|
(4.7) |
Program has been more fun than I anticipated. It's also been much more hectic and busy than I had anticipated--people aren't lying when they say the hardest thing will be picking what NOT to participate in! Recruiting has been as intense, yet collaborative, as people told me. I would suggest future applicants do some soul searching as soon as possible so they can come to school with an idea of what industry and/or function they want to go into. Recruiting starts very early so having tbat type of focus helps prioritize early on. Also, don't forget to stay calm during admissions and in recruiting! It will all work out in the end and looking nervous never helped nobody. ;)
Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
Schools contribution (4.0)
Classmates rating (4.0)
Alumni Network
Career opportunities provided by school
Facilities
Consulting
Marketing
Investment Banking
Tech
Curriculum, Classes, Professors
Location
The school tries to please everyone and offers a buffet of options. However because of that resources are scarce and the school doesn't give a lot of support to certai groups of students. People say that if you're not interested in consulting or marketing, you're on your own, and I would agree with that.
Also the school needs to do something about having to share everything with the undergrads. Had I know this would be such an issue I probably would have picked another school.
Finally I was a little disappointed with the caliber of my classmates. Lots of smart people but they quickly regressed to frat type parties. It got old pretty quickly.
Suggestion for future applicants: I interviewed candidates and saw some amazing resumes from amazing people who didn't get accepted. I'd say the most important thing is to really understand how Ross will help you.
Overall BSchool experience (3.0)
Schools contribution (2.0)
Classmates rating (3.0)
Alumni Network
Access to rest of university
Consulting
Marketing
Curriculum, Classes, Professors
Career opportunities provided by school
Location
Brand/Ranking
Facilities
Michigan is a great school, but it has some weaknesses. At the end of the day, it's most important that you find the program that you fit in the best because Michigan and all of its peers can get you where you want to go.
What is the fit of Michigan?
Focus is on teamwork and "paying it forward". A lot of work is in groups and second years are expected to help and/or coach first years, though they do so with mixed results. Of course, there is the action-based learning component for which Michigan is best known. Lastly, look into the Sanger Leadership Center and the Center for Positive Organizations, they look to mold future leaders and have lots of resources.
The good?
- Professors have been good; know the material and are approachable
- Career Services is top notch; if you work hard on your candidacy, you will get a great job
- Some classmates are "givers", always have time with help with anything
- Many off the beaten path experiences that are awesome. Read all of your emails and make time!
The bad?
- Some classmates clearly aren't at the caliber of a graduate business degree
- Brand recognition for Ross could be better
The neutral?
- Alumni are hit or miss. Some love the school and respond with great help, some ignore your requests
- A lot of school will be what you make out of it: how much you devote to class or career. Many classmates will complain that you can't do everything, but you can if you are targeted (i.e. don't recruit for McKinsey just because of the name)
Overall, just be honest with yourself about what you want to get out of the MBA and only do things that are aligned with that mission. Write yourself a letter the summer before to have something to remind you. That way when 200 people go to the Google presentation and you are recruiting for banking, you skip it. You're paying $200k for a life-changing experience, don't let anyone or anything stop you from getting all the value from Michigan during your time here.
Have started shifting to a more academic program from a more casual one. Workload can be a lot at times, but never overwhelming if you budget your time.
Every one of the major players recruits here.
Overall BSchool experience (4.0)
Schools contribution (5.0)
Classmates rating (2.0)
Curriculum, Classes, Professors
Career opportunities provided by school
Facilities
Consulting
Marketing
Student body, diversity
Alumni Network
Brand/Ranking
My time at Ross was among the most satisfactory 2 years spent. I gained tremendously from school's action based learning approach, student body and brand (specially in midwest).
Some of the unique things to leverage at Ross are: Wolverine Venture Fund (real world student run VC fund investing in healthcare and tech), MAP (pioneering action based learning project with real companies solving real world problems) and collaborative culture (students help each other prep for interviews etc as peer counselors).
