Ross Pre-Admit Program - View from a Current Freshmen

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
1

<p>A few of you have already heard and the rest of the pre-admits for next year are about to hear of your acceptance. I hope a few other pre-admits chime in, but expect many are quite busy this time of year. Anyway, here's one person's view of the Pre-Admit Program after nearly one year.</p>

<p>The Program has far exceeded my expectations. The individual attention is phenomenal... from excellent advising to regular pre-admit events. Although a couple of the events had lame speakers (and, based on our evaluations, you probably won't have those), most were excellent. The faculty/student ratio is about half or less than most of the other top B-Schools (MIT is the only exception)... but MIT's BW recruiter rank is 27th.</p>

<p>Your fellow pre-admits are very bright... and, from the looks of it, your class will have better stats than ours. As you might expect, they are a competitive bunch, some obnoxiously so. In the two B-School classes we take second semester, you are often part of a small team... so, despite the competitive atmosphere, team members have a common interest in helping each other out. Even outside the group, a certain unwritten protocol has developed about sharing limited information... a kind of "you get what you give." I understand that teamwork is also emphasized in the upper level classes.</p>

<p>One of the classes we were required to take, Business Information Technology, is not really made for freshmen... you will learn how to do amazing things with Excel, but most of us don't have the accounting and finance background needed to fully understand the results of our efforts. (It really should be a second semester sophomore level class.) It also sucks up a tremendous amount of time for a 1.5 hour class. On the other hand, it's amazing how much you learn in such a short period of time and you don't need sophomore status to understand most of the coursework.</p>

<p>You will be the first class to spend your 3 B-school years in the facility. It will be the best (and most expensive) B-school facility in the country.</p>

<p>For the Ranking Conscious... Ross is currently ranked #3 by USNews (and #1 in Business Management, the main focus of the school) and #5 by BusinessWeek. I believe Ross will move into the #2 spot (behind Wharton) in USNews within the next couple of years and will move up in BW once we get into the new facilities. Although I wouldn't advise anyone to choose Ross over Wharton, I would note that Ross is about 1/3 the size of Wharton and our feeeder rank to the top MBA programs is actually one spot higher than Wharton's. Also, if you're in-state at Berkeley or Virginia, I'm not sure it's worth the extra money for Ross OOS.</p>

<p>Given the thought and execution that went into the first pre-admit proram, I would strongly suspect that Ross' continuous improvement mentality will make it an even better program for your class.</p>

<p>I know it sounds corny and the Program is not perfect... but I feel like I won the lottery.</p>

2

<p>I'm glad you're liking Ross. It's a great school, and if you're a pre-admit, you'll be ahead of your pre-business peers. But 2 things:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Management, although we're #1, is not the focus of Ross. Very few students take MO electives compared to finance, and most end up working in finance anyway. Also, note that recruiters are mostly finance firms. The reason we're #1 for management is not the management (MO) department but rather the idea that we are learning a broad-based curriculum. So in essence, the entire BBA program as a whole is management.</p></li>
<li><p>Wharton might not seem as good for MBA placements, but it is because less than 35% of Wharton students go back to get their MBAs. In the eyes of recruiters, they don't need it. So the BW statistic is not perfect.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I agree that once our new building is done, we'll have some of the best facilities in the nation.</p>

3

<p>Can you tell me what all classes the PBBA students have to take?</p>

4

<p>I am so jealous. You have no idea how much right now. That sounds like THE PERFECT business program in my mind. I wish there was some way to do the 3 year program in 2 years. I can't imagine graduating late...</p>

5

<p>Redhare, I've always understood the USNews ranking was not based on classes denominated as "management," but the program as a whole.</p>

<p>Also, as you point out, most of the initial jobs are finance jobs... and the most popular emphasis is "finance" within the BBA program. I plan to go down this path plus at least one other emphasis, as so few classes are required for an "emphasis." I like this about Ross.</p>

<p>Second, that's a good point about Wharton and the need for an MBA. I believe the same is true, though to a lesser extent, at Ross and a few of the other top business schools. So, we're probably not ahead of Wharton in that area when you include that factor... but we're close.</p>

6

<p>Collegebound, our freshmen B-School classes are:
BIT 200: Productivity with Information Technology (1.5 hours)
LHC 250: Introduction to Business Communication (1.5 hours)</p>

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<p>If you want one other emphasis, I recommend accounting. Finance and accounting are the two most combined emphases. I also think MO and accounting are good combinations. But, as you already know, you can do virtually anything.</p>

