torn between Cal and UVa... really need some advice & help

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
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<p>hi peers. I've been lucky to be accepted by these 2 great universities but I find myself unable to make this tough decision. for cal I am admitted to the college of engineering and for uva, the CAS. I could really use some advice from you guys - yeah I'm in desperate need of it :p</p>

<p>so here's my dilemma: for now I'm more interested in engineering, in which field Cal >>> UVa, but in the future, due to the pressure given by my parents, I may switch to accountancy or majors alike and McIntire has this amazing reputation.
btw I have to say that personally I find it difficult to turn down Cal...</p>

<p>Other than the major problem above, there are also some other minor things that concern me to a certain extent.
1. some friends warn me that choosing classes at a UC campus can be a real problem due to the large size of the student population. I don't know how serious the problem is... but it gives me the impression that the environment may not be so conducive to studies?</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Although I've had my secondary education abroad, I'm Chinese in terms of both ethnicity and nationality. sometimes I do feel that I need more exposure to diversity and difference, which I can find plenty in UVa. Cal has a super large asian population and I don't know what it will bring to or take away from my life... On the other hand, I kinda feel more relaxed around similar people, i.e. asian in this case. and I can't even say which situation I prefer at all coz I change my mind about it all the time :( So any advice?</p></li>
<li><p>I've heard rumors that this year (2017er) Cal accepted a bit too many "underqualified" students? No offense to anyone. Really. I believe that most admitted students are amazingly competent and talented and it will be my great honor to be their college mates if I attend Cal. But please try understanding a worried student? There are rumors that due to its financial strains Cal has to get more OOS+international students and therefore becomes much more lenient in the admission process. would anyone like to debunk that and perhaps alleviate my mental suffering? :(</p></li>
</ol>

<p>In addition, I've 4 questions about Cal,</p>

<ol>
<li>is it difficult to find a good engineering job in US with cal engineering degree? espiecially considering the recession and high unemployment rate. How about finding a job not related to engineering?</li>
<li>if I stick to engineering for the 4 years, i.e. no haas, is it possible for me to get a good finance/banking/consulting/accountancy job? </li>
<li>if I'm lucky enough to get into haas, how it the employment for finance/banking/consulting/accountancy? How about for California and NY specifically?</li>
<li>how good is the leadership award?</li>
</ol>

<p>And I also have a few questions regarding both colleges,
how hard is it to get into haas & McIntire?
how hard is it to double major? or a minor? as in will only the most capable students (which I'm not :p) be able handle the workload?</p>

<p>I understand that many of you who wants to help will kindly encourage me to pursue my passion and go with engineering all the way instead of getting into a biz school half way. I really appreiciate that. However, as a chinese (national), it's indeed difficult for me to dismiss my parents' opinions, especially when they're paying full tuition for me. my father holds very strong objection to engineering and is keen to envision me in the financial service sector. His stubbornness is due to his relatively outdated thoughts and the mercenary society of china. be that as it may, I can't simply ignore him just coz I've failed to change his mindset. So the plan I've worked out for myself is that I'll at least learn about what I love in college (or at the very least the first 2 years), i.e. natural sciences or engi or some social sciences, and try going into the "financy" field later. That will strike a balance. But of course, if at Cal college of engineering I make up my mind not to waver anymore, I'll not force myself into haas. :)</p>

<p>Lastly, I mean good by every word. If I sound harsh or offensive anywhere, I apologize in advance and I surely don't mean to hurt anyone. </p>

<p>Thank every friend for responding in advance! I really need your wisdom now! :)</p>

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<p>If any interest in engineering, Cal it is, hands down. You’re also in a much better recruiting location for engineers near Silicon Valley vs. rural Virginia. These benefits outweigh Berkeley’s larger size. Cal’s Haas program is equivalent to McIntire.</p>

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<p>You can look on Cal’s Career Center website and look for links to “what can I do with a degree in _________”. Quite a few engineers have gone on to work for financial firms.</p>

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<p>I’m in the exact same situation as you CathyBright. I’m a Californian though. Here’s my post:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-virginia/1481189-uva-vs-berkeley-vs-ucla.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-virginia/1481189-uva-vs-berkeley-vs-ucla.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>not sure if it’ll help, but there you go anyway. :)</p>

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<p>@UCBChemEGrad thx! yup I know that cal engineering is SUPERB :slight_smile: It’s just that I really doubt whether I’ll go for an engineering job in the end of the day. thx for leading me to the career survey. indeed some of the graduates go into consulting. That kinda alleviates my headache :stuck_out_tongue:
do you mind giving any response to my other questions?</p>

<p>THANK YOU A LOT!!!</p>

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<p>@ComeUpKid</p>

<p>hey thx!! it’s really nice of you to share and the info in your thread is indeed useful!</p>

<p>I see you are in-state for cal. that saves you a large amount of money! how I envy you… my parents are paying so much for me. It hurts :(</p>

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<p>

Engineering is in very high demand. Employers can’t find enough qualified talent. A Cal engineering degree would show your technical acumen to employers. That said, I’m not a recent grad and don’t have experience looking for a job in the current market. I know it’s tough for international students to get employer sponsorship due to shortage of visas…perhaps this will turn around eventually.</p>

<p>

Possible…look at career surveys. Pursuing an MBA later would also help.</p>

<p>

Check the Haas business school surveys. Prospects are quite high.</p>

<p>

Stats are on the Haas website. But if I recall, about 50% of those Cal students that apply get into Haas. Haas has stringent prerequisites…so be sure to follow those.</p>

<p>

Only you know your limit. One top Cal grad I recall was an electrical engineering/business administration double major…he earned 16 A+'s, was a Rhodes scholar and went to Harvard Business school. It’s possible…</p>

