Just toured Michigan and absolutely loved it… just had a few questions about Ross.
I am an OOS HS Senior that is interesting in applying Preferred Admission to Ross.
I have an academic profile with extracurriculars that makes me competitive for LSA admissions, with a very heavy emphasis on Science and Research (Awards, authorship, internships, electives, etc.) In short, I realized I did not want to do a pre-med track, science or any independent research for my career, and now have taken a liking to Business management. Learning that the applications process centers around preexisting business work as a High Schooler, I am feeling discouraged as to all the work I have invested in science.
Academically, I want a college experience in which I can get exposed to business and decide whether or not I want to do it or not. However, if I eventually stick with it, the prestige of Ross is very compelling.
I have a few specific questions. 1) Will my heavy science background hurt my chances for Ross admission having not been exposed to business in HS? 2) How do I portray my science background as compelling to admit for Ross through essays and such? 3) If I decide I don’t want to do Business and I am in Ross, what are my options for transfer? 4) If I am admitted to LSA but not Ross, attend U of M and still want to do Business, what are my options for majoring and minoring while still graduating with a degree that looks appealing for business job openings? 5) What’s the acceptance rate from LSA to Ross as a senior admit applying for Preferred Admission? 6) Is there a “home” school that would make me more likely to get into Ross like Engineering vs LSA? 7) Assuming I am not admitted to Ross, is Michigan worth the expense of college to graduate with an LSA major and business minor if I were to be deadset on Management?
https://lsa.umich.edu/bli
One program my engineering son did in the rising sophomore summer after getting a $10,000 grant from this program. His mentor was a tech start up specialist. https://www.optimizemi.org/
$5,000 grant here to help start a tech club at Michigan that led to a full blown out tech conference, one of the first in the Midwest.
He is a rising Junior and currently doing an international internship with a known tech company and he is on the Practice Management team. Funny thing is two others that hired him in this company are Industrial engineers (son is an industrial engineering student).
So no you don’t have to be at Ross to get business experience at Michigan. Instead of engineering you could of change that to just about any major.
The cool thing about Michigan is if you want it, then go do it. No one is stopping you and they will help to no end if you put the wheels on motion.
Don’t companies need to know how to do research? Your analytical thinking is sorta huge for business BTW. They aren’t expecting you to run a business at this point. Think hard about the parrelles between your experience and the business world. It’s there.
I would also call or reach out to Ross for things you can’t find on the website. I assume 99% of it is on there.
Very great information thank you. I am definitely hoping my different background provides better insight to the Ross program. I checked out these links and definitely know I’ll be able to get Management experience without Ross, and graduate with classes that would prepare me for that career. From a potential job standpoint, would hiring a candidate that was evidently not accepted to Ross but attended Michigan look unappealing for top firms?
NO! There are companies that “want” Ross graduates. No question but many companies want educated students that can formulate ideas and communicate as part of a team
Most the other stuff you will learn when on the job. There are also a host of clubs etc at Michigan that are business like. I just gave you a few.
If going into business school is important to you then definitely apply to several. But many people have come out of Michigan’s LSA that become business CEOs also http://alumnus.alumni.umich.edu/notable-alumni/ list of companies recruiting from LSA would be a who’s who of companies. Can’t find a link but email the school and I am sure they have the information.
Keep in mind. Michigan’s a world Class university. Companies know the product they deliver.
First, whether you have a business or science background in HS, will probably not matter. GPA and rigor are the most important factors in whatever classes you have taken.
One option is Economics with Business as a minor.
Also, you can attempt an internal transfer from LSA to Ross, since there are about 100 internal transfers to Ross per year.
This is unknown. For the Class of 2022, UMich enrolled 447 freshman students. LSA enrolled 4,163 freshman students.
The value of any degree from UMich is in the “eye of the beholder,” as they say. Value is subjective here.
Awesome info thanks a ton. What I am trying to decide is basically if I do not get Preferred Admission to Ross, BUT get admission to LSA if it is worth it to attend Michigan from a value standpoint. Prestige and potential job openings down the line matter a lot to me, and as I am looking at schools with similar student life (UVa, UNC) this becomes a very important factor. Graduating from Michigan holds a certain distinction, whether or not I am in Ross.
One question I still had that I was having trouble finding online was if I am admitted to Ross and enroll but decide, say, midway through my sophomore year I do not want to continue with Business, how is the transfer out process?
Internal transfers within schools at UMich is relatively easy for the most part. Internal transfers into Ross, and probably SMTD and STAMPS, are difficult. An internal transfer from Ross to LSA would be easy. But getting your degree may or may not take longer.
We’re from the SF Bay Area, my kid will be a sophomore at UMich LSA. We passed on several top UC’s and CP SLO (and I love SLO ?), so we think UMich is prestigious. But the next person may not think so.
UVa and UNC are awesome public schools too. There are differences, for example, UVa has a much bigger Greek culture, whether that matters either way I don’t know. But the main difference is that UMich is behind only Clemson, Bama and Georgia in terms of the odds to win a national football championship. And their 2020 recruiting class is 7th in the country right now ?
Keep in mind. Michigan wants you to succeed. Transferring out of Ross is easy. Getting in is the hard part.
I can’t think of any company that would assume you are a hack since you went to Michigan. Companies /employers know what that means and how hard and well prepared the students are. The Alumni are a real thing but at any school… You make the school, the school doesn’t make you. There are tons of opportunities to be successful but that’s up to you.
That’s super true I think prestige isn’t something I really need to worry about with Michigan, or any of those schools. I know majoring in Econ is a possibility but it is a little bit of a dry subject to me. I would enjoy studying it on the surface, but I would rather focus on a business subset. Does Michigan have a wide array of business classes that I would be able to take majoring in Econ? Is it school which would be very open to classes I could take, or would I have to be very focused on Econ?