University of Michigan VS Wake Forest

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
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<p>Hey everyone!</p>

<p>So I have been able to narrow my college list down to two great schools. However, I have a tough time trying to decide between the two schools. I know that the schools are very different from each other, but I have a few reservations with each school.</p>

<p>So instead of saying why I want to go to each school, I will state my dislikes about each university. I want to be a business major by the way, and money is not a issue. (UMICH out of state) </p>

<p>WAKE FOREST CONS</p>

<p>-GREEK SCENE, I've heard from multiple students that Greek life has a huge presence on campus (borderline oppressive) As of right now, I really don't know if I want to join a frat. But is my social life going to be destroyed because I don't want to be a part of a frat?</p>

<p>-CLIQUEY, I want HS to be the end of all the "high school bs." Especially the social hierarchy, which some said exists at wake. </p>

<p>-GRADE DEFLATION, I know that college is going to be a lot of work, and I am ready for it. However, I don't want to graduate with a gpa that doesn't reflect me and end up being overqualified for a job. </p>

<p>U MICHIGAN CONS </p>

<p>Let me just say that I have two older brothers that went to Michigan, and both have been incredibly successful upon graduation. One immediately got a job from JP Morgan, while the other went to on to medical school.</p>

<p>-WEATHER, do I need to explain this one?</p>

<p>-NOT AS SELECTIVE, one of the things I think WFU does a job at is choosing their incoming class. (7 supplemental essays and an interview) Simply, Wake Forest is harder to get into than Michigan.</p>

<p>-CAMPUS, it's huge, and I rather walk than have to take a bus everyday.</p>

<p>-FOOTBALL, I think the school puts too much emphasis on the football games. I'm going to a university to learn, not to watch a football game.</p>

<p>-BUSINESS SCHOOL, how hard us it to get into the business school after freshman year? I don't want to be denied from the business school and end up getting a degree in philosophy.</p>

<p>That basically sums up my concern with each school. Feel free to correct me if any of my assumption were incorrect. Also, don't confuse my briefness with ignorance- these are just small things I picked up on when visiting each school. But my major deciding factor is:</p>

<p>PRESTIGE- which school is more prestigious?</p>

<p>WFU: ranked higher than um, and I got a better reaction when I told people that I got into Wake than I did with umich.</p>

<p>Michigan: better known with employers, and will probably have more job opportunities. Not to mention, if I get into the
Business school employers would swoon over me.</p>

<p>Either way, I will be happy at either school.</p>

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<p>lolllllllll</p>

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<p>Since rankings matter to you, UMich is ranked significantly higher on the Forbes list(30 vs 60). Take rankings with a much smaller grain of salt. Wake is also only slightly more selective, % admitted wise, than Michigan (34% vs 37%). </p>

<p>Weather…yea, it is what it is. Campus isn’t really that big that big, especially since as a future business major you’ll have no need to go to North Campus. If you really don’t want to have anything to do with football, that’s your prerogative, but we do love our foosball here.</p>

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<p>Fatsquirrel, your data is not accurate. But even if they were, 34% acceptance rate does not make a university more selective than another with 37% acceptance rate. But like I said, your data is not accurate. Wake Forest is not more selective than Michigan.</p>

<p>ACCEPTANCE RATE:
Michigan 33%
Wake Forest 35% </p>

<p>TOP 10% of GRADUATING CLASS:
Michigan: 90%
Wake Forest: 76%</p>

<p>MID 50% SAT
Michigan 1280-1480
Wake Forest 1230-1420</p>

<p>MID 50% ACT
Michigan 28-32
Wake Forest 28-31</p>

<p>They seem to have comparable selectivity. Also, Michigan’s selectivity has increase at a much fast pace than Wake Forest. In 2009, Wake Forest’s acceptance rate was 37% compared to Michigan’s 51%, while Wake Forest’s ACT/SAT ranges have hardly changed since 2009 while Michigan’s have improved. In 2-3 years, assuming the trend persists, Michigan should be significantly more selective than Wake Forest.</p>

<p>“I think the school puts too much emphasis on the football games. I’m going to a university to learn, not to watch a football game.”</p>

