Since UC schools have the reputation, higher prestige, more connections, etc., I’ve always assumed that you’d be more likely to get a good job if you went to a UC versus a Cal State. I’m under the impression that employers take where you went to college into great account because they believe the UC kids are smarter/more capable, etc. But let’s take a job that requires further schooling beyond a bachelor’s degree. If you went to a CSU to get your bachelor’s, then attended a UC for graduate school, would it matter to the employer? Do those sorts of jobs tend to care about the graduate school only, or are both big factors?
Some employers may take into account where you attended your undergrad (getting your foot in the door), but in general, they are more interested in your job skill set and what you can contribute to their company. Where you go for Grad school is usually more important than where you went for Undergrad but not always. Again, what you can do for any particular employer is more of value.
Think about it. There are 23 Cal States and 9 UC’s. I would imagine most of the California workforce went to a CSU vs a UC.
At my work, the majority of my co-workers went to their local Cal state.
My husband, is an engineer many years over, and a Stanford MS grad; his “boss”, attended a CSU-SDSU.
your premise is based entirely on fake news. In fact, what you do at the school matters a LOT more than the name on the diploma. As an employer, give me a kid from Sac State with a relevant experience and interesting background - vs a UCI grad who did noting but study every time.
All of the above is true in a corporate world. It does not make much difference if you went to a CSU vs. a UC. What matters more is what you can offer, i.e., related work experience, communication skills, etc. However, in the public accounting world, the Big Four accounting firms reserve more spots for graduates from the prestigious schools and less spots for lower tier schools. In the investment banking world, i.e., Goldman Sachs, Blackrock, etc., they generally fill their openings with graduates of high tier schools. If you have a graduate degree from a top ranked UC, it does not matter what undergraduate school you attended.
@UCBUSCalum going off of the fact that going to a top ranked UC for graduate school means it won’t matter where you went as an undergrad: if my undergraduate school was a CSU, would that matter when applying to graduate school? I know that performance at the school is obviously more important, but does the name of the undergrad school carry any weight at all?
for most grad programs, it won’t matter a bit. As long as you earned you undergrad at an accredited school, your GPA, test scores and experience carry far more weight than the name on your BS/BA transcript
I don’t know if you are looking at graduate business, engineering, computer, science, architect, law, health profession, etc., but whatever field you are studying, perform well/or your best at the undergraduate school you attend and score high on the graduate admission tests, i.e., GMAT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT, PCAT, etc. Get the best work experience to complement your major. There will be graduates from both higher and lower ranked schools than yours who are competing for limited spots in graduate school. The decision will be that of the admissions officers. If everything is equal (GPA, graduate admission tests, etc.), they may admit the one who went to the higher ranked school or maybe they want diversity and may admit someone from a unique school or it can be any other reasons. Just do your best.
Where you go to undergrad is taken into account in graduate admissions. Some universities and colleges have better reputations than others and while those reputations may not always be warranted, admissions committees do consider the school. Having said that, as others have pointed out, other factors come into play. For law schools, the LSAT has been very important. For graduate programs in the humanities, the writing sample can make a big difference. The takeaway is that just because you go to one university over another is no guarantee of anything. You have to combine it with other work. A university can open a door for you, but you still have to get yourself inside the door.
@UCBUSCalum If I have my bachelors degree in a certain subject and decide after graduating and getting some work experience that I want to go to graduate school, but want my masters to be in an entirely different field of study, would that be something I can do? Or would I need a bachelors degree in a similar area as what I want my masters in? (I’m not talking about professional schools like med, law, etc., just graduate schooling)
yes - your undergrad and grad degree can be in completely different fields. English to Econ, CS to Biology are fine. Depending how big the switch ,you may have some additional pre-req courses required.
Generally, if you have a non science/math bachelors degree such as english, socialogy, etc., it would be very difficult to get a masters degree in engineering, physics, chemistry, etc. or in science, or a doctor degree in health science such as pharmacy, optometry, dentistry, etc. There is too much “catching up” and a steep learning curve to get to the level of competency in the prerequisites. It can be done if you have the time to fulfill the prerequisites. I know of people who went from working as CPA accountants and early in their careers went back to a community college to take the prerequisites for pharmacy and optometry. Now these people are optometrists and pharmacists.
With that said, if you are going to be a non-STEM major, anticipate or even thinking remotely in applying for a STEM graduate program, in your undergraduate studies, you might take some STEM classes or take some to fulfill GE requirements.
For MBA and law, you can have any undergraduate major and still get into MBA or law school.
I agree taking as many courses as you can in a related field will help - a minor or second major will put you a lot further down the road. Even for an MBA, you’ve got to have a command of the basics of finance, accounting, marketing, etc before you can dig into the advanced topic - typically a B or better in your undergrad class will waive the requirement.
Many colleges ( i think all CA publics) charge more for MS level courses so, there’s a little more incentive to knock them out at a CC or as an full time undergrad.
Also, at many schools your undergrad courses expire - which makes sense because marketing was a LOT different in 1987 than it is today… I think 7 years is a typical window - could be different for STEM but I doubt it.
Definitely, the cost of an MBA or JD from a top ranked public college (UC Berkeley, UCLA, etc.) will be about or almost the equivalent to the cost of a top ranked private college (Stanford, Harvard, Penn, Chicago, etc.). UC Berkeley and UCLA will charge a higher tuition premium for MBA and JD than for other masters programs. Generally the same for MD, PharmD, DDS, MS engineering, computer science, etc. at the UC’s, including UCSF. The public schools know that those degrees will provide you high earnings potential and the means to repay high student costs. For lower ranked public colleges such as UC Davis, Irvine,etc., I think the graduate school costs are lower.
I have not looked into it, but I believe the tuition costs for the top ranked public college are much lower in other fields such as socialogy, non science, perhaps some science like biology, math, etc. than mentioned in the above fields.
For someone looking into graduate schools/programs, these are great points: expiring classes and differenct cost for different programs.