Difficulty of Transferring into Wharton from the University of Michigan?

@collegemom3717 I’m certainly interested in the Ross Minor in Business but (https://michiganross.umich.edu/programs/minor-in-business/application-requirements) I am supposed to apply for it at the end of my sophomore year. I am trying to transfer into the college that will set me up for the most success as of now.

@Publisher @Mwfan1921 @collegemom3717 Okay. I appreciate everyone’s help. But let me clear things up here. Financial Aid is still of significant concern. But my greatest concern right now is to actually get accepted. I understand that an Economics Degree from UMICH is great but I really want to major in business. However, I will not transfer to a less competitive college simply for a business degree. I want go to a college that will set me up the best for success. Thus, I am leaning towards highly competitive colleges, such as Wharton. The Ross Minor is certainly something of interest to me but that is something I will apply for next year (when I will be eligible) if I cannot get accepted to transfer to any top school. If this happens, then I will definitely embrace majoring in Economics and will do my best to minor in Business. @Publisher What do you mean by expanding my list of schools? Could you provide me a list of your suggestions?

@youngking2 There are many inconsistencies in what you have said, especially today re: posts 14, 17, 20.

Regardless, wherever you apply as a transfer, you should speak with the transfer financial aid people BEFORE you apply so that you have a good understanding of the potential financial picture. You do not want to be in the position where you are accepted and can not afford to go, or need to take on significant debt. Good luck.

The thing about elite schools is that you have a far better chance of getting rejected than getting accepted. My advice, financial investment consulting is only one occupation out of thousands you can do with a business degree. Don’t put all your hopes and dreams on one specific job. It’s going to be your grades and accomplishments that set you up for success, not the school you go to.

A few comments:

  1. In general I think it is a terrible idea to start one college with the intent of transferring out. This will stand in the way of your making meaningful friendships, developing relationships with professors, and getting involved on campus. Then if your transfer doesn’t work out as planned you will be really stuck. I’d go to the college you enrolled in with the intent of staying all four years. It is fine to throw in a couple of transfer applications but don’t count on it working out.

  2. It sounds like finances are an issue. Be aware that as a transfer it is generally very difficult to get financial aid. Affordability needs to be the starting point for any school you look at for a transfer.

  3. Unless there has been some significant change to your profile I’d say you would need to look at colleges along the lines of the ones which accepted you as a freshman into the b-school and hope that they leave room for transfer students to come in. If you are OOS for Michigan you may want to consider your state flagship.

@youngking2 I am not really sure if these stats are for incoming sophomores or juniors. I saw from another CC thread these numbers which came from someone who read from somewhere else

@youngking2: It is difficult to recommend other schools since I do not know your state of residence–if it is Michigan, for example, then you should stay due to low tuition for residents–if not, then consider in-state schools–and I do not know the extent of your financial need.

The best undergraduate finance programs are at Penn-Wharton, NYU-Stern & MIT, then Michigan & the University of Texas at Austin.

But finance is a valuable major so you should consider some other universities as well. Indiana, Virginia & UNC, for example, all have strong undergraduate business schools. Boston College & the University of Washington are other examples of undergraduate business schools with strong overall placement success.

Once you leave the big name schools for business or finance, it is most important to earn a very high GPA in order to compete for the best positions (many of which are not on Wall Street or with investment banks).

@youngking2 As you weigh your options, here are a few links that may help you make the most of your time at Michigan.

Lots of helpful info at the econ dept page: https://lsa.umich.edu/econ

EARN looks like a great opportunity to network with economics alums, and potentially help you secure an internship: https://lsa.umich.edu/econ/undergraduates/earn.html

Economics major events: https://lsa.umich.edu/econ/undergraduates/events-for-economics-majors.html

This outcomes data shows many Michigan econ majors going into finance careers: https://lsa.umich.edu/lsa/academics/what-will-you-do-with-an-LSA-degree.html#Economics
I expect the career center and/or your advisor can give you even more detail re: outcomes, job details and salary ranges.

@Publisher My state of residence is New York. How does Cornell’s Dyson compare to business schools like Wharton and Ross? How is it for Finance?

Dyson has 3% acceptance rate (for freshman). The lowest of all. Not sure about the rate for transfer. not well known for finance.

Wharton & Michigan are better for finance, but Cornell certainly has strong Wall Street placement.

@f2000sa @Publisher @Mwfan1921 @happy1 Is Dyson comparable to the big name business schools? For what school, assuming I was accepted into it, would it be worth leaving my Economics Degree from Michigan for? Clearly Wharton and Ross are a couple. How about Dyson? Stern? Sloan? Olin? Kenan-Flagler? McIntire? McCombs? Carroll? Questrom? Kelley? How does Dyson rank among these business schools?

OP, again it seems like you are valuing prestige over “being part of an undergraduate business program”. You have received fairly consistent feedback that having one semester of college results will be unlikely to result in successful transfers to the schools (and their peers) that did not admit you six months ago. You likely need to step it down in selectivity in order to be admitted as a transfer. Then, your decision becomes UMich economics vs (probably) a less selective undergrad business degree.

Further complicating the decision is that you need financial aid, and many schools do not offer ANY financial aid for transfers. You will have to research transfer fin aid policies for schools on your list so that you ONLY apply to schools that will be affordable as a transfer. Choosing ug biz schools by prestige rankings is probably not going to work for you.

Lastly, I hope that you are spending more time on doing everything to be successful in your classes this semester, as compared to the time and effort you are spending thinking about transferring. Also, you should, RIGHT NOW, be working hard to find an business internship for next summer.

@youngking2: Cornell-Tyson is considered to be a top undergraduate business school in the US. Placement is strong.

Although a year old now, US News rankings for the top 20 undergraduate business schools were:

  1. Penn-Wharton

  2. MIT-Sloan

  3. UCAl-Berkeley-Haas

  4. Michigan-Ross

  5. NYU-Stern

  6. Texas-McCombs

  7. CMU-Tepper

  8. Cornell-Dyson

  9. UNC-Keenan-Flagler

  10. Virginia-McIntire

  11. Indiana-Kelley

  12. Notre Dame-Mendoza

  13. USC-Marshall

  14. WashUStL-Olin

  15. Emory

  16. Georgetown

  17. Ohio State-Fisher

  18. Illinois

  19. Minnesota-Carlson

  20. Wisconsin-Madison

Clarifying my post (#31), many schools don’t offer institutional financial aid to transfers, but you could still qualify for federal fin aid/self-aid (pell grants, subsidized loans, work study, etc.)