<p>I want to major in business and have been accepted into UIUC's business school. I also have been accepted at the University of Michigan but will not be able to apply to the Ross school of business till the end of my freshman year. Cost is not an issue because I will pay in state at UIUC and received a scholarship which matches UIUC's tuition for michigan.
At this point, I don't think I will be involved in the social greek system but would like to do a business frat. Also, I want to join an a cappella group.
Which school is the best option for me?</p>
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Congrats!</p>
<p>Ross is obviously the better business school. However, you aren’t guaranteed to get into Ross. I can’t comment on how difficult that process is - hopefully someone else can.</p>
<p>UIUC is also a good school, and for some areas of business (ie accounting) it is a very good school.</p>
<p>Have you visited both? Ann Arbor and Urbana/Champaign may both be ‘college towns’ but they aren’t all that similar. And that may not matter to you at all, of course.</p>
<p>If the only difference is that you have to wait a year to get into the business school at Michigan, that doesn’t sound like an overwhelming reason to pass on Michigan–unless it implies you will not graduate in four years.</p>
<p>I would think you can find out whether or not Michigan, and Illinois, have a cappella groups and active business frats by doing a web search. I would expect both to have both.</p>
<p>Thanks for your replies. I visited both campus and they are both nice. MI is much nicer campus. But I found the people in UIUC are a bit more friendly. I stayed over night in both school UIUC person was not in the greek sys but Michigan person was and I wasn’t too thrilled with that. I like to hear a Michigan person feedback who is not in the greek system.</p>
<p>There are lots of Michigan peeps on this board. You might want to check out or search the Michigan specific forum.</p>
<p>GWT, only 15% of Michigan students are part of the greek scene. Michigan’s social structure is not at all centered around frats. </p>
<p>If cost is the same, I would recommend Michigan over UIUC for all majors except the core sciences (Chemistry and Physics) and Engineering, where I recommend both equally and suggest one choose based on fit. </p>
<p>Even if you don’t get into Ross, a degree in Economics from Michigan will probably open the same doors as a degree in Business from UIUC.</p>
<p>At UIUC you’re guaranteed admission to the business school. At Michigan you’re taking a chance; even if you get in second year, you may be locked out of key prerequisite classes freshman year that could make it difficult to graduate in 4 years.</p>
<p>Choose UIUC and apply as a transfer student for Michigan next year if you’re not totally happy. At least you’ll have some core business courses out of the way, which should give you a boost for getting in to the business college.</p>
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That’s not true especially for freshman year when all the frats will be throwing parties and many 1st year travel out in groups to these events. It isn’t until their upperclassmen years do students start drifting away from purely Greek Life and going to smaller apartment parties/bars/clubs. This is common at the vast majority of universities in the country with fairly social student bodies (minus Chicago and Caltech) and isn’t an indictment against Michigan’s Greek scene specifically.</p>
<p>GWT, what kind of business jobs are you interested in and what are your geographical preferences? Michigan has a more national reputation if you’re looking to leave the Midwest.</p>
<p>LorenIpsum, transfering into Ross if you are at another university is very difficult. The acceptance rate for such transfers is less than 5%.</p>
<p>LDB, I went to Michigan, so I obviously know what I am talking about. Michigan does not have a Greek-centric social structure, even for freshmen seeking an active party life. Like I said, only 15% of students are greek. There are many alternatives to fraternities, from bars and clubs to house parties and pre-game parties (such as tailgating etc…). Some universities have a much heavier reliance on the greek scene. Schools like Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Northwestern and UVa, where over 25% of the students belong to a fraternity or sorority. That is not the case at Michigan. </p>
<p>Of course, joing a fraternity facilitates and provides a structured framework for students to socialize and party. All I am saying is that at Michigan, there are many alternatives to going greek simply because such a large majority choose not to join a fraternity or sorority. </p>
<p>But typically, those concerned about a Greek-heavy campus are seeking a social culture that does not involve too much partying, and that is where Michigan excels.</p>
<p>I never belonged to a fraternity while in college and I had fun from the moment I arrived on campus.</p>
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Great, I went to a top public high school in Michigan, have over a hundred current friends at UofM and have been to AA dozens of times in the past couple of years so I have a pretty good idea of what I’m talking about. Even if 15% of students are Greek, that doesn’t mean a much larger number than that don’t actually attend fraternity parties, sorority mixers, Greek philanthropy events, tailgates, etc. etc. There isn’t some sort of magical divide that separates the people that attend apartment/house parties and frat parties. People who are social and go out on the weekends will end up going to a good mix of both during their 4 years of college. Freshmen can’t get into clubs or bars typically because they are underage and don’t really know any upperclassmen at first so they’re not going to be able to go to smaller gatherings that happen in apartments. Especially in the Fall starting with Welcome Week, most extroverted freshmen will head out to the frats on State Street with their friends.</p>
<p>There isn’t a perfect correlation between the strength of Greek Life at a university and the prominence of its party/social life. Georgetown doesn’t have fraternities, for instance, but it still has a pretty good social scene.</p>
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Students would be ill-advised to turn down Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Northwestern, etc. because they have a high percentage of students involved in Greek Life. The Greek system carries a strong stigma among those who were never involved it but studies show that Greeks in college are more academically successful, social and loyal to their alma mater than non-Greeks. At schools like Dartmouth and Duke, the Greek scene is very open and there is an organization that fits almost any type of individual’s personality.</p>
