Michigan / Ross MBA News

Get the latest MBA news from Michigan / Ross.

Published: April 10, 2014

Clear Admit Experts Weigh in on Helicopter Parents of MBA Applicants

A recent article highlighting the increasing phenomenon of helicopter parents hovering over their adult children as part of the MBA application process shared insight from two of Clear Admit’s own. The article, which appeared in Poets&Quants and Fortune, provided a trove of anecdotal evidence to support the fact that some parents are now playing as involved a role in the MBA admissions process for their children, many of whom are in their mid- to late-20s, as parents of high schoolers applying to college. Stacey Oyler, who came to work as an admissions consultant for Clear Admit after serving on the admissions team at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business, shared several of her experiences with overly involved parents as part of the article. In one instance, Oyler received a late-night call from an accusatory mother who questioned Oyler’s advice regarding her son’s application. Read more

Published: March 27, 2014

Fridays from the Frontline

Hello and welcome to Fridays from the Frontline, Clear Admit’s weekly confabulation with correspondents in the b-school blogosphere. Our 2016 applicants continue to receive status updates from schools, while current students are taking the opportunity afforded by spring break to travel and update their blogs. Domotron finally heard from Kellogg, with news of a ding that confirmed a Class of 2017 matriculation at Tuck. CoffeeBeansandTeaLeaves also received a ding from Kellogg, and updates readers with a final tally of dings from this year's application season. Although the season ends with an offer to join the Ross weekend MBA program, Ellie is taking advantage of this time to do some self-reflection and prepare for next year's challenges. We wish her all the best! Finally a bit of good news from MBA Reapplicant, who posted a detailed and glowing account of visiting Darden and the interview process. Read more

Published: March 9, 2014

Students from U Michigan’s Ross School of Business Fan the Globe for Action-Based Learning

First-year students from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business are setting out today toward 81 companies spread across 24 countries as part of the school’s Multidisciplinary Action Projects (MAPs). Every spring, the school’s 450 or so first-year MBAs take part in this core requirement, which the school touts as one of the most intensive action-based learning programs of its kind. The students are assigned to companies for seven-week stints, during which time they learn first hand as part of everything from new product launches to digital banking. Participating companies include Microsoft, Amazon and Sustainable Harvest, among many others. Read more

Published: February 26, 2014

Ross MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / 2nd Year Student / On-Campus

I was very impressed with how Ross conducted their interview day. I highly recommend doing an on-campus interview if you get the opportunity. Ross blocked out a bunch of rooms at a nearby hotel and driving around Ann Arbor is fairly easy. Rental car prices in the area are also very reasonable. I know some applicants decided to cab around, but cabs in Ann Arbor are not readily available. Parking on campus was about $9-$10 for the whole day and the parking garage is fairly close to the business school. When interviewees arrive, you are given a brochure, agenda, and Read more

Published: February 10, 2014

Ross MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / Second-year student / On-Campus

I was interviewed by a second year MBA student in Ann Arbor, MI. The student had his laptop for the interview and was working off of a set of questions and topics in order to steer our conversation. After going through my resume he asked a few typical questions on leadership, teamwork and achievements. He then went on to ask about “Why MBA,” “Why Ross,” and “Why now.” He had a lot of follow up questions to my answers regarding my MBA school and timing. It was apparent he was really trying to make sure I felt Ross was a Read more

Published: February 3, 2014

Ross MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Second-year Student / Skype

I felt like my Ross interview went pretty well because it felt like a conversation, though my interviewer did follow the typical MBA interview format (i.e. professional history, short/long-term goals, why MBA, why Ross/now, etc.). The only differences I found was that I was asked to sell my university to a college applicant and share anything else I’d like the adcom to know about me. Other than that, it was pretty straightforward. Read more

Published: January 29, 2014

Ross MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Second-Year Student / Skype

A blind interview with a second year student, who was really friendly and was really excited about Ross. He had an artistic and creative personality, which really clicked with me. 1. Walk me through your resume 2. Why an MBA and why now? 3. What kind of consulting are you looking to get into? (Follow-up question for short term goals.) 4. Describe an experience in a team and what you can offer to Ross as a team player 5. What criteria did you use to define your school search? 6. Which social clubs do you Read more

