Alright, guys: Sell me on Cal (Econ major).

<p>Facts:
- I can only afford to attend a public school; EFC puts me out of the running for financial aid
- I'm interested in Business/Finance/Law
- I applied under UCLA BusEcon and Cal Econ (since I didn't have a shot at Haas)
- Rejected at UCLA, accepted at Cal</p>

<p>The thing is, I've been set on attending UCLA for a while now. I like Westwood and the campus better, and business economics seems more pertinent to my goals. I'm not sure if Cal economics is straying a bit too far from the world of business and finance.</p>

<p>Thus, I'm not exactly ecstatic about getting into Cal, even though I know that others would kill to have been admitted. I'm actually considering declining and staying back a year to go to UCLA.</p>

<p>I'm hoping that the kind folks here can help change my mind. Sell me on Cal, guys.</p>

<p>What I have heard about Berkeley's economics department is that when graduating your network will be stronger than UCLA.</p>

<p>Other than that, I would wait to see what other's say about the two.</p>

<p>wow lol
im interested in business too
i got accept to UCLA as biz-econ and rejected from UCB as econ major</p>

<p>but im gonna appeal and see wots up
or maybe we should switch spot :P</p>

<p>why don't u appeal to ucla? u might have a good shot. Whats ur stats?</p>

<p>cccbound: Have you seen the econ courses offered at CAL? It's incredible!!</p>

<p>Just because @ UCLA it's called BUSINESS Economics doesn't automatically mean it's better than Economics. The "business" part just means that it's economics with an emphasis in business.</p>

<p>Seriously, go to UCB and major in economics. Even if you were admitted to UCLA as Bus Econ, you should choose UCB anyway.</p>

<p>Since you are rejected to UCLA, you should choose Cal Econ. It's just as good as UCLA's econ dept.</p>

<p>Berkeley is hot!
Haas is hot!
Econ is HOT too!!! </p>

<p>(Top banks only recruit people at CAL not at UCLA)</p>

<p>Incorrect Hongda.</p>

<p>^</p>

<p>I agree. It's not true that top banks recruit only at Cal. They recruit just as aggressively at UCLA. Keep in mind they also have practical factors to consider, such as location.</p>

<p>hey dhl3 if i do econ at cal will i have a good chance to get into ibanking ??</p>

<p>
[quote]
hey dhl3 if i do econ at cal will i have a good chance to get into ibanking ??

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Nope. As a matter of fact, NO ONE has a good chance of getting into ibanking, even if he was from Wharton. Well, unless your dad or uncle or granpa is a major executive or even in middle-management position of the firm.</p>

<p>I saw a thread that was in University of California, Los Angles section. They were arguing the same thing. You can go there and find it. I may wrong because I've never been there. HAHA. from what I heard from those current students at UCLA, they say that they never saw CITI, JP M, and BOA around campus during the career fair. They only have GOLDMAN recruiting over there. No offense everybody, but I just want to say CAL has better business program than UCLA for undergraduate. Just for undergraduate.</p>

<p>
[quote]
from what I heard from those current students at UCLA, they say that they never saw CITI, JP M, and BOA around campus during the career fair. They only have GOLDMAN recruiting over there.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>So Citi, JPM, and BoA are top banks while Goldman isn't? I can see that lotta people will challenge that belief. Btw, BoA recruits at UCLA, as well as Bains and Lehman Bros. Plus firms like Merrill Lynch and JPM show up at numerous networking events.</p>

<p>
[quote]
I just want to say CAL has better business program than UCLA for undergraduate.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Perfectly legitimate point, if only UCLA had an undergrad. business program to compare with. :rolleyes:</p>

<p>so since UCLA doesn't emphasize business, the best choice for business students would be CAL, right?</p>

<p>Why did you apply to Berkeley Econ if you are not going to attend even if it is your only choice?</p>

<p>Here are the risks you incur by waiting to apply to again next year:
1. You don't get into UCLA again, but you get into Berkeley again.
2. You don't get into Berkeley or UCLA.</p>

<p>In the case of 1, you're in the same situation as you are now, except you wasted a year of your life in CC. In the case of 2, you're in a worse situation than you are now. Neither outweighs the benefit of going to UCLA a year from now. Besides, you already spent the application fee and got in, so go.</p>

<p>I will agree with you on that one, but you have to remember that the OP got into Econ, not Haas, and if you tell me, UCLA's econ program (whether it be Business Econ or regular econ) emphasizes mixture of practical business concepts and theoretical economics in the curriculum while Cal's econ courses are mostly pure economics. Now I don't know how easy it is for non-Haas students to take Haas course (I heard they are quite impacted) so I can't make assumption on technicality of class registration at Cal. But at UCLA, you can take undergraduate Anderson courses very easily (as they do not tend to fill up as quickly) and there's also an Accounting Minor, which can definitely help develop business & finance knowledge. In addition, getting into Business Econ course enable the student to take the special business-oriented courses under Econ curriculum (such as Finance, Investment, Organization of Firm, and Entrepreneurship classes).</p>

<p>all in all, I find UCLA's econ course curriculum a good combination of Business and Economics while Cal's econ courses mainly focus on pure economics. Under these circumstances, I would say UCLA Econ would actually be better for developing practical business knowledge than Cal Econ.</p>

<p>But as you said, Haas would be a completely different story. But thena gain, that doesn't apply in OP's situation since that is not an option.</p>

<p>No idea how to quote, but thanks for the comments so far. Keep 'em coming.</p>

<p>"from what I heard from those current students at UCLA, they say that they never saw CITI, JP M, and BOA around campus during the career fair. They only have GOLDMAN recruiting over there."</p>

<p>Goldman Sachs was actually one of the few (if not only) financial institutions to avoid the subprime mess. In</a> fact, the CEO made this year's Time 100.</p>

<p>I'd consider them a top bank, if only for that.</p>

<p>Go to Cal CCCbound. The Econ major requires five upper division electives, of which two can be taken at Haas. You can also take a couple of more "business" related Econ electives to give you a little of what you are looking for. A Cal Econ degree (as well as a UCLA one) will serve you very well in your career. Also, compare the jobs and salaries of Haas and Econ here if you are interested (not much of a difference):</p>

<p>Career</a> Center - What Can I Do With a Major In...?
Career</a> Center - What Can I Do With a Major In...?</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

<p>there is one downside to econ @ cal:</p>

<p>you have to petition for it--can anyone speak on how hard it is to get into Econ @ cal (once you've been admitted into the college of letters and science)? I have a 3.17 in my major prereqs currently, and if I get an A in my last major prereq it'll go up to a 3.39 (avg GPA for econ major admit is a 3.4). Should I be worried?</p>

<p>Can I just point out that tastybeef gave an incredibly logical post? Well done, tastybeef.</p>

<p>The only other thing I'd add is if you're going to be bitter and regretful about what a horrible hand you've been dealt when you go to Cal, I'd actually decline. You should embrace your decision and not look back, if you do decide to go to Cal.</p>