My situation at UC Berkeley... How's USC?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi everyone,</p>

<p>I'm a freshman at UC Berkeley and, while I'm having a decent time, I'm considering transferring to another school. This is a very difficult decision, so I will try to outline my thoughts/situation.</p>

<p>My classes are very difficult. I've been to some fun frat parties and have made several nice acquaintances, especially on my floor. I knew several other people coming to Cal, including a couple semi-close friends from high school. I like my roommates and we are now good friends. The campus is beautiful and <em>really</em> love our libraries (Doe, Morrison, Main Stacks). The view on the Golden Gate Bridge is incredible. Sather tower, Telegraph, and the hippies are all interesting. I enjoy "asian ghetto" and the Boba tastes great. The food in general is EXCELLENT. I also like the proximity to nature, and the "removal" from where I grew up (Los Angeles).</p>

<p>Overall, I am slightly disappointed with the undergraduate environment. There are some <em>highly</em> intelligent students here, though there exist many more mediocre students. Most students do not seem interested in anything intellectual. Maybe I have heard people say "I just don't like to think" too many times in the last two months.</p>

<p>Arriving at UC Berkeley, I did not expect the lack of diversity to play a major role in my experience. However, growing up in Los Angeles, I did not realize or appreciate the importance of ethnic diversity. Many of my closest friends, and social circles, included Koreans, African-Americans, and Hispanics. I spent most of my time in the likes of Koreatown, Mid-City, Bel-Air, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Venice, Inglewood, South Central. I learned at lot from these people and appreciated each culture's nuances and humors. Since being at Cal, I have enjoyed learning about Chinese and Indian culture, though I would appreciate a more balanced student body. 1 in 2 students at Cal are Asian.</p>

<p>The campus is extremely fragmented. There are over 20,000 undergraduates, and there is an overwhelming "public school" aura. To compare: I spent 3 years of High School in a West LA public school of high-caliber (it had the funding, involvement, and aura of a private school), and another year in a sub-par, urban LAUSD high school. I made great friends at both, and graduated with fond memories, though I preferred the "private school" for many reasons that I will not go over. Thus I am especially seeking a private University. -- My mother's income is ~$20,000/year, and many private schools would cost me the same as UC Berkeley (I am currently attending mostly for free, for which I am very grateful). Therefore costs shouldn't be a factor for schools like USC.</p>

<p>I wish to major in business, and I really, really want to live in NYC after graduation. I have been reading books on Investment Banking and I actually find the material quite interesting, though I understand it's a very difficult job to deal with. My Uncle is a COO of a major BB bank, and I have always enjoyed hearing his experiences. I would also enjoy other non-IB business jobs.</p>

<p>So I am in a dilemma. UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business is very prestigious. However, it is even more Asian than the general student body at UC Berkeley (I believe Haas is 70% Asian!!), and most people end up working in San Francisco (and I have always disliked San Francisco). I would <em>much</em> rather live in LA after graduation. USC has an excellent network in LA, and I would probably be much more connected in Los Angeles, coming from USC. Haas, on the other hand, might give me more opportunities to the riskier and more elusive goal of New York City and/or Investment Banking. Unfortunately, it appears that very few graduates actually live in NYC after graduation, though Haas is a "target school" in the world of finance (at least for San Francisco offices).</p>

<p>I am a double-legacy for USC (my grandfather and father also went there). One day, my kids could apply to USC as triple legacies! USC football also sounds exciting, the girls are all very pretty there. I have always wanted to get involved with the entertainment industry... writing, producing, etc. If high-finance has been my NYC dream, the entertainment industry is my LA counterpart. In other words, from Haas to USC, I would lose for Wall Street but gain for Hollywood. ;) I feel much more comfortable in Los Angeles than in "NorCal", and I am a big Lakers fan. (I was one of the few who brought a car to Berkeley, which says a lot about my upbringing.) I have many great friends going to USC. I feel much more comfortable with people at USC than with people at Cal.</p>

<p>I think I really, really want to transfer to USC, but I'd be losing the prestige of Haas... and all of the things I like about Cal (which I mentioned near the beginning of this post). At USC, I would gain Los Angeles' proximity and network, along with a more balanced, "private-school" undergraduate experience.</p>

<p>What do you guys think? I feel 50/50 at the moment. Stay at CAL and pursue Haas, or transfer to USC? I am open to all ideas/suggestions, and I wish to make the best decision possible.</p>