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<p>@UCBChemEGrad THANK YOU!!! That’s very nice of you to answer in such great detail!!</p>

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<p>Thank everyone for responding!! :)</p>

<p>I have another 2 questions about which I’d really like to know more. If you’re a current cal student it would be perfect :slight_smile: Thank you in advance.</p>

<ol>
<li>scheduling classes.
I heard that many people fail to get the courses they want becoz of the huge student population and they have to wait for a very long time until the courses are available again? and some may go as far to say that they can’t graduate in time due to the scheduling problem. please tell me it’s not true! </li>
</ol>

<p>2.internships.
Do Cal engineering students have access to them? Do many many many awesome students compete for perhaps 1 or 2 internships available there?</p>

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<p>Well I am not sure how willing you are to do this, but if I were you, visit the campuses first! I thought I would fall in love with Berkeley, but boy was I wrong. Something about the ambience just didn’t work with me. I don’t know anything about Virginia, but still… I believe what makes the education great is how willing you are to study there. Therefore, find the place where you fit, not the place where rankings say you will fit.</p>

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<p>@rjn0101 thank you for the advice!
but visiting both isn’t really a viable option in my case. way too expensive. I know attending college will cost a fortune and adding the visiting expenditure won’t make a difference. but I’m trying to save every penny from now on :p</p>

<p>and rankings aren’t that important to me, but to my parents and some of my over-concerned relatives, yes they weigh a lot :(</p>

<p>you’ve more suggestions for me? based on my situation.</p>

<p>Thank you a lot!! :)</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>It generally isn’t true – Berkeley has a multi-phase registration system where everyone gets to register for half of his/her schedule before registering for the rest. Berkeley has about a 70% four year graduation rate, among the highest of public universities.</p>

<p>In terms of engineering, Berkeley is much better known than Virginia (indeed, for engineering, Virginia Tech is probably better known than Virginia). Virginia may have some advantage in local recruiting in the east coast regions, though. Berkeley seems to have a much bigger reputation internationally.</p>

<p>Investment banking and management consulting are prestige-obsessed types of employers that prefer HYPSM graduates. They do recruit at Berkeley, but take only a few (in contrast to a 1/3 of the class or so at some of the “prestige” schools). Not sure about Virginia in this respect.</p>

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<p>@ucbalumnus thank you!! that is comforting :slight_smile: I really need to graduate within 4 years. otherwise the financial burden on my parents will drive me and them insane :(</p>

<p>and yeah for engineering CAL ROCKS! That’s why I just cant think of letting my offer go…</p>

<p>btw when you say that banking/consulting firms recruit on-campus, do you mean NYC firms which offer jobs in NYC or firms that are based in CA or the CA offices of firms located elsewhere (NYC)? I’m sorry if this is a stupid question… just wondering.</p>

<p>Thank you for responding!!! It’s very nice of you to answer in detail:)</p>

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<p>@cathybright
If you don’t mind me asking, how much will it cost you to attend each of the two colleges (just tuition)?
Besides cost…this might sound weird, but what does your heart tell you to do? Right now, I myself am torn between UF and U Michigan. UF is basically free for me and close to home, yet U Mich is my dream school (my non-reach dream school), but it costs a great deal more (maybe 50k per year). As of right now, I am heavily considering cashing out for U Michigan, because I myself know that is where I fit.
Because of the fact that visits are out of the picture, why not do some heavy research on what each college researches? For instance, use websites like this [News</a> Center ? UC Berkeley College of Engineering](<a href=“http://coe.berkeley.edu/news-center]News”>News Archive - Berkeley Engineering)
in order to see what type of research interests you. Maybe that will help you figure out where you belong, and what interests you?
Sorry if this reply wasn’t what you were looking for, but let me know if you need more advise/someone to talk to about it!</p>

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<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-berkeley/1321246-economics-investment-banking.html#post14204944[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-berkeley/1321246-economics-investment-banking.html#post14204944&lt;/a&gt; describes the investment banking recruiting scene at Berkeley.</p>

<p>Yes, they do recruit, but it is not like “the top” Ivy League schools where a third of the graduating class goes to investment banking. The industry tends to be extremely school-prestige-conscious. Management consulting is similar. If Virginia is recruited by these types of employers, they probably subject applicants to similar selection processes as at Berkeley.</p>

<p>Note that the investment banks do consider those in math-laden majors, as described in the linked post.</p>

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<p>@rjn0101</p>

<p>thank you so much!! yup indeed I need someone to talk to. I’ve been rather stressed for the last few days. yeah that happens to me when I can’t make decisions which will affect my life for a significant period of time. :(</p>

<p>The cost of attending either is virtually the same. around 56k per year. there may be a 1 or 2 k difference I guess? can’t help make a decision lol</p>

<p>Thanks for the suggestion and the website! yeah I’ve been reconsidering what my heart is set on these few days. ohhhh more thinking means being more torn… :p</p>

<p>so have you decided on U of M? btw a late congrats to you for being accepted by U of M!! awesome school!</p>

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<p>@ucbalumnus THANK YOU!! (and thank the original person who wrote the post :p) such a detailed description. It gives me a clear picture of the recruiting scene… it just looks scarily competitive :(</p>

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<p>I don’t understand the “mental suffering” one can endure from Cal accepting under qualified students. Can you please explain lol?</p>

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<p>@cathybright
Thank you for the compliment! As for my decisions, i have yet to decide. I really dont know what to do. I am in a situation slightly different than yours, but I am probably just as confused as you are. But hey, if you ever figure out where you are going, i would love to hear about it and why you made your decision!</p>