<p>I think that current students would object to your description of Michigan as not being “too much partying” focused in comparison to higher ranked private schools. Most Wolverines revel in the fact that their school has a better party scene than the Ivies and other good private schools. In fact, a classmate of mine from high school who turned down MIT for Michigan did so for that exact reason so I don’t think you should be downplaying that aspect of the institution.;)</p>
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Sure, I don’t doubt that. Although like I said, the vast majority students will attend fraternity parties with some regularity at one point or another so Greek Life impacts the school in a much larger manner than you indicate which is not a bad thing.</p>
<p>“At UIUC you’re guaranteed admission to the business school. At Michigan you’re taking a chance; even if you get in second year, you may be locked out of key prerequisite classes freshman year that could make it difficult to graduate in 4 years.”</p>
<p>How do you know that the OP would be, “locked out of key prerequisite classes freshman year?” In any case, if costs are about the same, go to Michigan, even without the Bschool preadmit. You’re going to have to get good grades anywhere you attend to land a good job when you graduate. Might as well start with your freshman year and get admitted as a sophomore to Ross.</p>
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% of transfer students in the entering sophomore BBA class is around 1% ([BBA</a> - Stephen M. Ross School of Business](<a href=“http://www.bus.umich.edu/Admissions/BBA/Whyross.htm]BBA”>http://www.bus.umich.edu/Admissions/BBA/Whyross.htm) – class profiles under current U-M students).</p>
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Ross program is three years. There is no “key prerequisite classes” in your freshman year.</p>
<p>I agree LDB. Greek life is not a separate entity, nor is it a bad thing. I was merely addressing the OP’s question. But I disagree that a student should not consider the degree to which greek life impacts a campus’ social structure. Some schools have very dominant greek life that dominates student life. Students who do not care for such an environment should not attend such a university. </p>
<p>As for a cappella groups, Michigan has one of the oldest and richest traditions. Today, Michigan has no fewer than 7 a cappella groups, some single-sex and some coed. Plus you have the Men’s Glee Club, the second oldest and one of the finest Glee club in the United States.</p>
<p>That’s correct GoBlue, anybody interested in Ross should enter Michigan as a Freshmen, not attempt to do so as a transfer. The only successful transfers I knkew at Ross came from elite universities that did not offer Business, like Chicago, Northwestern, Brown etc… </p>
<p>Also, I have never known a student who was locked out of a class at Michigan. I am sure it happens, but it is not at all common. Of the dozens of students I knew at Michigan, I never heard of such a thing happening and we all graduated in 4 years. Heck, many of the students I knew graduated in 3 1/2 years because they entered Michigan with many AP credits.</p>
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<p>I wrote “may be locked out.” I personally went through such a problem several decades back when I went to college. I wanted to major in business, wrote down “interested in advertising” and was placed in LAS rather than in business/marketing. Yes, I usually got into my classes, but was low priority, so often I had to go talk to the professor during opening week and get special permission. This usually works if you’re aggressive, but it’s risky and doesn’t always work, especially if it’s a key prerequisite course that’s already oversubscribed. And I never did get into the business school, although I took most of the required classes.</p>
<p>The quality of the education is going to be very similar at both of these institutions. Business school transfers can be very difficult to accomplish, whether from within the same university or from another university. If one’s major is more important than one’s school choice, why take a risk of finding yourself in a situation where you may be unable to complete your major?</p>
<p>“The quality of the education is going to be very similar at both of these institutions. Business school transfers can be very difficult to accomplish, whether from within the same university or from another university.”</p>
<p>…and you base these remarks on what happened to you “several decades” ago at an entirely different school? Look IMHO Michigan is just better than UIUC in overall academics and especially in business. With costs being the same, I really think that Michigan is the way to go for the OP.</p>
<p>If you want to work in Chicago it’s a push as UI and UM are equal there. In NYC or Boston UM would have the advantage. Also anywhere for accting UI is better.</p>
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Ross is a 3-year program. There is NO business class in the first year. The only required courses are Calculus I/II/III, Microeconomics and First-Year Writing. Which of these courses do you anticipate being “locked out”?</p>
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Yes, transfer students account for only 1% of the entering sophomore BBA class at Ross.</p>
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Not when most of the current students apply to Ross during the second semester of their freshman year. This is called REGULAR ADMISSION to Ross (for current U-M students).</p>
<p>If you are interested in avoiding the Greek scene I am surprised that UIUC is on your list. UIUC takes pride in having the largest Greek life of any university in the United States. That could be because of a lack of other things to do in the area. The Greek scene at Michigan is prominent but much less so than at Illinois and it is definitely possible to have an active social life at Michigan without joining a fraternity or sorority. Most students at Michigan do not belong to one. I have not heard of interested students being locked out of the Ross prerequisites. The prerequisites have numerous sections and you should have no problem finding a space in one of these classes.</p>
<p>The biggest risk of going to Michigan is that you will not be admitted to Ross. If cost is the same, I would think that Michigan would be a better choice for most than Illinois.</p>
<p>LDB ■■■■■■ Michigan threads so take the comments in that context.</p>