I need Help! UCI, UCLA, UCB, USC

College Search & Selection
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<p>I need Help! UCI, UCLA, UCB, USC </p>

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<p>Hey guys, first time poster long timelurker here. I have a complicated situation.</p>

<p>I signed my TAG with Davis and Irvine. I will have all my units and prereqs finished. So I know I will get into those two schools along with my "verbal TAG" with UCSD and UCSB.</p>

<p>My major is Bus Econ and I do plan to get my MBA right after graduation. Im 24 yrs old, have 6 years work exp. and recently started going back to school. My last 3 semester i have a 4.0 and I have taken mostly "difficult" classes ex. Calc 2, Micro/Macro Econ, Accounting , etc. My cum. GPA is a 3.3 B/c of my poor grades when i started school a while ago. I have a 4.0 in all my major prep classes on assist.org. After this semester(spring) my GPA will be a 3.52.</p>

<p>So here is my dilemma. I got offered the 3-2 accelerated program at UCI, which basically lets me Graduate with my BA and MBA in 3 years from the time I transfer. My first year of my MBA will be my senior year as undergrad(which will only cost me 7500) and my first year after graduating i will be finishing my last year of my MBA(27,000). I save time, and money and graduate from Irvine,</p>

<p>My problem is, Should i give up the likes of USC, UCLA or UCB to go to Irvine? most people will say hell no, but you have to look at costs(Which i save 30,000 going to Irvine cuz of the 3-2 MBA program) and time which i will be saving 1-2 years of time in school. </p>

<p>There is no gaurantee that I am getting into UCB, UCLA or USC, but do i go there or IRvine? IS there a rel big drop off from both Undergrad and Grad school Irvine compared to these three.</p>

<p>Even if i go to irvine, IM stuck with their MBA program cuz NO CLASSES can be transferred to any other MBA program.</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

<p>Cyrus</p>

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<p>It depends what career path you wish to pursue. In many industries, an MBA from UC Irvine is very respectable. If you wish to have a job in high finance namely banking, investment management, hedge funds, PE etc, then these jobs may only be accessible to those with a top 20, or top 30 MBA degrees.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the quick reply. I dont know yet where i want to go career wise yet. But i dont want to handicap myself by going to irvine. Lets say i wanted to work for a firm in NY would they even know UCI's name? Household names like UCB, UCLA, USC are known throughtout the country.</p>

<p>I checked UCI MBA, some rankings are 38, 44 nationally, and #68 internatioanlly.</p>

<p>If i were to get my phd from lets say a UCB, or UCLA would that negate any shortcoming from the UCI MBA program?</p>

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<p>If you look at it from a historical perspective, the types of jobs that are available to grads of Haas and Anderson have been considerably better and the difference in salary would make up the extra cost of the schooling in less than a few years. With many of the elite job cutbacks now, it may take several more years and certainly changes the equation. </p>

<p>I would take a hard look at just what your chances are for getting a top MBA and to hold out for one if you can. I have never regretted making this decision 30 years ago, my top MBA has paid for itself hundreds of time over. In this global economy many management jobs will go overseas and it will be about fewer MBA jobs period, so every advantage will count more than ever for keeping well employed in difficult times.</p>

<p>And no, in the NY firms I've worked at I've never come across anyone from Irvine and I don't think most would know anything about it on Wall Street or in the consulting world.</p>

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<p>So an extra 2 years of studies, an additional 30-50K in student loans is worth going to place like UCB and UCLA over UCI which is ranked still in the top 50 for both undergrad and grad?</p>

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<p>what part of post #4 did you not understand?</p>

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<p>agree with #4 -- Haas or Anderson is worth the extra money. Of course, Marshall would be a lot more. But, the other big consideration is whether you could go direct from undergrad to grad at Haas or Anderson....you might be a stronger candidate with a year or two (or three) of work experience.</p>

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<p>The odds that you will be accepted to Anderson or Haas right out of Irvine are not high.</p>

<p>Unless you are a physics, chem, or other quant major now and for your last two years of college, you will not work on Wall St. either, from Irvine or Anderson or Haas. These firms might take 3-4 interns from each school the summer between your MBA years... that's what I mean by top 1%... not top 1% of high school, or college, but top 1% from Anderson, Haas, etc.</p>

<p>Look, even from Anderson or Haas, the placement into the marquee firms on Wall St. (I think there are only two left) is at most 2%, with another 10% or so going into the other firms. Into consulting less than 15%. For 70% of the meaningful, lucrative jobs out there, Irvine is just as good as Anderson or Haas.</p>

<p>I'm glad you got As recently and have your acceptances to several UCs. I doubt you will be seen as a Top 1%er as a Sr. in college, or out of Biz School.</p>

<p>All that to say... your Irvine path seems sensible to me... unless you're a quant jock, which I don't get from your posts. You can make just as much a mark on business, attain equivalent or greater satisfaction, and make a very nice living not working in consulting or Ibanking. Set your sights higher than those two fields!</p>

<p>P.S. I was very close to interning at Salomon in 1988. A presentation I attended focused on all the money to be made in Mortgage Backed Securities. hehehe</p>

