So I’ve narrowed down my list to these two schools, but I’m having trouble deciding between the two. I want to do finance but not necessarily IB. I didnt apply to Ross and plan on applying after my freshmen year. If I were to get rejected from Ross and also unable to get a minor from Ross would Kelley be the better choice? I know IU is the more direct path for business, but if I didn’t get into Ross and network well with good business clubs at Michigan would that look better than a finance degree at IU? Btw I’m just wondering right now about strictly career-wise and not factoring in cost, social life, etc.
It is important to understand that economics and an undergrad business degree are very different paths. Economics is a liberal arts course of study and gets very theoretical at the upper levels. In contrast if you go to an undergraduate business school you will take a business core with introductory classes in subjects such as accounting, finance, IT, marketing etc. and then you will major in one of those disciplines. I’m not saying that one is better than the other, but they are different. I think it is important that you take the time to look at the coursework (can be found online) for both an undergrad business degree and an economics major and see if one path is preferable to you.
I’m guessing you already know it is very competitive to transfer into Ross so if you go to UM you need to be OK with the econ major (or another non-business degree path).
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What is cost for each? Michigan can be super expensive if you are OOS or don’t get a lot of aid/merit. Not sure your situation.
If you are thinking about a non-IB finance job, you definitely don’t need to go to Ross to get a job. Indiana has a great B-school regardless but there are a lot of options out there for business. What you do in school will matter more than where here. IB would be a different story.
I would look at cost and vibe of several schools where you can get a business degree assuming you want a “non-IB” finance job…there are MANY choices here. On the other hand, it is definitely possible to get a finance job after school with an ECON degree…just a little trickier.
ECON is definitely a different major from finance but both require analytical skills.
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@happy1 Some people on here have said transferring has gotten easier in the last couple years versus applying pre-admit. Don’t know whether that is right or wrong, but either way it seems like you need to maintain a high gpa. I am aware of the difference in the coursework, but I like the idea of being of being at Michigan more. If I were to get rejected from Ross and then be an econ major I would definitely try to join some finance based clubs and possibly a business fraternity to help expand the already big alumni network. I was just curious if I were to major in econ at Michigan if that would be less, similar, or more attractive to firms than if I were to have a finance degree at IU.
@bartscott Michigan will cost more, but cost isn’t a huge issue. I agree that what you do in the college matters more than the college, but assuming I had a great gpa and clubs in both - do you think a finance degree from IU would way more than, assuming I don’t get into Ross, an economics degree from Michigan. I would like to go to Michigan, but if I would struggle to get a high paying finance job (non-IB) with an econ degree, compared to Kelley IU, then I would have to think a lot more.
If you prefer Michigan, reach out to the career services group for ECON majors at Michigan and ask them about employment outcomes for ECON majors including how many get finance jobs. They would know best. Others on the board who are much more knowledgeable about UMich could also weigh in on whether Ross career resources might be available to ECON majors, what ECON outcomes could be, how hard transferring to Ross could be, etc. My guess would be transfer is challenging but not sure.
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So Ross takes on average 100 internal transfer a year from within U of Michigan. It is VERY competitive. So are the business fraternities and clubs. There are applications and interviews with 100’s who apply for few spots. They are cutthroat to get into and Ross students would have the upper hand in getting in. I would not count on those as EC’s while at Michigan.
If you truly want a business school, then I would not count on Michigan and go to Kelley.
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I don’t necessarily need a business school, but more just want a business job. So you think Kelley would give me a better chance than, if I didn’t get into Ross, an economics degree from Michigan? I know the clubs and frats are competitive, but I feel like I could at least get into a couple and also the alumni network is crazy.
I think you are possibly under evaluating a business degree from Kelley. The Kelley network is very strong. There is a very large presence in NY and West coast.
I am in the bay area and my neighbor went to Kelley and she is a CEO of a very well known company.
Do some research on Kelley’s network. If you are on Facebook try joining a Kelley group and search and ask.
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As someone said above, Ross takes about 100 interschool transfers each year as well as about 25 from other schools (including Mich CCs). I don’t see Fall 2022 data for interschool transfers, but for Fall 2021 the acceptance rate was about 21% (101 of 482 applicants accepted, 3.79 average UM GPA). See here.
I do not think it’s getting easier to be admitted to Ross. The Ross peeps are pretty transparent with the data, I expect they would give you the historical acceptance rates, as well as Fall 2022 data.
Clubs at both Kelley and Ross are competitive to get into, and both alumni networks are strong and active…I would call these two things a wash.
You can definitely get business jobs with an econ degree, but does econ appeal to you? At Mich you could get a minor in Ross with your econ major. I am not sure if Ross minors have full access to the Ross career events, but that is easy for you to find out.
Really - two different animals - both school - Ann Arbor is not Bloomington - and Econ is not finance.
Which do you want to study?
You can major in sociology and get a business job.
If you want to study business, then IU is the no brainer - because guess what- you can study business.
And if IU was - say U of Iowa - the answer would be the same.
A name on a college is great for the CC but in the real world, it’s still a who performs, not where you went.
Good luck.
Yeah I see what you’re saying, but I would rather be at Michigan. I prefer a business school, which I am in in Kelley, to a non-business school, but with Michigan I could still get into Ross and if I didn’t I would be fine with economics because that is the closest LSA major to business. And I feel like sociology, to your point, wouldn’t necessarily get me to where I wanted to be whereas economics along with networking and finance clubs looks and makes more sense for a financial career.
And for the Iowa vs Michigan analogy, I would much rather go to Michigan even if I wasn’t in the business school. It’s less about studying business in the schools and more so ending up with a financial career. I would work very hard at both schools, so I feel like it would make more sense to me to go to Michigan with the alumni network, name, business clubs, and more resources even if I was studying economics which is less preferable than a business school.
My sister did not get into the business school (apply after you get admitted and highly competitive) at UVA so she was an Econ major. It is not easily transferable degree into business she had a hard time after graduating going into business, ended up doing something with computers since she thinks like an engineer.
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Also my friend is in in finance and he said typically they hire finance people from ivies so you may need to consider an MBA from an Ivy in the future. He said they may look at top business schools from public unis but their preference is Ivy grad for finance. It doesn’t make sense but I think that field is somewhat archaic in their thinking about schools and where people graduate from.
This is not true broadly across corporate America. For IB, there is def preference for pedigree for better or worse to break in. An MBA or degree from Ivy is absolutely not required for non-IB finance jobs.
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You answered your own question - go to Michigan. You are preferencing a school over major. No problem. You had already made your decision.
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I prefer the school over major only if the job opportunities would be relatively similar. If I had a better chance at Kelley then that would probably lean me more towards IU. I only prefer Michigan as of now because from what Ive seen Michigan LSA econ would provide similar or better opportunities than Kelley, but I wanted to post to see if people thought otherwise.
You may need to check if the business clubs are available to non business majors. Also, if they are competitive, do non majors actually get into them or is it just theoretical? I have always gotten the feeling that the B school students at UM and IU look down on the other students.
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I would be interested to see the information you used to come to this conclusion (not challenging you, but would like to see the data). Thanks
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