I was recently admitted into the general LSA school at the University of Michigan (in-state) and the Kelley School of Business at Indiana (scholarship covering apprx. 1 years tuition). I’m slightly leaning towards Michigan but have not completely decided because I like both schools. However, one factor that concerns me is that I know the Ross School of Business at Michigan is very, very difficult to get into. If I were to chose Michigan and get denied from Ross after applying freshman year, I worry that the majors I’d have to chose from in LSA would make it difficult for me to score a good job in finance/accounting (the two areas I’m most interested in). If I went to Indiana, I would already have a spot in a great business school but I’ve been told that it would be silly to pass up a chance to go to UMich especially on in-state tuition. So I ask, what majors are a good backup if I were to go to UMich and get denied from Ross. Also, how easy is it to get a good job in finance/accounting with a degree in said major? If you believe it would be safer to go to Kelley, I’d also appreciate your advice and a reasoning. Thanks.
If with the scholarship the two schools are about the same price and if you want to study finance/accounting then I’d go to Kelley assuming you have a pre-admit there. You won’t get an accounting job with an economics degree and you’d have to research the odds of getting a job in finance (knowing you will have to compete with Ross finance majors among others for those jobs).
If you are flexible with major, most people would say economics is the closest major to business that you can find in the liberal arts. But it is important to understand that economics and finance are very different majors. Economics is a liberal arts course of study and gets very theoretical at the upper levels. In contrast if you go to an undergraduate business school you will take a business core with introductory classes in subjects such as accounting, finance, IT, marketing etc. and then you will major in one of those disciplines. I’m not saying that one path is better than the other, but they are different. I would take the time to look at the coursework (can be found online) for both a finance/accounting at Kelley and economics at UM and see if one path is preferable to you.
Kelly has a great reputation with employers. Good luck with your decision!
Many business courses are applied versions of courses covering material found in various economics, sociology, psychology, and/or statistics courses (but some are specific to business, such as accounting courses).
Odds are low that students admitted to LSA will get into Ross (in fact I think Michigan has either phased that out or is about to). With a degree in statistics, math, or economics with strong math, you can get finance jobs from Michigan. For accounting though you’d need an accounting degree and thus would be better off at Kelley.