Hey guys. I feel very fortunate to share I was offered full financial aid at both UC Berkeley and UNC Chapel Hill.
I plan on applying to either one of their business schools. Is UC Berkeley that much of a better academic/prestigious university than UNC to sacrifice the fit in social life, sports, atmosphere that really intrigues me at UNC?
A lot about Cal scares me (grade deflation, pre-haas snakes, stereotypes galore)
If you were in my shoes, where would you lean towards? Not basing decisions of this but I would really appreciate some opinions
Both schools’ business majors are competitive admission. Be open to and take prerequisites for alternate majors if you are not admitted to the business major (and check if those other majors have high GPA thresholds or competitive admission to enter those majors).
Haas has better recruiting opportunities than K-F. Cal also has a far higher international reputation than UNC. However, getting in to either is a different question.
I would recommend UNC, actually. While Cal is definitely a better school, the difference in academic quality isn’t THAT wide at all; N. Carolina is still a top 5 public U in the country. Besides, you like UNC better, it’s a better fit for you, the cost is the same, and you wouldn’t have to worry about “impacted” majors. And if you’re scared of Cal, then the choice is rather obvious tbh.
Very few students get into UNC OOS. Take this chance and run with it.
I can’t give you any advice on the business schools other than to tell you to watch for impacted majors at UCB. You will also need a back up plan in case you don’t make the business school. UNC will have travel costs to consider.
I can tell you that UNC as a whole is an outstanding public university with endless opportunities for research etc and a tremendous amount of warmth and community involvement. I would research both business schools as well as back up plans.
It’s really hard to get into Haas right now - even kids who only had A’s for every subject (and those are hard to come by) are turned down.
So, if attending the business school matters to you, I’d take Unc, because your odds of getting into Kenan-Flagler are much higher.