I just got accepted into Umich LSA today. I was not expecting this at all since my superscore and non-superscore SAT are somewhat far apart and my Umich essays were a little worse than my NYU essay. Umich and NYU are definitely my top two choices at this point. I got the housing change for NYU too. I don’t know if I want to go to Umich or NYU though. Yes, I could look at “fit”, but there are aspects of both schools that I like very much. I plan on majoring in econ and trying to get into the respective business schools, but at the moment, I don’t know how to make a decision between the two. Prestige is definitely a top factor, so if anyone can give insight on the general prestige factor of the two schools internationally and domestically(from my viewpoint they are about equal with Umich edging out a little bit) and the general view of the econ programs of both schools in LSA and CAS. Even if I do get to switch my ED II application to regular, I know that I will have to make a decision in the end, but I still want to be able to make the decision for myself. So is there any way I can change my application from ED II to regular at this point even with the housing change? I don’t want to damage my school’s reputation either.
You have not heard back from NYU yet, right? It looks like Feb 15 is the date according to their website. You can contact them on Monday and ask to change your app to the RD cycle. But that may reduce your chances of admission – but if you don’t change it and are accepted ED, you MUST attend. But since it is prior to releasing the decision, you can change to the RD cycle. Let your GC know you are making the change, too. I’d do it Monday if I were going to make the change.
@intparent Yeah, I’ll be hearing back the same time as rest of the ED II candidates.
If it reduces my chances of admission, then I don’t know if I want to switch to RD then.
Then you MUST attend NYU if you are accepted. You won’t be able to take the Michigan acceptance. Sometimes schools release the decisions early, too. You may have less time than you think to decide. Regardless of when they release it, if you are in the ED pool and you are accepted, you must attend.
@intparent Yeah I know, but I don’t think I can make the decision between NYU and Umich in a week. I don’t think NYU will be releasing the decision early as for ED II it was released on the day they indicated(15th) through Albert at a specific time unlike previous years when they emailed in waves.
Is there really enough of a negative effect on my application that they’ll reject me if I ask them to change from ED II to regular by sometime Monday-Wednesday? Even if they do change my application to regular and still accept me, there is a reasonable possibility I’ll still take NYU.
Can’t tell. They will know they are no longer your unequivocal first choice, but they won’t know why. You won’t have a choice to make if they accept you ED.
Yeah unfortunately they will deny your request this late in the game. However there’s no harm in trying.
UMich Ross and Stern both have great showings in major IBs, PEs, upper-end boutiques and corporations, so you can’t really go wrong with either. If you’re concerned with prestige, NYU is a more name-brand degree for business, but UMich Ross is considered a very respectable business degree for those “in the know” and is slowly building their name as well.
Stern does beat UMich by offering a larger network and year-round access to internships, though, and a more pre-professional curriculum.
You really can’t go wrong with either school, so in the likely event that you can’t change your application, don’t worry too much. Transferring into Ross as a sophomore/junior is notoriously easy, though I’ve never heard of anyone transferring from NYU to UMich for economics/business, only the other way around, and transferring from another school to Stern is notoriously difficult.
Either way, good luck!
@adreamer22 :(. Honestly this is the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make in my life so far. The way I take it is I have to decide between them within the next few days right? since asking to be moved to regular decision at this point would more then likely entail negative consequences on my application?
@barcodeIlIl It’s not that there would be a negative consequence; it’s that they won’t accept your request unless you give a strong, valid reason, which this is not.
NYU Econ destroys UMich Econ, but their business programs are right on par with each other. However, Stern IS a more well-known degree compared to Ross, so I would argue it would be a better degree to get. Both schools have their supporters claiming that their school is better, but the truth is that they’re both amazing. It is worth mentioning, however, that transferring internally, and externally, into Ross is WAY easier than Stern, and that Stern grades harder (although this just means that getting the best jobs would require an overall higher GPA at Ross).
These schools are both prestigious in their own right, so if you do get a chance to switch to RD, I’d say take a look at fit, because if you search which school is better, you’ll just get a bunch of Ross alumni on CC saying that Stern is complete crap, and people on WSO saying that Ross is for people who weren’t smart enough for another prestigious b-school, often calling them “public school idiots” since Ross is much easier to get into and calling them crap. Both are wrong, and the reason why there’s such a feud is because they are both great schools with a huge showing on Wall Street. I know this didn’t really help you pick a school if you’re allowed to, but I think that the fact you’re asking about switching to RD means that you prefer Ross anyway.
Either way, good luck on your college search, and I’m sure you’ll choose the school best for you if given the chance!
Stern and Ross are both great and offer a lot of opportunities to place on Wall Street with an edge to Stern for prestige, network, internships, etc. Both are in the top 5 of best schools to attend for finance positions.
I agree with poster above, I would hands down take NYU Econ if you have the opportunity. The Econ department at NYU is very highly regarded and among the best in the world. At the undergrad level that doesn’t mean much but going to NYU is probably more beneficial since you might be able to make connections with great professors, do internships, do some networking which will allow to you to get yourself on a more equal footing with the Stern students.
@barcodeIlIl I had the exact same thing happen to me! Haha, I took a lot of time to think about this situation this past weekend and talked to people who were involved in the business world and alum from both schools. At the end, I’ve decided to stick to ED2 at Stern since it guarantees admission to business school compared to Ross, which accepts most of its students through sophomore admittance. This was a very tough decision for me since I’ve been a Michigan fan for years and it has always been my dream school, however, I believe that I am making the more practical decision in stick with ED to Stern.
I would’ve been so much happier if I didn’t have to choose between the two and I were just stuck with one. The only major difference would be the campus and college experience. In the end, you can’t go wrong with either school though.
@tarun5629 Well, I didn’t apply to stern. I applied to CAS for econ. After getting rejected by Northwestern ED, I decided that it wasn’t worth it taking a chance at stern especially after I got deferred from Mich. It definitely isn’t easy getting into Ross, but from what I’ve heard/seen, Stern is a good amount harder than Ross especially for sophomore admittance. But still, I’ve come to the same situation as you. I think I’ll be keeping my ED2 application for various reasons and whatever happens happens I guess. Really tough still since Mich was one of my favorite campuses beside Northwestern.
@tarun5629 Honestly I agree with you now that I wish one would accept me and the other just reject me(still a possibility that NYU could reject me though). In my mind I’m constantly going back and forth between both schools…
Haha, it’s great to have someone who understands the situation I’m in 
@tarun5629 Well this wouldn’t be so hard if the two schools didn’t provide two completely different campuses and environments…that sounds contradictory. People talk about fit, but I love both campuses. Some days I prefer the big campus big school feel of Mich while other days I prefer the city life of NYU.
Yeah, I had the same dilemma but one of my friends at stern convinced me to stick with NYU.