Suggestions for future students would be consider Michigan for its traditional strengths (consulting, entrepreneurship, marketing). Gmat is getting increasingly critical and that is raising the bar for students overall.
Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
Schools contribution (5.0)
Classmates rating (4.0)
Career opportunities provided by school
Brand/Ranking
Culture & Student Support
Consulting
Marketing
Entrepreneurship
Management
Curriculum, Classes, Professors
Facilities
Admissions Team
Ross is a good program, but not a great program yet. Student diversity and course strength could use a lot of work.
The good:
The school does a good job of career stuff: we have career treks, enough companies engaging with students and the alumni network is large and helpful. Inspite of the easy going student culture, the students do well in courses and I was constantly surprised by my peers' grades. Some of the students have an exceptional background.
The bad:
I felt the school was very "fratty" - the culture feels like high school where everyone had their clique. There are easy divides you can easily spot - domestic/internationals, white/others etc. Ski trips where cliques choose to cohabit a house, spring break trips where predictable groups go off together to South America etc., are most visible manifestations of this divide. Further, the selection of student-led committees for school-wide activities like GBR was not transparent - it was mostly 'friends and family'.
One reason is because Michigan football has a big impact on the culture, e.g. the Bus where club members act crazy (e.g. dance on top of a bus) during football tailgates. Others who don't identify with such stuff feel alienated and either stop coming or just hang out with their own groups.
The electives are weaker compared to something like Booth or HBS. Second, most of core classes have good professors but there are still some classes like Marketing that could use better professors.
Most students are smart and yet, down to earth. At work, I'm surrounded by Ross alumni and I've heard first hand from senior management that Rossers bring a good general management focus unlike other schools.
Overall BSchool experience (3.0)
Schools contribution (5.0)
Classmates rating (3.0)
Alumni Network
Career opportunities provided by school
Facilities
Consulting
Marketing
Tech
Curriculum, Classes, Professors
Student body, diversity
Culture & Student Support
I was looking for a Top-15 US school located in an inexpensive place (bye-bye New York) with specialization in General management and consulting.
Ross nicely met my expectations:
-Ann Arbor is a tiny, cheap-to-live, fun-to-be place AND it's located close to a major Delta hub so getting to see places is viable
-Facilities are new. The main building was completed in 2009 and a library complex is being constructed currently.
-Faculty are great! I really liked Finance, Corporate Accounting and Advanced Strategy courses - the professors are fantastic! On the other hand, General (Basic) Strategy, General (Basic) Accounting were quite disappointing courses
-Career Services are very weak BUT they employ 2nd year students to conduct FREE one-to-one coaching on cases, behavioral interviews, CV preparation etc. These students, being employed by top consulting and GM companies, just rock! That was by far the most useful element of my job hunting
-Brand name. In the US, everyone knows Michigan. See my note about employers
You can take ANY 2nd year Strategy course and it'll rock! Ross is a really strong school in the strategy field. At the same time, 'Soft' courses such as Leadership, Team building etc are quite weak.
Consulting LOVES Ross! A third of all Rossers join major and minor consulting firms. Then comes Amazon as a major employer at Ross.
Among other blue chip top employers, only a fruit-shape-logo competitor of Microsoft and Samsung did not visit the campus (yet interviewed us in person). The rest of top companies (excluding some IB names, but Ross ISNT a school for IB) come and interview on campus
Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
Schools contribution (4.0)
Classmates rating (5.0)
Curriculum, Classes, Professors
Student body, diversity
Career opportunities provided by school
Consulting
Finance
Tech
Management
Career services are weak
Excellent education and great network.
