Ask a Kelley Student

Talk to current MBA students about life in MBA programs (not for app advice/discussion)
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Ask a Kelley Student

by beatthegmat » Wed Sep 01, 2010 1:28 pm
Hi Everyone,

One of our own BTG members, salmaan recently entered his first year as an MBA student at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. Even though he's swamped with the new experience, he's generously offered to serve as a Kelley student rep to answer your questions about the school.

Thanks so much salmaan for generously donating your time and insights. Please help me in welcoming salmaan!

Ask away!
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by salmaan » Wed Sep 01, 2010 4:36 pm
Thanks, Eric.

As Eric mentioned, I've just started my career at Kelley. There's a lot for me to talk about, so I welcome all of your questions! Also, stay tuned for a debrief of my campus visit and Orientation experiences as well as my class experience thus far.
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by beatthegmat » Wed Sep 01, 2010 4:51 pm
Can't wait to learn more about Kelley, thanks again Salmaan!
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by armyoftim » Mon Sep 13, 2010 8:52 am
I'd love to hear about the culture there and anything else you'd like to share including your campus visit and orientation. How's Bloomington?

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by vivek1110 » Thu Sep 16, 2010 5:53 am
Hey Salmaan,
I'm a prospective applicant to the Kelley program, I woould be delighted if you could answer a few questions for me.

1: How good is the career services at kelley? I've heard that Bloomington being a secluded place doesn't really attract the best companies. Also I've heard that the students need to do a lot more work on their own to get a job when compared to other schools.

2: Is it easy to get funding at Kelley? What fraction of the student body has a scholarship? Are GA's easily available to students?

I'm looking forward to hearing from you.


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by salmaan » Fri Sep 17, 2010 9:48 am
Armyoftim:

Culture: Kelley is very collaborative and not cutthroat at all. That isn't to say it isn't competitive. Because of the first semester Core*, you will find that you have many strong points but may have to look to classmates for assistance with your weak points. Everyone is willing to team up and collaborate and help each other out.

Kelley does care about your well-being. We had a classmate who had to miss a class for a very personal reason; one of the students' team members told the professor, who told the Core coordinator, who had the MBA office send a very nice message to the student expressing consideration and understanding. These little things speak a lot about the Kelley culture.

My campus visit consisted of a class visit, and information session, lunch with 2nd years, and a tour of the Kelley school. I was lined up to sit in on a Negotiations class, but a 2nd year overheard me inquiring about sitting in on a Finance class to the MBA office. He immediately said, "I'm going to [Finance class] - he can come with me." The 2nd years I had lunch with and those that gave me a tour of the building were very candid when I asked questions. Everyone I spoke to was very honest about their experiences and did not feel the need to hide anything. I never felt like anyone was trying to sell me anything - I realized after talking to Faculty, Staff, Alum, and 2nd years that they all had certain inimitable qualities that reflected the values of the Kelley School of Business.

There are also a lot of opportunities for career coaching, mock interviews, etc. Something unique that Kelley does is keep their class sizes small - the class of 2012 is only about 210 students. This means more attention for students from faculty (you'd be surprised how many faculty members will give you their personal phone numbers!), Academy** Directors, and career coaches. I have spoken with classmates who were admitted to Darden, Fuqua, Ross, Cornell, and other coveted programs, but chose Kelley because, "[They] didn't feel like [those schools] cared about [them]." There are a lot of opportunities to have fun (intramurals, designated bars, other MBA events), too, and with the small class size, you will leave Bloomington as a very tightly-knit group.

As for the building, it's pretty nice. There's a ton of key-card access only breakout rooms, a lounge downstairs, a natural-light filled atrium, a corporate innovation center, and a trading room with Bloomberg terminals, a ticker, and tons of financial research resources.

Orientation: Orientation was no joke. The week before Orientation consists of optional "Jumpstart" courses. These are typically designed for students with no business background or those who have been out of school for a while. They never hurt to take, however, to refine your skills and get a head start on meeting your classmates. The courses include: Finance, Accounting, Basic Excel, and Advanced Excel.

The first week of Orientation consists of presentations by the Dean, Graduate Career Services Director, Core Coordinator, and the Chair of the MBA program; Academy presentations; and panels with second years. There is also a day-long, outdoor team building activity where you get your first opportunity to work with your Core team.

The week rounds out with a Case Competition and two rounds of presentations.

The second week consisted of approximately 12-13 hour days. This is a relatively new, evolving initiative called Me, Inc. It deals with telling your story, personal branding, networking, and company research. Week 2 rounds out with an Induction Ceremony and a Reception.

