How well credited is UCLA?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Los Angeles
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<p>At a national level, how well is UCLA credited?
I mean, is it considered an elite school? or just a good above-average school?</p>

<p>And if you graduate from UCLA (Bachelor's Degree) as an economics major, what's the chance of having to earn internship at a top class Business company like McKinsey? </p>

<p>I don't know.
I know UCLA is a good school, but im slightly bit worried.
There are better schools like Berkeley, and tons of private schools like Stanford and the Ivys. Compared to all those, UCLA just seem like a so-so school.</p>

<p>If you were to rate UCLA in a scale of 5, 1 being a very lowly-reputed school and 5 being a top elite-class school, how would you rate it?</p>

<p>I say it's between 3 and 4. about 3.5.</p>

<p>So all in all, is UCLA "good enough"?</p>

2

<p>"There are better schools like Berkeley, and tons of private schools like Stanford and the Ivys. Compared to all those, UCLA just seem like a so-so school."</p>

<p>"I say it's between 3 and 4. about 3.5."</p>

<p>"So all in all, is UCLA "good enough"?"</p>

<p>You're kidding me right?</p>

3

<p>I don't think there's an employer out there who would fail to award you a job or internship based on your school's rating in comparison to other schools you could have attended. Seriously. No one in the real world really cares what your school is rated (save for companies that award jobs based on alumni crap at the ivies). Like, no one is going to be all, "well, you have a 4.0 and blah blah blah and i would TOTALLY have hired you if you went to Berkeley...but you go to LA...so peace out". I promise. </p>

<p>UCLA has a good reputation, and it will get you anywhere you want to go if you work hard enough. People have gone very, very far from places that aren't nearly as highly regarded as UCLA. </p>

<p>Is the econ program equal to Harvard's? No, probably not. But who cares?
UCLA has just as much name recognition, and I would argue that that's much more important than actual ratings once you get out into the real world.</p>

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<p>And misterr- I agree. </p>

<p>Dude, if you seriously aren't stoked to be going here, don't. It's a good freaking school. If you don't think so, then it's not the place for you.</p>

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<p>Just look at the rankings. UCLA is ranked 3rd best public university in America, behind Berkeley and Univ. of Virginia. At least at the undergrad level, UCLA is considered to be equal to Berkeley in academic quality, selectivity and prestige. It certainly is not just a "so-so school." In fact, all campuses in the University of California system are considered to be top universities compared with the thousands of other colleges and universities in the nation.</p>

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<p>out of every university in america, UCLA would be a 4.8 out of 5. there are 3000? colleges. UCLA is ranked in the top 1%.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
There are better schools like Berkeley

[/quote]

I disagree. I turned down Berkeley for UCLA and so did a lot of other people.</p>

<p>UCLA is a great school; it's a top 25 school. If UCLA isn't good enough, then most college graduates are screwed.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Compared to all those, UCLA just seem like a so-so school."

[/quote]

Do you know how many colleges are in California? UCLA is #3 or #4 best National University (exclude LACs) in all of California, and the #1 National University in Southern California.</p>

<p>If you're interested in top business firms, bulge-bracket investment banks (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers, UBS, Credit Suisse), top consulting companies (Bain Consulting, Boston Consulting, Mercer Consulting), and Big Four Accounting firms recruit at UCLA.</p>

<p>If you want to work for McKinsey so badly then get a really high GPA and outstanding ECs.</p>

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<p>"Dude, if you seriously aren't stoked to be going here, don't. It's a good freaking school. If you don't think so, then it's not the place for you."</p>

<p>Exactly.</p>

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<p>So all in all, is UCLA "good enough"?</p>

<p>Shouldn't you have asked yourself this in March instead of now?</p>

10

<p>UCLA is far from a "so-so" school. There are tons of brilliant students and faculty here, and it is one of the mostly highly regarded universities in the nation. The undergraduate program is just as good, if not better than that of Berkeley, and just as selective. There are many students admitted to Berkeley but not to UCLA. And yes, UCLA is considered "elite".</p>

<p>I'd say the quality and rigor of education at UCLA isn't far off of any university in America. The only downside of going here might be the large class size and therefore less individual attention from professors, but that's true of any large state school.</p>

<p>Stop worrying about how far UCLA's name will get you and start worrying more about how far your own abilities will get you.</p>

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<p>okay i'm going to have to go against my fellow bruins on this one. </p>

<p>landing a job at mckinsey is difficult coming from UCLA undergrad. i guess it's not impossible, but it's difficult because well, i have yet to see mckinsey do recruiting here. i remember at Consulting Night, which is where all the consulting firms come, mckinsey had its own table - but no recruiter showed up. </p>

