Yeah, the only caveat is that this year a lot more applicants may have been admitted Auto DA compared to previous years due to growing popularity of Kelley, thanks to US News rankings.
Until last summer, they clearly mentioned on their site that they admit more than 65% of petitions; they took that down for a reason.
So many factors go into it beyond just numbers, but as you get out of direct admit they are like all other schools where they start to care about UW GPA and Test scores. There’s really not much else on the Kelley app that they see.
They are not taking so long because its so difficult or time consuming to holistically review. Kelley becomes no longer a safety for a lot of kids after today’s decisions. They want to capitalize on that momentum. Usually they have a smallish batch of petitions to admit post DA days, another large group they will officially wait list, and some they’ll reject. Good luck.
I have to assume they have had a chance to review my son’s petition since he submitted in early Nov, so I expect there is an inverse relationship to the odds of getting the waiver and the time elapsed since submitting. He was a 3.7 GPA (earned by being quite famous for misplaced assignments) with high rigor (mostly AP and the rest Honors) and a 1480 SAT.
Anyway, I suppose he will enroll to one of his DA admits just due to IU being OOS + full pay and the risk of one class sending him to transfer with who-knows-what credit transfering with him. But so I understand the process, if he does not get a waiver by April 14th he is standard admit or nothing? Or is there then a DA “waitlist” vs “petition decision”? If he did not enroll by May 1, he is off any further waitlist, if one exists? April 14th seems to be early to close DA assignments without having final enrollments procesed. Would he have to enroll to at IU to see if he got any post May 1 waitlist DA spot, if such a thing even exists?
That’s a very interesting question and scenario. Never thought how that would play out.
These are good questions your S should ask his AO.
I am sure at the end of every day, Kelley admissions knows exactly how many DA and pre-business students have paid an enrollment deposit, and they know historical rates of deposit by week (and likely even day) thru May 1…this is how they can make make a reasonably accurate forecast of enrollment which in turn informs their decision to admit X number of DA petitions at a given point in time. Good luck.
Yeah, agreed, I think what would be interesting is kids who remain waitlisted for Kelley DA and choose not to enroll in IU as pre-biz, would they be considered? Or may be Kelley will target to respond to all waitlist as well before May 1st.
We will be at whatever red carpet event is March 31 so we will see if we can get a response to this and I will post it if I do. To date the AOs have responded to other questions sounding burned out or hurried so not much insight but maybe it will be easier in person- he’s an adorable 6-5” kid and hard to miss (mom bias in full effect). So curious to see IU IRL - we have never been.
They stated they would respond to petitions either way accepted/not accepted by April 14.
If your student was already accepted to pre-bus, they will remain pre-bus if not accepted as a DA off the petition, until the May 1 acceptance deadline
If anyone is put on an official ‘waitlist’ , you would be asked if you want to accept the ‘waitlist’ position or decline it, like any other school with a ‘waitlist’
If you accept to be put on the waitlist, that can run well after the May 1st deadline. Meaning you could be notified even over the summer if a spot becomes available.
There are moving parts at all schools even after the May 1 deadline, kids change their minds, get different offers. Last year the deadline was pushed to June 15, due to Fafsa
S25 applied to Business school EA, submitted petition in Oct itself, got deferred, submitted a LOCI- specifically stated only interested in Kelley DA, put on a waitlist on March 15.. The waitlist response form had a required option to select an alternate major- he chose Engineering. it also stated about getting into Kelley and alternate pathways.. I still am not sure if the waitlist is for Prebusiness or for Kelley.. The waitlist form stated this-
" If you are interested in being added to the waitlist for the fall 2025 freshman class, please click “submit” below. You must complete this step within two weeks of receiving the email offering you a place on the waitlist. Students who accept a place on the waitlist will be notified of a final decision no later than June 15, 2025.
Please Note: Available spaces for students interested in studying one of the majors offered through the Kelley School of Business will be very limited. Please select an alternative major below. If spaces to pursue a major in the Kelley School of Business do not become available, we may offer you admission to your alternative major.
Students offered admission from the waitlist to an alternative major will not have the opportunity to be considered for a major in the Kelley School of Business. Many Business Pathways are available for students to complement their degree path and pursue their interest in the field of business. These options can also include earning a minor or an accelerated graduate program through the Kelley School of Business.
Thank you for this info! I remember your son got into Penn already - is he thinking of going there? Seems like a great option!
Thanks.. He got into VT (Pamplin Business school -Finance with small merit), Rutgers New Brunswick and Newark Business schools-Finance, MSU(Prebusiness-Finance), PSU(DUS), Fairfield Uni-Finance( with good aid), UConn- Engineering, Univ of Minnesota Twin Cities- Math… He has committed to Virginia Tech for now.. Waitlisted in a couple more.. If he gets DA into Kelley, then will consider.. His first choice was PSU- DUS… but after serious consideration decided to not take the costly risk of not knowing if he will get into the major with other options he has… he seems to be very happy with VT Pamplin and also has some interest in Engineering minor if possible..As a parent, I am pleased with his decision making…IU has been very disappointing in not being offered even Prebusiness-- it all works out!
My son was admitted as pre-business but the waitlist I read of in prior years implied the DA waitlist persisted post May 1 but I am not positive on that.
There is no inverse relationship between submission of petition and having not heard. From Feb 1 - today, it has solely been did Kelley want you due to University priority (i.e. gender balancing) at DA days. Nothing to do with when you submitted.
Waitlist will persist beyond May 1 but if you do not enroll at IUB you have no enrollment to admit you to Kelley post-May 1. You either pay the deposit at two or more places and apply for housing or you don’t. Different from being on a University waitlist where you do not have an enrollment opportunity.
That’s how I was thinking it would play out for Kelley waitlist post May 1st.
You can’t pay enrollment at more than one school at the same time. Well, in theory you CAN, but you SHOULDN’T.
True. Sadly, those guidelines didn’t foresee colleges behaving badly. And yes, I consider IU behaving badly if a DA waitlist is only good for those who committed to IU by May 1.
Apparently, if you haven’t heard back yet, it is either a waitlist or rejection based on past trends. If I don’t get in, I’ll be taking myself elsewhere that offered me DA elsewhere and forgetting Kelley! Good luck to everyone!
Agreed. Now, there will be an indirect advantage for pre-biz applicants who do end up enrolling to IU; lot less competition. I speculate significant waitlist movement; At DD’s school almost everyone who has a Kelley DA isn’t enrolling.
Yep. I would assume the people who got Kelley automatic DA got into better programs (UMich, Northwestern, USC, etc…) and chose to go elsewhere. I would think that more RRs would be accepted because of this, but only time will tell…
A lot of these admission offices can benefit from just following David Graves’ (UGA) admission blogs.. lol
I actually wouldn’t assume that. The direct admit criteria aren’t super high stats wise (no shade to anyone!). For example, at my kids’ large HS (1,000 per class), many students well into the 3rd quartile of the class meet the wGPA hurdle. Of course they still need to get a qualifying test score but many do. But…these students would have no chance at the schools you mentioned, or even UIUC Gies (HS is in Illinois).
IU has talked for years about increasing the DA GPA and test score hurdle, which IMO makes sense.