<p>My current plan is to transfer to a US university (I'm Canadian) as a junior next year, attend a good business university and then work 2 years before getting my MBA.</p>
<p>However I would like a good work opportunity during those two years and therefore am looking for a very good (not to say renowned ) undergraduate business program.</p>
<p>Now I know that Wharton is considered the best but its nearly impossible to transfer into.</p>
<p>I was thinking about going into economics at Columbia but it doesn't seem to be very well known ranked business-wise. At least not at undergrad-level. </p>
<p>So I'm wondering between Columbia economics and Berkeleys Arts & letters; which is the top one, business-wise?</p>
<p>PS. Im also a little confused about berkeleys haas procedure. So you spend 2 years in A&L and then switch into HAAS? Its not an MBA then, just a bachelor?</p>
<p>Berkeley does not have "Arts & letters" -- it's Letters & Science. And business isn't done through L&S at Berkeley -- it's done through the Haas business school. You'd be admitted to the university, and then you'd apply to Haas. If you were a freshman, you'd probably put L&S on the app, and then by the end of your sophomore year, you'd declare your major and apply to Haas. But since you're a junior transfer, it'd be a bit different -- you might even go straight into Haas, though I'm not sure.</p>
<p>Haas does both undergrad and grad business. You'd be going for undergrad.</p>
<p>Columbia and Berkeley are comparable in this aspect. Mind you, they're both ranked in the top 10 "toughest to get into" by the Princeton Review. And since you're an international, Berkeley will be even harder.</p>
<p>I really dont know the conversion all that well. Up here in canada an undergrad is only 3 years because we have cegep ( sort of prep school after high school for 2 years). </p>
<p>But I think Id have a shot. Berkeley is surprisingly expensive though. Im just wondering if its the type of diploma that will pay well at the end. An ivy league, by name only, is sort of a guarantee.</p>
<p>In the US, undergrad is generally 4 years, sometimes more (colleges' 6-year grad rate tends to be much higher than their 4-year one), sometimes less (if you have the credits to graduate early). Berkeley is very expensive if you aren't a Californian.</p>
<p>The Ivy League name is NOT a guarantee of any sort. That's a huge misconception that people hold. The Ivy League tends to have very good placement in grad programs, jobs, etc. but that's because they provide top-notch educations. So does Berkeley. And employers know this. If you compare the average starting salaries of Berkeley grads with top privates, you'll see that they're often the same (in some cases, the average starting salary is actually a little higher for Berkeley -- and sometimes for the top privates). The Berkeley degree in business is as good as an Ivy one. Look at the stats for Haas grads here:</p>
<p><a href="http://career.berkeley.edu/Major/BusAd.stm%5B/url%5D">http://career.berkeley.edu/Major/BusAd.stm</a></p>
<p>Also, here's an undergrad business ranking (from BusinessWeek):</p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/07/undergrad/%5B/url%5D">http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/07/undergrad/</a></p>