IU Kelley Vs Wharton Undergrad
High school senior here. I'm intent on studying finance through my undergrad and hope to work somewhere in financial services upon graduation. I'm having trouble deciding whether to ED to Wharton. IU Kelley is definitely a better cultural fit for me -- I'm very outdoorsy and physically active -- but I've been told the brand name packs less of a punch career-wise over the long term compared to Wharton. I have a high GPA, high test scores, rigorous courses, and finance-related extracurriculars that I think would put me in the running for both schools, but I know IU Kelley is a bit easier to get accepted to RD. I'd really appreciate your guys' perspectives on deciding between the two.
Edit: people actually took me seriously. Was just copy-pasta-ing another post made on here.
If you don’t get into IU RD you have no shot at Wharton ED
“IU Kelly is a bit easier to get into” … comparing a state school that accepts 80% of applicants with an Ivy my guy. They are literally leagues apart, and I say this as someone who went to a state school
I had a similar situation in high school- I got into both Penn and IU, but ended up going to IU for money reasons. Still ended up in IB and then consulting so I guess it worked out :-)
It is generally easier to get in through Penn ED, so if it is your dream school and you can afford it, go for it. Wharton is absolutely the stronger brand and more well-connected school for working in finance. IU has a really good program, and it's starting to get recognized for the Top 10 UB biz school that it is (US News 2021). Recruiting at IU is definitely more Chicago-focused, but there is a still a strong and willing network in NYC if you're looking to go down that route. Pretty much every major bank and firm recruits at both schools, albeit sometimes a bit more limited at IU.
In terms of culture, they are very very different. Penn is your typical East coast elite, very JAP school with and all of the niceties of living in a large city. IU is a Big 10, and a much more diverse range of people, since it's a state school (aka all ability levels go to IU; generally the sharpest kids will be in Kelley and the music school, the SGIS and Media schools are the Tier 2 lol). You'll be able to find outdoorsy stuff wherever you go and will find a friend group at both of them.
The big question here is IF you actually get into Penn. You can have great grades and essays, excellent SAT, and all the extracurriculars in the world and still get rejected from Penn. But if your heart's set on it, apply ED and get the application out of the way.
Good luck, and PM if you have any questions!
Penn is a far, far more diverse school than IU.
If you can afford Penn, then this should be an easy decision.
Not to rain on your parade, but with the plethora of info on the Internet, how could you think IU is even close to the same level as the best business school in the world.
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