I have a GPA of 3.78 with some good work experience and clubs. I definitely would prefer to be a business major, but am considering applying to Econ for Berkeley because it may be easier to get in, Haas is just so competitive. What do you guys think? Increase my chances by applying to Econ or risk it and apply to Haas? Do you think it’ll be hard finding work with an Econ major from Berkeley? I might go for the MBA degree either way.
Are you a freshman or transfer student? If freshman, you can’t apply to Haas directly. You apply as an Econ major to UCB Letters and Science then, by December Sophomore year, you apply to Haas. 40% admission rate from UCB to Haas. As a transfer you can apply to Haas or as an Econ major to Letters and Science.
I’m a transfer student
For CC transfers entering Haas in Fall 2016, the average GPA was 3.93 (6% acceptance rate), up a little from the prior year. You should have a backup plan if you are not accepted.
any big benefits to being in HAAS rather than econ?
Being in Haas, you’ll have priority in business school courses over an econ person. You also would be attending a prestigious world class business school coveted by many employers. Major UCB econ majors with business courses also do well in the business world.
There is a definite difference between being an economics major and being in a b-school program. One is not better or worse, but they are different. Economics is a liberal arts course of study and gets theoretical at the upper levels. In contrast a b-school has its own business core with classes in areas such as accounting, finance, management, IT etc. and you will major in one of those disciplines.
Give some thought to what you actually want to study. Look carefully at the curriculum online for a business major and an economics major and see if you could be happy and successful at either path.
Haas and econ are vastly, vastly different. You’ll take two econ courses in Haas and that’s it … unless you wish to take more. You can take them at Haas, which is the standard route, or you can take them in the econ department. Econ in Haas though is applied … no theory, very little math, etc. Econ, again, is very much different.
Econ majors do well outside of Berkeley. It’s still Berkeley after all and it too is a great program. If you plan on doing an MBA, a business undergrad degree really isn’t necessary and you could be better served by a degree in econ.
It’s a hard choice. I was faced with the same one last year … either apply to Haas and get in or not get in and not be able to attend Berkeley at all … or apply to a major that I felt I had a better chance of getting in with. It’s not an easy choice.
Your GPA is in the neighborhood of where it needs to be. It’ll really depend on what kind of story you have and how well you tell it, and your ECs/work experience.