We attended too! I was impressed by how polished all the students were. Between the formal sessions on Saturday and the informal tabling on Friday night, they gave us a lot of info. I left feeling very comfortable sending my son there.
Regarding the weather, everyone indicated that was unusual for B-town. One student told us that the last time it snowed that much, they canceled class the next day.
One very interesting bit of info … Kelley is very aware that the finite math situation is a problem. They are currently re-tooling the class/curriculum in conjunction with the school of public policy and the school of math so that future years will take a class in “finite math for business and public policy.” This is similar to what they’ve done with Econ. Their Econ classes are not the same Econ classes one would take in the liberal arts (or as AP Econ), instead, it’s been changed to be Econ for business students.
The new finite math class will not be ready for our incoming freshmen. As a result, it is possible that for their year the students will be able to choose to fulfill the math requirement with either calculus OR finite math. It sounds like this won’t be official until the summer, so students will need to confirm this with their advisors.
Just out of curiosity could you elaborate on the finite math issue? My daughter was DA to Kelley and she is deciding between that, SMU Cox, and we are waiting on UF but consider that a reach. At the Walton College of Business (U of Arkansas) where DS attends they have to take both calculus and finite.
Historically finite at IU was a very hard class in which to get a B or better. It was the biggest weed out class for standard admits. Over the years many parents have posted (here on CC and Facebook pages) about ways to get around the finite requirement. Lots of kids took it online through Ivy Tech (community college) to avoid the bad grade. This new class will close that loophole.
My son is headed to DA Day in a couple of weeks… hopefully the weather will improve a bit.
Has anyone heard anything about the ACE invitations yet? In previous years it seems like it was the end of Jan or the first week of Feb. I’m sure it’s highly competitive this year but I’m still keeping hope alive!
I do not understand the worry about Finite Math but the willingness for so many to think they are going to be able to handle Finance at IU. Reality is if you need a Business Finite Math you aren’t going to be a Finance Major. I do understand if you are more marketing focused Finite Math doesn’t really matter in the long run. But this is for the most part pre-Calc AB type of math, not Calc BC or beyond. How does someone handle the Calc AB requirement if they cannot do Finite Math? I have a hard time seeing Kelley worrying that many cannot get a B in Finite Math via standard admit for a business school overflowing with qualified kids. Or worried too many direct admits who clearly had enough pre-calc to have a solid SAT/ACT cannot get a good enough grade. College is hard sometimes. Kelley must have greater issues to focus on. This sounds like “yeah we’re working on it” pacifying parents but I’ll believe it when I see it happen.
Meh. Finance math is not difficult. Neither is finite for that matter. For certain people it can cause anxiety. I wouldn’t describe my son as a math whiz bang but with modest effort he easily achieved an A in both finite and calculus.
I agree with you - if a student finds Finite Math difficult at IU it is likely they will struggle with other classes as well. There is a lot of hype around Finite on the Facebook Parents page, but like many things I believe the angst lies more with the parents than the students.
Also, calculus is not hard either with a little effort. I say that as a chemical engineer however. Multivariable calculus was my easiest class undergrad.
The whole Finite Math thing feels snow-plowy. And the Kelley response to the poster on this sounds like what colleges do to stop parents from emailing - we hear you and are working on it, might not quite be done by this year… Maybe it happens. Kelley advisors will tell “Finance” majors they aint gonna cut it - don’t need Finite Math to do that for them.
That’s interesting to me … you think Kelley would say that it is considering redesigning a course just to appease parents?
My take was that it looks bad for a top 10 business school to have a bunch of kids taking an online course at a community college to get out of a required course. It looks far better for the school to have a tailored class that covers the math needed for business school.
I suspect it is a real development in the works, as they provided specific information about who was developing it (Kelley and O’Neill and the math department), and what it would be named.
I only mentioned the development because I know it’s something a number of parents are concerned about, and many kids try to take finite at their local community college before getting to IU for freshman year. Whether those kids are in marketing or finance, I don’t know. But I certainly wouldn’t tell someone they can’t cut it in a specific major just because they’re concerned about a certain math class. Kelly graduates 1300 finance majors a year— almost half of the graduating class. It is statistically unlikely that all of them got A’s in a finite math class taken on the IU campus.
Also worth noting … the required math for business is different at different universities. Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois, for example, do not require finite math as part of their business curricula.
All, I’m not a CC admin and have 0% authority on what the focus of this page should be. So, this is just a suggestion. Could we pivot from the very specific Kelley course requirement discussions (such as Finite Math) to topics that are relevant to a broader group? Checking these forums for updates on EA deferred application decisions, merit awards etc. has been very helpful so far. Thanks and good luck!
Yes that is my take. I don’t at all disbelieve your point, I find parents worrying about Finite Math to be really odd. Looking bad because a bunch of over-concerned parents are having their kid take a class at a local community course to avoid a perceived bad grade? Not something Kelley would find worrying. Just like an AP credit - they just record the grade/course.
I’m sure they are sincere about renaming the course but I have serious doubts it is much easier as a result.
Parents worry about a lot for their college kids. I’m not directing this at you specifically. Welcome to college parent worry is not a surprise to Kelley. Wait until a kid gets a B+ and that professor ruined their life. Or a dorm kitchen is closed at 9pm and the kid can’t possibly figure out how to eat.
Kelley’s ranking rise is almost entirely due to its career outcomes. That’s what they care the most about. They will absolutely tell pre-Finance majors they are not going to cut it - not over a B in Finite Math. Because they aren’t going to cut it, not everyone listens. Worrying so much about Finite Math to take it at a local CC because you fear you aren’t going to get an A is probably statistically correlated to not cutting it. At some point you hit adversity and have to face it without parents moving the obstacle out of your way.
I greatly appreciate you sharing the comments, I don’t believe Kelley’s sincerity. I believe Kelley will eventually have a math class for business as a pre-req like almost all of their other pre-reqs.
I’m not sure this thread is specific to any school, but I don’t make the rules. I do appreciate not wanting to read about Kelley all the time. Right now the thread would be relatively silent without Kelley. FAFSA is delaying everything so I’m willing to entertain questions on any topic on here - not a moderator but I know a fair amount about how IU works. You want to talk SSA Luddy or Music or SPEA go for it. If you only want to write - has anyone heard happy to see that discussion. The answer to all have you heard is going to be generally “No”. Blame FAFSA.