Bloomington: Bloomington is a true college town! 40,000 out of its 70,000 residents are Indiana University students. There is great athletic tradition (football tailgates and basketball!), tons of international restaurants, a gorgeous campus, and a vibrant social life. I advise making the effort to explore and discover the campus. You'll find tons of interesting trivia:

-The Dalai Lama's brother owns a Tibetan restaurant in Bloomington
-There is a copy of a Gutenburg Bible at the Lily Library
-The Art Museum has no right angles
-The Kinsey Institute has one of the largest collections of pornography in the world
-More languages are offered here than any other U.S. school; you can even design your own major - I met someone who majored in Hip-Hop!
-It goes on, but I can't give too much away.

If you can squeeze out enough time during your MBA for some entertainment, you won't be disappointed. Here are some artists/celebrities that have performed/spoke/appeared at Indiana University in the last few years:

James Brown (just before he passed away)
Widespread Panic
Incubus
Bone Thugs and Harmony
Blackalicious
Members of Phish
Members of the Allman Brothers Band
Del tha Funkee Homosapien
Damian and Stephen Marley
Snoop Dogg
The Roots
George Clinton
Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds
The Flaming Lips
Lupe Fiasco
Vampire Weekend
Rob Riggle
Ann Coulter
Bill Clinton
Hillary Clinton
Kal Penn
Jeremy Piven
Lance Armstrong
Barack Obama
Blue Man Group
Stomp
Bill Cosby
David Sedaris
Dave Chapelle
David Spade
David Copperfield
Tons of Broadway shows
Last edited by salmaan on Sat Sep 18, 2010 4:25 pm, edited 8 times in total.
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by salmaan » Fri Sep 17, 2010 10:16 am
Vivek:

1. What are you planning on studying and where do you want to end up? This makes a huge difference at Kelley, but so far, career services have been great! There is always going to be work involved (outside of the program) when it comes to networking - of course, an introduction will never get you a job! The GCS and Academies should be very helpful, as well as the fact that Kelley has a phenomenal Alumni base.

As far as the quality of companies, I will disagree with you, but again, it depends on what you plan on doing. There is always a way - if top company doesn't physically come to Bloomington, then you will likely have an opportunity to visit/connect with them through your Academy. So please let me know what you are planning on studying - see my next post for academic options.

2. Scholarships and GA positions are based on merit. If these interest you, I would HIGHLY recommend applying for them in the 1ST ROUND of the application process.
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by beatthegmat » Fri Sep 17, 2010 10:18 am
Amazing responses salmaan! :)
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by salmaan » Fri Sep 17, 2010 10:43 am
Here, I am going to discuss the structure of Academics at Kelley. At Kelley, you'll find a highly flexible curriculum.

The Core:

In the first semester at Kelley, you will be taking an intensive, integrated Core. Admissions spends the summer placing you in a diverse team that you will work with for the entire semester. The Core consists of:

Finance
Accounting
Marketing
Strategic Management
Operations
Economics
Quantitative Methods
Critical Thinking and Ethical Leadership

The Core is 50% case-based and 50% lecture-based. It is a challenge to manage. Your schedule of classes will change week-to-week, so it is highly important that you come prepared. Time management is key - you have to manage your coursework, Academy, networking events (we are in our third week, and there have already been >50 companies on campus!), company research, interviews, extracurricular activities, and personal life.

Luckily, there are many great activities driven by Kelley students, so you will always have fun opportunities to decompress on the weekends. It's part of the culture.

Kelley Academies:

Part of your Kelley experience is to join a functional Academy. These are required and quite different from clubs. The Academies offered are:

Corporate Finance
Investment Management
Investment Banking
Business Marketing
Consumer Marketing
Consulting
Supply Chain and Global Management
Entrepreneurship Management
Academy + Life Sciences (Healthcare, Life Sciences, etc.)

The Academy to which you apply is independent of your major. It deals more with the industry and function you are pursuing. Each Academy operates differently, but the Director(s) of each are faculty with plenty of industry contacts. For example, the IMA (Investment Management Academy) students will work on equity research reports, attend database training sessions (Bloomberg, Capital IQ, Morningstar, etc.), practice giving stock pitches, and fly out to cities like New York, Chicago, and Boston to meet with company executives (they even met with Warren Buffet last year!). The Consulting Academy, however, probably focuses more on networking and cracking case interviews. Regardless of your Academy, your Director(s) will get to know you over your two years at Kelley and help you to find a good career fit.

After the Core, you will have 3 semesters, split into 7-week sessions. So you will actually have 6 "mini" semesters. With only one required course after the Core, this means you have the flexibility to take 23 electives. It is therefore, easy to double major and minor. You can also combine your MBA with courses in SPEA (tied with Harvard as the #2 Public Affairs graduate program in the nation) to receive a Certificate in Social Entrepreneurship.

