What Happens if you don't get into Ross?

It is true, I have heard of several situations of it happening.

I am not talking about resources that are necessary for the teaching of the subject matter. That’s just part and parcel of the particular for of education, and nobody would argue that the same amount of money should be spent on educating a history major as an engineering major. I am talking about perks, like a private gym.

I disagree about LSA career services and advising. Few know a lot about the field of finance that you want to go into. One of the advisors told my friend that he can major in anything and go into finance.
Career resources need to target and simulate finance interviews, teach stock pitches…etc.
What also sucks is that how difficult it is to take a finance class. For example, ross has a special real estate finance class and I was unable to take it. So now I am stuck getting financial interviews, with no prep because the career center has no knowledge of how finance works, prepping all by myself and I end up embarrassing myself because of no prior financial knowledge except from a little seen in Econ.
I have a friend who is Economics too. He was rejected from Ross and he TUTORED ross students in Economics and pre admits in economics and after applying the second time, he still didn’t get in.

Why do you think people with high GPAs do not get in?

I think if I were an LSA student paying tuition to University of Michigan and wanted to interview for a job in finance, I would make a ruckus about being shut out from the career counselors in Ross. They get their paychecks from the University of Michigan. You are University of Michigan students. In fact, I think there should be one comprehensive career center for ALL of the university, with specialists in various career fields, and anyone in the entire university could avail themselves of any of the specialists (within reason, of course – a history major can’t get a job as a physical therapist or a chemical engineer).

In the meantime, here are suggestions:

  1. Minor in business.
  2. Get summer internships through connections. I know for a FACT that you do not have to be a business major to get a summer internship at a bank.
  3. Hire a private career counselor who can coach you through how to interview for finance jobs.
  4. OR, enjoy a broad liberal arts education. Never again in your life will you have this opportunity. THEN get an MBA from a top school. It will be financially worth it if you get a job on Wall Street. And if that’s your life’s goal, then just do it and don’t be bitter about it.You’ll have the rest of your life to look forward to, and this period (your non-Ross period) will be just a blip in the past. As soon as you get to HBS or some other great program, you’ll be so happy and never look back.

I was admitted EA OOS to Michigan last December and am having similar concerns about getting into Ross if I go to U of M. (I applied for the pre-admission but am not expecting to hear good news in April.)

Anyways, I was wondering if transferring is a viable option for those who do not get into Ross after their freshman year. To be quite honest, I’m not too interested in sticking around and paying all that OOS tuition to be an economics major if things don’t go my way.

Speaking of, I’ve heard that Ross is sort of a crapshoot to get into. Is this true or do the acceptances almost always go to the most qualified students? I’m willing to bet on myself to get a sufficient GPA but not a screwy admissions committee who might take seemingly arbitrary factors into account.

In conclusion, I’m trying to figure out whether or not I should roll the dice on myself/the possibility of transferring, or just go to an another school. However, if I choose the latter, I would be at a worse undergraduate business program and a less prestigious and reputable university overall. Thanks!

Honestly markcal22, it has its ups and downs. My advice to you, something that I wish that I had done when I was a freshman is join the multiple investment and business clubs, and business fraternities that ross has to offer, so you have extra activities and make sure you have leadership positions in them. Doing this would not only look good on ross applications, but it would also prep you for transferring to a different school program like stern, Virginia, berkley, etc… Also, kill it on the “weeder” classes. Or simply take the AP or IB for them. When you take Calc I, Econ 101 and 102, look at rate my professor and whatever you do don’t take Hogan or Proulx for 101. They are the worst.

Also, Whatever you do… don’t join a frat your freshman year. I have met very few fratboys who have gotten into ross after freshman year pledging. You can always pledge sophmore year.
And, about ross acceptance only going to the most qualified students? NO
I know multiple people who got in because of their parents or donations or because they’re an athlete.

and brantly I am honestly not sure.
I think the whole ross acceptance system is pure politics. I know so many wealthy kids from out of state whos parents know a professor there, or their parents donated.
I also came to realization with this after hearing of twins getting into ross. I thought “hmm that is odd”… looked up their parents… now I know why.

The inequality in career services is partly driven by employers. They choose how many interview schedules to set up and with which career office – and they want the skills the Ross graduates have.

I personally think Ross should take ALL students as pre-admits, with specifications of grades they have to achieve in classes like Econ to retain that spot. Then freshman coming in at least know if they are likely to be in or not, and it is on them if they don’t get the needed grades.

Well, it is kind of rigged or they would not say “holistic”. Also, they are trying to build their woman numbers so I am not sure how that impacts the decision. And yes, employers want the skills that Ross students have–that is the point! One cannot get those skills in other places at Michigan. Plus, if you are having to pick up a new major, it is impossible to get all your new major classes and more than 2 or 3 basic business school classes in and graduate in 4 years.

Oh, one more thing, if you are in Ross, the pre-admits are the golden children. Everyone whispers their names. Some of them had connections to get in because they were not top at their high schools or national merit or anything special.

I would love intparent to let us know what percent of Ross students are in-state vs. out of state?

Every top college in the US uses “holistic” admissions. And most of them are trying to strike a gender balance as well. I don’t think it is any more rigged in that respect than anyplace else. I assume the Ross in-state and OOS percentages probably about match the rest of Michigan’s population – have no reason to think otherwise. Regarding the pre-admits, I would suggest that it is like any other college admissions decision that is discussed out here – you have NO IDEA what the full application for that person looks like. Often high school students don’t even know everything on their best friend’s applications – I know my kids’ friends didn’t know much about what my kids did in the summers, for example. One of my kids was a top performer in an activity outside of school, but didn’t talk about it with any of her HS friends – they wouldn’t even know about it. You can assume the same for anyone you know as well.

