Indiana University (Kelley) vs University of Iowa (Tippie)
I am currently a senior in high school. I want to pursue a career in finance (preferably starting out in IB and then moving into PE/VC/HF later on), but I got rejected from every target school I applied to. The only schools I got accepted into are the University of Iowa and Indiana University. Additionally, I was accepted as a direct admit into the Kelley School of Business and the Hutton Honors College at Indiana University. I know that this might seem like a no-brainer at first glance, but I am a resident of Iowa and thus Iowa would be significantly cheaper than Indiana.
This really sucks because I lived in Indiana for nearly my entire life before 2016 and my family has been paying property taxes to the state of Indiana even after moving to Iowa until we finally sold our old house just weeks ago, but IU still refuses to classify me as an in-state student. This is unfortunate but not unexpected. IU wasn't even on my radar of potential colleges and my career plans were different when we decided to move in fairness, but still, if only we decided to stay in Indiana for just 3 more years. Talk about bad luck.
Anyways, the IB workshop at IU is very good and places around ~80 people into investment banking every year, and even if I don't get into the IB workshop, they also have an Investment Management Workshop and other organizations that place several more in the financial industry. However, I have recently learned that Iowa also has something similar called the Hawkinson Institute, which places 15-20 people into IB every year.
I had no aim or focus for the first two years of high school, so my grades freshman and sophomore year were not so great, but I turned my life around junior year and earned good grades and also got a 34 on my ACT. I could attend Iowa for a year or two, work hard and get the best grades possible, and then transfer into a target school. Do you guys think that Kelley is worth the extra cost? My family can afford the tuition, but it would be quite burdensome and Iowa would be much cheaper, but I'm nearly 100% sure I want to work in IB. What do you think I should do? I have to make a decision by May 1st.
It's going to be tough for anyone to give advice without the difference in costs. If it's 50k or less, Indiana would probably be worth it. Anything over 100k, I would recommend to go to Iowa and prioritize getting into the Hawkinson Institute on Day 1.
Other factors are how competitive it is to get into the 2 programs and also what are the recruiting opportunities like outside of the two programs in case you don't get in.
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1) What corporate banking role is going to pay you $100K while working less than 60 hours / week (mentioned in his other thread)? I am an alumni 3-4 years out of the University from 2016 and I can tell you with certainty to not listen to this advice. A corporate banking position at JPM / GS / MS will lead to significantly less versatile exit opportunities than a traditional M&A / IBD position will, let alone a "Canadian bank in Chicago" will (Most likely BMO Harris as they recruit on campus). Therefore you getting a CORPORATE BANKING offer in Chicago without the IBW is not an accurate analogy as to what autonomous is inquiring on.
2) The Hawkinson Institute at Iowa has sent people to Moelis Los Angeles, so please do your research before you dox other University programs.
3) I posted this on another thread, but I will re-post for reference. Also, feel free to PM me to discuss the IU Program as I am 3-4 years out as an alum.
Going to IU is quite a big gamble on getting into the IB Workshop and much of the recruitment process, aside from GPA (even this can be manipulated based on what classes you take in what order), isn't something you can control considering much of getting in has to do with subjective measurements (Business Frats / Greek Life Connections which is predicated on what high school you went to and who you were friends with). For example, the minimum GPA to even apply for the IB Workshop is a 3.60 GPA and every year multiple candidates will gain admission while being significantly below this threshold mainly if they are a Diversity Candidate, but also through business fraternity / social fraternity connections. Also, a 3.80+ candidate can get axed over a 3.50+ candidate due to being an "optimal social-fit" - I.E. you play lax and got into one of the 4-5 well represented Greek Organizations freshman year.
Furthermore, all the top banks will ask the professor that runs the program for his "recommendations" on which candidates to interview and he will provide "recommendations" based on a few criteria (firm preference / GPA / mock interviews). Do you really think he'll recommend a 'Non-IB Workshop' candidate for the 1 Goldman / 1 Evercore / 1 JPM spot considering he is incentivized to achieve 100% student placement? -Answer: No
Is it possible to get offers without the workshop? - Absolutely, many do it every year, however, it is SIGNIFICANTLY more difficult and your prospects will 100% decrease to the point where if you are able to receive an offer to an MM bank such as a SunTrust / BMO / Piper Sandler / Baird without the Workshop, you would most definitely be guaranteed a spot at a BAML / Barlcays / Citigroup / MoCo etc if you were in the IB Workshop.
With that being said, the TOP job placements at IU are actually on par with the top placements at any Non-Harvard/UPENN schools (UCLA / UVA / Georgetown / Cornell) with a few kids joining the Blackstone / PJT analyst classes. However, much of your fate at IU is unfortunately decided your freshman year based on what fraternity you join and your relationship with the IB Workshop Professor / Upper Classmen.
With all that being said, despite placing ~80+ candidates/year, as an alumni I would have to admit to IU being a 'Non-Target' school because there are so many 'what-ifs' involved when evaluating a candidate from the school (ex: being a straight white/Asian male will make it categorically more difficult to place into the IB Workshop / Finance Societies).
Also ~80 placements in a Kelley class of 2,000+ every single year (when I graduated around 2016-2017, many of the 'average to above average Kelley students' had no clue as to where they would be working post-graduation as an 2nd semester senior) is quite weak. A target school is classified as a place where someone NOT in the top 5-10% of the University can still gain a relatively selective position.
In all, IU Kelley is a GREAT option if you are unable to gain admission to a 'Prestigious-University'
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Disclaimer: I went to IU, so take the following with a grain of salt.
Definitely go to IU. Kelley places dozens of students every year into IBD (and not all are from the IBW, though most are). I was in the IBW and worked in IBD/PE for 6 years (now getting MBA) and I could probably count the number of Iowa alums I encountered in the industry on one hand. Obviously that's anecdotal, but it was my experience.
Long story short, better name recognition + more alums in the industry = better chance of getting in. And if you get into the IBW, you're set anyway.
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