<p>You can also suggest any other school. Thanks</p>

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<p>Apply to 'SC and decide in the spring. (A lot of SoCal kids receive culture shock upon getting off the BART train, but grow to love NorCal and stay there after graduation.)</p>

<p>If you really want to stay in SoCal LONG-term, then the Trojan Family is the way to go. If you really want I-banking, you should transfer east, to Penn, Dartmouth or NYU-Stern, for example.</p>

<p>btw: your post is inconsistent. How can classes be “difficult” if Cal has “many mediocre” students? I would think that the “mediocre” students would be a plus factor bcos you could help set the curve…</p>

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<p>Go with your heart. It sounds stupid, but I’m sure you’re not trading much anyway by moving to USC over Cal. If you don’t feel happy with the environment (which I completely understand, many of my friends feel the same about Berkeley’s undergrad environment) then move out.</p>

<p>To me it looks like USC is what you want. But beware…make sure you’ll know you’ll be happy at USC. I mean what USC ends up being worse than what you experienced at Cal? You might want to make a visit during the breaks and stay at USC for a week or something.
Good luck.</p>

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<p>USC or Claremont McKenna.</p>

<p>Undergraduate “Business School” means no more to Ibanks than does math, linguistics, biology, communications or history. Ask your uncle, he’ll confirm. </p>

<p>PS> if your Uncle is in a position to introduce you into a firm on Wall st., it matters very little, really, which of the three schools you’re at… only that you do well enough to not embarass him for introducing you into some interviews.</p>

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<p>How’s your GPA at Berkeley? Before you decide to stay, you need to make sure you can make Haas. If you can’t, there’s really no point in staying. Also, even if you do squeeze through, if you can’t maintain a very high GPA, there’s no point in staying either. You’re not having a brilliant IB future.</p>

<p>There’s also the problem that Haas is, for most students, their only chance to break into IB (and it isn’t even a good one…there are safer east coast options). 'SC will mostly only land you a west coast IB position at best. I understand your uncle may be a connection, though, so I don’t know how that works out for you.</p>

<p>Obviously, your most ideal course of action is to transfer into a reputable east coast school like the above poster advised. If you were serious about IB and budget and admissions weren’t a concern, you probably never should of went to Berkeley to begin with. </p>

<p>Your probably trapped now though because, unlike USC or Berkeley, east coast schools such as Stern are really tough on transfers.</p>

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<p>bluebayou thanks, that helps. I’ll apply to USC and leave the decision for later.</p>

<p>You mentioned transferring east for NYC. Would this be better than staying at Haas (while trying to network my way to the east)? I was waitlisted at Dartmouth, so I don’t know if another attempt would be worthwhile. I would absolutely love attending Dartmouth… it was my first choice, and it address my issues with Berkeley (NYC/banking, diversity, intellectual, intimate, private), while retaining proximity to nature. It sounds like a dream.</p>

<p>Oh and sorry for being unclear. Cal students are very hard working and studious. I meant “mediocre student” in the sense that a student shouldn’t simply drudge along in their dedication towards their engineering/mcb program because “it’s what they do”. I wish students were more interested in actually thinking about what they’re doing, and why. In addition, most people here have no interest in debating anything. This probably wouldn’t be any better at USC, but I came to Berkeley looking for a more intellectual experience. If the two schools are equal in that regard, then I would prefer the other benefits of USC.</p>

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<p>Cal Berkeley and USC couldn’t be more different. Why did you choose Cal over USC? Do those reasons still exist or have your values changed?</p>

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<p>Thanks everyone else for the replies. I agree that transferring to a private east coast school would be ideal ( / a dream). Dartmouth was always where I wanted to go. Internships… study abroad… they had everything I wanted. Unfortunately I was waitlisted. I had a low GPA from high school, (3.6).</p>

<p>I don’t want to go to Stern or Wharton, though. I would prefer a more removed environment, such as Berkeley’s. USC is an exception because I am extremely comfortable with LA.</p>

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<p>APOL: Growing up in LA, I wanted to try something new. I realize now that half of the students here are from SoCal, and it doesn’t make the difference I anticipated. It was always a tough choice.</p>

<p>Also, I didn’t realize Haas grads almost always end up in SF, and that 70% of Haas is Asian. I probably would have chosen USC knowing these facts.</p>