Published: January 29, 2014

Ross MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / Second-year / On-Campus

The interview was very casual and friendly. No surprising questions. 1) Explain your work history 2) Long term goal 3) Why Ross 4) Interests outside of work 5) Questions for the interviewer – this actually got cut rather short After the formal interview we all went to the second part of the interview which was a group exercise. We broke into groups of 6 and picked cards from a bag. Each card had either a place or a thing written on it. We then developed a case problem and solution using some of the cards we Read more

Published: December 26, 2013

Teamwork, Listening Skills Essential for MBAs – and Prospective Applicants

Team assignments have become de rigeur as part of the MBA curriculum at many leading business schools, with some schools assigning students to teams when they first arrive and requiring them to work together in multiple classes and others having students shift between several different teams as part of a single course or semester. Why such a focus on teamwork? Experts believe that learning to work in small groups will pay off when the students graduate and look for jobs, according to a recent article in U.S. News & World Report. Read more

Published: December 8, 2013

Updates from Ross School of Business Director of Admissions Soojin Kwon

Prospective applicants to the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business are busy working toward Round 2 and 3 deadlines, and Director of Admissions Soojin Kwon has been sharing lots or relevant information on her Director’s Blog recently. In a post late last week, she reminded second- and third-rounders not to miss a Webinar she and her colleague, Senior Associate Director Diana Economy, hosted online on December 4th. Anyone can access the recorded presentation, which includes a range of advice and tips on the Ross MBA application, including specific information useful Read more

Published: November 19, 2013

UMichigan’s Ross School of Business Leads in Building LGBT-Inclusive Campus Culture

The Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan has gotten more of its student body involved to help foster an LGBT-inclusive campus culture than any other top business school, according to initial standings released last week for the MBA Ally Challenge. The year-long competition, launched by nonprofit Friendfactor, is part of the organization’s larger effort to encourage straight people to become visible and active allies in their workplace and campus communities. Twelve of Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s top-20-ranked MBA programs have taken on the MBA Ally Challenge, and together they have activated more than 1,800 students since this year’s challenge kicked off in late August. Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and MIT Sloan School of Management trail Ross in second and third places, respectively. Read more

Published: November 18, 2013

Ross MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / Alumnus / Off-campus

The interview was held in a coffee shop in the alumni’s area. It lasted about 60 minutes and was straight and to the point, without much introduction or simple chat in between. I hoped for a casual conversation but was informed beforehand by a friend that this interviewer is a bit tough. The normal questions appeared – Why MBA, why now, why Ross. I wasn’t asked explicitly for my career goals (ST and LT) but inserted on my own through the other answers. When my answers weren’t clear enough, he pressed harder (but the atmosphere was business-like and did not Read more

Published: November 10, 2013

Ross MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / Alumnus/ Off-campus

My interviewer was in a hurry from the time we started. He started by saying that he was looking for a 15-20 minute interview and it lasted for 20 minutes only. He wanted the answers to not last more than 1 -1.5 minutes. He asked the following questions: 1. Tell me about yourself (he wanted only top line and interrupted when I was getting into details. After that I just gave him a brief idea) 2. Why MBA 3. What do you want to gain from an MBA to get into consulting. 4. Why Ross Read more

Published: October 8, 2013

Stanford Graduate School of Business Returns to Number One Spot in Forbes 2013 MBA Rankings

Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) reclaimed the top spot in the Forbes 2013 biennial ranking of MBA programs, released today. The University of Chicago Booth School of Business took second, bumping Harvard Business School (HBS), which topped the list in 2011, to third place. The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School followed up the lead in fourth. Forbes, which ranks full-time MBA programs every two years based on return on investment, found that at the top 25 programs in the United States, the degree still pays off, although it takes longer to do so. For the Class of 2008, the class surveyed for this year’s ranking, the average payback period was 3.7 years, as compared to 2.7 years a decade ago, Forbes reports. Read more

Published: September 3, 2013

U Michigan Alumnus Gives an Additional $200 Million to Ross School of Business, Athletics

