This is off topic, so sorry, but the thing I never knew about UMich when I first went there and the thing I disklike most about it is how segregated Ross is to the point where’s there is a degree of snobbery and elitism within the student body itself. The business school is in its own really nice building where all the business classes take place, more resources are given per student compared to the other colleges, and the students are basically spoon fed job opportunities compared to LSA. Not to mention the donations given exclusively to the business school.
There is definitely elitism when it comes to the business school. LSA is sometimes referred to as L S and Play, and I remember feeling sort of insulted when I first heard that, even though it wasn’t directed at me. I transferred to UofM my sophomore year and was really happy to be at this great school and was pretty disgusted whenever conversations bashing LSA majors happened. I got the impression that people would think that because I was majoring in economics, that it automatically meant that I didn’t make it into the business school. Of course, I hadn’t even applied to the business school (it would have been an extra year anyway) and did not feel compelled to go there, since I didn’t even know what I wanted to do after graduating. Heck, I hated economics and wish I had majored in something else.
After graduating, I got a job on par with what most students from the business school get (although it’s not one of those coveted investment banking analyst jobs in NYC or McKinsey consultant jobs that top students shoot for), so it’s not like you are screwed by not going to the business school. However, when I go to UM alumni events in the city, there are still echos of that snobbery I remember from being a student. For example, I was talking with a girl who graduated a year before me, and she was asking me if I knew certain people from UofM. I didn’t recognize any of the names and realized she was naming all these people who went to Ross. When I told her I didn’t go to Ross she said “Oh, I thought you went to Ross too, that would explain why you wouldn’t know any of these guys.” She didn’t quite say it with a snobby tone (although it didn’t help that she was a snob in general), but it reminded me of how insular Ross could be: are you a UofM Ross alumni, or just a UofM alumni?
To get accepted into Ross, you basically have to get As in your “intro-to-college” classes, which are Calc I/II, Econ 101, Writing 101, plus good grades in your other classes and solid extracurricular activity. Or, be particularly good in high school (ie have your shit together when you’re a teenager, thanks mom and dad). Not that it’s easy to get in or not an accomplishment, but I don’t see how achieving the above is enough to justify the snobby elitist attitudes I would occasionally see. It’s true I’m sure that the average Ross student is more driven than the average non-Ross student, but I don’t buy the idea that the difference is as dramatic as people think. Plus, when you’re in an environment where everyone is shooting for business success, that will pass off on you, it’s not that you are necessarily driven all on your own.
The same is the case in engineering too, though. I remember one of my engineering friends calling IOE idiots of engineering. So tiring and annoying to hear stuff like that.
Again, didn’t mean to go off on the rant. I don’t want to make it sound like this was a huge problem and would happen every week where I would encounter the BBA elitism. Of course, I’m speaking for myself; plenty of people probably don’t even care about this or just joke about it. Overall I had a positive time at the school. It’s just that whenever I read posts like this implying LSA is for failures, it sours my memories of the school a bit. Whoops, giant wall of text.