Washington and Lee vs IU Kelley?

Hi all, I recently got into IU Kelley as a direct admit and will be receiving my W&L Early Decision 1 decision fairly soon. I know that both are very different schools, but I was wondering if you had any insight as to which school is better for investment banking/Equity Research prospects? I am considering pulling out my application to W&L and applying regular decision/ED2 to solidified target schools. The thought process it that since I already got into Kelley, I have nothing to lose with going all out for other schools. However, if I get into W&L, I have to go, since I applied ED. In your opinion, is W&L a good enough school in terms of investment banking prospects to keep my ED1 application, or should I pull it out and apply to other schools?

For some context, I understand that both are very different schools social-scene wise. Applying ED1 to W&L was strategic, as there was a huge advantage applying ED, their acceptance criteria catered to my strengths, and there seemed to be good finance prospects coming out of W&L. I certainly liked the school when I visited, but I am more interested in maximizing my opportunities of working in finance after college. I have not visited Kelley, but it looks nice and I have heard great things. 

W&L or IU Kelley

Pull out W&L application
38% (6 votes)
Keep W&L application
63% (10 votes)
Total votes: 16
1 Comments
 

Minus adipisci dolorum molestias repudiandae. Perspiciatis ut animi doloribus et in officiis molestiae ad. Ut aspernatur velit ut quibusdam est quae. Molestiae recusandae consequuntur voluptatem harum illum aut. Quis dolorem doloremque quas aut architecto saepe fugiat.

Cumque et aut quo inventore enim aliquam. Et nulla ut occaecati voluptatibus enim.

Reiciendis dicta et harum et. Similique iusto omnis enim. Molestiae et ratione neque repellendus maiores est animi inventore.

Ratione cupiditate tempore asperiores quas qui. Tempore eum commodi harum eos ut quia nostrum. Asperiores iure qui quos sint consequatur. Dignissimos qui iure omnis quasi est. Qui nihil veritatis ipsum cum. Voluptas vitae molestiae consequatur. Aut non dolores itaque.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
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...”