<p>I am one of the top students in my class and to my dismay I was wait listed from all the Ivies. I was accepted into Boston College and the University of Michigan- Ann Arbor, and I am torn between the two. I got into the Carroll School of Management at BC, but for U of M I would have to apply to Ross at the end of freshman year. I love the sports atmosphere at UM and the academics, but I feel it may be too large and it is too far from home because my family is very close (I live in CT). BC is in boston which is awesome, and the campus is the right size and beautiful, however it's never on par with UM in rankings academically. In essence, which school has a better reputation academically in the US? Ad for job recruitment? I want to do consulting, possibly biomedical. Which school is the best for that? And what is the best thing to major in for consulting?</p>
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<p>well that one wasn’t too hard to answer</p>
<p>agreed but rankings dont tell the whole story. I want to know a people’s perspective</p>
<p>We need Alexandre in here to spew his Michigan magic.</p>
<p>Michigan is clearly the stronger school though, and college is about getting out of your comfort zone and expanding your horizons. I’d say Michigan is less homogenous than BC and you’ll be exposed to many different cultures/peoples.</p>
<p>When I first saw your post I thought you were my friend–she’s in the same position as you and has to choose between the same two colleges. </p>
<p>I may be biased because I’ve chosen Michigan, but here’s my two cents.</p>
<p>Michigan Ross trumps BC Management any day. You’d have to get in to Ross, but if you were waitlisted at Ivies, I think that wouldn’t be too much of an issue for you. Ross is very highly recruited for consulting, and if you’re considering biomedical <em>engineering</em>, BC can’t hold a candle to UMich engineering.</p>
<p>Also, for potential job prospects, think about location competition. BC is in Massachusetts, for god’s sake. That’s with Harvard, MIT, Williams, Amherst, blahblahblah. Recruiters from NY or whereever won’t go to Boston just to recruit from BC, they’ll drop by Harvard and MIT probably on the same day, and then imagine the competition you’ll have to get those jobs from those same recruiters. </p>
<p>UMich, on the other hand, has absolutely no rivals in its state or its surrounding states for that matter (IMO). To recruiters in the area, UMich is the equivalent of Harvard.</p>
<p>Now, for personal matters–the experience of being separated from the family, of having to rely on yourself, of being thrown into an unfamiliar environment with many many people, is not a bad thing. UMich, because of location and size, will make you mature and learn and grow much faster and much more efficiently than BC will. Is it a scarier prospect? Sure. But if you’re seriously considering a business career, it’s absolutely essential. </p>
<p>Also, there isn’t really a best thing to major in for consulting, because in the consulting business prestige is what matters. If you know what you’re doing and your program has name recognition it’s possible to land a consulting job with any degree. Mostly it’s econ/math/finance/engineering though.</p>
<p>Although Michigan is larger than BC, Ross is in fact smaller than Carroll. </p>
<p>At any rate, BC is a safer option since you have already been admitted into Carroll. Michigan is a high risk/high reward option. Ross is obviously a notch above Carroll, but Carroll is an excellent program too. </p>
<p>For placement into Consulting jobs, Ross has the edge over Carroll. In fact, Ross is ranked #1 in Strategy and Management. Last year 11 Ross students were placed into McKinsey, Bain and BCG compared to anywhere from 0-3 from Carroll (and Carroll is larger than Ross). Among undergraduate Business programs, only Wharton is more heavily recruited by major consulting firms.</p>
<p>Of course, there are plenty of other good consulting firms, such as Booz, Deloitte, LEK and Oliver Wyman. I believe LEK recruits Carroll well. </p>
<p>If you are willing to work hard your first year and are confident that you can do well at Michigan, I would recommend going there. Are you good with numbers? Most years, more Michigan students are recruited by the major consulting firms from the CoE than from Ross. You could major in BME if you don’t get into Ross.</p>
<p>This was exactly the same situation that I faced during my college admission process. Ultimately I choose to go with Ross, it is one of the most brilliant decisions I have made in my life!</p>
<p>Though Ross may be a high risk/reward option, even if you don’t get admitted into Ross, you still have plenty of academically rigorous options to choose from at UMich. What if you decide that Carroll isn’t right for you? Then you wouldn’t be able to take advantage of the options UMich would be providing. Also, statistically speaking, students who graduate from Ross are recruited for jobs very quickly. Though Carroll may still be strong, I think Michigan would be the better option. It may be large, but once you find your close friends, the largeness won’t even matter. </p>
<p>Even without Ross, you can major in Economics and become very successful (this happened to one of my friends).</p>
<p>Don’t worry so much about rankings. BC is a strong school and well regarded. UM is big but they do a good job of making it smaller. And it’s in a much smaller town than Boston, so in a way the two balance out.</p>
<p>Ann Arbor is a fabulous town. It’s the Midwest which is a slower paced humbler culture than Boston. That could be good or bad.</p>