Pros: brand, catrier services , alumni network, quality of curriculum, action based learning
Cons: weather
Great choice for marketing, consulting, finance and general management tracks
Excellent network in the tech industry
Really good for aspiring entrepreneurs
Action based learning a big plus. In house venture capital funds, startup incubators provide great learning environment
MAP provides industry exposure and allows one to try a new industry or function
Great culture: students are collaborative , helpful and smart. Great student and alumni support network
Some of the best professors. Ability to take classes at other schools like ford school of policy or SNRE
Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
Schools contribution (5.0)
Classmates rating (5.0)
Curriculum, Classes, Professors
Alumni Network
Career opportunities provided by school
Brand/Ranking
Consulting
Marketing
Tech
Location
Ross has a very tight knit community that encourages diversity and inclusion. Its focus on positive leadership and positive business is noticeable compared to other schools and employers (maybe if we train enough future leaders to be positive influences, companies down the road will change). Students are are focused on particular industries are typically successful and I don't know anyone that regrets coming back to school.
If you could call it a complaint, my only complaint is that the school is a bit pragmatic when it comes to the career search. Friends at Stanford or Harvard are told to wait for their dream job, whereas Ross pushes harder for you to take a 'good' job and have a plan B
Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
Schools contribution (5.0)
Classmates rating (5.0)
Student body, diversity
Alumni Network
Culture & Student Support
Consulting
Marketing
Tech
Entrepreneurship
Management
Curriculum, Classes, Professors
Having lived in 4 different countries before coming to Michigan, I was exposed to almost every type of culture possible, different educational and work environments. I had had high expectations, and eventually the Ross School of Business helped me to make a geographical and industry switch. I can't say it was an easy journey (it was one of the most complicated actually), but I survived and deeply appreciate all the support received from peers, professors and alumni. Without them I wouldn't be able to end up in New York.
All future applicants should come prepared and not be shy to speak with alumni and people around them. Michigan Wolverines are extremely responsive and helpful -- you can certainly shoot a note not only to a b-school alum, but to any Michigan graduate and receive a response in a matter of hours/days. Because Michigan is so big, you can find a connection in virtually any company, industry or region. It's one of the most valuable assets Michigan provides you with.
I don't want to sound biased but knowing MBA alumni in different schools, I do know that Michigan should be in a top10 list. In the last couple of years, it became even stronger in the IB space and more and more folks are heading to Wall St.
Deloitte, Amazon, MS, Citi, Big3 and Big5 are huge here.
Every BB bank is also on campus.
Tons of opportunities to network with people in the Bay area.
Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
Schools contribution (5.0)
Classmates rating (4.0)
Alumni Network
Culture & Student Support
Facilities
Consulting
Finance
Tech
Management
Career opportunities provided by school
Brand/Ranking
Ross has a strong connection for people in the MBA program. It can be seen in the way the school was built to facilitate human interaction and connections.
I also found the staff to be very inviting (for the most part) and willing to engage the students on a variety of subjects, especially when it came to defending a position during a discussion.
The ranking of the MBA also makes it desirable as you find all forms of on campus recruiting regardless of what a student is interested in.
If I could suggest one thing: think very hard about what you think your interests are and then look to see who the major hiring firms are at a program. The companies with the most presence dictate a lot of the recruiting events and as such, lends to what the students are interested in. You might actually find lower ranked programs are more in line with your career aspirations when compared to higher ranked programs.
The MBA world is in a state of flux, a bubble of sorts. I feel there will be diminishing returns on the MBA program over time as more and more people obtain the MBA.
Ross has a nice niche of cross campus class, with school of public policy, natural resources, law/med school, engineering among others. This really lends a student to branch out and really experience whatever he/she is interested in. I'm very fortunate to have been part of this.
Mentioned above: make sure you think hard about what you want out of the MBA. It's acceptable to change your mind during the MBA program, but go in with a desired path and seek it.
Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
Schools contribution (5.0)
Classmates rating (3.0)
Student body, diversity
Career opportunities provided by school
Location
Operations
Alumni Network
Specialization in a particular area (e.g. Finance, Consulting, Healthcare, etc)
