Hi everybody. I am considering the three schools above. I am interested in business, particularly finance, but it’s not the only thing I’m looking for in a school. I’m OOS for all three and tuition isn’t an issue. I want to have sports so I can have a team to cheer for and the overall atmosphere is important. I like to take prestige into consideration as well as connections as it is likely that I will try to get an MBA. Based on all of these factors, which school would you choose?
Mich
Cost aside . . . Michigan!
Unless weather is important to you, Michigan! Or unless you don’t like big schools. If you want a medium size school with better weather I would say UMiami! Tulanes business school isn’t as good as these other two and neither are their sports teams. That being said Tulane is a special place.
All of the schools fit what you want, which is likely why you picked them. So really at this point it’s a simple matter of opinion.
If it were me making the decision, I’d pick UMiami. The weather’s better and the social atmosphere is great down there. Miami is a big city and I like being near or in big cities, but also you’d be close to beaches. Personally I’d also rather attend a nice medium-sized university with more undergrads than graduate students. Tulane would be my second choice for similar reasons. Although the sports culture isn’t as big as Michigan’s, they do have a good one and that combined with the weather and the location in New Orleans would override that. I have a friend who went to Tulane and the slightly quirky intellectual atmosphere she describes sounds like a good fit for me, were I 17 again.
But that’s all based on my own preferences - some people like winters and winter sports, and some people would prefer to be in a thriving college town like Ann Arbor (I have a lot of friends who went to Michigan and they love Ann Arbor. Love love love.)
If you are interested in finance, Michigan is easily your best choice. All of the other factors you listed also easily favor Michigan. Honestly, you are going to school mostly for career advancement. Warmer weather and big city life should not be a major consideration for a serious student who realizes that important fact.
“All of the schools fit what you want.”
Actually, they don’t.
Mikemargo, did you apply to Ross?
If, as you say, your goal is to get an MBA, I’d recommend NOT majoring in business as an undergrad. You’d have a better chance of getting into a higher-ranked MBA program with top grades (and GMAT scores) in an area other than business. Major in history or philosophy or math or chemistry. Wherever your interests and skill set lie.
@brantly can you say more about that (majoring in something other than business)? I would think undergraduate business classes would be helpful, but I don’t know much about the business world. Thanks
Visit all three and then make a decision. Go during the current semester. You are about to spend over $200K, it’s well worth a few plane trips. Sight unseen I’d pick Michigan, but you really need to get a feel for what works for you.
“I am interested in business”
As far as business schools go, Ross is obviously the best of the three. Freeman (Tulane) and Miami SoB are solid to be sure, but they are not on par with Ross. It is not even close really. Ross is clearly better. However, getting into Ross is not a given. So if you insist on majoring in Business, Ross may not be an option anyway, in which case, the point is moot.
That being said, I agree with brantly. If your end game is going for a graduate degree in business (MBA), getting an undergraduate degree in business may not be optimal. If you are quantitatively oriented, engineering or computer science would a great option. If a liberal arts degree is more appealing to you, an economics and mathematics double major would serve you well.
“Particularly finance”
Do you mean finance as a major, or placement into the finance sector (banking). Ross is again going to be significantly stronger than Freeman or Miami SoB. But again, getting into Ross is not a given. In terms of placement in the banking sector, all three will do for commercial banking, but if you are interested in investment banking, Ross is again going to be your best option of the three. Ross students place very well in Wall Street firms. However, if you do not get into Ross and major in Engineering or Economics, I don’t think going to Michigan is going to present you with a significant advantage.
“I want to have sports so I can have a team to cheer for”
Miami and Michigan excel in this department, particularly in Football. Miami ended their season with a 9-4 record this year (and ranked #20 in the final poll), and an 8-5 record last year. That’s a solid record for a team in the ACC conference. Michigan ended their season with a 10-3 record this year and last year as well (in one of the 3 or 4 toughest conferences in the nation), ranked #10 in the final polls both times. It is difficult to cheer for a losing team, and Tulane does not exactly have a cheer worthy team, finishing 4-8 this season, and 3-9 last season in an average conference. None of those schools is a powerhouse in basketball, but Miami and Michigan have solid hoops tradition (12-4 and 12-6 records so far this year respectively). Both teams make it to the Big Dance most seasons. Again, Tulane isn’t really that good, with a 4-13 record so far this year, and a 12-22 record last year. Michigan also has a Hockey team, and going to Hockey games is quite fun (more intense than most other sporting venues).
