there are plenty of threads with great info.
If you get into Darla Moore, I don’t see PSU as an upgrade. Pa resident. I know and work with many PSU grads. Also did my MBA at Darla Moore many years ago. If you pivot to international business it’s a fantastic program. Finance is also strong.
I’m not recommending this but you could try for Kelley and if it doesn’t work out, try to transfer to Darla Moore. It’s very risky. Again, I don’t think it’s a great idea. I would want to know the odds of transferring into Darla Moore before considering.
Go to Carolina and knock it out of the park. Good luck.
OP isn’t really interested in IB (?) so at least we can remove this from consideration - it always seems strange that HS students who haven’t even started their business school courses would feel that’s the specific path they are pursuing, so in my book it’s a point in OP’s favor!
You’re right, there is no direct admit in the usual sense at PSU and Smeal is thus premajor - it’s selective (students have to meet specific requirements) but not competitive (all who meet the requirements are in, vs. “Those who meet the requirements form a pool from which successful admit will be selected based on interviews/ranking/ECs/holistic criteria” like at many other non direct admit schools of business).
Kelley has a real direct admit system where non direct admits have to compete for the few places left; it’s risky and very stressful, especially with really weedout courses.
I agree, Darla Moore would be the obvious choice here and Smeal shouldn’t even be in the discussion .. if the student had been admitted - but as of now they’re in CAS for Economics which is quite different. So fingers crossed OP gets into the business school as this would solve all his problems.
Wondering if there are other universities which may have direct admit to the business school and are affordable?
From what I have heard, at IU if you meet the grade standard of B or better (not B-) in all freshman classes you can get into Kelly. Then maybe a review to make sure you took the correct required courses. I would recommend you go on FB search for Indiana University parents group. There is so much information on that site about Kelly admissions.
As linked above, those who didn’t get direct admit and attend in Fall 2025 can pursue Kelley via standard admission…they have to meet the following requirements and they are in (no holistic admission if they meet these criteria):
There is a path for those who don’t meet all the above criteria, it’s holistic and highly competitive.
ETA: These requirements are not as stringent as for some majors at PSU Smeal, where for example, finance requires a 3.5 GPA. OP should look at the course by course comparison at these schools to help make their decision, and I concur with myos1634 who said OP might want to consider any direct admit business options they have.
I brought this up earlier as they are in no business schools of the three although Smeal might be the most straight forward. .
If they want direct admit, there are schools like Alabama Culverhouse, Arizona Eller and more they can still apply and get into. Both have supply chain and Bama has the UA Investment Banking Academy if a true interest.
