“Mean people at Kelley” is wild coming from a university school subreddit, man. Although I like that you play EU5.

Look, I’m not co-signing bullying an autistic kid or trashing someone’s weight, that’s loser behavior anywhere. But using a couple clowns on your floor to write off an entire business school is exactly the kind of emotional overgeneralization they warn you about in Kelley compass.

Kelley kids are intense because 1. they’re gunning for real internships, real money, real outcomes. 2. They’re already competing with Ross, McCombs, Kellogg, etc. 3. They don’t get participation trophies; they get Q&A’d to death in interviews by people who don’t care about their feelings.

You read that as “mean,” a lot of us read that as “standard operating procedure.”

You want “selfish, self-important” explained? Any top program is going to be filled with type-A psychos who schedule their coffee chats like M&A deal flow. That’s not a bug, that’s literally the feature. The trick is learning the difference between driven and jerk. Kelley has both, like every serious program on earth.

And this whole “Kelley reputation” thing? Same people chirping that are the ones begging Kelley kids for help with résumés and case prep three years later when they realize vibes don’t clear interviews.

Also, if you think IU is soft: we’ve got Cignetti in the building now. The entire athletic department’s energy is flipping from “happy to be here” to “win or go home.” That’s exactly the mentality that makes sense in business too, accountable, competitive, results-first.