Daughter is very interested in Michigan, as a school. The academics, the campus, the culture. It’s OOS for us. She’s a strong student (basically a 3.95 UW, 11 APs, rest honors, 1510 SAT, a few awards including her HS Woman in STEM award).
She isn’t 100% locked in on a major, but she has narrowed down to Finance, Economics, or Environment (listed in order of preference). We found out a bit late in the game about the Ross direct pre-admit thing, which appears to require a portfolio. Is it just two essays? With one including an “artifact” of your business plan?
I’m reading that if she applies to that, and gets into UM but not into Ross, she can’t apply once in UM. I’m also reading that they now take most Ross entrants with the pre-admit route. Seems an unusual and conflicting option here.
Do you recommend she:
Just apply to LSA for Economics, and if she gets in, apply to Ross for finance end of freshman
Rush and apply very soon to the pre-admit Ross
Take more time and apply later (end of December) pre-admit to Ross - with the idea being more time to spend on the portfolio pieces.
Just to top this off and agree. At Michigan you don’t need Ross. Get an Econ degree and you will be applying to many of the same companies as the Ross students. Companies come to Michigan to get Michigan students for business. I wouldn’t have that be a factor. Many kids that are direct admit elsewhere still come to Michigan non Ross and are very successful entering the job market.
I would say Finance and Economics are very different - so I would ensure I apply to study what I want.
One is a business discipline and one a social science.
I’m personally wouldn’t put school above major. I would go for the major desired - and if it doesn’t work out there, that’s why you have IU or another as a back up.
I’ll be contrary here. Michigan has a ton of majors. Your daughter might decide she wants to do something completely different. If she really wants to be in Ann Arbor (a great college town, with a ton of school spirit), then apply to Michigan. I would put school above major…because location location location is important too…and
I’m simply noting if the student decides they want finance. Yes, they listed three majors.
The OP wrote if she applies to Ross but doesn’t get in…
I’m simply noting - if someone ultimately decides they want business, they should pursue business.
We don’t know yet what the student will apply for.
If they don’t know up front, that’s one thing. But if they pick a major, then I would apply for that major - is all I’m saying - especially given the last sentence - is there a non-Ross finance path.
She has 16 schools on her list to apply to and only got about 8 done in time for EA. They weren’t her top 8, just 8 of the ones she could finish in time. Her soccer HS season was a killer and it was 6-7 days a week and many evenings. She didn’t finish all her essays in the Summer before HS started and got backed up.
So many kids apply RD to schools even when they are one of their top choices. Not sure why you’re harping on this since there is no relevance now that the deadline has passed. And don’t think she and I didn’t argue about this - she was just overwhelmed with tons of AP and honors classes, all day every day HS soccer, tons of homework, and some of the schools that required a lot of extra supplemental work (she’s a fine writer but as a STEM kid it doesn’t come quickly to her) didn’t make it by 11/1.
She also was at first leery of UM, because a number of kids from her school that she really dislikes were all saying they wanted to go there. Silly reason but she’s a child, 16 and just turned 17. We talked her into having another look and she really started to like everything about it.
At the end of the day it’s supposed a 4% difference between RD and EA. If the school decides she isn’t worth their time based on their EA process despite the fact that claim it shouldn’t matter in their own literature, so be it, it will be their (minuscule) loss.
I’m glad she reconsidered. Michigan has over 32,000 undergrads. Unless she seeks these folks out, she could spend four years there and see them very seldom…if ever.
It’s simple - Econ is a social science - like your history, poli sci, sociology, etc - granted with a lot more advanced quantitativeness.
Finance is a pre professional subject - it’s an actual and not as much theory. It’s also the subject line in the thread - best path to finance.
I’m not talking about the 40 years after school. I’m talking about the four years during school.
The student (or parent) listed three majors but kept going back to Ross. It may be a student desire thing or it may be they know Ross is a great name and they want to chase a great name - we don’t know.
But the study of these two majors is very different - and I’m simply noting, if the student ultimately decides an interest in one, that’s what they should choose.
@blossom I believe is a Wall Street recruiter. With both finance and econ, you can do most anything - from finance to marketing to supply chain to sales to you name it - and most anywhere - but that’s not the point I’m making.
I’m talking about the study plan.
I, in fact, am a social science + journalism dual undergrad and an MBA - so i’ve seen both sides. Business school is not even close to a social science other than the two econ classes you take.