Real estate developer and alumnus Stephen M. Ross will give $100 million to the University of Michigan business school that already bears his name and another $100 million to U-M Athletics, the university announced today. His most recent gift is the largest in the university’s history from a single donor. With lifetime giving of $313 million, he is the third-largest donor to a United States business school. Ross, who earned his bachelor of business administration in accounting from the University of Michigan School of Business, as well as two subsequent law degrees elsewhere, made an earlier gift of $100 million in 2004 toward construction of a new building and endowed operations for the business school. That building, which was named in Ross’s honor, was completed in 2009. Read more

Published: August 19, 2013

Career Services Director Q&A: Damian Zikakis of the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business

~A CLEAR ADMIT EXCLUSIVE~ Moving right along in our Career Services Director Q&A Series, we had the good fortune today to connect with Damian Zikakis, director or career services at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Zikakis joined Ross in September 2010, bringing a range of experience that makes him the perfect person to lead the Ross Career Services team. Most recently, he served as managing director of the Michigan office of Boyden Global Executive Search, a retained search firm with 70 offices in 40 countries. Before that, he spent more than 20 years as a CPA and as a financial executive, including with Price Waterhouse in its Chicago, Tulsa and Detroit offices and at several small- and mid-sized companies in roles ranging from controller to chief financial officer. In the interview that follows, Zikakis provides a concise but comprehensive overview of his role, the career counselors who makes up his team, how the recruiting process unfolds at Ross and the resources available to help students prepare to interview. But that’s not all. If Ross is on your list of target schools, you’ll want to be sure to check out what he has to share. Read more

Published: July 22, 2013

U.S. News Ranks 10 Full-Time MBA Programs That Lead to Highest Student Debt

As part of its Short List series, U.S. News & World Report today took a closer look at the student debt load incurred by full-time MBA students graduating from top business school programs. According to data provided by schools as part of its annual ranking, U.S. News found that full-time MBA graduates in 2012 emerged with an average of $49,619 in debt. At the 10 schools where graduates incurred the most student debt, the average per student was $97,154. Graduates of New York University’s Stern School of Business top the list in terms of average debt. There, the average graduate has a debt load of $105,782. Six figure debt is also the norm for graduates from the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management, U.S. News reports. Read more

Published: July 18, 2013

Tuition Climbs at UM’s Ross School of Business, Remains Flat in UC System

Last month, the Board of Regents at the University of Michigan approved a $1,100 increase per term for its full-time MBA program at the Ross School of Business. The tuition increase, which will take effect in the fall, represents a 4.4 percent rise for in-state students and a 4 percent rise for out-of-state students. Meanwhile, the Board of Regents for the University of California system earlier this week approved a proposal that rules out tuition hikes for that system’s graduate business schools, at least for this year. As reported by Bloomberg BusinessWeek on June 21st, two members of the six-person board at the University of Michigan voted against the tuition hike. “The continued raising of tuition is not sustainable,” Regent Denise Ilitch said in a statement. “If we were as good at raising revenue streams as we are at raising tuition, our students would be far better off.” Read more

Published: June 12, 2013

Top Business Schools Help Students Who Head into Lower Paying Fields

Taking on debt to finance an MBA program only to take a job at a low-paying nonprofit organization after business school doesn’t add up to graduates being able to repay their loans. Fortunately, many top business schools have created programs to help ease the financial burden for those who go into nonprofit or other low-paying fields, according to a recent report in Bloomberg BusinessWeek. In addition to Harvard Business School, which this year gave 19 students grants of $50,000 to supplement their first-year salaries, schools including Columbia Business School (CBS), Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, UMichigan’s Ross School of Business, Stanford Graduate School of Business and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School all also offer financial assistance in one form or another to help graduates repay student loans, Bloomberg BW reports. And while many business school students don’t seem to know about these programs, they should: The benefits can extend for multiple years adding up to as much as $100,000 for some, Bloomberg BW adds. Read more

Published: May 28, 2013

UMichigan’s Ross School of Business Revises Essay Portion of Application

In a post yesterday to the Ross Admissions Blog, Director of Admissions Soojin Kwon shared the school’s planned changes to the essay portion of the application and the rationale behind them. Applicants for fall 2014 will find that one of the essays from last year has been adjusted, one has been eliminated and the others have remained the same. They will also find that they have 450 words fewer overall with which to answer the essays. “Before we jump into the next admissions cycle, our team takes some time to reflect on how our application process worked for the past year and where we can make improvements,” Kwon wrote, noting that the process includes gathering feedback from application readers, student and alumni interviewers and even admitted students who decide to enroll elsewhere. Kwon’s team also confers with colleagues in Career Services, Academic Services and the MBA program itself to make sure the application is designed to best identify potential star students. Read more