<p>What? I don’t understand when people make such blanket statements. If you don’t want to watch games, nobody will judge you. Reciprocity would be much appreciated. Besides, there is only 50 hours of football played annually. That will hardly affect your studying. </p>

<p>I think Michigan is better overall, but Wake is a good school too, so go for fit.</p>

<p><a href=“Home - Office of Institutional Research”>Home - Office of Institutional Research;

<p><a href=“http://obp.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/pubdata/cds/cds_2013-2014_umaa.pdf”>http://obp.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/pubdata/cds/cds_2013-2014_umaa.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>I pulled them from the Forbes list while I was checking those rankings for the OP. Those percentages are from 2012-2013. If they are wrong for that time period, feel free to let Forbes know.</p>

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<p>I think you may be misinformed on a couple of things. </p>

<p>Michigan is definitely not less selective than Wake Forest. U-M had a 33% acceptance rate this year over Wake Forests’ 35% rate. In addition, enrolled Michigan students typically scored about a point higher on the ACT and about 30 points higher in each section on the SAT. The selectivity of the two schools is definitely close, don’t get me wrong, but it’s absolutely in Michigan’s favor. Just because Wake Forest makes you do more essays as part of the application does not somehow mean they are a more selective school. </p>

<p>If prestige or synthetic rankings are an important factor for you, not only does Michigan have a better reputation, it has a WAY better reputation. Here’s what all the major ranking agencies think of the two schools.</p>

<p>QS World Rankings
Michigan - #22
Wake Forest - #329</p>

<p>Forbes
Michigan - #30
Wake Forest - #60</p>

<p>USNWR
Michigan - #29
Wake Forest - #23</p>

<p>Washington Monthly
Michigan - #12
Wake Forest - #152</p>

<p>ARWU
Michigan - #23
Wake Forest - #301-400</p>

<p>Times Higher Education: World Academic Ranking
Michigan - #18
Wake Forest - #180</p>

<p>Times Higher Education: World Reputation Ranking
Michigan - #15
Wake Forest - Not Available (They only publicly listed the top 100)</p>

<p>Getting into Ross is pretty easy as long as you plan for it and take your first year of college seriously. If you’re considering Ross vs Wake Forest, the answer should be a no brainier.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>

That answered your question?</p>

<p>Btw, why ask strangers on an internet forum? Why not ask your own brothers?</p>

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<p>In addition to KronOmega’s comments about rankings, several other things to consider re: your post:</p>

<p>1) grade inflation at Wake between 1988 and 2007 = .37…same period of comparability for UM=.26 so Wake’s grade inflation is nearly 50% higher</p>

<p>2) a quick survey of LinkedIn profiles for alumni for national view and New York view of B-school alumni:</p>

<p>Wake Forest=5517/263 for national/New York split</p>

<p>Ross=30,886/3500 for national/New York split</p>

<p>So on linked in you’ll find the New York represention 20 times higher for Ross and the national representation 5 times higher for Ross…both figures will count when you start to build your professional network.</p>

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<p>You the ranking can vary a lot depending on the criteria and weight of different factors. Moreover, it would be far more important in the rank of your intended major than the school overall.</p>

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<p>“I pulled them from the Forbes list while I was checking those rankings for the OP. Those percentages are from 2012-2013. If they are wrong for that time period, feel free to let Forbes know.”</p>

<p>Forget about Forbes Fatsquirrel. Always use a university’s common data set. It is more accurate. But my point was, even if Wake Forest had an acceptance rate of 34% to Michigan’s 37%, it does not make it more selective. How strong are the relative applicant pools? What is the quality of the students admitted? etc…Not that it matters since last year, Michigan equalled, or even edge out, Wake Forest on most statistical fronts.</p>

<p>“Btw, why ask strangers on an internet forum? Why not ask your own brothers?”</p>

<p>Very astute observation GoBlue 81. </p>

<p>LongIslandKid, ask your siblings for their advice. As you said, one of them works for JP Morgan and the other is in law school, so they probably made good use of their education at Michigan.</p>

<p>I did not realize Wake Forest had such a following in the New York area. I would not be surprised if the OP came from the Southeast, but in NY, Michigan should have a sizeable reputational edge over Wake.</p>