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<p>A few things.</p>

<p>For many elite jobs it is true that below the very top handful of schools, it falls off very quickly in terms of access to elite jobs. Neither Haas or Anderson is Harvard or Wharton. Neither has a big Wall Street presence and Haas is the much more respected of the 2.
But in CA, both of those schools are considered top from what I see and you would have great regional job access. Irvine is more of a middle of the road school producing middle managers.</p>

<p>For the OP I was weighing state schools. Going to Stanford or Harvard would cost much more. It's my opinion that they are more than worth it but it's a tougher question weighing these 3 schools.</p>

<p>Many people think most MBAs below the top 20 have questionable value. I think for programs below the top you need to really know what you want out of them to figure out the relative value. </p>

<p>The OP lists 6 years of work experience which I'm assuming is why she is applying right out of undergrad. So it is 2 years and $60K. Assuming an average Irvine starting job we're talking about about $220K. From where I sit many star grads of top B schools will make that up in a year or 2.</p>

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<p>I have been through some wonderful exp. for the past 5 years of my life. Working for a VC firm and in real estate, I have gained a lot of experience and different perspectives on life, work, morals, ethics, and a sense of who i am. I felt like my education was something i needed to be able to get me to where i want to be. Mentally, I want to go to school and I know I can do it. I think what I am going to end up doing is going to Irvine regardless if i get into USC, UCLA, or UCB and get my BA and MBA in three years. After i Graduate(I will be aiming for 4.0 but realistically high 3s) with my MBA i will apply to a second grad degree in economics at a top tier school. I might even look into PhD, but I know i will def. pursue my 2nd grad degree in economics. I grew up in Princeton and attended Princeton High School, so maybe Ill move back for my 2nd grad degree there :P all i can do is try my best, right?</p>

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<p>It seems like you would be a worthy candidate to go for an MBA. You need to elaborate on your work experience more...(1) what positions did you hold (2) what did you do in those positions (3) what value did you add and so on. I will be one of the few that say take UCI. You place very well, however your placement from that school will most likely not be finance. They have a few every year that venture into the traditional investment banking/management consulting role. Great jobs in all respects, but it is not the dream for the majority to work at either or, but when you bring up MBA on this board, those are the only 2 jobs people consider.</p>

<p>Give an idea of what you might want to do. This could help you with your decision. Narrow is down to say operations or finance, and if finance decide on what position in finance. Irvine and Newport Beach has an abundance of financial firms in which you can do analysis, trading, operations, etc. Everything from state street, PAAMCO, PIMCO, and beyond. You have access to these opportunities if willing. UCI does very well at placing into corporate positions within irvine/costa mesa, such as google, toyota, etc. </p>

<p>Think about things a little, you need to be more specific. You need a better understanding of where you want to go for people to give your respectable answers. But either way, UCI is not a bad choice</p>

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<p>You need to be thinking about how future employers will view you once you graduate. Many solid schools stopped doing 3/2 programs years ago because those grads were not successful with employers. </p>

<p>As someone who hires MBAs, I'm hoping you stayed with the VC or real estate firm long enough to have managed considerable people, deals and budgets. If you didn't, Haas nd Anderson would not happen anyway. </p>

<p>Reconsider rushing. This game is about quality, not speed. A mediocre degree is, at every age and every career stage, a mediocre degree. You've got many, many years to work and make money, but relatively few to position yourself for life.</p>

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<p>Would you consider UCI a mediocre degree because of the school or because of the experience he would get from it?</p>

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<p>It is not a program that draws the best and brightest from all over the world. A network of hitters in all fields around the globe will not be formed there. It is not recruited for elite jobs. B School, if you're smart and lucky, is about spending 2 years with really smart, accomplished people from all walks of life who have had success in business young and have great tales to tell.</p>

<p>Note, I'm not saying Haas and Anderson are Harvard. They do have global name recognition and are certainly top schools regionally and beyond. If you want to stay in CA, at least Haas should give you access to very top jobs.</p>

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<p>Who said his aspiration is to attain an elite job. True, the people you spend the time with and the network formed is a major part of any MBA program. But there are other factors. I can name a few Wharton MBA grads that felt the network could be created elsewhere and that the only benefit they received from the program were the guest speakers....something any respectable school will have plenty of, UCI included. The average GMAT score at UCI is 675, the same level Harvard was 10 years ago, or actually 5 points higher. This is not an aspect that can determine who or who will not become a leader. But in pure numbers, the GMAT and GPA reflect similar numbers when compared to Harvard shortly after they started their GMAT requirement again. </p>

<p>But again, as said before, this board will ONLY consider the elite. Working at PIMCO as an analyst or working in a financial role at disney is certainly awful... isn't it?</p>

<p>If you like UCI, go for it. The money saved can be utilized for something else. Many people prefer to play it safe, even when viable alternatives that can produce similar results are available.</p>

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<p>The OP makes clear he wants to not cut himself off from any jobs given the choice. This is wise. As young people go through college they are likely to form a broader view of the world and learn about careers they never knew existed. Many grow more ambitious. Always go to a top program if you can to leave doors open.</p>

<p>CC does seem to attract the very ambitious so I'm addressing this OP as a typical CCer. This does not mean everyone is after elite jobs or that they will make your life any happier. But the fact is their hard to get and school matters.</p>

<p>Show me any other way to form the kind of business network one forms at a top MBA program.</p>