Published: May 12, 2013

Top Business Schools Report Healthy Application Volume Increases

When GMAT test-taking volume jumped by 11 percent for the year ending last June, those watching the MBA admissions space had reason to suspect that application volume at top schools might follow suit. Recent articles from Bloomberg BusinessWeek and Poets & Quants reveal exactly that, with Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management, the University of Virginia’s Darden School and the University of Chicago’s Booth School all reporting double-digit increases in the number of students applying to their two-year, full-time MBA programs. Bloomberg BW last week surveyed its top-10 ranked business schools, discovering that half were reporting significant increases in application volume, ending a three-year decline. Johnson led the pack, with an increase of 12 percent, followed by Darden, at 11 percent, and Chicago Booth, at 10 percent. P&Q reports that Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business blew even those numbers out of the water: Applications to that school’s two-year MBA program swelled by 25 percent after it moved up the Bloomberg BW rankings four places, to 15th, last year. Read more

Published: May 5, 2013

Inaugural Class Graduates from University of Michigan’s Master’s Degree Program in Entrepreneurship

The University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, together with its College of Engineering, awarded its first master’s degrees in entrepreneurship last week, the university announced. Degrees were conferred upon 17 students as part of the joint program, which draws upon the strengths of both schools to help students transform business ideas into market-ready ventures within 12 months. "The University of Michigan is ideally positioned to deliver such a program," Ross Dean Alison Davis-Blake said in a statement. "Our top-ranked business and engineering schools have a long history of successful collaborative ventures,” she continued. Read more

Published: April 23, 2013

Campus Chronicles: The Monroe Street Journal

Welcome back to Campus Chronicles, Clear Admit’s weekly peek inside the news at top business programs. This week we bring you a hard-copy special feature highlighting the Monroe Street Journal, printed by students at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. Ross’s Black Business Students Association (BBSA) recently hosted the annual BBSA Alfred L. Edward Conference, focused on the theme “On the Shoulders of Giants: Leaving a Lasting and Impactful Legacy.” The keynote speaker for the event was distinguished Columbia University Professor Marc Lamont Hill, whose address focused on the responsibility MBA students have towards the less fortunate. This year’s conference also featured panels on the role of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in business, the impact of President Barack Obama on business leaders, and entrepreneurship. The conference’s namesake, Dr. Alfred Edwards, was a Professor at Ross for over 40 years and a champion of the school’s participation in the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, a nonprofit that aims to correct the underrepresentation of African American, Hispanic, and Native American students at business schools across the country. Read more

Published: March 25, 2013

Clear Admit Co-Founders Quoted in National, Local Press on Group Interviews for MBA Admissions

Clear Admit co-founders Graham Richmond and Eliot Ingram contributed to articles this week in both the national and local press, sharing their expertise in the MBA space and advising prospective applicants on how to prepare for the group interview component that some top schools are choosing to include as part of the admissions process. Richmond’s comments appeared in a Bloomberg BusinessWeek article entitled, “How to Stand Out in an MBA Group Interview.” The University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business is the latest top MBA program to require applicants to work as a group as part of the application process, joining Switzerland’s IMD and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, Bloomberg BW notes. Though the schools are taking this step in an effort to elicit more off-the-cuff responses from applicants, there are still ways to prepare for these new exercises. Read more

Published: March 3, 2013

Ross MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Alumnus / Off-campus

My interview was on 26th January 2013. I applied to FT MBA in second round and was invited on 10th Jan. I had to submit my resume in scheduling system and that was all the alumnus had except the interview form to fill in. We met in a local coffee shop, and the interview was 30+15 minutes. Overall was very conversational, even though my interviewer was not that chit-chat. Here were the questions I was asked: – Started with introducing herself with how thing would be proceeded. – Run me through your resume. She asked a question about Read more

