That is partly because Ross gets large donations from alumni that are specifically identified as for Ross. And it is up to the companies that recruit whether they want to have recruiting schedules for other majors in LSA, it isn’t the fault of Ross students or alumni. Regarding the snobbiness… Ross is small. I probably would know anyone in my class there (or would have, none of us look the same now, and I never have been back for a reunion or go to any events in my city…). But that partly explains why that person asked about Ross people.
Getting into one of the top 3 or 4 BBA programs in not going to be easy, nor should it be. Admittedly, the professional placement opportunities out of Ross are otherworldly. That being said, receiving a degree from LSA or the CoE presents its own benefits, and as one of the most highly regarded universities in the nation, with one of the largest, most geographically dispersed, most loyal and most influential alumni networks any degree from Michigan will open virtually any door you may desire, assuming you have the necessary drive…and GPA.
For all of those that say Econ is the LSA home for Ross rejects, perhaps I have a different perspective. My Dad (I know, andecdotal, but it’s what I see every day) was an Econ grad back in the 90s and he has had a high paying consulting job for years. It’s worked out okay for him and I’m coming in as full pay freshman. It’s not like Econ means your life is over and you are doomed to never work in business.
In general Econ is the highest paying non-engineering 4 year degree you can receive and companies often look to specifically hire Econ grads because they think differently than other business grads
I agree 96blue. I also majored in Econ, and I never considered Ross (before it was called Ross). Most Econ majors never applied to Ross. While it is true that many students that are turned down by Ross end up majoring in Econ, many major in other subjects such as CS, Engineering, Mathematics etc…
Many Econ majors never consider Ross because they prefer the intellectual rigors of Economics and find business lacking in that domain.
Finding a job from LSA is obviously not as easy as finding a job out of Ross, but LSA students definitely do well.
To be fair, I think as Ross has risen, econ probably desmised. While one takes a more theoretic approach, it is still viewed less favorably on WallStreet
ForeverAlone, you are assuming that Econ majors want to work on Wall Street. Michigan simply does not attract that many Wall Street types. At many East Coast elite universities, a chunk of the students fight for Wall Street jobs. At Michigan, we are talking less than 5%. But it is important to note that if one cannot get into Ross, chances are, they are nowhere close to being Wall Street material. Most Wall Street firms expect 3.8+ GPAs. If you have a 3.8 GPA, you should have no trouble getting into Ross.
OP asked what happens if you don’t get into Ross, so I’m assuming s/he would be aiming for Wall Street.
It seems as if most of the Ross questions assume the student wants to go to Wall Street. If you are interested in Marketing, for example, and do not get into Ross (and do not want to do econ), what other paths have been taken??
Does anyone consider Sports Management (School of Kin) worthwhile??
Thanks!
“So what happens to the 60% of people that didn’t get in? They all clearly wanted to go to Michigan for the business major, but now they have been rejected and are likely still undeclared majors in the LSA school. On top of this, the Ross decisions don’t come out until the end of June, which pretty much means that the rejected students are also locked in to attend Michigan for their sophomore year. There’s no transferring out through normal means that late into the year. What do they do? Do they pretty much just have to choose an LSA major and live with it? Do they try and transfer to another business school?”
- Michigan has its weakest ranking on-shore at #29;
- Michigan is ranked in the top 25 in the 3 major GLOBAL surveys; and
is 15th on the Global reputational survey; - 2/3 of the kids come into Michigan with Ivy League level ACT scores
and GPAs. There are more such kids at Michigan than at Harvard, Yale
and Princeton combined; - Michigan has 100 departments ranked in the top 10 in the country, there
are only 3 other schools that do better along that metric (Berkeley, Harvard, Stanford); - Michigan has one of the largest academic libraries in the country, one
of the largest endowments in the world and one of the most decorated faculties in the
world; - Michigan routinely places in the top 2 or 3 schools with Fulbright fellows;
- Michigan is one of the nation’s strongest feeder schools to elite programs
for law, business and medicine; - Michigan’s alumni network is widely dispersed, influential, and wealthy;
Bottom line is that this post (the OP) has a bit of a chicken little vibe. If you don’t get
into Ross, then go earn a Fulbright or earn a strong GPA and attend an elite school.
There are many thousands of successful Michigan graduates who haven’t seen the
inside of Ross. There are plenty of ways to challenge yourself at Michigan outside of
Ross. If you can’t find those challenges, then you are critically lacking in imagination
and creativity and you won’t find them anywhere.
I just don’t get why you think this translates into someone automatically aiming for Wall Street just because they want to go to Ross. Ross does have other majors besides finance… And not everyone seeking a business education wants to go to Wall Street.
However, I don’t agree with the post saying just go elsewhere in Michigan if you don’t get accepted into Ross, it will be fine. If you KNOW you want to major in marketing, accounting, finance, etc., and you really don’t want to consider another major, then go someplace where you know you can get into the business school from the start. Michigan is great, but it doesn’t have to be the place for everyone.
“If you KNOW you want to major in marketing, accounting, finance, etc., and you really don’t want to consider another major, then go someplace where you know you can get into the business school from the start. Michigan is great, but it doesn’t have to be the place for everyone.”
It’s a good thing that the vast majority of admits to Ross don’t have the above attitude.
