S is Ca. resident. Accepted today to Michigan Ross. If accepted to Cal, he will have to apply to Haas in Sophomore year. I hear it is hard to get in. Anyone have thoughts on the two schools, and the sure thing vs. the risk.
Perspectives, stories of transfer process, and other insights would be appreciated…
Thanks in advance
Questions to ask yourselves:
Here is some admissions information about the UCB business major:
http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/Undergrad/class_profile.html
Michigan’s Ross is a very good business school with a national recognizable name.
If S decides to go to Cal and subsequently does not get into Haas in the junior year, the alternative is economics at Cal or transfer to another university’s undergraduate business school.
I also assume S applied to UCLA, which has a business economic major, but no undergraduate business school. I know a few high schoolers who chose to attend UCLA for the business economics rather than take a chance on not being admitted to Haas. These graduates recently within the past couple of years landed good jobs with Big 4 firms. Good luck.
@UCBUSCalum, thanks for the insights. While UCLA has a great program, I do not think it will yield a better result than Ross. The real question/dilemna is how hard is it to get into Haas if you hope to have a balanced college experience. Can you have the needed academic success for admissions, and still be involved in a healthy balance of school and social life? Son was told it is hard to compete for admission with the many singular focused students…Not sure if that is true or not…While cost of Ross is high, the auto admit offers some comfort. Hence, the query… Thanks
I’d take the guaranteed Ross admit over the risk at Cal/Haas, BUT… the costs are night and day. If you can pay for Ross without parental loans, take Ross. If costs are a problem, you can gamble on Haas, but even for strong students, nothing’s guaranteed - all students were top 5 in their school, not everybody’s going to be top 20% in college… and it’s hard to predict, at a school with this caliber students, who will make it and who won’t. So, look for a Plan B at Berkeley. If you have other possibilities, you’re better off without the gamble.
^^I agree. No guarantee of getting into Haas if you go to UCB. A bird in the hand…
Yeah, even if you don’t get in to Haas, taking business classes might also be an issue.
Yes, taking business classes is an issue if you don’t get admitted to Haas because priority goes to Haas students. Haas undergrad business is ranked #2 in the latest US News and World Report while Ross is ranked #4, not much difference.
If S decides to go for the sure thing at Ross, he might consider the weather in Michigan. My colleague from So. Cal. got his undergraduate degree in engineering at UCLA. He went to Michigan’s Ross to get his MBA. He hated the cold environment. He said that it is generally very cold with snow from November thru March and maybe early April.
S might want to consider USC’s Marshall, but the undergrad business is rank #10 by US News & World Report. The annual cost to attend USC is around $65K, probably around $15 to $20K higher than Michigan.
It comes down to minimizing risk vs minimizing cost. The unrest at Cal, and the relatively higher cost of off-campus housing in the Bay area may also be a factor (rents in Ann Arbor are around $7-800 per month per person (with a private bedroom) or around $1200 for ‘luxury’ campus apartment which might mitigate the OOS tuition a bit. Michigan also usually gives FA to OOS residents, so you may not have to pay full price (see NPC). Ann Arbor is safer than Berkeley/Oakland too.
Michigan does not have the class availability issues that plague Cal. You can pretty much get the classes you want as long as you are disciplined about registering on time, even as a freshman. If your son attends, Freshman register during orientation, which continues all summer, so an early date is preferable.
Our family is split between Michigan and California, and the AA weather is less pleasant but hardly a major impediment. Two days ago it was 54 deg (!) in AA.
@TooOld4School, thanks for the perspective. Everything said here, is very logical. Cost vs reward is the issue…a list to AA is in order…
A great but tough choice. I’ll just add this to help you accurately evaluate the risk of getting admitted to Haas. My DD just completed her interview yesterday for Haas admission in Fall 17. Having to do an interview means she is on the bubble. Here is what the bubble looks like. She is a Regent Scholar carrying a 3.90 gpa, a project manager in a consulting club, an intern for an Indian financial services startup, an officeholder in a Sorority, on a Regents committee, and a board member of a Club sport. The competition for Haas is real.
^^@capecodder2014 Good Luck to your daughter. Yes, the competition is rough. I also have a Regents who is now at Haas. I am sure with her stats she will get in.
Wow Scary how hard. Much more than I suspected. Hello Ross, Hello student loans.
My DD is just one reference point and I don’t mean to make it sound more difficult than it is but there are some really talented millennials at Cal (as there are at Ross). Best of luck on whatever your S decides.
How much debt are you talking about, total?
It’s worth saying that there are plenty of Econ and double majors that don’t get into Hass from Letters and Science who do very well and have plans to get the MBA after working as consultants in the field. If your son goes to UCB, but doesn’t admit to Haas, all is not lost. He will still be very successful.
4-5000 a year in loans.
so 20 total? not too bad.
yes 16-20K. figuring a little debt for an assured admittance, and high paying job prospects, might be worth the sure thing. No decision made. Fact finding mission now…thanks
Not bad, definitely less than the federal loans. For a Ross graduate, should be easy to pay back.
Basically, it means Ross is affordable. With Ross direct admit vs. uncertainty at Cal, it makes a very big difference. In my opinion in this case, Ross would provide the best ROI.