My opinion is probably worthless to you, because I have a tremendously strong bent towards the liberal arts, ad I’m an Ivy-oriented New Englander to boot.
I would pick Brown, unless there was a meaningful financial difference favoring Michigan.
I’m looking mostly at the intimacy, scale, and quality of the education on a personal level. Certainly both are great schools, and you could do well at either. I wouldn’t go into big debt for Brown.
What is the net cost at both? Unless there is a significant difference I would lean toward Michigan because of the more complete college experience and Ross reputation.
“Brown has a more diverse student body. At Michigan, half of the students are from, well, Michigan.”
…and that means what? Rhode Island is a tiny state with a small population.
They’re both great and as someone said they’re different enough which could make the decision a little easier. And you’re comparing a program at one school that doesn’t exist at the other. So it’s not really apples to aples that way either. If you’re interested in staying in the northeast, slight edge to Brown, if you’re thinking of outside of NE and internationally, slight edge to Michigan.
They are very different schools, and would both do well in Investment Banking recruiting. Choose based on fit and cost.
@rjkofnovi it means that the student body is heavily MI centric and has little African American or Latino component. With 57.8% of students being from MI.
I think the chance to meet diverse people is limited at Michigan vs Brown.
Right, because there are hardly any African Americans in Michigan?
Racial diversity is just one point and Michigan is pretty diverse. I think Michigan might have more economic diversity, students with different life experiences, students of different ages, marital status, military service. There are people who would prefer Brown, but I’d prefer Michigan. OP can decide which school he likes better because academically they are both great.
How do you feel about Football?
For what it’s worth, anyone who attends an Ivy can forever after network in Ivy only networking groups. These include Ivy alumni groups on LinkedIn and in cities. In other words, you won’t just have Brown graduates to look to for connections and possible job leads – you will have the entire Ivy league alumni network. Since investment banking largely recruits from Ivies, this will give you a huge benefit, as there are sure to be tons of investment bankers in those alumni groups.
However, if you are more focused on the next four years than what comes after, and you were excited to live in Ann Arbor and attend football games, and you look forward to flying a U Mich flag on your house one day on football days, then maybe U Michigan would be a better choice for you. Congratulations on these excellent options!
By the way, I don’t think you need to major in finance at all to pursue investment banking, so the Economics major should be fine. I have seen people majoring in engineering and a variety of other majors be recruited for investment banking internships and jobs. The important thing is the quantitative background, so if you study Economics, be sure to take as many quantitative courses as possible (Calculus, statistics, econometrics, finance).
mommyrocks, there isn’t really such thing as “ivy League alumni network”. Some Ivies may co-host social events in major cities on rare occasions, but I am a Cornell alum, and I have never seen or heard of an “Ivy League alumni network”. And Ivy League alumni do not extend their loyalty and allegiance to all Ivy League alumni, only to alumni of their own Ivy. Also, while we are on the subject, Michigan’s alumni network is widely regarded to be one of the largest, most influential and most rabid in the world. According to a Time Magazine algorithm, Michigan’s alumni network is tied with Columbia among the most influential and powerful alumni networks in the US. And while you may truly believe that Michigan is just some random state school that offers little else than a spirited athletic following and alumni who care only for planting flags on game day, I like to think there is more to Michigan alums.
With regards to Wall Street placement, Ross is hard to beat. Brown may match Ross, but it does not surpass it in this domain. Most years 35-40 Ross undergrads join Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley as full time employees. Another 40 or so Sophomores and Juniors intern at those three institutions. Just as many end up at other major financial firms such as Citibank, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, Lazard, Blackstone, BoAML etc…
Much2learn, would you say Stanford lacks diversity? 50% of its students are residents of California. Over 50% of Cornell students are from the Northeast. Close to 50% of Brown’s Freshman class last year came from the Mid Atlantic and Northeast. In general, universities tend to be regional. But that does not mean that they are homogeneous. Michigan, like Brown, is extremely diverse. Roughly 3,300 undergraduate students come from the Tristate area. Another 2,000 come from Texas and California. There are also 2,000 international undergraduate students. In other words, there are more undergraduate students from California, Texas, NY, PA, NJ and from overseas at Michigan than Brown’s total undergraduate student population. Michigan also has roughly 400 undergraduate students from each of the following states: Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts. Brown is extremely diverse to be sure, but to suggest that Michigan is not extremely diverse as well is to ignore the facts. If a student seeks diversity, he/she will not have to look hard.
OP have you decided yet?
@alexandre
I don’t agree with you that Michigan is extremely diverse. I think Michigan is one of the very least diverse top universities. I did not check, but would guess that it has a higher percentage of white students than any other top 30 university in USNews. In my opinion, meeting people from other ethnicities, other states and other countries is an important part of the college experience. You lose a lot of that at Michigan. Maybe you haven’t visited in a few years, but the percentage of African Americans, for example, has been steadily declining.
Let’s compare Michigan Brown
Asian : 12.6% 15.1%
Black or African American: 4.1 7.6
Hispanic/Latino: 4.3 12.9
Multi Race: 3.7 7.1
Native American/Hawaiian: 0.2 0.7
Total 24.9% 43.4%
re#29: " I am a Cornell alum, and I have never seen or heard of an “Ivy League alumni network”"
Sorry @lAlexandre but we don’t share the secret handshake with graduate students. The code is handed out to the undergrads at graduation. You thought those were diplomas…
As for OP, you are so enamored with your idea of a particular industry that you would let this drive your entire decision making process. But you have not yet taken so much as a single relevant class, have no idea how well you will do wherever you land, whether you will stand out enough there to even get an interview at these places, whether your personality happens to ideally fit a particular group there, who wants you…
College is for expanding one’s horizons. If your chosen school is any good, after first semester you could take a psychology (or whatever) course, get totally turned on by the subject and decide to change your goals altogether. Happens all the time. Or you could go through the whole process and not get an offer from the places you most aspire to. And wind up at an accounting firm.
Don’t hitch your wagon to something so speculative. think about where you would rather be, which environment you will most likely grow, as a student and as a person. which gives you the most flexibility, as your interests may evolve. Which offers the best environment for you extracurricularly… What kind of people are there, and do you have a lot in common with them. Etc.
For one thing, you should know by now whether you want an undergraduate business school education, or an infinitely tailorable liberal arts school education. Start there. What do you want to study, during your precious, irreplaceable undergraduate years? What do you want to learn? Currently-desired industry aside.
I know which I would pick. But I’m not you.
re #14: "Firstly, you would get a better and more well-rounded undergrad education at Brown. "
How is one assured of receiving a more well-rounded education at a school with almost no distribution requirements (Brown), vs. one that has distribution requirements? It seems entirely up to the student. That is actually Brown’s main marketing point !!
It’s human nature to stay within ones comfort zone, and Brown actually caters to that. There are few places where one’s education can be less well-rounded.
IMO one is more assured of a well-rounded education at a program that has distribution requirements.
monydad, I knew something was amiss when I received my “diploma”! 
But it should be noted that while Ross obviously offers a business education, its curriculum is designed to encourage students to seek out a liberal arts approach. Close to half Ross students pursue dual degrees or minors from other colleges within the university.
Much2learn, we will have to disagree on the meaning of diversity on campus.