Pre-business to business chances

My daughter was accepted as a pre-business major (UW Madison). She is interested in the Marketing major. She has been accepted direct admit to Miami (OH) Farmer, Indiana Kelley, OSU Fisher, and a few others. The decisions among those schools is tough and evaluating whether UW is worth the risk. She is concerned about the “unknown” application process to apply to the business school after freshman year.

How difficult is it to get into the business school for Marketing for pre-business students? I read the minimal requirements from the website but would like to understand the probability or any stats on percentage who qualify/get accepted. Thanks.

@dednimnepo - hi - i was accepted into those too - I got into Madison but my friend said you need 3.5 GPA to get into business school. Tough choice, all good options - IU Kelley, UT Austin, OSU and UW Madison my final 4.

It is a tough decision. A real consideration is the certainty of keeping the business school and major versus wanting the overall campus/school. Some good choices above make it more difficult. Getting the 3.5 gpa should not be a problem for students who will be taking courses leading to the chosen major. Good luck.

Does the school send pre-business acceptance notices to all first-year students who apply for business school? Has anyone received an offer to the direct admission to business school?

My son was accepted directly to the business school. We are oos.

yes, there are students admitted directly to the business school - mine was a direct admit.

If all other factors are equal (cost, likes the school) I would probably steer mine to the places where they got direct admission.

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I think ppl usually give higher appreciation to UW Madison than UT-Austin and OSU, am I right?

Thanks for your reply. But what does OOS mean?

I agree.

Out of state.

Thank you.

The “appreciation” of the school you attend will vary by region. Employers know their local schools. They also know it is the person that matters and that there is more than one school to get a good education at.

Getting a 3.5 is no guarantee of being admitted to the Bus Sch when you apply end of 2nd semester frosh year. It’s a holistic approach that takes in consideration your application/resume, the essay (very important), campus ECs, and of course the gpa. Know also that since they’re admitting more direct admits now there are fewer spots to fill so count on it being very very competitive.

My son was admitted pre-business to Madison as well and we just visited the school this past weekend. We attended a B-School presentation and the B-School Director of Admissions said they target admitting roughly 50% of their students through the pre-business process. The average GPA for pre-business students admitted to the program after freshman year is 3.6 and yes they also evaluate your essay, ECs, and other factors. He also said that the acceptance rate of pre-business applicants vary from year to year. Last year it was roughly 50% but the year before was 66%.

My son is a direct admit to Indiana Kelley School and other west region Universities so this will be a very tough choice for him. The Kelley School has a great program too!

My son is in the exact same boat…curious to hear what your son decided and if he has any advice

Hi - My son decided to go to UW-Madison and despite the restricted campus environment due to covid he’s had a great experience. He made the Dean’s List (>3.6 gpa) in the first semester and should be well positioned to get accepted into the business school this fall assuming he keeps it up this semester. I believe his b-school application, including essay, is due in the April timeframe but the final decision is made after his 2nd semester grades are in. He met w/ his b-school counsel and they simply said to stay focused on getting good grades. He joined the Finance and Fantasy Football Club and the school newspaper so hopefully these activities also contribute to his application.

Thank you very much! Good luck to your son. Sounds like he’s done all the right things. Glad he’s loving being a Badger…it will be even better when things get back to normal!