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<p>Betcha didn’t think you would find a parent of two students - one through the business school at Wake Forest and one through the business school at Michigan within the last few years, but you did–here I am. They are both great programs and the business schools are both gems within the larger university communities. From what I have seen, the job opportunities are pretty similar from both schools; the profile of where and when (even some same companies) my kids and their friends found jobs is pretty similar. I don’t think you have to go Greek to have a great experience, and you don’t have to attend sporting events either. Ross is harder to get into once you are there, but the work does not seem to be harder either before or during business school. Wake Forest has smaller, more personal classes, and I think it is easier to see people on a regular basis. My impression is that Ross students are a bit more competitive with one another, but not unpleasantly so. Wake Forest grooms students well for the work force - everyone gets help, without seeking it out. Michigan has great programs and selection of classes and an active career center. Both business schools offer good study abroad programs, and both have good professors. I think the one of mine who went to Wake would not have been as happy at Michigan and the one who went to Michigan would not have been as happy at Wake - they both loved their schools and programs. I think you can’t go wrong with either. I would suggest you make a list of the pros to you - maybe that will help you to decide and feel positive about having two great choices and liking the choice you make.</p>

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<p>Ross as a con…interesting </p>

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<p>if you’re not 110% sold on Wake…go to Michigan. Seriously…it’s not a contest. Mich is more selective, better overall reputation, etc. My S chose Maryland over Wake, for several reasons…and academics for his area was one. But the $62,000/year price tag had an impact, and he’s OOS for UMd too. If you loved Wake, and see yourself there…it’s certainly a great school. Go there. But you seem to be weighing them. The scales definitely tip for U of Michigan. (and this is coming from a U of Mich athletic hater) :)</p>

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<p>I just wanted to comment on this. Personally I’ve found the business school at Michigan to have some of the WORST study abroad opportunities. They could not be more unaccommodating. The “opportunities” only last 3 weeks, there’s maaaybe 12-15 locations, and the business school basically prohibits you to study abroad during any of the regular semesters (i.e. fall/winter semester). It’s complete garbage. International presence my a**. One of my biggest gripes about Ross</p>

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<p>The short study abroad programs during breaks and May and August are positives for some. Students have chances to go to more than one international location and without disrupting campus activities, internships and/or missing a whole semester on campus. Ross now has a less rigid curriculum and also now has options for a semester abroad for those who prefer that. Wake Forest has a flexible enough curriculum that you can go for semester-long ones, or you can go on shorter ones.</p>

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<p>Yeah I will say that Ross definitely has aimed to fix their abroad programs. They set up a student committee to address curriculum and program concerns and this was one of the biggest complaints so I know they’re working to make it more flexible. Just mad I didn’t get a full semester abroad >:(</p>

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<p>This thread has SO much Michigan bias on it, it’s almost laughable. Now it’s time to showcase my bias towards Wake (haha). My final decision came down to these two schools, and even with multiple family members being former or current Michigan students, I ended up going to Wake, and it was a great decision. Both are great schools. When I applied, Wake’s undergrad b-school was probably trumped by Ross, and yeah, a small part of the reason I didn’t go to umich was because of how hard I heard it was to get into Ross. Regardless, now, Wake’s undergrad b-school actually just jumped Ross, so there’s that. Wake’s program contines to rise in rankings and ‘prestige,’ along with the knowledge of the overall school. Wake’s undergrad b school also has the number 1 ranking in terms of academics. A few of these posters are noting a bunch of ‘world rankings’ that take into account every academic facet of the university (grad programs and such), but strictly for undergrad, I really think that Wake has an edge over umich. Again, both are great schools, but if I had to make my choice again, I would choose Wake, and probably even more decisively as its reputation continues to rise. I realize you have already made your decision, but I had to defend my alma mater from the beatdown it was taking on this thread lol. </p>

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<p>Cite your rankings NinDeac. </p>

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<p>WF was ranked 23rd in 2014 by USNWR. This year they are ranked 27th by said source. It seems Wake Forest is dropping in overall rankings. </p>

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<p>I think NinDeac is referring to the BW ranking. Of course, if one wishes to reference BW, one must be willing to accept that Olin or McCombs are better than Wharton as well. I am not sure many people in the corporate world would agree with the BW ranking.</p>