Question about transferring out of Berkeley

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
1

<p>Hey guys, so I'm currently a freshman in UC-Berkeley in the middle of my first semester.</p>

<p>So far, Berkeley's been a pretty cool place and very intellectually stimulating. Recently, however, I received a phone call from USC, since I am a spring admit, that I would receive about 20,000 dollars a year to attend their university resulting from scholarships they give since I am a National Merit Scholar.</p>

<p>I've known since I was pretty young that I wanted to get into the "business" realm, learning in finance, entrepreneurship, etc. </p>

<p>Here at Berkeley, the business program is sponsored under the Haas School and is ranked about 3rd in the nation. The only problem is you must reapply after 2 years depending on essays and your GPA for the first 2 years. This is a problem because I thought college was about having the time to explore and discovering yourself. If I were to go for at least a 3.5 GPA, a minimum req for Haas, I know I'll be very very busy. So...I've been considering attending the Marshall School of Business for my spring semester, because their business program for undergraduates is ranked 10th, which is still pretty good, and considering the scholarship I get, I'm basically paying the same price to go to school at USC as I would in Berkeley.</p>

<p>I know ultimately, I'm going to have to make the choice completely myself because the decision would depend on whether I feel like I "fit" at the school, etc etc.</p>

<p>However, I was wondering if you guys knew anything about the business programs, and would be able to give me some detailed pros and cons about both business programs, such job recruitment, quality of education, etc. etc. Also, how good is a Berkeley degree, whether it is Haas or not, when you look for a job? esp. in california? Is the experience at Berkeley, because of the hard environment, worth it over what I hear is a very chillax environment at USC? My stoner USC friends hardly study and they're pulling at least B's, and i know how smart they are because i went to high school with them. (i think not much more smarter than I am)</p>

2

<p>USC is the safer option because costs are the same with the scholarship and you know you’re in the business school. Marshall is exceptional for Socal job opportunities. However, I believe Haas is more widely recruited…Haas seems to have more risk but more potential for reward.</p>

<p>If you think you’d thrive more in the “chillax”, less risky, more ordered environment of USC, go for it.</p>

3

<p>I would agree that in this case, it might be better to go safe than sorry. I mean if you don’t get into Haas, then you’re gonna end up in some backup major that you probably are very apathetic about. Job-wise, Haas could probably get you some better offers by name itself, but really, it’s all about you and what you do imo.
Is the experience at Berkeley worth it? I doubt it.</p>