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<p>Thanks, Redhare. Although I've heard that Accounting is another good emphasis, it's good to hear that from an upperclassman.</p>

9

<p>Also, as a sophomore, here are some things you can do:</p>

<ol>
<li>Do your work! Academics is still the most important. Maintain that GPA.</li>
<li>Continue your ECs, get some leadership.</li>
<li><p>Attend the basic workshops: resume, interview, self-assessment, networking, etc. A lot of this is common sense and sometimes even a waste of time, but it will be useful if you know what questions to ask.</p></li>
<li><p>Attend the functional overview workshops: consulting, IB, corporate finance, etc. Again, it's about asking the right questions afterwards.</p></li>
<li><p>Don't worry about corporate presentations as a sophomore. Go to one or two to get the feel for them, but they won't really help at this stage. You'll need them as a junior, but as a sophomore is a waste of time.</p></li>
</ol>

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<p>what advice do you have for current U-M freshmen applying for the regular admit program?</p>

11

<p>given the choice btwn nyu stern and NOT ross pre-admit, would u go for stern (where its a sure bet, but also pricey) or umich (where its cheaper but there is still that chance u'll be rejected come sophomore year)? i really want to go to stern since location location location and i heard the program spoils u rotten but my parents are trying to convince me to stay with umich. i haven't heard from ross pre-admit yet so i'm kinda bummed.</p>

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<p>I was in the same boat as you when I was a high school senior, especially because there was no pre-admit back then. I ended up risking Michigan over Stern. I wasn't even in-state. If you're in-state, I think you're better off at Michigan than Stern. The extra cost of going to Stern probably won't be worth it, even if you get the location.</p>

13

<p>And to answer Snorky's question, to maximize chances of getting into Ross as a regular admit:</p>

<p>Keep grades up, get involved in a few ECs, and write solid essays. You might also want to check out the information session since there's a part on the app where you can check off the ones you attended.</p>

14

<p>What's the general GPA one should aim for if they're looking to get into Ross?</p>

<p>I've got a friend who's a fresman at Michigan who tells me that despite what their website says, the B-school admits far less than the 50% or so it says it admits on its site. I don't know if his cynicism is warranted or not, but he says they inflate the numbers as to encourage more applicants and get more money off of application fees. </p>

<p>Do his claims hold merit, or is this just cynical BS?</p>

15

<p>I suppose we really can't tell if their numbers are right, but I would say they're the truth. The part about application fees is BS because there are no application fees. The only people who pay are transfers, but there are a lot more Michigan LSA applicants than transfers.</p>

16

<p>One of my biggest reasons why I'm going to chose UMich (No ROSS PA) over NYU (Stern) was because I figured, UMich > NYU by alot in MANY MANY other majors. And I'm not 100% positive I want to do business. So even if I don't get into ROSS PA, it's not like I'm completely screwed. Plus, UMich is in-state for me and therefore a ton cheaper (especially considering that NYU is notorious for bad FA).</p>

<p>I'd go for Stern if I was absolutely positive I wanted business and I was OOS for Michigan...</p>

17

<p>Cynical BS. </p>

<p>A huge public university like University of Michigan which gets regular large donations from various sources , would not need another 500$ or so. </p>

<p>Since these stats can be easily checked up , they wouldn't dare simply put them up. </p>

<p>A university with the integrity of Michigan simply wouldn't do such a thing. </p>

<p>Cynical BS often arises out of some other factor which in your friends case would be rejection. If hes a freshman there , I wonder why he would be saying that.Strange.</p>

18

<p>i also kinda wanna go to stern since i'm so sick of my parents smothering me. i want or more like NEED to jsut get away and be independent for once. i'm doing the washu olin spotlight weekend where washu pays for all expenses incurred including airfare and they insist taht they drive me down there instead. i only like 30 mins away from umich and my mother works on north campus. so the whole autonomy thing factors in too.</p>

19

<p>In that case, you should pick a place you would be happy with. NYU is probably one of the best schools if you want to be independent. I personally don't think Olin is nearly as good as either Ross or Stern as a business school. If you're the type that lives very close to campus and feel like getting away, then perhaps that is a better idea. I guess we weren't in the same boat after all.</p>

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<p>washu's pretty much out of the picture since i got into stern. well it really wasn't in the picture to begin with but they offered a free trip =)</p>