UMich or Wake Forest (econ transfer)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
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<p>Hey, guys. I got admitted to UMich LSA econ and Wake Forest econ as an international transfer student. </p>

<p>I haven't decided yet but I kinda lean to UMich right now. But I still got a few questions here. Really hope insiders can help me with them, since I'm an international student and don't have enough info to have a clear vision for my future career. And you know, career path is important for everyone when making the right college decision.</p>

<p>A little info about myself:
I might be a rising sophomore although I have already been in my current college for 2 years.:<
I will graduate with an econ degree and probably will go to a b-school in the future. But at the end of the day, I hope I can work in IB or consulting firms, very likely in US.
I may get a minor in math or cs but not sure about the rules in UMich.</p>

<ol>
<li>Can you guys tell me about these minor or double major rule in UM for transfer student? e.g. math, cs or even Ross minor? Will it cost a lot of money?</li>
<li>I know UMich is a target school for top-tier IB or consulting firms. But it's primarily for Ross. So will econ major students feel very frustrated when competing with Ross in job fairs, generally? If econ major students can only take comparatively second-tier jobs, which is ok for me, what are these jobs like(Where and which firms)? </li>
<li>How important is target-school policy for finding jobs? I ask this because although I might not go to Wake, Charlotte looks like a fascinating place to me(Charlotte is very close to Wake and Wake is definitely a target school for Charlotte firms). More than half of its population are doing banking there and it's a clean and quite city. What are my chances to be hired in Charlotte as a UMich student if I apply on my own? Anyone done that?</li>
<li>I notice from US NEWS rankings that UMich Graduate Econ Program is highly ranked(#13) and WFU is not ranked. But does that mean UMich also has an excellent econ undergraduate program while WFU has a poor one?</li>
</ol>

<p>If u guys can answer me with anything useful(about any question or suggestion about choosing between the 2 schools), I will be very grateful. :D </p>

2

<ol>
<li>Can you guys tell me about these minor or double major rule in UM for transfer student? e.g. math, cs or even Ross minor? Will it cost a lot of money?</li>
</ol>

<p>Double majoring within LSA (like Econ and CS or Econ and Mathematics) is fairly easy. Ross is now a three year program and you have to complete at least one year in LSA before you can transfer to Ross. In other words, you have to stay 4 years in Michigan to graduate from Ross. However, Ross now offers a minor in Business, but I am not sure how many students will be admitted into the program or how well recruited the minor will be.</p>

<ol>
<li>I know UMich is a target school for top-tier IB or consulting firms. But it’s primarily for Ross. So will econ major students feel very frustrated when competing with Ross in job fairs, generally? If econ major students can only take comparatively second-tier jobs, which is ok for me, what are these jobs like(Where and which firms)?</li>
</ol>

<p>Econ majors will typically not be recruited on campus. They will have to leverage the Michigan alumni network, which is considerably large and powerful. But the odds of landing a job on Wall Street from LSA are not good. Still, I would say they are better than from Wake Forest simply because Michigan has many more alums in Wall Street. However, Wake Forest does have more access to Charlotte firms, which include Bank of America and Wells Fargo. However, back in my days, most of those banks’ IBanking activity were in Wall Street, not in Charlotte. I am not sure if that has changed.</p>

<ol>
<li>How important is target-school policy for finding jobs? I ask this because although I might not go to Wake, Charlotte looks like a fascinating place to me(Charlotte is very close to Wake and Wake is definitely a target school for Charlotte firms). More than half of its population are doing banking there and it’s a clean and quite city. What are my chances to be hired in Charlotte as a UMich student if I apply on my own? Anyone done that?</li>
</ol>

<p>I would assume that Wake Forest students will have greater odds of landing jobs in Charlotte than LSA students. The question you need to ask, and get answered, is whether or not there are many, if any, IBanking jobs in Charlotte. Like I said above, back in my day, most BoA and Wells Fargo IBanking jobs were located in Wall Street, where an LSA degree will likely be more appealing than a Wake Forest degree. And even if there are IBanking jobs in Charlotte, Wake Forest students will be competing with kids from other regionally powerful universities, like Davidson College, Duke University, Emory University, Georgetown University, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and University of Virginia.</p>

<ol>
<li>I notice from US NEWS rankings that UMich Graduate Econ Program is highly ranked(#13) and WFU is not ranked. But does that mean UMich also has an excellent econ undergraduate program while WFU has a poor one?</li>
</ol>

<p>Yes and no. Michigan’s Economics department is elite, and surprisingly undergraduate focused. But Wake Forest’s Econ department is not poor. The reason Wake Forest’s Econ department is unranked is because it does not offer a PhD in Economics…I think. Perhaps someone from Wake Forest can confirm this part. </p>

<p>As an international student, however, I recommend you attend Michigan. Wake Forest is a very good university, but it will not be appreciated back home. If things do not work out for you in the US and you have to return to your home country after graduation, a degree from Michigan will open more doors for you since Michigan is one of the most recognized universities in the World while Wake Forest does not really have a strong reputation internationally. Also, as an international student, the University of Michigan and Ann Arbor will prove a lot more welcoming and appealing to an international students. For one, Michigan has 1,800 undergraduate international students, whole Wake Forest only has 180. </p>

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<p>Alexandre, wow, that is… you are such a life-saver! :x</p>