Yesterday as I set out for the Ross Information Session at Hotel ITC Windsor, I did not exactly know where the venue was. All I knew was that it was somewhere on the Golf Course Road. As I got out, the rain gods started playing hide and seek and it was drizzling on and off. When I reached the Golf Course Road, it started pouring like crazy. By the time I finally got to the venue, I was soaking wet and I actually had to blow-dry myself in the restroom before i was presentable at in a social setting 🙂

When I reached there were already a couple of people there (unlike in the Tuck session). I met Ms. Kelly Kong Rogers (Associate Director of Admissions) and an alum Mr. Sandeep Basrur (Ross Class of 1986). It was great that a person who did a Ross MBA (I think it was called University of Michigan MBA then) so long back was still passionate and willing to help out the school. That definitely told me a lot about Ross.

The room was full by the time we started and I noticed that like me, there were several of them who had completed their Ross app. I was there not for information on the applications process, but to get to know the school a bit better from a personal perspective. We had 5 people representing Ross that night:

  • Ms. Kelly Kong Rogers, Associate Director of Admissions and Ross Class of ’05
  • Mr. Sandeep Basrur, Ross Class of 1986, who now runs his own manufacturing firm in Bangalore, after several years at Proctor & Gamble.
  • Mr Keshav, Class of ’02 who is in the Corporate Planning division with Infosys in Bangalore
  • Mr Akshay Kamath, Class of ’08, who did his Evening MBA at Ross and now works in Brand Marketing for Intel Asia
  • and Mr. Atal, Class of ’05 and Kelly’s classmate who is now into Management Consulting with PRTM and has worked in US, Egypt and India on several projects.

Kelly gave a presentation that revolved around Ross, its Leadership Initiative, the MAP and the Ann Arbor culture. Then the alumni answered a lot of questions from the group. There was one gentleman who went on and on about asking about teamwork and what it meant at Ross…

I had gone there to ask a couple of questions myself and here’s what I got:

1. What about aid/loans for international students now that the news says CitiBank has withdrawn the CitiAssist program for Ross?

I really liked Kelly’s answer to this. She was very frank in admitting that these were tough times. She said that though the CitiAssist program has been revoked for Ross, there is still a Citi program for international students, common for the whole of Univ of Michigan that requires a co-signer. She said the school might provide aid/loans, but people should be prepared to make arrangements nonetheless, probably get someone who can become a co-signer. She went on to say that finance, though is a problem, should never be a deterrent for applying to business school.

2. How does the industry characterize a Ross MBA ?

Here are the points from what Kelly and Atul said:

  • The Ross MBA is viewed as a strong General Management MBA, but with a lot of flexibility built in.
  • Students are down-to-earth and not uptight.
  • Students are greatly prepared for the real world, owing to MAP.
  • Collaborative spirit and teamwork shines out in a Ross grad.
  • Recruiters are amazed at how well the students excel at the internships, owing to the MAP course that precedes the internship…

As at the Tuck reception, i was able to get the interviews of some people at the event, but sadly the videos are still under processing and I’ll put them up in a bit. Both Atul and Sandeep spent quite a bit of time with me making sure that all my questions were answered. Anyway, here are my takeaways:

I really liked this quote in the Ross MBA Book on Action-Based Learning…

You can read a case study anywhere. Be the case.

My Hurrays!!

  • I was really impressed by the alumni passion for the school. The fact that Sandeep, class of 1986 turned up to help for the event itself was a testimony to that.
  • MAP as per the descriptions, met and exceeded my expectations.
  • Ann Arbor community to me looks a lot like Manipal (where I did my undergrad). It would be fun to go back to that setting after all these years in the din of the city.
  • I see a common thread in how these alums consider the school and in what makes me tick…. Passion, Passion and more passion.

Disappointments and Scary Stuff

  • Frankly the loan stuff is making me uncomfortable. Every time!
  • Disappointed that I couldn’t get an interview with Kelly. She was totally exhausted by the end of it. Working as an Evangelist and having done a variety of events myself, I definitely understand. Hope I can catch her for a telephone interview sometime..
  • I confirmed my fears about the Michigan weather. Minus 30 degree Centigrade is tough stuff…

I went to the session to get a clear picture of life and community at Ross. I must say I got what I was looking for. I found them to be warm, open and down-to-earth. Sandeep spend quite a lot of time with me asking me what I was looking in an MBA and helping me analyze if Ross was a good fit for me. He even spent time reviewing my other school choices and gave his comments. Thanks a lot Sandeep, I really appreciate it.

Ross, Tuck and Haas are really my prime choices for my MBA destination. I really cant pick a winner amongst them at this point, but my interactions with Ross at the session has clearly got Ross scoring some brownie points in my book. I think I will be a good fit at Ross, now its for the school to decide if I am one that they would like to have in the class.

Go Blue !