<p>I'm currently a sophomore at Michigan State University with dreams of an investment banking career after graduation. I figured that Michigan would open more doors for me during my job search. I know how difficult it is to gain acceptance into the Ross program so I'm wondering if Michigan Econ would even be worth it or if I could just stay in Michigan State Finance. If I stay at Michigan State I'm trying to be accepted into the Financial Markets Institute (FMI) as well as the normal Broad college of business. FMI has more rigorous academic requirements than Broad and currently has about 50 or 60 members. Some of the students that I've met in the program have done pretty well for themselves and received full time offers with Citibank, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley and other banks in New York. What do you think would be my best option?</p>
<p>I can’t speak for Michigan State, but as far as Michigan goes, I’m a VP of a finance related club at Michigan and I can say that top econ and math people can definitely get interviews from Michigan (but you have to be good, think 3.7/3.8+ for econ, and 3.5+ for math), and you will be asked why you aren’t in Ross. </p>
<p>One advantage that Michigan would definitely have is networking events. All of the top BBs come to give presentations on campus, and though they usually present in the business school, anyone is able to go to the events. This can be a great networking opportunity if you are interested in banking, s & t, or other. Also, the alumni database at Ross (you could just ask a friend at the B school) is a great way to reach out to alumni, and will most likely be superior to the same at MSU.</p>
<p>That being said, I don’t know much about the FMI program. It looks like a good place to get started (just off the website), but you might want to check if they place in front office positions or middle and back office positions, with front office obviously more desirable.</p>