Very hard to get into the best Ross business clubs/orgs? Why?

Apparently a few of the clubs are pretty incestuous and only allow their friends in. Why this is important is because certain business-marketing-finance-consulting clubs feed into the top firms. They get first dibs on the best internships. So essentially, getting into a club freshman year ensures you’re going to get a really good internship.

Is this a question or a statement? Ross has LOTS of clubs- which ones are you talking about? Also, is this different than at other business programs? Does Wharton or other top-ranked business programs have a system where all clubs and business frats are open to all students? Yes, its very competitive, but I don’t know how this differs from top clubs at other universities. Anyone else know?

I don’t know which clubs - does anyone know the “most exclusive” Ross clubs/orgs? I heard another parent discussing this. What does competitive mean? There’s an actual bid process like greek life? What are they judging freshman off of?

Not really related but something to think about… At least the engineering kids want to work together… Lol…

https://www.michigandaily.com/section/statement/rethinking-ross-unglamorous-realities-business-school-education

@midwestsahm Competitive club at Michigan means about a 3 - 4 stage recruitment process. For the top Ross consulting clubs, this means an application round, some sort of networking or social event, a behavioral interview, and a case interview. The acceptance rate is usually around 3% - 10%. Very hard to get in, but doable with the right preparation. Normally freshman have never been exposed to this type of setting before, which makes this quite the eye-opening experience.

Huh. How long have these “clubs” been around? I don’t remember them existing at Ross in the 80s. Was I oblivious, or are they a new thing? I don’t see how a “consulting club” would add any real skills that should help in hiring.

Current student here, and I used to be in one of those consulting clubs. Yes, they are hard to get into. Yes, a larger proportion of their membership ends up with top banking/consulting gigs compared to the general Ross/UMich population. These clubs give you the ability to apply consulting skills with real clients, and familiarize you with frameworks, approaches, and methodologies that give you a leg-up when you interview for “real” consulting jobs.
However, membership in these clubs is neither a prerequisite or sufficient enough to get a top job. I left the consulting club (on good terms) after a semester and moved onto leadership opportunities in other venues, and it worked out well for me job-wise.

@yikesyikesyikes is this the consulting group you were speaking of or are there many consulting groups?

https://meccconsulting.com/

@yikesyikesyikes essentially said it perfectly. These clubs can work wonders for an individual when it comes to job prospects, but at the same time are no guarantee of anything nor are they the only way to get to the most prestigious companies. Both the consulting and finance clubs have great networks and are amazing to talk about in interviews and put on resumes (as I have done), but are just some of the hundreds of ways one can stand out and develop skills to prepare themselves for their career.

I have friends going to top banks and consulting firms who never even applied to these clubs, and I have friends who were in these clubs for three years and are expert case interviewers and also will be working at top banks and consulting firms.

@intparent The older ones started early 2000’s, and many clubs here are within 7-10 years old.

I’m going to guess that those clubs have little to do with getting jobs. The top companies come to Ross and have interview schedules. You impress that interviewer, and you get to the next round. I doubt being in the club helps you get on the schedule — the career office controls that signup. Maybe someone you know from Ross already works for the firm and can vouch for you —but you don’t have to be in a selective club to meet older students. And if you don’t have the stats or do well in the first interview, you will wash out of the process in a hurry. Don’t sweat this. Get good grades, do the ECs that interest you (maybe business related), hustle for internship interviews both from companies that recruit at Ross and outside, and practice your interview skills. You will do fine.

Wow, that article is scathing. Sounds like they need to choose their students a bit more methodically, perhaps including interviews.

And curving to a B+? That is shameful.

But there are more and more clubs of similar types being added so that a greater share can participate. For example, investing type clubs are being added every year. Its up to students to start them up. My son applied to several investment type clubs and ended up in two – which is more than enough. Yes, they do help you get prepared for interviews, etc, but there are many great clubs to be had. And, like Yikes mentioned, they certainly are not a prereq to interview or get a good internship, etc.

@knowstuff

I was not in MECC, but there are several “prestigious” consulting groups on campus. Here are some:

-Nexecon Consulting Group
-Bond Consulting Group
-MEG Consulting
-180 Degrees Consulting

@yikesyikesyikes… Thx. I think MECC might be more engineering based after reading about it. There surely is a lot of opportunities at Michigan if you take advantage of them…

I like Maize Rage. What about that club? I would think that kids should have fun. Clubs are supposed to be extra curricular activities that broaden horizons, not narrow them.

I have a child at Ross and I find the whole idea of these clubs absurd.

Do these clubs push you all the way through the interview process? Of course not. That would be ludicrous to think. There are also so many ways on campus to get better experiences and develop yourself. That being said, don’t discount the private networking events and connections that can be made because of these clubs. Even more so, don’t discount the really good experiences you can get from these clubs and talk about in interviews. I find that I am bringing up experiences from my consulting club a lot during interviews just because I have developed a lot of skills working on those projects.

At the end of the day, find out right away where you fit in on campus. There are so many organizations to join that all give path ways to success. No club will be a key all the way to a job, but all have their unique perks, including the Ross clubs. Find the one you can develop and grow in.

I think there’s some reverse causality in these clubs (I also belong to one of the listed consulting clubs). The thing is, there are a lot of resources the clubs provide for your professional development and it’s a great community, but it’s absolutely not essential to succeed. Since everyone who’s accepted is really talented, that naturally comes out in their professional successes- because of that, there’s a great track record in terms of jobs.

The other thing is that some of them are frankly getting even harder to get into because application numbers are increasing- with that being said, I encourage everyone who didn’t get in to put it out of their minds. It’s not a measure of you or what you can do if you don’t get in, and at worst it’ll give you some experience with applications and case interviews. I find that people I met at networking events who later didn’t get through interviews are still extremely successful and amazing to be around- so to everyone (freshmen) in Ross, don’t put so much pressure on yourself.

Make sure you do clubs you care about and show you care in the process, and that will really help you out! You can get some really great experiences out of them. In the end, it’s students judging students and frankly that can be flawed in many ways.

Clubs are competitive at Ross and are a downside of the school but it is certainly possible to be part of one. Below are the most exclusive ones that people are likely referring to.

  • Investing clubs: MII and GIC have acceptance rates of 3%
  • Consulting clubs: BOND, Nexecon, APEX, and MECC have acceptance rates of 2%
  • Business frats: PCT, AKPSI, and DSP have acceptance rates of 8-10%

Other clubs and business frats in Ross have similar resources and people certainly overhype how important they are.