My understanding is that this is less relevant. I applied to college as a business major, switched to English as a major after one semester, and then switched to computer science after my sophomore year. I end up with a CS degree, as well as a BA in English, and a minor in journalism.
My oldest went off to school as an environmental science major, didn’t like it, switched to International Studies, and now as a junior is realizing that what she actually loves is research psychology. She’s considering a 5 year approach to maybe switch to that major.
This idea that children are certain or their major is crazy. Some are, but most aren’t. Most change. Some just finish the degree because they are trapped in their major with a 4 year horizon. Thank goodness I changed, it changed my life for the better.
Honestly this entire Ross pre-admit is a strike against UM for me. Any of these schools that try to force teenagers to lock in so young - just doesn’t make sense to me. She isn’t sure if she wants finance, economics, environment or even geography (all things she enjoys but really has only been allowed to take one class in enviro and one in economics to this point at her HS, give you get one elective a year).
So we will likely to the LSA approach I guess. A friend and UM grad said that was wiser anyway and want he would recommend, however I think when he went (10 years ago) it was much easier to apply for Ross once in UM.
What she has said might really interest her is being a financial analyst. I personally have worked in finance (for funds) most of my career, but on the tech engineering side. I have told her about the roles I see and the idea of being an analyst or portfolio manager eventually intrigued her. She is very strong in math, breezed through AP comp sci courses, and has an interest in finance, but wants to figure out a way to mix that with global/enviro
Obviously her chances of getting into Dartmouth, like anyone else, are extremely low. But I did really admire that they have a strong build your own degree option that would allow her to blend those items into a degree.
And many kids can pivot later - into finance - if she wanted to be a fund analyst.
I would actually look at roles out there - whether a corporate finance analyst or a fund analyst.
Places like Fidelity, Alliance Bernstein, Vanguard, Schwab on the investment side - have programs for college kids.
In the end, if she’s undecided, there is nothing wrong with that path.
Many kids do change and many kids work no where near their major.
Or many kids start at the “hardest school” to get into or transfer into - because it’s typically easier to switch out - so if you get into a Ross and want to leave…or sometimes maybe wanna be engineers start there and leave, because transferring is easier.
Obviously Michigan and Dartmouth are very different - so hopefully she first finds the “fit” she wants.
But - to repeat for others - I’m not saying she can’t get to a specific career from a certain major but simply noting the study of them is vastly different. Does she like econ in high school?
My son did a minor in geograpyh; should have done a major. He loved loved loved his classes - especially classes about trees, national parks…less the GIS stuff. …but didn’t want to major in it due to what he thought (not me) was a lack of career opportunities.
Good luck in whatever way she goes…but it sounds like an undecided track might be better for her.
Either way, I’m sure she’ll be fine - if she’s a grinder.
I am not a wall street recruiter. I have recruited for I-banks in my past life…
But my advice to a 17 year old is still the same. You don’t know what you don’t know. Ross is a great program, but so is Arts and Sciences from Michigan (and from another 100+ schools as well) and if the pull to Finance is a vague “portfolio manager/financial analyst sounds interesting” I would not be sweating an admission to a specialized business program.
It has taken me almost 40 years in corporate life to admit that I can’t predict next year’s hiring targets and strategies (i.e. 2025), let alone what’s going to happen when a high school senior graduates from college. There have been “flash in the pan” trends (the degrees in e-commerce which got killed by the meltdown in 2001); there have been durable trends (a mechanical engineer with terrific writing and communication skills is almost always a hot commodity in the financial sector) and there are black swans (a soap opera star from my business school class who was the first to make MD at a top tier I-bank…had never had a single quant oriented class as an undergrad).
I AM willing to predict that enviro will still be a hot hiring area when OP’s D finishes college. Whether in policy, planning, comm’s, sustainability engineering and design, or something as yet unidentified- the trend is real (if not on the US than for sure in Europe).
Back to my crystal ball. Buy low, sell high, nobody ever lost money taking a profit.
There is relevance. There will be fewer spots available in Ross because they will have already accepted many students to the program. A very low admit situation will be even lower.
Where did you find the 4% difference between EA and ED? Michigan doesn’t break out admit rates by round, so I am wondering where it has been cited.
I have had high achieving seniors play fall sports, and I understand the demands and challenges of this fall. You are correct — the decision not to EA can’t be undone, but it does have important ramifications on her decisions going forward.