IU Kelley (Direct Admit) vs UC Berkeley for IBanking
Hey everyone. I'm a Direct Admit into IU Kelley, still awaiting the decision from UC Berkeley, and am targeting investment banking, hopefully for a job in a BB. I'm aware that Haas has a phenomenal reputation, but there is no direct admission into the business school, and less than 40% of the accepted UCB students get into Haas. I wanted some advice as to whether the risk of Berkeley is worth it, or I should go ahead with IU.
So here is the issue. Sometimes what you want to do can change over the course of four years. You should think about whether you knew you wanted to study finance in college when you were in 8th grade. (When I was in 8th grade I wanted to study accounting, but I did CS)
If you are 100% sure you want to do Ibanking, IU Kelley is probably the place to go. IU also offers scholarships to out-of-state students who are at the top of their game that basically bring the cost down to in-state, and you should also look into that.
If you might change your mind- if you want to give yourself options to study Computer Science, or heck, even work in Consulting or Equity Research- Berkeley may be the better choice.
These are two very high quality schools. You can't go wrong with either choice. One gives you moderately better odds at a very specific role, and the other gives you more options generally.
Berkeley is a much better school than IU, but its going to be tougher. Norcal is an awesome area, great weather and tons to do, but I've known friends that have gone to Berkeley and it's a grind. If you manage to do well though, it will really open doors and it's regarded as one of the best, if not the best public universities in the country. I'd go to Berkeley if you're a little more introverted, don't mind working hard, and may want to do something outside of Finance with your life. Berkeley will give you more options.
IU will be a lot of fun and you'll still be able to get into banking, but other than that I don't see as many advantages to going to IU. I'd go to Kelley if you want to not work super hard, party often, and are pretty confident that you want banking to be your career, then Kelley would be a great choice. The downside is that the reputation of the school won't be nearly as strong and outside of the small group of kids that get funneled into Finance, the other recruiting options will be weaker. The area is also much less diverse and exciting than the Bay Area. I'm not trying to trash IU, I think it would be a great place to go to school, but if 2 years in your decide you want to go into Tech or Consulting, your options will be limited.
Bottom line is you have to choose what type of experience you want and what you want to get out of school. Both will give you options, but they're most likely send you down different paths.
If it were me(and given that I had acceptances to both), I'd really really want to go to IU, but I'd end up at Berkeley.
Well, I'm not an introvert but I'm definitely not afraid of working hard. If I don't get into Haas and end up doing Econ and math there, would my opportunities for investment banking get affected a lot?
Even if you discount your chances of getting into IB without Haas: -You will still end up with a better network (internationally known) -Decent shot of breaking into IB (which will better than IU) -High chances of breaking into startups/tech (which would also give access to a strong VC circle)
Think of it like this: (Hypothetical) Berkeley = Hot girl from your building IU = Relatives (cheap bastards) So, which one would you prefer to come and stay at your place?
IU Kelley alumni here. I would go to Berkeley especially if you are international. As other posters have mentioned, IU is great for finance/accounting/marketing. If you wanna do consulting/tech or anything else its not really a great option. Berkeley would open more doors. PM if you want.
Yes, I am an international student. Is it because of the number of other international students that you'd recommend it?
I say it because nobody really knows about IU or Kelley outside the US. Almost everyone knows about Berkeley. Bigger brand always comes up handy.
I go to a top 10, believe me, I happen to think Kelly is really good but I would take UC Berekly. Even though its going broke.
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