Since 2021, Alexis Steinbach (BS ’13, MS ’18) has channeled her passion for academic advising as WSB’s director of pre-business, certificate, and transfer advising to help countless UW–Madison students become Business Badgers. She helped make pre-business more accessible, equitable, and community-focused—and now continues to serve those students as an assistant dean for undergraduate student affairs.
WSB: How would you describe the pre-business program?
Alexis Steinbach: Our program supports over 1,500 undergraduate students interested in pursuing an area of study at the Wisconsin School of Business. WSB is dedicated to giving students a pathway into the BBA program, even if that doesn’t happen through direct admission to the university.
But the pre-business process is so much more than students just applying to be admitted. The program allows students to find community with others going through this intense process as freshmen and helps them establish a home with WSB before they’re officially admitted.
Our team is also dedicated to helping students explore a variety of majors across campus that may relate to their interests in business, or may be something new that they’ve never considered.
WSB: What’s new in the program?
AS: We’ve seen an across-the-board improvement in the number of applicants that are fully prepared for everything by requiring students to take the Pre-Business 101 workshop before applying. This workshop highlights what to expect in the first year, and how to prepare for the application process. In terms of equity and accessibility, requiring Pre-Business 101 allows us to ensure every single applicant has the same information and an equal playing field when they apply.
We also created the Business-Related Majors Fair to help our pre-business students navigate their interests in business and learn about other majors at UW–Madison. At our Fall 2024 event, we leveraged campus partnerships to host advisors from 14 majors, 10 certificates, and three programs. The event has served over 200 students since launching in Fall 2023.
“We’re there for students to find their home on campus.”
—Alexis Steinbach (BS ’13, MS ’18)
WSB: What resources and opportunities are available to pre-business students?
AS: We structure the pre-business process to incorporate students into life at Grainger Hall, so they feel a sense of identity and belonging within the school. Students can participate in Business Badger Badges, which is a customizable leadership program that includes workshops, conferences, and case competitions. We also highly encourage applicants to get involved in student organizations. There are over 50 options to choose from that focus on major, industry, and identity, so there are a lot of opportunities.
Our Student Success and Policy team helps students with the transition to college, including wellness-focused events with the school’s embedded mental health provider, Julie Phillips. Additionally, our Multicultural Center excels at fostering a strong sense of belonging, with students actively engaging in affinity groups and participating in programming opportunities. We show pre-business students everything they can access within the school, allowing them to choose what will contribute to their overall sense of belonging and wellbeing.
WSB: How does your team support students throughout this process?
AS: Our admissions team does an excellent job of making sure that admitted UW–Madison students can learn about the program and understand the support they’ll receive. We also do everything we can to demystify the process and prepare all applicants to be as competitive as possible. Our career team helps us with our résumé workshop, and we do an all-hands-on-deck résumé review week. In addition, we host an essay-writing workshop with UW–Madison’s Writing Center. This past year, pre-business applicants could have their application essays reviewed as well—and we had over 400 students take advantage of that.
Our team has also developed a tremendous number of resources to help students who are not accepted into WSB. Throughout the entire process, our advisors help students explore all of the academic opportunities at UW–Madison, helping them discover that their career and academic interests may be more in line with a degree outside of WSB. Our advisors are extremely empathetic people who truly understand how much students put into this application. They’re so talented at helping students find confidence and a path forward, and we never let them go until they’re ready to move on. We’re there for students to find their home on campus.