Kelley DA vs UVA (planning on applying to Mcintire) for finance. If cost is not a major factor, what school would provide more opportunities and be overall better. Asking as an oos student.
Two great schools- congrats! I’m a big fan of direct admit programs.
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Depends upon whether or not you have an interest in majoring in economics if not admitted to McIntire.
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Very different vibes at each school. Can’t go wrong with either, but pay attention to fit. An often overlooked metric that dictates getting the most out of a school and enjoyment of your college years.
Could you elaborate on the vibes of each school? I’m curious. We’ve visited UVA, but not Indiana.
Stronger students at UVA than Kelley, and even more so at Mcintire. Indiana is one of my favorite schools people get admitted to, so it really depends on what you want. Opportunities for what? Kids do well from either place.
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Agree with the poster who said these schools have quite different vibes. Have you visited both?
How comfortable are you with taking the secondary admission risk at UVA?
Here are the most recent stats: B.S. in Commerce Admissions Statistics - Experience McIntire
At a secondary admit program, the admission decision is not completely in your control. You can have straight A’s and not be accepted. UVA tries to balance the class in various ways.
If you chose to take this risk, what would be your backup plan for major? Don’t say Econ unless you think/know you like Econ.
The reality is that many non-business non-Econ majors go into the business world. Before you commit to UVA do your research. Ask people how they like it there. Find out if you don’t get into McIntire whether you can interview at companies recruiting at McIntire, or if you are in your own if you become say a math major and want a business job.
Only you can decide which of these schools is best for you. Good luck.
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I encourage you to read up on both and even the individual pages here on cc will give you insight. But getting on campus is an important step for any school you/your student see as a finalist.
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DA the biggest thing but when you visit, they are very different schools.
IU is enormous. UVA isn’t.
Kelly is enormous. McIntire isn’t.
If you assuredly want to study finance, you take a lot of risk, a lot of risk - going to UVA.
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If the consolation prize if you don’t get admitted to McIntire is that you have to major in econ instead of finance at UVa, knowing what I know now, I’d say you’d be just fine. If you wanted to major in accounting (which is a major I encourage people studying business to consider), then that would be another matter.
Kelley has a good reputation and gets kids placed into sought-after positions but my impression is that UVa’s is stronger.
You also may change your mind about what you want to study and I think UVa is overall a stronger school academically.
I’ve heard nice things about Bloomington and the Indiana campus. The UVa campus is very pretty and obviously quite historically significant, and Charlottesville is a nice place.
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UVA as a whole is more fratty than IU (from personal anecdotes) but both share many similarities, with very beautiful campuses and a pre-professional, social science bent (both schools are relatively weaker in engineering, with an in-state rival that specializes in STEM instead)
Both McIntire and Kelley and 1 and 2 on student experience and alumni satisfaction in rankings. Curriculums are fantastic as well but here’s something to think about:
Kelley being larger offers more niche majors as well, from Economic Consulting to Supply Chain, that McIntire does not offer. They also have institutes (like the Institute for Social Impact) and clubs that may not be present.
McIntire is smaller and is more high-touch. If you get in it will feel like a LAC especially with their ‘Sectional’ system where you take core classes with the same group of 75 students. The only caveat is that admissions is not guaranteed, and even with self-selection only 60% of students make secondary admissions.
To think about locations finally, both school are strong in NY. But Kelley’s most-placed city is Chicago while McIntire is stronger in DC and the South
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I know nothing about Indiana, but am a huge UVA fan. My thoughts:
OOS both are expensive. UVA likely more so, as McIntire carries a surplus fee of approximately $25,000 to the entire degree (above the cost of College of Arts & Sciences.)
Lack of direct admit is a risk. However, this will occur earlier in the collegiate career moving forward: First Year app to join McIntire as a Second Year. If you don’t get an offer, there is plenty of time to pivot. In order to accommodate the 40% of students not admitted, a business minor can be pursued within McIntire while studying Econ or another major in the College of Arts & Sciences. I will link a recent article from The Cavalier Daily below that highlights the changes that will mitigate some of the risk.
I do think that UVA has an amazing student body. I’m biased as my oldest graduated a few years back and had an extraordinary experience and built out a compelling and fun network of dear friends and professional contacts. I’ll add that they were an Econ & Philosophy double major by choice (didn’t apply to McIntire), yet still landed two prestigious internships, the latter at Goldman Sachs (not “hooked” or particularly well connected at that point in life/career. They interview and subsequently perform very well.) There is more than one path to business and finance and consulting. Less so accounting, I believe? You’d need to consult someone better informed than me to split that hair.
I would take the risk—I think UVA is worth it— and also go in with a clear backup plan.
This may be helpful:
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Great post. Smart kid (econ & philosophy.) It may help readers to know whether or not your son was involved with the Greek fraternity system and whether or not that, in his opinion, is important in order to enjoy U Virginia as an undergraduate student.
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First Years do not rush in the fall. This is key at UVA, and any school with this excellent policy. My student’s experience is a prime example of why. Per usual in life… start with “the why”.
They were curious about Greek life, primarily because they are a leader and a joiner and a supporter (depends on the org). And very social. The plan was definitely to rush. But it didn’t happen, because in August/September, hundreds of other orgs/clubs recruited via both selective and non-selective admission. They were very fortunate to land in both one highly selective and one general admit org that they loved and spent (too?) much time enjoying. They found their first wave of college people there. Your people will come in waves. This means you are growing and doing it right!
The selective group had an academic/social purpose and it pulled from all areas of the school. Nerds, jocks, internationals, Greeks/GDIs, various majors… It essentially functioned as an intellectual coed fraternity with smaller, yet very fun socials as opposed to all out ragers. This suited my kid just right. And since it took so much time, they simply didn’t bother to rush in the spring.
By mid-sophomore year, the seed had been planted for their second wave of college people. Through the non-selective group, they had met a few key people who pulled them in a different, more impactful direction. And the fun of parties for the sake of partying was no longer quite as appealing. So they leaned in to service. If you believe in servant leadership, UVA is for you! I will keep the rest of this story to myself. But it went very well.
Along the journey, they were cheerfully (it’s genetic) Greek adjacent, attending a few parties. Didn’t love the bad actors, yet had many friends in various Greek houses who were amazing people and inclusive. You will find such people in all houses, I believe. Just don’t follow the fools off a cliff. You will also those people in all houses. Social groups are important, but choose wisely, even within them. Especially within them.
TLDR: If Greek is for you, the options at UVA are robust, active and well-supported. If it isn’t? There are myriad ways to connect, to serve, and, yes, to party. There is an endless stream of clubs and orgs to join. The school is big enough that Greek/non-Greek is not a golden ticket or an exclusion zone. The variable to the outcome is you. Go get it!
My best tip for UVA: Hope to be admitted as an Echols or Rodman Scholar. If that does not happen (5% auto-admit rate for First Years—don’t feel bad if this is not you), you can engage deeply with both the community and your studies and apply for it at the end of your First Year. This turns UVA into an open curriculum by waiving general distribution requirements which allows for a double major and a minor if your are truly a niche learner, or hedging bets for future employment. It also offers early registration for best class/professor/schedule selection. This is huge! Kinda like being an athlete at Brown, but without having to actually work out 25 hours a week. 
To the OP: I hope you also find someone here who can offer detailed info about Indiana. I hear very good things, and think you would benefit from balanced info and comparison. My bias is obvious. Wahoowa!!!
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