How to Get into Michigan Ross School of Business
- Michigan Ross Program Overview
- Michigan Ross School of Business Curriculum
- Michigan Ross School of Business Statistics
- Application Requirements for Michigan Ross
- Extracurriculars at Michigan Ross School of Business
- Notable Professors and Classes at Michigan Ross
- How to Answer Michigan Ross’s 2025−2026 Essay Prompts
- Michigan Ross FAQ
Michigan Ross Program Overview
So, you are thinking about applying to the full-time MBA program at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business? Great choice! The culture is one of the best reasons to include Ross among your target schools. What makes Ross so unique? The people! Overall, Rossers are very driven and perhaps some of the best collaborators in the business world. They love teamwork and helping each other succeed, not only academically and professionally but also personally. Your Ross classmates will be some of the most intriguing people you will ever meet, and the school’s alumni exemplify the concept of being successful while making a positive impact on society. The University of Michigan’s traditions (Go Blue!) are a notable part of the Ross experience, from tailgating before Wolverines football games to the collaborative nature of the program. Students let loose with such events as the annual Follies comedy show and Thursday happy hours, which are also occasionally attended by faculty and alumni.
The opportunities are endless; as a Ross student, you will have a ton of resources to help you achieve any goal you can imagine. With the support of the staff and world-renowned professors, if you come to Ross and—to use a real example—want to start an organization focused on connecting the business world with the K–12 education sector, you can do that! Entrepreneurship is woven into the program in the form of courses, clubs, business challenges, internship programs, and scholarships. In addition to the plethora of student organizations, students can take advantage of many international opportunities; you can study abroad in Italy or France, attend an international negotiations course in Bulgaria, or take a trek to New York focused on the sports industry. Whatever you want to do, chances are that you can do it at Ross.
Ann Arbor, really? Yes, really! A 2025 analysis by Fortune listed Ann Arbor as the best place to live in America, so don’t just take our word for it. Although a majority of Rossers come from some of the largest cities in America and around the world, most of them have never been to Ann Arbor prior to their first campus visit. Some might think that living in such a small city will be a huge lifestyle change, but most alumni speak about their time in Ann Arbor in glowing terms, and many are always looking for reasons to return. One Ross student and former Stratus client said, “The campus is beautiful, and Ross [has] a very modern building that gives students a nice space to study and work!”
Michigan Ross School of Business Curriculum.
The Ross academic calendar is arranged in four semesters, with enrichment weeks built in to give students the opportunity to take trips that align with each student’s career goals. The Fall A and Fall B terms consist mostly of such core courses as “Marketing Management” and “Applied Microeconomics,” and students can start taking electives in Fall B. Ross’s first year culminates in its world-renowned Multidisciplinary Action Project (MAP), a seven-week field study program that pairs teams of students with international or local companies to solve a real business problem.
The second year consists solely of electives, and students must also satisfy three additional degree requirements: the “Business Law” course and the “Competing in the Global Business Environment” course, which can be taken any time during the program, and the Summer Business Experience, which is completed the summer between the first and second year of studies. A Ross student and former Stratus client told us, “The student-run venture fund, Zell Lurie Commercialization Fund, has been one of my favorite courses. It is an elective that students have to apply to but gives them real-life venture capital experience.” Another said, “One of my favorite [course experiences] has been with Professor Lindy Greer. She uses her experience of working with Silicon Valley investors and startups to teach students about the people side of startups, and it is the only course like this offered across all business schools.” MBA students can also take up to ten credits of classes at other University of Michigan schools.
Ross offers concentrations, specializations, and certificates in such fields as Real Estate Development, Design Thinking and Innovation, and Healthcare Management. In addition, the Ross specialization in Management Science is STEM designated. Students can also take advantage of the more than 20 established dual-degree programs, in everything from Construction Engineering and Information to Urban Planning, Public Policy, and Naval Architecture. A few of the most common dual degrees are conferred in conjunction with the Marsal Family School of Education, the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, and the School for Environment and Sustainability (which, in partnership with Ross, created the renowned Erb Institute).
Ross is home to numerous world-leading initiatives, centers, and institutes. The Samuel Zell and Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurship, for example, offers such resources as investment funds, grants, business challenges, and an accelerator to help guide students in the learning, investing, and launching stages of entrepreneurship. The Frederick A. and Barbara M. Erb Institute, in partnership with the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability, was launched as an MBA/MS dual-degree program but today also serves as an invaluable resource to students interested in environmental, social, and economically sustainable issues. The Institute offers more than 30 courses in these fields, in addition to faculty research and such student engagement opportunities as summer internships and partnership projects.