“The overall atmosphere is important”
It is important, quite possibly, the most important criterion. But it is a question of preference. All three have great atmospheres, but they are not similar. However, I do not think there is that much of a difference to make it a clear cut decision one way or the other. Miami and Tulane have 9,000-11,000 undergraduate students each. They are not tiny LACs with 1,000 or 2,000 undergraduate students. Michigan is indeed very large, but the campus is well compartmentalized, and the University has the resources necessary to make it a fairly personalized experience. All three universities have a 2:1 undergraduate to graduate ratio, so the atmosphere is collegiate regardless.
In terms of setting, Ann Arbor is obviously smaller than New Orleans and more “collegiate” than Coral Gables, but all three have much to offer undergraduate students. I really don’t see how any school has a clear advantage where atmosphere is concerned, unless warm weather is a priority, in which case, forget about Michigan. TooOld4School is right. If you have the opportunity, visit all three schools before choosing.
“I like to take prestige into consideration as well as connections as it is likely that I will try to get an MBA”
From a prestige point of view, Michigan has the edge here too. But I am not sure it will make a difference in getting you into a good MBA program.
Overall, I think Michigan has more to offer than Miami or Tulane given Mikemargo11, but one cannot go wrong with any of those schools.
@citymama9 There’s not much more to say. If the end goal is to get an MBA from a top program, do not major in business as an undergrad. it shows a lack of breadth, curiosity, and intellectual pursuit. And I say this as the parent of a student who is killing it in Ross. But my child has no interest in getting an MBA and also had zero interest in studying any kind of liberal art discipline or computer science or engineering. (Which, BTW, is completely a different path from the one her parents took, but it is right for her.) So Ross was the perfect choice for her. But seriously, why would you major in business undergrad if you want to get an MBA? Use your precious undergrad years to study an academic discipline.
And if you don’t believe me, search on LinkedIn for people who have an MBA from top programs. See what they majored in as undergrads. There is not any one major that helps you get in (except that it hurst you to major in business). Undergrad majors among students in top MBA programs include philosophy, history, economics, music, computer science, physics, art history, English, political science, math – any academic discipline.
I disagree with the premise that a person can’t go from an undergraduate b-school to a top MBA program. In fact I know many, including my H, who have done just that. My H studied accounting as an undergrad, became a CPA, was a manager at a Big 4 firm, and then went back for a MBA with a concentration in finance. His combination of skills in accounting and finance helped him to become a very successful CFO. The important thing is to have meaningful work experience and then to study another area of business as a grad student. As one example, the makeup of Wharton includes 26% business majors. https://mba.wharton.upenn.edu/class-profile/
I do agree that it is not at all necessary to have a business background to get into a top MBA program, but IMO it is one of many viable pathways. Majors noted by posters above are good options but really anything can work – my H’s class at Wharton had a fighter pilot, an opera singer and some other unexpected prior careers. The idea is to find something you enjoy as an undergrad and excel at it.
And to the OP, if you are sure that you want business as an undergrad and don’t have a Ross pre-admit I would think twice about UM. It is a great school but know many who went to UM hoping to get into Ross and ultimately did not.
Here’s a question: People say that you usually need business experience for a couple of years before starting an MBA program. If you major in philosophy, for example, how do you break into the business world to get that experience you need? Thanks!
Most people who work in “business” do not have business degrees.
@citymama9 You don’t need busienss experience to pursue a MBA at a top school. One just needs meaningful,valuable work experience. As I noted in my post #13 in my H’s class at Wharton there was a fighter pilot, an opera singer, engineers, writers, and people with other non-business prior careers. My brother went to UChicago for a MBA after studying engineering undergrad and working on rockets.
Thanks @happy1. Do you know if MBA programs require prerequisites in things such as economics, etc?
@citymama9 As far as I know there are no prerequisites, but I certainly don’t claim to know the details of every program. You can always google a few top programs and check to see if there show any required prerequisite classes. When my H went to Wharton with a business background he was able to waive out of some of the intro level required classes and take some additional upper level classes. When my brother went to UChicago with no business background he would have had to take all of the core business classes. That said, taking an economics class or two as electives undergrad wouldn’t hurt.
It’s not like medical school or psych grad school, where you must have completed certain required courses as an undergrad. When you start college, do the research. Check the websites of programs you are interested in. The answer is easily knowable.