5 fun facts about Bocconi University, where Chiara Ferragni studied law

Chiara Ferragni leapfrogged from a blogger to becoming a businesswoman, fashion designer, and model. The Italian has been making waves in the fashion world since her blog, The Blonde Salad, debuted. Now, the powerful digital entrepreneur boasts 27.4 million followers on Instagram (at the time of writing) and is the CEO of her very own Chiara Ferragni Collection. 

The Blonde Salad’s success in having pivoted from being a personal style blog to a full-blown lifestyle website landed her on the Forbes “Top Fashion Influencers” list in 2017. Two years prior, Ferragni was part of a study case at Harvard Business School, a feat that gained her not one, but two opportunities to teach at the Ivy League. Soon after, Forbes nominated her as the “Most Powerful Fashion Influencer”.

What’s intriguing about Ferragni is that her entrepreneurship ventures are inspired by none other than herself. The eldest daughter of a dentist and a writer, Ferragni went on to study international law at Bocconi University, also known in Italy as Università Bocconi. Ferragni, unfortunately, did not complete her degree as she had other goals in life to reach, but it is natural to be curious about the institution that a business genius chose to attend. Here’s what we know about the institution:

Chiara Ferragni read law at Bocconi University before she dropped out to pursue her dreams of becoming one of the biggest names in fashion. Source: Shutterstock

Bocconi University is an economics powerhouse

The private university was founded in 1902. It was named after the founder’s son, Luigi Bocconi – Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi – after he died in the Battle of Adwa during the First Italo-Ethiopian War. 

Ferdinando Bocconi was a wealthy merchant who believed that everyone had a right to an elite education, which is why the institution promoted and practised equality of opportunity throughout every generation of students by actively subsidising the education fees of disadvantaged and deserving students, notes QS.

It was also the first-ever Italian university to grant a degree in economics. For a century since its foundation, Bocconi has played a leading role in Italy’s social and economic modernisation.

It is a top research institution

Bocconi is one of the world’s top research institutions in the fields of business, finance, economics, data science, political science, cyber risk and law. This university takes research seriously – it has submitted 1,333 research proposals, secured over 600 funded proposals, and won 44 European Research Council (ERC) grants. It now ranks second in panel SH1 under the Social Sciences and Humanities umbrella – Individuals, Institutions and Markets: Economics, finance and management.

Though Chiara Ferragni went on to do great things, many students are afraid of not being able to graduate if they pass in between “the two lions”. Source: Shutterstock

It’s competitive to get into Bocconi University

The university is notorious for its tough acceptance rate of just 38%. It comes as no surprise, though, for the university ranks sixth in the world for its Business and Management Studies course, ninth for its Master of Science in Management course, and 10th for its Master of Science in Finance course.

It has many famous alumni 

Its famous alumni include former Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, chairman of Italian football club Juventus F.C. Andrea Agnelli, son of the Princess of Hanover Pierre Casiraghi, Italian politician and Rome senator Emma Bonino, and Milan mayor Giuseppe Sala.

Bocconi University is subject to a scary student myth

According to reports, in the atrium of the oldest building lie three sets of doors. The door in the middle has two lions on either side of it. Superstitions dictate that any student that walks in between the two lions risks not graduating.