<p>My first two choices of school are USC and UCLA (Berkeley is too far away from where I live, and it totally ruins my family plan).</p>
<p>However, after studying the Marshall Business program of USC, I kinda fell in love with it so my mind is slightly tilted toward USC. But it's not totally made up yet.</p>
<p>Anyway.
One thing I'm worried about is, let's say I choose USC and graduate.
I'm not at all worried about getting a job cuz USC has a superb alumni networking system.</p>
<p>However, when I apply to a top-class business grad school such as Wharton, will they look at which school I went for the undergrad and put that into consideration for my admission?</p>
<p>Although USC may dominate in southern cali in the field of business, i doubt it's as well-reputed and recognized as UCLA nationally and globally. So in Wharton's point of view, they'll think UCLA's better and more prestigious than USC (since Wharton's in the East coast). Will that actually hurt my chance of getting into the Wharton's Business program?</p>
<p>Also, do Ivy graduate schools care whether I transferred from cc in my junior year? Some people say the Ivys look down on cc transfer students and are less likely to admit them. Is this true</p>
<p>I don't think USC "dominates in southern cali in the field of business". Sure, there are tons of USC alums everywhere, but the same can be said for UCLA alums. Shoot, if you're in San Diego, there will be a lot of SDSU alums there. </p>
<p>I think grad/business schools will care about your work experience much more than the school that you went to, especially if it's between UCLA and USC (as opposed to Harvard and a Cal State school).</p>
<p>But do you know if the Ivy graduate schools takes into consideration that the applicant was a transfer student from a cc? and if they do, will it affect my chance of admission at all?</p>
<p>Some people in the other forum says even though I graduate from a prestigious school like UCLA or USC, if they see that I'm a community college transfer student, they tend to look down on me and is very unlikely to accept me, even if I get a good GPA as undergrad. is this true?</p>
<p>Well, regardless of what the answer to your question is, you can't change the fact that you're a CC transfer. So just get a good education and get good grades and don't worry about what you have no control over.</p>
<p>USC might have slightly less prestige than UCLA, but it would be so minute as to be considered neglible when going for the MBA. If it was between UCLA over UCSB or Cal Poly SLO, you would have a point (although I would still think it would be minor).</p>
<p>Yes, graduate school adcoms definitely look at which college an applicant went to. But there is virtually no difference between USC and UCLA. Yes, UCLA has a stronger national reputation, but USC is still very respected. If you say Cal State Chico vs Stanford, I would say there is a clear difference. But USC is a top 50 university, so you cannot go wrong if you feel that you are best suited for their campus. </p>
<p>Besides, in the case of B-Schools, work experience and essays will carry more weight than the undergraduate institution you attended. MBA adcoms will care more about who are are at the age of 27 (when you are applying) then who you were at the age of 20, when you were popping zits and holding farting contests with your roomates on your college campus!</p>
<p>I met a guy who started out at a small 2 year college in Idaho (Rick's College), then transferred to BYU. He graduated, got a job in Investment Banking, was accepted and graduated from Wharton with his MBA and now works for Mckinsey as a consultant. That's just about as good as you can get in relation to 'prestigous' business work and he spent a year or two at a small, relatively unknown college in Idaho. </p>
<p>He told me that throughout his career and in graduate school, he'd have to answer questions regarding what Rick's College was and he'd have to explain his time there, but as you can see it seems like it didn't have much of an adverse effect on his career. Like has been said before, while your undergrad institution(s) are important, what you accomplished and the visible results of who you are and what you did are more important I'd imagine to B-schools and companies. You'll probably have to explain why you went to a CC in some interviews, just like this guy did, but I honestly wouldn't worry about it too much. Focus your energies on how well you perform in school, on your GMAT, in your career, etc. That's what will really matter most.</p>
<p>"I'm sure they look at it to a certain extent....a 4.0 at UChicago is hard to come by."</p>
<p>No one has ever gotten a 4.0 at UChicago.</p>
<p>Edit: dhl3 if anything the best reason you can give for going to CC (and I'm sure they hear it often) is $$$$. Choosing to attend a CC for two years b/c you simply can't afford a 4-year university for 4 years is very impressive and shows your determination to get your undergraduate degree from an excellent university despite financial limitations.</p>