Which one has a better program based on having a faster job offer before graduation, salary, company, etc? Assuming that graduate school will come later.
Cal is much better. Cal is ranked number 1 in graduate econ. In LA, you would have to compete against marshall school of business kids, where as in the bay stanford grads are so limited they are not real competition. It will be more difficult, but the staff is top notch
@ANormalSeniorGuy Thx for your reply but do you mean for the undergrad level? I assume that Cal has a better reputation but it just seems harder due to grade deflation
^I’m looking for the undergraduate level currently
@mike8888 There is no ranking for undergraduate level, so I put the grad level rank as it is still applicable. It is harder, but also Berkeley is known academically, where as UCLA is known more for the location and breadth. Econ at Berkeley is on par with Uchicago, where as it is less so at UCLA. Berkeley has nobel loriates (unsure on spelling) in econ, where as UCLA does not. It will be harder, but Econ at Cal is world renown.
@mike8888,
I wouldn’t base a decision on where to study an undergraduate discipline on grad school reputation, nor on which campus has Nobel laureates. But just to check facts, I took a look here: http://nobel.universityofcalifornia.edu/list.html Turns out that Berkeley, UCSB, UCSD and UCLA have all had Nobel prize winners in economics. Personally, I would not consider USC to be much competition, but that is my very biased opinion as a UCLA Anderson MBA. 
I think that you should base your decision on where you feel like you fit in. Both institutions are first rate, world class universities. Grade deflation is a legitimate concern if that is known to happen. I would add to that the potential for disruptive political activity at Berkeley.
Your future depends less on where you go to school and more on what you make of the opportunities you have. Go with your tummy feeling (as my stats professor used to say). Good luck!
@mike8888 listen to your Padre… @padredetres (well, not about him and UCLA, he is deluded there, but I digress…)
Either one will provide you with great opportunities and options if you do well and make use of the resources provided. Neither will “get” you a job based on name, rank, repuation or nobel prize winners.
They are fairly similar institutions in some ways, very different in others. Have you visited? What will they each cost? Are you certain you will study econ? Is there anything in the program of either you are attracted to? Would you rather live in Oakland?SF area or LA?
You should also look at the 4 year grad issues for Cal in Econ. I think they’re pretty good, but if getting out in 4 years is critical you should make sure students are able to get required courses as I’ve heard from some UC students in certain majors that can be more difficult than they expected.
“Which one has a better program based on having a faster job offer before graduation, salary, company, etc?”
They are both excellent.
“Assuming that graduate school will come later.”
Keep your grades up. From these two excellent schools, for undergrad choose the one that doesn’t leave you too far into debt to be able to pay for graduate school. If the cost is the same, choose the one where you would be the most comfortable. In any case expect to need to work very hard, and keep ahead in your classes.
“Either one will provide you with great opportunities and options if you do well and make use of the resources provided. Neither will “get” you a job based on name, rank, reputation or Nobel prize winners.”
Yup. Well said.
And, CONGRATULATIONS! You have great opportunities…
UCB Haas is ranked second USNWR in undergrad business education tied with MIT and only second to Wharton.
(not Econ). UCB is a better overall opportunity in Econ/Business I would say than UCLA. Go Bears!
Yes, congrats - both departments are likely to be good. Chose where you want to live and which school seems to be the best fit. BTW, there are some fields within econ for which UCLA would be better for PhD students (like theory) but this has no impact on which of these two departments would be best for undergrad.
@prpedparent @mike8888 small caveat - I’m not 100% what goes into USNews “undergraduate business” ranking, but if they mean or include Haas that is a completely different animal. Haas requires a separate application once you are at Cal.
If you are thinking Haas at all, your strategy may be different.
Again, Haas is not Cal econ. But Cal Econ is awesome.
And to double down on @DadTwoGirls Congrats. If you work hard and make use of resources you’ll have a great experience at either school.
Having a business degree (UCB Haas) will generally give you more opportunities for business type jobs such as finance, accounting, consulting, etc. than a business econ degree from UCLA or an econ degree from UCB. As you probably know, if you choose UCB’s econ and plan to apply to Haas for your junior year (for better job prospects), Haas is more competitive to get into than UCLA’s business econ. If you do not get into Haas, econ would be your back up plan at UCB. You can choose the UCLA bus econ, which is an easier route than Haas. I know a few who had goals to work in the business world and chose the UCLA path because it is an easier path than going to UCB and then applying to Haas. Getting into the undergraduate school at Haas requires a UCB GPA of 3.67 (about 43% acceptance rate) for UC Berkeley transfers or for community college transfers a GPA of 3.87 (5% acceptance rate). Haas does not accept transfers from any other colleges, including UCLA. For UCLA’s business econ, you must maintain a GPA of around 3.3 to get in.
@CaliDad2020 and everyone lol Yes those are my instate options currently and the cost would work out as well. I come from near SF, so I am familiar with the climate of Berkeley and all that. About Econ…since those two schools only have econ (exception of business at Haas which is really compeititve to transfer in), I would probably major in econ but am interested in something business related.
As I have said in my other forums, my other option is UNC Kenan-Flagler assured admission, which is an out of state business school, so can you help me evaluate this option along with Cal econ and UCLA regular econ as well? Cost would work out as well, and I have narrowed my list to these three. I was thinking about pursuing this business degree since it would be more fun than economics, but which one (econ or business) is the degree most versatile? I
For UNC I’m just concerned about the transition from the west to east coast, and having to stay there for an extended period of time working in the east.
Thanks for your guy’s consideration!
@mike8888 I don’t know much about UNC, sorry to say. I do have a number of friends who took off to the Raleigh-Durham triangle just before the LA housing market crashed and they quite like the area, but I don’t know any more about the school than what you could read on-line.
My instinct, if you want to eventually come back to California is that either of the UCs will open up a better west coast alumni network. (We hired a grad from UCLA a few years ago, and I was very impressed with the quality of contacts she had from her UCLA days - and they included a wide range of UC grads - not just UCLA, and not even just UC schools, but the network between the various schools CA is pretty easily leveraged for students who work at it. I’d imagine that is the thing most lost by going to UNC.)
I will add that the single most financially successful person I know did Econ at Penn SAS (not Wharton) so it’s not like an Econ degree will hamper you, but, while he went through investment banking, he took a bit less traditional of a route than some of his Wharton cohorts.
I can’t see you have a bad educational choice among the 3. I’d say it comes down more to practicals like where do you want to live, what are more excited about studying, who has better food…
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Likewise Secretary of State Rex Wayne Tillerson who was CEO for 10 years for ExxonMobil has a civil engineering bachelor’s degree from University of TX at Austin.
Not sure the degree or college is that important in success. Follow your heart and your dreams.