Just finished a tour at UVa and loved everything about it… except their business programs. I have some idea that I would like to pursue a management degree, but I learned that at UVa there is no assured admission to the business school. From my understanding, this means I can get into UVa, attend and then at the end of my freshman year find that I would be denied from the business program. My concerns with this is 1) having to go through another application process in the middle of college (I’d rather be done with all this application stress for good when I get into undergrad) 2) instead of acclimating and enjoying freshmen year I’ll be focusing on beefing extracurriculars to get into McIntire which isn’t what college should be about and 3) being locked out of a career I am interested in just because I was rejected. If anyone could provide details about this process and if it is really worth this McIntire “risk” to go to UVa assuming I am admitted. Also as a side note, if others could provide details about how this process works at UNC and UMich, and if either of these would be preferable for my preferred track. Thanks a ton.
We can tell you all about UVA in the UVA forum, but we can’t really comment on the student experience elsewhere.
There are three McIntire options: the major, the minor, or the grad programs. Yes, the major is selective. Students apply to the major in their second year, not the first. It’s important to have a good foundation before jumping into a specialty (you can’t even do that when you first get to McIntire). Not diving directly into a major is a GOOD thing, especially if you are a naturally curious person, as UVA students tend to be! You have time to explore and experience things you didn’t have access to in high school. You may think you’ve settled on a major, but you haven’t had exposure to all of the options yet. Many, many students declare a different major than the one they were interested in during high school.
FWIW, I have a relative who thought they’d go for Management as well, but they took an Economics class during their first semesters and realized that Econ was the better home for them.
This is great help thank you. I definitely have my perspective changed because I’m not 100% sure I wanna do Management so it’s good not to jump right into McIntire. Say that after my first year I end up confirming my previous thoughts and want to stick with it and apply to McIntire but end up getting rejected, what are my options for UVa business for the next three years?
Dean J already mentioned - you apply during your second year. You wouldn’t start McIntire until 3rd year. If you don’t get accepted people will do majors like economics with a minor at McIntire. There are post-graduate options then as well like McIntire Institute … so you may end up going additional years. Also always transfer option - which is not always easy. Choices you have to weigh.
Ok great. That would mean you would graduate the University with a Masters in Econ and could then pursue a graduate degree to eventually have a career in Management?
^ Bachelors, not Masters sorry
You can apply for direct admit to Ross at Michigan.
For direct-admit Ross, you have to get into LSA or CoE first and then apply to Ross with a separate application. I think they recently increased the number of students in the freshman class for Ross, but it’s still very hard to get in. You can transfer into Ross sophomore year, but it is super competitive.
If you apply for Ross as a freshman and are rejected, you cannot reapply as a sophomore. Of course you have to get admitted into Michigan first, that goes without saying. In the meantime, you’ll know before you matriculate if you are in Ross or not.
@rjkofnovi @dmvmomx2 Thanks for the info. It’s been a while since I made this post, and realized that if I did not get into Ross, I can still major in Econ and take business electives in Finance, Accounting, Management etc. and graduate with a very multifaceted degree. I will be applying to UVa, but I am wary of going and spending my first two years desperately trying to gain business school acceptance