While I agree that the current process leaves a lot of students hanging out to dry and could be improved upon, I think you are letting your bitterness and jealousy lead you to broad generalizations about how other people were accepted that probably aren’t true. The advice is often given on CC that if you aren’t a pre-admit, do NOT go to Michigan if you will only be happy if you get into Ross. FYI, when I attended Ross, there were NO preadmits. EVERYONE took their chances on applying at the end of freshman year.

Do other undergraduate business schools operate like this with their admissions? I know there are always people who get into schools because of their relationship to donors, but it seems like Ross more notorious for this than its competitors.

Just for the record, I am a parent of a student who is considering applying to Ross. She is having a hard time deciding whether it is the right thing for her. It most definitely is not why she enrolled at Michigan. It was not on her radar at all. But now that she is there and has the opportunity (her first-semester GPA is very comfortably within the range), and feels no affinity to any particular LSA major, she is considering it. My husband and I have mixed feelings. We are true believers in an undergraduate liberal arts education. Also, all the elitist things we hear about Ross leave a bad taste in our mouths. Rather than wanting our D to be part of the “elite,” we’d rather her not be part of an “exclusive” group. We don’t want her to adopt an entitled attitude.

I guess I am kind of anti-business school, at least for undergrads. Although I am impressed with students who double major in business and something else that uses a different part of the brain, like English, classics, anthropology, or a foreign language. It’s so broadening and makes that person so much more interesting.

Those are my thoughts about business. To Jen: You are NOT shut out of your dream career. You just have to take a different (and maybe even BETTER) path. Get a super-high GPA in LSA, then get an MBA from a top school. You will have the same exact career that you have been dreaming about. If you work in investment banking, you will easily be able to pay off your business school loans.

By the way, don’t you think that people who go to small liberal arts colleges work in financial services? There’s no business school at Colgate, Hobart, or Williams. Yet people from those schools get jobs on Wall Street. STUDY the LinkedIn profiles of people who did this. See the path they took. Here are some examples. These people went to small liberal arts schools and do not have an MBA.

Incoming Investment Banking Analyst at AGC Partners
Colgate, Class of 2016
http://■■■■■■■.com/hbyqss6

Analyst at BlackRock
Colgate Class of 2015
http://■■■■■■■.com/gnbr3do

Analyst, Goldman Sachs
Colgate Class of 2015
http://■■■■■■■.com/hn3ods9

Trader at Wolverine Trading
Williams Class of 2008
http://■■■■■■■.com/z7u2xn5

And just for fun, here’s someone who majored in political science and government at Williams College, then went on to get an MBA at Vanderbilt directly out of college. Here’s who she is now:

President and COO at Nasdaq
http://■■■■■■■.com/zzuq6b8

^^^^^This could be you!!

And pay another $100,000 for that MBA… just saying. Both my kids went to LACs, and I have nothing against them. I see the benefits. But Ross gives you a boost if you KNOW you want to work in business.

But the thing is intparent, once I get out of undergrad, I want to immediately get exposure to finance. In finance often seniority triumphs. MBA schools often only except people with over 4 years worth of work experience. I cannot work 4 years at a shitty job, that has nothing to do with what I love that I despise because it was my only option. I actually have a passion for being in finance!

You shouldn’t be at Michigan if your only desired route is finance and you are not a Ross pre-admit. Time to transfer.

“I know there are always people who get into schools because of their relationship to donors, but it seems like Ross more notorious for this than its competitors.”

Brantly - why do you say this - I’m afraid its hearsay and/or anecdotal.

Maybe they had stronger critical thinking skills than you do? You have no idea why they were admitted nor do you know why you weren’t. If the best you can come up with is, “they must have had connections,” you’d be better off conceding defeat right now as this sentiment doesn’t reflect poorly on Ross. It does, however, reflect poorly on you. Looking at an article from May 2015, only 22% of freshman applicants were denied admission to Ross which means this issue affects only one of five applicants.

Ross having more recruiting resources and a private gym. Personally, I think that has some unfortunate optics. Looking into it a bit further, I suspect this is partly due to the graduate business students being included in the same recruiting center. Likewise, the private gym looks indefensible until you realize the OCH is for Ross and law school students as well. I’d imagine Ross undergraduates are mostly an after thought as they account for ~25% of the total students who have access.

Full disclosure: beyond two hours in the Detroit airport (yummy peanut butter sandwiches BTW), I’ve never set foot in Michigan.

Regular Admission–Sophomores & Above

Students enter the Ross BBA Program after one or more years of college, then continue at the Ross School for three years of full-time fall-winter enrollment. Admission is selective.
3.67 Average U-M GPA
3.40-3.92 Middle 80% U-M GPA
41% Women
6% International
44% In-State
4% Underrepresented Minorities
1,284 Number of Regular Admission Applicants
473 Number of Regular Admission Admitted

Figures are for entering Regular Admission sophomores in 2015

That is a 36.8% admit rate.

^interesting. You are correct. The 22% figure is for applicants who applied as HS seniors as well as freshman and have been denied twice.

So the in state and oos percentages are flipped for Ross compared to the university as a whole.