Rutgers Business vs. IU Kelley

So,

IU Kelley gave me an 11K scholarship and I was ready to commit until I got into the Honors College at Rutgers (in-state tuition). If I chose to go to Rutgers, I would end up paying no more than $10,000 per year overall, whereas Kelley would cost me around $40 K with everything considered.

From reading numerous threads on WSO and browsing LinkedIn, it seems clear to me that Kelley is the far better school for IB placement. However, I also get the sense that it is theoretically not impossible to break out from Rutgers (just much harder.)

Assuming that I work my ass off at both schools, where would I be better-off going, taking the added cost of Kelley into consideration?

In other words, is Kelley worth the extra 120K -more than a year's salary- if it is technically possible to get into IB from Rutgers?

Thanks a lot!

10 Comments
 

The Investment Banking Workshop at Kelley places very very well into banking jobs, but non-IBW I'm sure that Rutgers wouldn't be too far behind Kelley (if it's behind in the first place).

 

Alright so I've heard of the IBW before, but I always just assumed that a program that good would have an insanely low acceptance rate.

When I actually looked into the IBW, someone on a Reddit thread said that "the workshop has a target number of around 70-80 students per year and around 140-150 apply. " How is it possible that a program as reputable as the IBW has a 50% acceptance rate, or is that information inaccurate?

 

Everyone who applies has to meet a certain level of qualification and take an investment banking/financial modeling course. The acceptance rate is deceptive because everyone who applies is qualified. Its also heavily based on who you know and your performance in the IB class and less so on GPA.

 

If you're going to Rutgers, get into their Road to Wall Street program. I assume if you go, you're going to be down in New Brunswick, which will be the better choice for placing into Investment Banking vs Newark on the UG level.

 

If you're already in-state, I don't have to sell you on the proximity to NYC, so I'll add that RU is a great value in terms of academics. NB is a little more rigorous overall, and will give you a traditional, state school experience. Newark is a little grittier, with a colorful city as its backdrop and some of the BEST opportunities for living/learning outside of NYC.

After location, I think the RU network is its next greatest strength. There are plenty of http://myrbs.business.rutgers.edu/undergraduate-new-brunswick/student-o…</a">outlets for IB-driven students to connect: http://careers.rutgers.edu/page.cfm?page_ID=393</a">Road to Wall Street, https://www.rulibor.com</a">LIBOR... They also have a great OCR, which orchestrates resume workshops and career fairs designed to help students directly compete with Stern, Columbia, and the like. If you are a URM, you'll be among some of the brightest diversity candidates who have taken non-traditional routes to IB. They're sure to have some solid connections. These resources, when considered with location, are a huge value prop.

 
Best Response

I get what you're saying, but I personally don't think that location, in and of itself, is AS strong of an asset as you're making it seem. For instance, there are schools literally in New York - like Fordham -that aren't known for placing kids in FO. In fact, Kelley itself seems to defeat the whole location argument, because despite being far away from NYC it still - to my knowledge - manages to place as many (if not more) kids into Wall Street

Don't get me wrong, I agree that the location of a school can be a really important factor in determining the right college, but I think that my decision should be based more on the merits of the school itself and its placement history.

Speaking of placement, you mentioned that Rutgers has great OCR and connections. While I don't disagree, isn't it true that Kelley has great OCR and networking opportunities as well?

Basically, I guess what I'm trying to ask is if there is any reason OTHER than cost why I should go to Rutgers instead of Kelley.

 

Labore quisquam voluptas vel sit. Nostrum debitis ex optio quo adipisci. Qui nobis in inventore vel. Sed sapiente quis est consequatur rerum porro.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”