Michigan / Ross

CLASS SIZE: 396

Women: 40%

MEAN GMAT: 728

% INTERNATIONAL: 44%

Livewire Decisionwire Interview Reports Essay Topic Analysis MBA Admissions Deadlines View Full Profile

MBA Applywire

December 21, 2024 12:13pm ET

Applying: Dartmouth / Tuck, Northwestern / Kellogg, UPenn / Wharton, UT Austin / McCombs, UVA / Darden

Intake Year: 2025

Pre-MBA Career: Military/Corporate Logistics

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting Companies: Bain , BCG , McKinsey

GRE: 302

GPA: 3.63

Years of Work Experience: 9

Notes:

Submitting for R2, but retaking GRE after application deadline. Military Vet with Corporate experience.

December 20, 2024 5:17pm ET

Applying: Columbia, Duke / Fuqua, Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan, Northwestern / Kellogg, Stanford GSB, U. Chicago Booth, UPenn / Wharton

Intake Year: 2025

Pre-MBA Career: Healthcare

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting Companies: Bain , BCG

GRE: 332

GPA: 3.5

Years of Work Experience: 3

Location: Florida

Post MBA Location: Consulting

Notes:

25F, lgbtq, 3 years as a registered nurse. also have started working for an early stage VC in the past several months.

December 19, 2024 4:44pm ET

Applying: Berkeley / Haas, Stanford GSB

Intake Year: 2025

Pre-MBA Career: Insurance

Post-MBA Target Industry: Entrepreneurship

GRE: 318

GPA: 3.59

Years of Work Experience: 3.5

Location: Georgia

Post MBA Location: Southeast

Notes:

Looking to launch a tech startup post MBA, without any background in tech. Come from a quant heavy background and undergraduate coursework. I regularly attended admissions events, in person and online at my schools. I hope that focusing energy on my few top schools and spending a lot of time on essays will help me overcome the less than average test score (164 quant 154 verbal) and GPA.

Serial entrepreneur with a history of profitable small businesses. Was promoted twice in 3.5 years. Involved in many extracurricular activities in and outside of work. My background is very centered around financial services/insurance, is this a red flag for a pivot to Tech Entrepreneurship?

Transferred between two state schools in the southeast. School I graduated from is a top 25 undergrad business program. Obtained a few professionals designations post grad.

December 18, 2024 11:38am ET

Applying: Michigan / Ross, UNC Kenan-Flagler, Vanderbilt / Owen

Intake Year: 2025

Pre-MBA Career: Held various positions in Finance and Accounting in a healthcare institution

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Other Companies: BCG , Deloitte , Other

GPA: 3.0

Years of Work Experience: 11

Location: International

Notes:

I am passionate about healthcare enhancing patient quality care. So exploring in that field is what I would love. Got a 72k scholarship from Vandy and named Forte Fellow. UNC 50k. I'm having a hard time deciding though my heart is leaning towards Owen

December 18, 2024 10:23am ET

Applying: Arizona State / W.P. Carey, Indiana / Kelley, Ohio State / Fisher

Intake Year: 2025

Pre-MBA Career: Facility management

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting

GRE: 309

GPA: 2.8

Years of Work Experience: 3

Notes:

Graduate GPA -3.869

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MBA LiveWire

December 21, 2024 8:37am ET

Accepted to Duke / Fuqua

Round: Round 1

Received via phone on December 11, 2024

GMAT: 675

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Consulting

December 21, 2024 2:38am ET

Waitlisted at Duke / Fuqua

Round: Round 1

Received via phone on December 10, 2024

GPA: 3.27

GMAT: 760

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Finance

Application Location: CA

December 20, 2024 11:16pm ET

Accepted to Babson / Olin

Round: Round 1

Received via email on December 17, 2024

GPA: 3.9

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Consulting

Application Location: South Asia

December 20, 2024 7:50pm ET

Accepted to Columbia

Round: Round 1

Received via portal on December 10, 2024

GMAT: 750

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Application Location: India

Note:

$100k scholarship

December 20, 2024 3:21pm ET

Accepted to Yale SOM

Round: Round 1

Received via email December 20, 2024

GPA: 4.0

GMAT: 750

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Note:

100% scholarship

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