Majors:

* Entrepreneurship & Corporate Innovation
* Finance
* Management
* Marketing
* Strategic Analysis of Accounting Information
* Supply Chain & Operations

Minors:

* Entrepreneurship & Corporate Innovation
* Finance
* Management
* Marketing
* Strategic Analysis of Accounting Information
* Supply Chain & Operations
* Decision Support Modeling

I'll let that digest for a while...Unless there are any specific new questions or clarifications about the things I mentioned, I have yet to talk about international opportunities, KIPs, and GLOBASE; the Partner's Club, the companies with which Kelley has a presence; and classes/faculty.
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by Osirus@VeritasPrep » Sun Sep 19, 2010 9:29 pm
Hey salmaan, thanks so much for doing this. I think I speak for everyone when I say we really appreciate it.

Here's my question, if a student wants to pursue a sector in a region where Kelly doesn't have a lot of alumni, what would that student have to do to obtain an internship or job? I hear a lot about people saying that students have to pound the pavement, or do a lot of leg work on their own in order to get an internship/job if their school doesn't have a strong alumni presence in a certain area. What does that mean though? How does that look? If a Kelly student was interested in tech and wanted to work for a firm in Washington, what type of leg work would that student have to do in order to get that opportunity? Or if a student wanted to obtain a job in energy in Texas, what would be the steps that the student would take to obtain his/her opportunity in that field?
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by salmaan » Mon Sep 20, 2010 10:57 am
osirus0830:

Believe it or not, Kelley (or at least IU) has Alum in virtually every major city in the U.S. Legwork essentially means networking. Call people for informational interviews. Maintain rapport with executives and good relationships with firms for the span of the entire MBA program. BUILD relationships. Spend at least an hour a day networking (emails, working on your resume, company research). Don't take anything or anyone for granted - remember that everyone knows somebody who knows somebody. You want a job with Google and can't find a way in? Fly out there on a day off and convince a VP to have a cup of coffee with you. It's an investment. It's very difficult because you never know whether all this effort will even pan out to anything tangible (and if it does, then you might not even know for 6-18 months). Use your colleagues. Use your professors.

The Academies are also great for this. There are MANY amazing companies that come to Kelley, but the fact of the matter is that you aren't going to see McKinsey, or Deutsche Bank, or Google quite as often as you might at some other schools. The Academies give you this opportunity. From what I hear, the Entrepreneurship Management Academy will be going to Silicon Valley to visit some startup firms in the tech industry. The Investment Management Academy will be hosting speakers from Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Citi, Morgan Stanley, and Deutsche Bank (and yes, we place people there) within the next few weeks. They will have trips to New York, Boston, Chicago, Charlotte, to meet with firms.

The way I see it, as you go through the process, you will have a better idea of what you want to do and what type of firm culture suits you. Once that starts to materialize, that should build more confidence in you to pursue opportunities in which you cannot find an alumni/recruiting link. Ultimately, the more you know what you want to do, the more you will want it, and the more confidence you'll have to pursue it.

Kelley is definitely more of a "regional" program. Very strong presence in the midwest, and quite good placement in New England. West coast might take a bit more work, but Alum are in virtually all major cities. You just have to convince them that they need you (though Kelley alum are generally very loyal). You have to do the work. And you have to know your stuff.

We are only in our first month here, so it's still early. As we start to lock down internships, I may have more concrete anecdotes. Hope that helps.
Last edited by salmaan on Mon Sep 20, 2010 2:58 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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by Osirus@VeritasPrep » Mon Sep 20, 2010 11:09 am
Thanks, that helps a lot. I appreciate the response.
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by bblast » Tue Sep 13, 2011 11:09 pm
Hi Salmaan,

I wonder if you still log onto BTG but still gambling in case I get a reply. I've heard Kelley is great for Marketing and Entrepreneurship. Its been rated no-1 among 150 participating colleges for the third consecutive year some Entrepreneurial ratings.

How good is Kelley for operations in terms of the curriculum and post MBA scope ?
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by mgerbasich » Wed Oct 05, 2011 9:40 am
I attended Indiana University for my undergrad (loved it!) and now live in the Chicago area. Since I have a good knowledge of what Kelley is all about, I would be interested in obtaining my MBA from there through the Kelley Direct program. Could anyone provide there thoughts on the program? I am thinking of applying for next Fall.

Thanks,

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by Prashanth981 » Mon Nov 07, 2011 8:38 am
Hey Guys,
I am another one seeking information about Kelley Direct program. I am plan to enroll in the Spring 2012 term. So, any feedback you can provide is much appreciated. I researched as much as I could on the net, there just doesn't seem to be any better online option for me. UNC residential MBA is higher rated than Kelley but their online program started only couple of years ago so not sure about its reputation. Plus its more expensive. Carey, Univ of Florida and Thunderbird all seem to be at or below Kelly Direct. My choice is down to Kelley or a traditional program at Simon (Rochester) or RIT.

Salmaan's posts are awesome but they are from a residential program perspective. There seems to be little doubt of Kelley residential program status and reputation. Can anyone shed more light on the Kelley Direct program? Thanks.

Regards
Prashanth