Michigan Ross School of Business Statistics
Class Profile (Class of 2027)
Class Size: 379
Average Work Experience: 5.8 years
Average GPA: 3.43
Women: 39%
US Military: 15%
First-Generation College Graduates: 22%
International Citizenship: 40%
Countries Represented: 32
Average GMAT: 681
80% GMAT Range: 635–725
GRE Average Quantitative Score: 163GRE Average Verbal Score: 160
Career Placement (Industries, Class of 2024)
- Consulting: 36.0%
- Financial Services: 17.6%
- Technology: 15.1%
- Healthcare: 9.2%
- Consumer Packaged Goods: 7.7%
- Other: 4.8%
- Manufacturing: 4.4%
- Energy: 2.6%
- Retail: 2.6%
Geographic Placement (Class of 2024)
- United States: 96.0%
- Midwest: 30.1%
- Chicago Metro: 16.2%
- Detroit Metro: 7.0%
- Minneapolis/St. Paul Metro: 2.6%
- Northeast: 24.6%
- Tri-State Area (NY, NJ, and CT): 20.6%
- Boston Metro: 2.9%
- West: 21.0%
- San Francisco Bay Area: 7.7%
- Seattle Metro: 4.4%
- Los Angeles Metro: 4.0%
- Southwest: 8.8%
- Austin Metro: 4.4%
- Dallas Metro: 1.8%
- Mid-Atlantic: 6.6%
- Washington DC Metro: 5.5%
- South: 4.8%
- Atlanta Metro: 2.2%
- Miami Metro: 1.1%
- Midwest: 30.1%
- International: 4.0%
- Asia: 2.6%
- Other: 1.5%
Application Requirements for Michigan Ross
Bachelor’s degree and transcripts
Ross requires all applicants to have completed a four-year bachelor’s degree (or its equivalent if the applicant graduated outside of the United States) and to provide unofficial academic transcripts with their application. If the applicant is admitted, they are expected to provide official academic transcripts.
Resume
All Ross applicants must submit a one-page resume with their application. “Including community service activities and your hobbies/interests is encouraged, as it helps us get to know you better,” the Ross website reads.
Recommendations
Ross requires one recommendation letter from each applicant. In business school applications, obtaining a recommendation from a direct supervisor or a manager is usually the best option. If you do not have a current direct supervisor or manager, consider past supervisors, colleagues, or clients, based on your work situation. Family members, friends, and professors are typically not suitable recommenders. On the Ross website, the school suggests asking a client, project manager, or professional mentor to be a recommender as an alternative to a supervisor or manager, if necessary.
Test scores
Ross accepts the GMAT, GRE, and EA to fulfill the test score requirement. All applicants must provide a test score, although the school does not stipulate a minimum score. For the Class of 2027, the average GMAT score was 681. International applicants are also required to provide a TOEFL, PTE, IELTS, or DET score.
Anything else?
An interview and short-answer question essays are also required of Ross applicants. Ross interviews are conducted on an invitation-only basis by a member of the Ross alumni pool or a current student. These are some of the common questions and prompts in Ross interviews:
Walk me through your resume.
- Why did you make these specific career moves?
- Why are you getting an MBA now, and why specifically Ross?
- What are your short-term and long-term career goals?
- Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a conflict in a team and how you addressed that.
Extracurriculars at Michigan Ross School of Business
Ross is known to be one of the most student-driven MBA programs. Regardless of your interests, you will likely find an opportunity to engage with others at Ross who share them. One of the coolest events for incoming MBAs is the MTrek program, which takes students around the world in a bonding experience each August, before the beginning of their first year of studies. All MTreks are hosted by second-year students, allowing incoming students to learn more about the culture of the school and hear their trek leaders’ most fascinating Ross stories before even setting foot on campus. Recent trips have included “When Life Gives You Sicily,” which took place in Italy and Sicily; “Spice Trails and Temple Tales,” where participants explored Cambodia; and “From Athens to Afterparties,” a trek to Greece. Each year, the most daring first-year students take part in a mystery trip, where participants arrive at the airport not knowing what the destination is or if there will be multiple destinations. One of the greatest advantages of participating in an MTrek is that students get to bond and develop close relationships before classes begin.
In addition to MTreks, there are a ton of interesting Ross groups doing a range of fun and impactful work in Ann Arbor and beyond. Some of the school’s most unique clubs include 180 Degrees Consulting, the Maize and Brew Club, the Detroit Initiative at Ross, and Follies at Ross.
