<p>My son has been accepted to both WUSTL and the U Mich Honors Program. His interests at this point lie in eventually moving to a business program. Any ideas about pros/cons of one school versus the other?</p>
<p>I don’t know anything about U Mich Honors Program, so I’m not able to compare. However, I have a son who is a freshman at Wash U and he is incredibly happy there. He switched from Arts & Sciences to the Business School between the time he was accepted and when he started his freshman year, and it was incredibly easy. All it involved was an e-mail. I suggest having him visit both universities to decide.</p>
<p>It also greatly depends on which state you live in. Out of State tuition is a huge negative.</p>
<p>Michigan-Ross is a top 10 undergrad biz school. If you are instate for Michigan and WashU is not offering any money, Ann Arbor is a no-brainer. OTOH, if OOS and the costs are the same, your son has picked two significantly different cultures/settings.</p>
<p>^^Michigan is “known” for their business school and pretty heavily recruited…I’m not familiar with WashU as far as business schools although every once in awhile I do hear mention of Olin so it’s not totally unknown. You could look into who recruits on the two campuses and maybe get a sense of how the business schools are perceived nationally. Looking at the course requirements might also give you a sense of similarities differences. Finances might also be a consideration.</p>
<p>OOS and slightly lower costs at U Mich- good idea re: looking at the course requirements.
I know Ross is consistently ranked higher than Olin, but Olin appears to be very high in the list of feeder schools.</p>
<p>Just one question to blackeyedsusan- did your son send the e-mail re: switching to Olin after enrolling in WUSTL or before? Thanks for the tip.</p>
<p>The Michigan honors program has a lot to recommend it.</p>
<p>I’ve got a neighbor who is a sophomore at the business school at Michigan. She’s not loving it there. She feels like the school is too big and everyone is from in-state (we’re from NJ), which really surprised me since it is a nationally known school. Anyone know the OOS percentage for Michigan?</p>
<p>My S will go to WashU in the fall. Everything I’ve heard says it is very easy to switch between schools (College of Arts&Sciences, Business, etc.), or even to double degree with majors from two different schools. And, you can take classes in any school regardless of which school you are enrolled in.</p>
<p>mmisra – he e-mailed the Dean of Admissions at the beginning of the summer and received an e-mail confirmation the same day, with a confirming letter arriving 3 days later by mail! I understand it’s pretty easy to switch after enrollment, as well, but this was truly amazing. It’s also indicative of how smoothly everything runs at Wash U.</p>
<p>Friend’s D who just graduated (last spring) did not like UMichigan program. Only an n of 1, and I know nothing of WashU’s program.</p>
<p>You are talking about two excellent institutions, here, so figure out which school culture is a better fit for your son. </p>
<p>Michigan has a lot of the resources of a large university and a football team, which accounts for an augmented sense of school solidarity/spirit; the addition of a football team somehow energizes the campus. Sports are excellent, even on the club level. Ann Arbor is a nice college town. Kids are happy, there, and the big, impersonal class size dissipates in upper division. As well, the Michigan students, much like the UCLAers, are a pretty social crowd, not nerdy, overall, but animated and social. My daughter was accepted to the Honors program at Michigan, while awaiting news of her ED acceptance elsewhere, but Michigan was very high on her radar, had she not gotten in to her ED choice. We were led to believe that the honors program at Michigan accounted for a more intimate collegiate experience, more personalized administrative attention, preferred housing, etc.</p>
<p>Enter Wash U. Another wonderful school, in which my daughter was very interested, with a high level of nurture, smart kids, good food, pretty architecture–abysmal weather, LIKE MICHIGAN, during the winter. I have heard some press about the zealousness of some of the Wash U. students and some inventory-taking among peers–e.g. inquiry about how each other has done on a test sort of thing. A larger school like Michigan makes one’s performance less pronounced and scrutinized.</p>
<p>I think you can’t go wrong with either school, frankly. Some kids love a larger school–more social choices, less incestuous knowledge of everyone’s drama–while some kids like a smaller social scene in which to navigate.</p>
<p>They’re both great schools. Both have some tough weather during winter. Maybe a visit to both, if you can swing it, might give your son a greater intuitive feel about each school. But, really, no student knows the real story until he or she is a student in said school.</p>
<p>I know a handful of students, most of whom have loved Wash U. I know two handfuls of Michigan students, some of whom did the honors program, some of whom did the engineering school/program, and all loved their school.</p>
<p>Good luck–your son has some really lovely choices.</p>