Well, since Ross has 1350 plus students apply and only 500 get in, there are a lot of upset kids at Michigan. Looking at the numbers there are about 5000 freshman at Michigan, - 1500 already in Engineering so 3500 are left so approximately 50% or half of the non-engineer Freshman (maybe a few sophomores) apply to Ross. So, you can see why people are so upset when they don’t get in. To top it off, Ross has a gym, Starbucks, career center and it just keeps getting better and better because of the money that is being given there. So kids not getting in feel even worse because it is clearly the haves and the have nots. To top it off, I would love to see what % of the kids are in-state vs. out-of-state and how it compares to the school totals.
So, if you want to go into business at Michigan and do not get into Ross, you are screwed. Ross has the business related interview prep, case studies and a social life with other students who are business focused. This does not exist anywhere else at U of Michigan and for internships you are competing with kids that have these resources. To make it worse, Ross students get involved in organization that are typically non-ross like the Michigan Economics Society because they know ( based on their peer groups and what they are being taught) that they need leadership experience. So, not only do they get the best of Michigan, they take the best from other students too.
I did get accepted to Northwestern and Michigan. For budget reason, I choose Michigan (in-state). If I knew that I would not be able to get into the business school, I would have been better off at Northwestern and received a certificate in Finance or Marketing vs. nothing from Michigan.
jen2016, you are assuming that getting into one of the Kellogg Certificate programs is guaranteed. It is not. In fact, it is just as hard to get into Ross as it is to get into one of the Kellogg Certificate programs.
One can still minor in the Ross areas. It’s not that big of a deal!
Oh, Ross admissions people monitor this site. Glad I have your attention.
Northwestern is not about the have and have nots. 50 kids get into their certificate ( 2200 graduates) vs. 500 get into the BBA program at Michigan out of 5000-6000 graduates a year. So, even if you do not get in, it is ok because most people do not have this certificate that graduate. Same for some of the other top schools.
Just looking a Wharton, which I did not apply, 515 business student majors out of 2500 students or 20% of the school and they are number 1. Michigan freshman class was 6000 (2015) and Ross takes 580 or 9%. And, the more money you get, it goes to the same 580 students vs. trying to expand the program to take more students. Yes, you offer a minor but that is limited and you do not get to the use the career center and doesn’t give you anywhere near the same experience.
People who do not get in end up trying to pick up a decent major “pretend business major” that may include psychology, economics, communication, political science, organizational and international studies…those good at math maybe will study financial math. And on top of it, after getting rejected you have to try to figure out a new major in two months while on break living in California or start to take classes to explore other majors.
So by then, classes are full and by the time you get it together winter semester, adding the business minor will add another 1 or two terms to your schooling (with the other classes you need to take). So, my $200,000 investment in my education just went to $250,000 and what am I getting…maybe a minor. Oh, yes I can pay an extra $50,000 for a Masters of Management–thanks.
Oh, yes…you do offer the little people a chance to take various classes at Ross but these are not guaranteed and to take any real worthwhile classes–that may actually prepare you for a profession in investment banking, or marketing you need to take the Finance 300 asap but you are not guaranteed to be able to take any higher level courses and don’t have the broad knowledge in business that is needed.
This does not include the loss wage opportunities of Ross vs. non Ross graduates. So we do not need your smug Admissions Director saying…dealing with the disappointment of not getting into Ross is where her counseling background comes in. We are talking dollars and cents. Michigan kids get it and I guarantee being rejected from Ross number one complaint about Michigan.
I literally applied regular decision with preferred admission to Ross last night… Do I have virtually no chance of getting pre admitted since I applied so late? I did get into Notre Dame with pre admit to Mendoza during REA though.
jen, I am not “Ross people”! I am LSA, Econ, class of 1996. I never intended on majoring in business as an undergraduate student. Back in the day, Ross was called Michigan Business School, and it was a two year program that was only open to University of Michigan juniors. The acceptance rate back then was roughly 65%. Them were the days! 
“Northwestern is not about the have and have nots. 50 kids get into their certificate ( 2200 graduates) vs. 500 get into the BBA program at Michigan out of 5000-6000 graduates a year. So, even if you do not get in, it is ok because most people do not have this certificate that graduate. Same for some of the other top schools.”
I am not sure I understand your point here. I thought we were discussing earning a certificate or degree that enhances employment opportunities. A plain NU degree will not help students with professional placement any more than a Michigan LSA degree. So it is really about the KCPs vs Ross, in which case, both are selective. You make it seem like a Michigan degree is garbage unless from Ross. That is insulting to most of us who never cared for Business degrees.
The point I am making is that Ross is a unique program. A Michigan LSA degree is worth every penny. It provides a great liberal arts education from one of the best universities in the world. LSA students are also very employable. I certainly had no trouble finding a job when I graduated, nor did any of my classmates. Ross is obviously special. It offers professional placement opportunities that only a dozen or so other programs and/or universities can offer. As such, it is rightfully difficult to get into.
“Michigan kids get it and I guarantee being rejected from Ross number one complaint about Michigan.”
It shouldn’t be. For one, Michigan is pretty clear about the odds of getting into Ross. They publish the admissions figures annually. The vast majority (80% or more) of University of Michigan freshmen who apply to Ross with 3.6+ GPAs are admitted. Unfortunately, you have many Michigan students with 2.5-3.3 GPAs who also apply to Ross, and virtually all of them will be rejected. 3-4-3.5 students have a 50/50 chance.
It is an interesting situation. I feel like an Econ degree is more valuable with respect to learning and critical thinking, but it would be foolish to deny that a Ross BBA gives you a big leg up with reruiting/job prospects right out of undergrad- particularly for careers like investment banking or management consulting (which seems like all the Ross students nowawadays are after).
Do you have a source for this info? Or is it your guess from personal observation?