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<p>sentimentGX4: I should get a 3.8 or something close</p>

<p>I will also add that I am a first-year, white male, pre-business.</p>

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<p>Agree with bluebayou, applyto transfer to USC, wait to see if you are accepted, wait to see what financial package you will get, then decide.</p>

<p>Even with a low EFC, USC might still cost more than Cal since it sounds like you are getting good aid from Cal.</p>

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<p>… and the real reason is whether you’ll get into Haas… then defer the decision and try to time things to around the time you’ve been either accepted or rejected by Haas at junior standing and applying to USC just prior to notification at Cal. </p>

<p>Wait…</p>

<p>You’re a frosh now? Cal started in August, so you’ve been in college for only two months? How can you predict your grades?</p>

<p>I was going to say, you’ll have to stick at Cal for this year only, but it sounds like you’re stuck at Cal for essentially two years. ; )</p>

<p>With that said, it sounds like you’re homesick, so you can still grow to like Cal. At least, give it some time, which it sounds like you’ll do.</p>

<p>Best of Luck…</p>

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<p>BusyMei</p>

<p>I’ll apply to USC before this year’s deadline, as a potential Sophomore transfer. The switch shouldn’t be difficult at all, since i am familiar with the area and have multiple friends attending.</p>

<p>However, what do you guys think about the old dream of east coast private school (ie Dartmouth)? It’s something I swept under the rug, however this thread has brought that idea back. For me, Cal<USC<Dartmouth. Perhaps with a good GPA I could make an attempt?</p>

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<p>drax12: I agree, this could be homesickness, though I am also concerned about graduation opportunities/network. SF < LA</p>

<p>Perhaps it would be smarter to defer my possible USC app until next year when I’m applying for Haas? I doubt USC would appreciate me applying this year, then ignoring them, and then immediately applying again, as a safety school for my junior year.</p>

<p>Also, if anyone knows about the issues involved with applying to Marshall as a transfer, perhaps there are issues since Marshall is a 4 year business program?</p>

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<p>… the consensus on the board says, apply immediately to USC. That sounds like your heart, so go with what you feel.</p>

<p>Think things through first, though. Do a comprehensive cost-benefit of Cal v USC. Nah, not quantitative enough on +/-. Rather, try to put your feelings into scales of 1-10 for each factor. If personal comfort for USC is 10 (highest) and Cal is 2, then the other stuff would be hard-pressed to put Cal on top.</p>

<p>But then, since homesickness could be a factor that could mean the 2 could shoot up to a 5.</p>

<p>I’m just glad I’m not you. ; )</p>

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<p>I understand the OP. Cal is huge and is not for everyone, so there is no point in staying there if s/he didn’t "click"in Cal. However, I think USC isn’t any different from Cal. I think it may be even worse. USC has lots of Asians too, around 1 in every 3 or 4, and I think many of those Asians at USC are in the business school, Marshall. So, you might be jumping from the frying pan into the fire. And, if you think Haas grads can’t hack Wall Street, so should Marshall grads as Marshall is worse than Haas. </p>

<p>OP, if you really want to be in WS, you should go to Stern. It would prepare you to join in WS after college. And, Stern is in a great area - Greenwich, a place I envisioned you’re going to like. It’s somewhat of a posh area in that part of NYC, better than Columbia’s area, i should say.</p>

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<p>RML you like hating on Columbia don’t you ;)</p>

<p>Something I noticed while looking on other threads haha.</p>

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<p>caltanner:</p>

<p>since you were WL’ed at D, you had something of interest to them, since your HS gpa would usually result in an auto reject. IFF you can better that gpa at Cal, 3.7+, it would be worth another go at Dartmouth. Their finaid is fantastic (unlike NYU). Moreover, with Soph summer, and DOC trips, transfers can assimilate reasonably well.</p>

<p>Of course, a second alternative is Cornell, which is much more transfer-friendly. (D just has such a high retention rate, they only have spots for a few transfers every year.) But, Cornell’s finaid is not as generous as Dartmouth’s.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

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<p>GoldAngealArea, I don’t think so. I even applied there way back when I was applying to colleges and universities. Columbia is a great school. I would only be fooling myself if I don’t think it that it is. I just don’t think that it is in the universe of HYPSMC, that’s all.</p>

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<p>The OP should also consider transferring either to Ross or McIntire. I would attend either school than just any Dartmouth program if my main motivation is to work in WS.</p>