UMich Ross vs Northwestern Econ

<p>Hi, I'm currently picking between a preferred admit to Ross at UMich or LSA (econ) at Northwestern. I'm struggling to discover what I want to do with my life, all that I know is that I want it to involve math and econ somehow. I'm worried that getting a BBA or econ degree themselves will not be enough, and so I want to double major in engineering if possible. However, I did not think of this in hindsight, and have not applied to the engineering schools. Given that, which of these 2 options would give me the best job prospects out of college and also would allow the flexibility to pursue an engineering degree if desired? Also, I want a balanced social life in college, but obviously a good education is my top priority.</p>

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<p>Also, I live within driving distance of NU and the cost difference is negligible between schools.</p>

<p>Michigan is better at math and engineering. You can go for Math/Econ minor + Ross is good combo. Ross has great recruiting.
See my response at
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-michigan-ann-arbor/1475188-how-hard-get-into-ross.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-michigan-ann-arbor/1475188-how-hard-get-into-ross.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Northwestern is better at econ. </p>

<p>Others may persuade you that Northwestern student intellectual body is better than Michigan’s but you won’t really run into this problem if you’re in Ross or in COE. </p>

<p>If you’re in-state Michigan is an almost no-brainer, unless you see yourself at a better fit for NU. </p>

<p>Jobs Prospects: Michigan Ross + COE are good. Dual degree for both is suicide. Anyways,I’ve seen the linkedin profiles of my sophomores + junior peers and they’ve done some pretty impressive stuff(Microsoft, Apple, Goldman Sachs, Bloomberg-LP, Intel, Deloitte, PWC interns, start-ups funded $15,000 by venture-capitalists, etc). </p>

<p>I’m not very familiar with NU placement programs, but I’m sure they do well due to their prestige. The only thing I’ll say is that learning Econ is less practical in the real world than Business or Engineering. But if you’re out-of-state for UMich, choose NU. LSA Econ is overshadowed by Ross. </p>

<p>As for social life, both will seem very greek-life oriented. UMich has more greeks by absolute numbers and NU has a greater percentage of greek life participants. That said, you don’t to be in greek life to have a decent social life in either.</p>

<p>I would go with Michigan. Ross’ career office is excellent. Also, if you wish to transfer to the CoE, Michigan is very flexible. I am not sure about Northwestern in this regard. However, double majoring in Business and Engineering will take you 5 years.</p>

<p>Northwestern is also very flexible when it comes to allowing students to transfer between colleges and taking courses in different majors.</p>

<p>It really depends on how set you are for business. Ross will probably have better job placement than NU econ. But if you’re looking for a traditional Econ program, then maybe NU is better for you. You have the option of doing Ross w/ Econ or math as ForeverAlone said. In my opinion, that’d offer the best of both worlds.</p>

<p>I’m not really sure why you think that a BBA or Econ degree is ‘not enough’. Ross and NU Econ are both extremely prestigious and have excellent job placement. By no means do you need to major in Engineering to bolster your resume. If you’re truly interested in Engineering, this could be something different. I’d suggest you look into the Industrial Engineering & Management Sciences program at Northwestern. Emphasizes econ and business heavily with engineering, many students major/minor in Econ and graduate in four years. Job prospects are similar to Ross.</p>

<p>Best of luck.</p>

<p>Pat1120, I do not think that academic or professional placement prospects are greater at Northwestern Econ than they are at Michigan Econ, and neither is as good as Ross when it comes to professional placement. NU has a couple of special (and restricted) programs that match Ross, such as MMSS, but straight up Econ will not have the same potency. I am not sure about the Industrial Engineering & Management Sciences Program at NU. Is it a highly restricted program like the Kellogg Certificate programs at NU or the Engineering Global Leadership Program at Michigan (all of which have great placement records), or is it an open major?</p>

<p>But I agree with Pat1120 that a double major from Ross and the CoE is not necessary and may actually be overkill. If you wish to work in industry, I recommend majoring in Engineering. If you wish to work in a corporate environment but want to further your quant skills, double major in Mathematics and Business in four years. The Engineering and Business combination at Michigan is a little much if you ask me.</p>

<p>Ross for sure. The job prospects are much better and you’ll get a ton of personalized attention and face time with recruiters at Ross over NU econ. Not to mention you get to spend four years in Ann Arbor instead of Evanston and have a much more well rounded college experience.</p>

<p>Alexandre, that may be true regarding NU Econ vs. Michigan Econ. I honestly haven’t spent much time comparing the two. </p>

<p>Well, regarding the IEMS program, it is fairly restrictive, with about 70 students in every class. I’m not sure that makes it as competitive as MMSS, the Kellogg Cert, or EGL, but it definitely has placement records comparable to Ross. Over 40% of IEMS grads go into consulting, with good portions in financial services and manufacturing (about 10-20% each)</p>

<p>I know IEMS+Econ is a common route, somewhere around 25% of their students pursue at least a minor in Econ alongside IEMS. IEMS is an excellent program for students interested in engineering and business and wish to graduate in 4 years. I personally was debating between IEMS+Econ and Ross for several months (Go Blue :stuck_out_tongue: )!</p>