<p>Wash U does not have tough weather in winter. It’s much milder than Michigan and doesn’t get much snow.</p>
<p>Thanks so much all parents who chimed in- this is very helpful.</p>
<p>Gotta second the comments about weather in St. Louis vs. Ann Arbor. I’ve lived in St. Louis (H taught at Wash U) and I grew up in the Detroit area and graduated from Michigan. Winters in St. Louis are nothing like winters in Michigan. Some winters it doesn’t even snow in St. Louis. It snows often in Ann Arbor. St. Louis gets very hot/humid in the summer and even in the spring it’s much warmer and much more humid in St. Louis than in Ann Arbor. Both are great institutions and previous posts have outlined many of the differences. FWIW–my oldest D just finished applying to MBA programs and I’ve looked at some of the materials she collected and I’m pretty sure that in all of the various rankings (US News, Business Week, Forbes, etc.) Michigan’s business school ranks higher than Wash U’s.</p>
<p>“Wash U does not have tough weather in winter. It’s much milder than Michigan and doesn’t get much snow.”</p>
<p>“Gotta second the comments about weather in St. Louis vs. Ann Arbor. I’ve lived in St. Louis (H taught at Wash U) and I grew up in the Detroit area and graduated from Michigan. Winters in St. Louis are nothing like winters in Michigan. Some winters it doesn’t even snow in St. Louis. It snows often in Ann Arbor.”</p>
<p>Thank you; it’s good to know the distinction in weather, especially in regards to snowfall. To a Californian, it’s all cold; that said, we have had some pretty cold temperatures during the winter, thus far. Temperatures even plummeted into the high 30s.</p>
<p>The nice thing about the honors college is that it ameliorates some of the “Largeness” of U Mich.</p>
<p>I agree about the winters, though I happened to be in St Louis for one of their infamous ice storms. I was told that they are not uncommon, but I don’t know that first hand. The trees came down and so did the power lines. Snow in Ann Arbor is embraced: sledding on cafeteria trays in the Arboretum, anyone? And since it so common, the University and the city are very good at snow removal. But there is no denying that it does get cold!</p>
<p>Congratulations!!! My son is in his 2nd semester, freshman year at Olin and loves it. It is hard. He loves the Bschool profs he has had. The advising staff are good and available. And he is able to take courses in virtually any department across the university. Olin has one of the highest undergraduate success rates for jobs upon graduation in the country. This is due in part to an ongoing effort to develop new relations with employers as well as deepen existing relations with employers. The students accepted at Olin are a very special group, being quite bright but somehow with very few who are ‘socially awkward’ or nerds. During these tough economic times, Chancellor Wrighton’s response (as stated in a letter to parents) was to state that salary cuts would be made at higher levels for faculty and administration and they would maintain or increase salaries for new/junior faculty. As a parent I view this as a very powerful statement regarding WUSTL’s desire to continue to attract the best and thus offer students more rather than less. Olin is an outstanding Bschool. It is a top tier school though is probably never going to be a top 10 school. Why? First, they are small. Second, the Dean and faculty are less interested in rankings and more interested in things that matter, like teaching, adding international/global exposure, assisting with job search, etc. Should your son decide he doesn’t like Bschool, it is just that easy to switch. And the opportunity set should he switch is HUGE! As to location, while said to be in St. Louis, the main campus (vs. med school) is actually in Clayton,MO and the side that borders St. Louis actually borders a large, beautiful park. Housing is very good to great. Food is good to great (hard to assess due to varying tastes). And you get to study business from day one at the undergraduate level. At Michigan, a great school, I believe undergraduate Bschool does not actually start until jr. year (competitive application process I believe). I am obviously a very satisfied WUSTL parent but don’t get me wrong…Ross Bschool is outstanding too. Thus as someone else said, two very different experiences. You have got to visit them for the feel/fit. Good luck. One more thing re: undergraduate Bschool…rankings matter most for MBA programs and that comes later if even needed. Both of these Bschools do provide what is needed for a successful business career at the undergraduate level alone.</p>
<p>He got a likely letter from Stern- so it may turn out that he goes to NYC after all.</p>
<p>Hi, I want to do business, but have not got ross preadmit. I have acceptance from UVA and LSA at U MICH. Which is better for job oppotunities, academics if
- I do not manage to get into McIntyre or Ross.
- Also which is easier to get after 1 year : Mc Intyre after UVA or Ross after U mich </p>
<p>I was wondering how realistic is it to get admitted to Ross by your sophomore year. I understand they require you to have a high GPA and engage in leadership positions during your freshman year. Is it a hard task to meet?</p>