Excellent MBA Experience

Experience during the program

The experience at Michigan Ross has been amazing. World class education, and a program that is entirely deserving of its top-10 ranking. I've had a great experience getting to try my hand at a variety of different fields in a format that is the genesis for the program: Action-based learning both in and outside of the classroom. From being able to do consulting for an energy company as well as a professional sports team, all through school connections, to being a part of a $1B real estate project for MAP (essentially a second internship that is a part of the core), and being able to do real venture capital investing through one of the many student-managed funds has been great.

The alumni network is one of the largest and is spread across different industries, geographies, and seniority levels. Alumni, like current students, are very passionate and willing to bend over backward to help another fellow Wolverine out. Fellow students are all very bright, accomplished, and for the most part genuinely pretty nice people. The latter part has been one of the most surprising for me since I often hear from friends at other programs how the big cities they are in are often distractions and don't allow for genuine relationship building.

That leads me to Ann Arbor. It is NOT a big city, and for all some hype it up to be, it's not that metropolitan. Sure there are a few niceties for a college town, but it was definitely an adjustment the first year. Mentally prepare yourself and your partner if you are moving with them. It's probably the biggest downside of the experience. That being said, this downside is what leads to making it such a close-knit culture. You'll definitely travel on ski trips, internationally to beaches, and so on, but this is Michigan, college sports are HUGE and there aren't that many other things to do. So it leads to a lot of bonding at the MBA tailgate ('The Bus') or house parties. So be prepared for that, but honestly, it's a great time, and like I said, it's a great conduit for making a lot of close friendships and one that creates closer, and more passionate bonds, than other programs.

Curriculum-wise, the program officially is a General Management program, but the school consistently ranks in the top 10 across various specializations. It's top for management, marketing, finance, accounting, entrepreneurship, operations, etc. the list goes on. Further, most large companies recruit here. If you are pursuing Consulting, Investment Banking, General Management, CPG/Marketing, Tech, Real Estate, and Operations all the top firms(MBB, BB, F500, FAANG) come here. More niche industries are interesting. Investment Management/Hedge Funds have a presence with Point72, Citadel, Optiver, Peak6, American Century, Viking, T.Rowe Price, and BlackRock, having recruiting efforts here, but I will say for some of these (Hedge Funds in particular) they also recruit undergrad BBAs (for less $$$) so you have to be cognizant of that and get your face in front of the recruiters. So that is a unique double-edged sword here, but for being a school in the midwest far away from Wall Street, it does have a decent showing for buy-side opportunities. PE/VC also has some growing efforts that are slowly becoming more institutionalized, but like most programs, you have to do some searching outside for more opportunities. Entrepreneurship has a lot of resources ($$$ and mentors) with Zell-Lurie Institute as well as a rapidly growing ETA/Search Funds club.

Overall, I think if you want a great MBA experience, an amazing network, the best consortium class, and access to all the top career opportunities you could ever dream about, all in a very welcoming and collaborative culture, Michigan Ross should be on your radar. I would suggest prospective MBA students come visit the school for themselves! GO BLUE!

About professors, classes and curriculum

Overall excellent education all around, some classes are more dry than others, but the good news is that most classes are delivered in a mix of action-based learning, case method, team collaboration, simulations, and some lectures.

About job placement process

If you are an entrepreneur I would definitely consider Michigan Ross -- tons of resources, huge alumni base in Silicon Valley between Ross, College of Engineering, School of Information, Law school, and LS&A, and they all LOVE Michigan and are super helpful. Honestly, it might be the best alumni network due to its size, engagement, and widespread geography.

Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
Schools contribution (5.0)
Classmates rating (5.0)

Strengths of the program:

Student body, diversity
Alumni Network
Career opportunities provided by school

Best fit at this program:

Consulting
Finance
Marketing
Investment Banking
Tech
Entrepreneurship
Management
Investment Management

Can be improved:

Location