<p>I’ll see if I can find some more info on IEMS. Really an great program. I think the OP would be interested.</p>

<p>Info on IEMS career placement: [Career</a> Choices of Northwestern’s Undergraduate Industrial Engineers: Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences : Northwestern University](<a href=“http://www.iems.northwestern.edu/undergraduate_program/prospective/career.html]Career”>http://www.iems.northwestern.edu/undergraduate_program/prospective/career.html)</p>

<p>A tid bit on the IEMS major as a whole:
[Prospective</a> Undergraduate Students: Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences : Northwestern University](<a href=“http://www.iems.northwestern.edu/undergraduate_program/prospective/index.html]Prospective”>http://www.iems.northwestern.edu/undergraduate_program/prospective/index.html)</p>

<p>Pat1120, I took a quick glance at the IEMS career placement link you provided. It definitely looks impressive, but again, it does not seem to have the depth that Ross carries when it comes to corporate placement. Absent from the list of employers listed are Bain, Booz, BCG and McKinsey among consulting firms and all bulge bracket investment banks save Goldman Sachs, all of which actively recruit at Ross. The only heavy hitting, non-technical/manufacturing corporate entities that were listed are Goldman Sachs and Oliver Wyman. </p>

<p>Other than the MMSS program, I do not think that NU has an equivalent to Ross when it comes to corporate placement. Overall, NU is certainly as good as Michigan as an academic institution. But when it comes to professional placement, I think Ross is the way to go. Those who are preadmitted to Ross are are considering professional placement when they graduate should give it a very serious look.</p>

<p>I guess we will have to agree to disagree on that point, Alexandre. I’m not trying to sway the OP in one direction or another, just trying to suggest an option that he/she may find interesting given the information provided.</p>

<p>If you are interested in business and engineering, I would consider going to Michigan for engineering. After you have been in the world for a period of time, you can get a M.B.A. at a top business school such as Kellogg, Chicago or Ross.</p>

<p>Pat1120, I am merely suggesting the safer route. If the OP were considering LSA vs Weinberg or the CoE vs McCormick, like you, I would have recommend fit as both options would have been equal. But the OP is preadmitted at Ross, and he has indicated an interest in Business. That changes the whole landscape. </p>

<p>If he changes his mind and decides to major in Engineering, he can easily do so at Michigan, and Michigan’s CoE is as good as NU’s (ranked higher in fact). You mentioned IEMS program at NU, which seems similar to Michigan’s EGL program, with similar professional placement figures, but both of those are restricted and uncertain, and neither have career offices that matches Ross’.</p>

<p>Bottom line, Michigan is a safer option.</p>

<p>Michigan is currently introducing a minor in business. You could major in some sort of engineering + minor in business.</p>

<p>Does NU have more specific numbers for IEMS?</p>

<p>Michigan is #2 in the nation for IOE while NU is #7 on undergrad USNews
<a href=“http://ioe.engin.umich.edu/degrees/ugrad/ugdocs/Undergraduate_Student_Guide_2012_2013.pdf[/url]”>http://ioe.engin.umich.edu/degrees/ugrad/ugdocs/Undergraduate_Student_Guide_2012_2013.pdf&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://career.engin.umich.edu/annualReport/Annual_Report1112.pdf[/url]”>http://career.engin.umich.edu/annualReport/Annual_Report1112.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I would go with Northwestern. In terms of sheer economics, NU is stronger than Michigan. Also, Kellogg is very strong. If you went on to get your MBA at Kellogg it is also stronger than Ross. </p>

<p>As for engineering both are strong, and it depends what type of engineering you were looking at.</p>

<p>jakey, Northwestern is stronger in Econ just as Michigan in stronger in Engineering. In other words, the difference between the two in Econ is insignificant. Northwestern is #7 in Econ while Michigan is #13. </p>

<p>As for Kellogg, as good as it is, it does not offer an undergraduate degree like Ross does. Kellogg does offer a couple of certificate programs, but those are extremely exclusive (only 100 are admitted into the two programs). Those programs are excellent, but I am not sure how connected they are to the Kellogg career office. Ross undergrads have access to the same career office as Ross MBAs. </p>

<p>I have analyzed this scenario for all angles. Michigan with preadmit to Ross makes better sense than Northwestern Feinberg.</p>

<p>Gonna have to disagree.</p>

<p>I am not sure what you disagree with jakey. I only pointed out facts. There is not much to agree or disagree with. Kellogg does not enroll undergrads. The Certificate programs are extremely exclusive. Northwestern is ranked #7 in Econ, Michigan #13. </p>

<p>Perhaps you can share with us the exact number of NU juniors who apply for the two Kellogg Certificate programs, and how many are admitted. Perhaps you can also share with us the exact placement figures. </p>

<p>Ross’ placement figures are available for all to see. </p>

<p>Microsoft 8
Goldman Sachs 7
BoA-Merrill Lynch 6
Citi 6
JP Morgan 5
Morgan Stanley 5
Bain 4
Booz & Co 4
Deutsche 4
McKinsey 4
BCG 2
Lazard 2
UBS 2</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.bus.umich.edu/pdf/EmploymentData2012.pdf[/url]”>http://www.bus.umich.edu/pdf/EmploymentData2012.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;