KSB at Indiana Bloomington vs. Mason at William & Mary

hey man, i was admitted to both Kelley and W&M as well. i'd say the most important thing to consider academically is how technical of a business education you want. W&M is definitely more liberal arts focused, even in the business school, which you have to apply to as rising sophomore. assuming you were admitted to Kelley directly, you'd be beginning technically-focused business classes right away.

regarding overall opportunity, quality of education, and prestige, i'd say W&M is far superior. it looks better for an undergraduate degree when applying to an MBA, J.D, or J.D-MBA, and more selective, elite jobs further along in your career. moreover, the opportunities out of W&M are more diversified, with more consistent, and reliable placement. for example, many kids who are not top performers in the business school land Big 4 strategy consulting/accounting gigs, or great project/product management positions directly out of undergrad. top performers working their ass off can truly get any job they seek, with anything ranging from MBB consulting, to EB or BB IB.

while the number of people working in IB or MBB consulting out of undergrad from W&M isn't tremendous, this is due to the college's, and particularly the business school's small size. and, quite honestly, william and mary's predominantly liberal student body, with a focus on ethics, does not have many students gunning for positions in high-finance or consulting. so, when you look at the placement "per capita," and the small proportion of students who truly want these positions, it is not bad whatsoever.

concerning IU: there are similar professional opportunities to W&M, but they are less easily accessed. the Kelley name is not as respected as W&M overall, unless you are a part of the one of the highly selective clubs within the business school, such as the investment banking or consulting workshop. while there are kids placing into high-finance and consulting positions out of kelley, it is due to its sheer size, and oftentimes personal connections. it has significantly more students than a school like W&M, and as such, it will send at least some kids to these positions. and, in contrast to W&M, a lot of kelley students have a strong desire to break into these industries. that being said, you will have to outperform thousands of classmates, and try to break into one of the extremely selective workshops before you can even hope of landing an EB, BB, or MBB gig. in fact, some of the kids in said workshops still go to MM firms, smaller-scale boutiques, or consulting firms you could break into easily outside of the workshop.

when it boils down to it, william and mary and IU are very different schools culture wise as well. W&M is much more academic, while IU is much more socially oriented. i believe you will find it easier to focus along like-minded students at a school like W&M, with less distractions, but still in an amazing work-hard play-hard environment. however, at IU, you may find yourself drawn to the endless partying and fun of the school, with little care for your schoolwork.

both are awesome options, with tremendous opportunities in the business-world. but, if money is no object, i would go to W&M as it is generally a much more sound school.(i'll prolly see you there if you go)