<p>if your goal is to go to mckinsey, then i dont even know why youre thinking about UCLA cuz you should be aiming as high as possible on the prestige scale anyway. that means ivies, stanford, MIT, or any top 15 school. and no, berkeley is not good enough, unless you're at the top of the class at haas. </p>

<p>of course, for every other prestigious consulting firm (e.g. bain), ucla is definitely good enough. bain's LA office has a good number of UCLA alums, and they host their own internship info session and do interviews on campus. so yeah, for everyone else besides mckinsey, ucla is elite. </p>

<p>and dyip10 is correct on this, i've seen all these firms recruit UCLA undergrads (yes even goldman sachs, which is on the same prestige level as mckinsey):
"If you're interested in top business firms, bulge-bracket investment banks (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers, UBS, Credit Suisse), top consulting companies (Bain Consulting, Boston Consulting, Mercer Consulting), and Big Four Accounting firms recruit at UCLA."</p>

<p>but notice no mention of mckinsey. </p>

<p>(of course, someone feel free to correct me if they have seen mckinsey on campus).</p>

<p>edit: so the real meaning behind my post is, UCLA is an elite college, and i really dont know what mckinsey's problem is. too good for us? whatever, they're missing out; every other prestigious business-related firm recruits at UCLA.</p>

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<p>Well, im not really looking for an official job in McKinsey immediately after getting Bachelor's Degree.
McKinsey may be my goal, but i understand i can't just rush through it.
Yes, UCLA is a good school, but i know it's not good enough.</p>

<p>My plan is to do as best as possible in UCLA for economics major, and then get a Bachlor's degree.
Then for about 5-8 years, build up some experience as an intern or some related job, and then apply to more prestigious business school, perhaps Wharton or Columbia. I just dont think Anderson is good enough for McKinsey.
And get an MBA in those business school, do my best, and hopefully i might get a job in McKinsey.</p>

<p>I see UCLA as one of the pathway to the goal, but it isnt my goal.
But really, you think it's even possible for a UCLA graduate to get at least an intern at McKinsey?</p>

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<p>It's hard to get a job at McKinsey as a UCLA grad, but just to let you know McKinsey recruited at UCLA (career fairs) a few years ago. If you want a career in consulting, get a job with Boston Consulting or Bain Consulting (top 3 consulting firms) and then get a MBA.
<a href="http://career.ucla.edu/CareerFairs/EmployersJobsForBruinsOct9.2003.asp%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://career.ucla.edu/CareerFairs/EmployersJobsForBruinsOct9.2003.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>McKinsey does recruit at UCLA Anderson. In fact, McKinsey happens to be one of the major recruiters at UCLA Anderson annually. UCLA Anderson is a top 10 business school (US News). The part-time MBA is ranked #4 (highest in California).
<a href="http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/documents/areas/adm/cmc/Recruiting%20Companies.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/documents/areas/adm/cmc/Recruiting%20Companies.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

14

<p>
[quote]
I just dont think Anderson is good enough for McKinsey.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>haha, okay before you put down every academic unit of UCLA... mckinsey is a major recruiter at anderson (hires multiple anderson students a year). it's not as good of a feeder as wharton/HBS/kellogg/sloan/stanford, but it's definitely good enough. oh and if you really wanted mckinsey, you'd be applying to those 5 b-schools first (columbia? what the heck?). </p>

<p>
[quote]
But really, you think it's even possible for a UCLA graduate to get at least an intern at McKinsey?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>yes.</p>

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<p>"Yes, UCLA is a good school, but i know it's not good enough."</p>

<p>Horrible statement. I hope this is a phrasing mistake, if not, please refrain from speaking like this...it just makes you look like an elitist douchebag. UCLA is an awesome school. The difference between UCLA and Ivies and other elite schools is negligible so it will be you who determines your own success and not the brand name scrolled across your diploma. </p>

<p>P.S. Hi Bruins :)</p>

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<p>if this was a USC forum, I'd totally be getting different reactions :P</p>

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<p>If UCLA isn't good enough, then what is USC?</p>

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<p>Only because people from SC are used to people putting their school down. </p>

<p>Except in SC's case it's usually warranted.</p>

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<p>dhl3, I thought you want to be a CPA?</p>

<p>
[quote]
My goal is to study Accounting in order to prepare myself for CPA exam while at the same time adding in some East Asian studies into the course.

[/quote]

<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?p=2748846#post2748846%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?p=2748846#post2748846&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>I want to be certified of CPA, but that's not my goal.
EVERYONE has CPA these days, it's nothing special anymore.
C'mon, if I were to be an business consultant or financial analyst, getting a CPA should be the basic of the basic.</p>