As someone who rushed, everyone on campus knows that documentary is a joke. It’s not accurate at all!! Would not recommend. Not saying OP should or shouldn’t go to bama, just don’t use that documentary to help decide lol.
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I would be very cautious about going to community college with an intent to transfer. Doing so would mitigate some of the most valuable aspects of attending Kelley.
Specifically you would be;
1- out of cycle for internships (this is a big deal).
2- have less time to build relationships with professors and students.
3-you would only experience the greater (relative to CC) academic resources of IU for a short period.
4- your CC classmates would not have the same quality academic backgrounds as you, which would impact the classroom experience.
5- you would have no guarantee of transfer admission.
6-you would miss out on a residential college experience. This is a valuable life experience.
7-study abroad or exchange programs would not be viable.
You have an outstanding academic and affordable option in Kelley. Modest amounts of debt for a school that produces kids who on average graduate into $75k plus jobs with a national reputation makes perfect sense.
Bet on yourself and consider the relatively small dollar amounts of debt we are talking about spread over a lifetime career.
Thanks for the first hand observation!! Won’t reference it again.
Am I mistaken in the Greek and sports influence?
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Pretty much impossible, if coming in soph year or later.
Transfer students can expect to spend a minimum of three and a half years on the IU Bloomington campus to complete a degree from the Kelley School of Business. Most transfer students to Kelley need more than a total of four academic years to complete the Kelley degree.
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No definitely not! Sports are huge. Just went to a basketball game last night (roll tide!) and went to every football game. Greek life is huge but if you don’t rush at the beginning, it’s easier to avoid that scene as a whole if you don’t think you’ll like it. That was probably my biggest mistake/regret coming in!
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Consider attending a few classes as a guest in the business school at each university before deciding.
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I graduated from Kelley, but I got a full ride from Alabama and was seriously considering the school (Alabama is much more well known where I’m from, no one here knows about IU or Kelley). These are my takeaways from my experience:
- When you interview for a job, it’s more about how well you can speak and BS. You could be extremely good at the technical requirements, but if you can’t talk well, you won’t get the job. In this sense, it won’t matter if you went to Kelley or Culverhouse.
- If you get an interview that is primarily case questions and technical knowledge, you will be decently prepared with your Kelley education. If you’re in a workshop, you will be EXTREMELY prepared, and will know everything you need to know. I have never heard of a Kelley workshop kid who didn’t get an amazing offer. However, I’m sure Alabama also does a good job because I have been in final rounds of case interviews against Alabama candidates many times. I even remember one instance of the Alabama candidate being selected over me and other students in T20 schools.
- Full-time graduation rates at Kelley are manipulated. The survey for seniors just asks are you going to grad school, do you have a job, or did you stop looking for a job. There’s no option for “I’m still looking for a job, and I have nothing lined up,” so the people who have nothing lined up can’t answer the survey. It makes Kelley look like they have a 97% full-time placement rate because only employed and grad candidates are answering. Not sure how do they do it at Culverhouse, but I’d assume the true full-time placement rates of both schools are comparable to each other.
- Indiana weather sucks most of the year, Alabama weather is nice most of the year. Considering that you are in state for IU, this may not bother you as much, but if you go to Alabama, they cancel classes for the tiniest bit of snow and you’ll enjoy 60 degree weather in December.
- Kelley workshops are amazing and guarantee you a good, high paying job. I touched on this earlier, but they are also extremely competitive and cutthroat in a sense. Kelley overall has a competitive culture. However, Alabama also has a good reputation in the south, so your degree will be valuable to a lot of southern companies. Being from the south, people immediately recognize Bama, and I have to explain where IU and Kelley are.
- Class sizes will be HUGE @ Kelley. My friends at Bama told me classes were 20 students or less as they became upperclassmen. At Kelley your underclass classes will be 50-200 students up until I-Core (unless you’re in honors I-Core), and if you’re a finance major, major courses will stay at 50 (or 60) people.
- You can avoid the stereotypical scene of the school. You mentioned that you don’t see yourself as an “SEC school type personality.” I didn’t have the “IU party + Greek life + sports personality” either, but I just avoided it. Both schools are big enough to find people you’ll vibe with. My liberal, queer friend who loves K-Pop had an amazing time at Alabama.
- Better food in Bloomington. If you’re a foodie, Bloomington wins. Tuscaloosa is limited with foreign cuisines and Btown has everything except for African food (but if you go to an African Student Association event, you can cop some).
- Bloomington is VERY walkable/transit friendly. You won’t need a car downtown, and the transit is efficient. Can’t say the same for Tuscaloosa unless you plan to live on campus all 4 years.
Feel free to PM if you have questions! Hope this helps.
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$10k may be a stretch of a student contribution with a $5.5k direct loan and $4.5k of part time and summer work earnings.
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