Notable Professors and Classes at Michigan Ross
Lindred Greer
Professor Greer joined Ross in 2019 and now serves as a Professor for Management and Organizations and as the Gerald and Esther Carey Professor of Business Administration. She is also the faculty director of the Sanger Leadership Center and the faculty associate of the Research Center for Group Dynamics. Professor Greer’s research concentrates on creating high-performance teams and building skills in conflict management, power-flexing, the communication of emotions, and diversity and inclusion. Poets&Quants has named her one of the Top 40 Business School Professor Under 40. At Ross, Professor Greer has taught such courses as “Leadership Coaching Practicum” and “Leading People and Organizations.”
Ted London
Professor London is the Ford Motor Company Clinical Professor of Business Administration at Ross, where he has taught “Business Strategies for the Base of the Pyramid” since the 2005–2006 academic year. He served as the Area Chair of Business Administration for five years and is currently the Senior Research Fellow at the university’s William Davidson Institute. Professor London is a world-renowned expert in business strategy and poverty alleviation and is the author of the book The Base of the Pyramid Promise: Building Businesses with Impact and Scale (Stanford Business Books, 2016). He has received several teaching awards at Ross, most recently in 2024, when he was given the J. Frank Yates Diversity and Inclusion Teaching Excellence Award.
Multidisciplinary Action Projects (MAP)
The MAP program is one of Ross’s most beloved traditions and a unique aspect of the MBA experience. In fact, the course description states that “the action learning experience it provides is central to the School’s curriculum.” This field study program divides students into teams to work on business problems with real companies, under the guidance of faculty. At the end of the course, student teams prepare written reports and present them in front of a team of faculty and representatives from the host company.
+Impact Studio: Translating Research into Practice
The “+Impact Studio” course is open to MBA, MSW, MPH, and MEng students, allowing student teams to combine their various skill sets to address business problems. Teams receive support from the school in the form of university-generated intellectual capital and faculty guidance. During the 2025–2026 academic year, the course focused on “help[ing] Detroiters create green energy businesses.”
Living Business Leadership Experience
Another team-based course, “Living Business Leadership Experience” places students in real, operational business units that have been created by Ross exclusively for action-based learning. Students work directly with executives from sponsoring companies and under the guidance of faculty members to establish and lead a functional team in a setting resembling real-life business scenarios.
How to Answer Michigan Ross’s 2025−2026 Essay Prompts
This year, Michigan Ross condensed its essay questions and added a note regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Let’s take a moment to discuss how you can best position yourself through your essays for this year’s applicant pool.
Part 1: Career Aspirations
- What is your short-term career goal, and how will Ross’ philosophy in Action-Based Learning help you achieve it? Please be specific. Please answer both parts of this question. (300 words)
Part 2: How will you make an impact at Michigan Ross?
- Michigan Ross is proud to support a community of leaders and impact makers. As a future member of this community, we want to know more about who you are and what drives you. Please choose 1 of the following prompts to tell us more about what makes you stand out beyond your academic and work experience. List the prompt you are answering at the top of your response. (200 words)
- What makes you unique?
- Can you provide a specific example of how you’ve overcome a personal challenge?
- What makes you excited to get up each morning?
- Describe a time when you made a difference in your community or with an individual.
Optional Essay
- Is there something in your resume or application that needs a brief explanation? Appropriate uses of this essay would be the explanation of an employment gap, academic outliers, choice of recommender, completion of supplemental coursework, etc. You may use bullet points where appropriate. (250 words)
Click here to read our advice on Michigan Ross’s essay questions.
Michigan Ross FAQ
What is Ross best known for?
Ross is known for its action-based, hands-on approach to learning. The University of Michigan carries worldwide recognition, and Ross offers a familial, community-like feel despite its large size.
How much is cost of attendance?
Estimated tuition for the Ross full-time MBA program is $76,152 for Michigan residents and $81,152 for non-Michigan residents for the 2025–2026 academic year. Additional costs of attendance (including housing, food, and personal costs) are estimated to be approximately $30,000 per year.
How difficult is it to get accepted into Ross?
As is the case with all top-ranked business schools, Ross has a competitive acceptance rate. In 2024, the school received 4,036 applications and admitted 1,165 applicants. This means that approximately 29% of applicants received an invitation to join the program. Out of the 1,165 applicants who were admitted, 396 decided to enroll.
Ross is best known for its strengths in action-based, hands-on learning. However, do not let a school’s reputation steer you elsewhere if it doesn’t seem like a perfect match right away! Visiting campus and speaking with alumni and current students can give you a better idea of whether a school is right for you.
Are you considering applying to Michigan Ross? Whether you are looking for comprehensive MBA admissions consulting, hourly help, or perhaps interview prep, we at Stratus Admissions Counseling can help you! Sign up for a free consultation today!