<p>I am finishing my sophomore year in business in Europe. Having the choice between Berkeley's Hass or U. of Penn.'s Wharton, what would you favour ?</p>
<p>Both programs seem very good. Haas's two-year program would be great since it would be easy for me to keep up : everyone is starting over from sratch. It wouldn't be the case in Wharton, the students would already have settled in their little routine... but I think Wharton is better in itself.</p>
<p>Wharton for Wall Street, for the east coast feel.</p>
<p>Haas for tech, VC, int'l business (especially Asia), better weather, more fun setting (SF over Philly anyday), gorgeous area, better food and activities.</p>
<p>Can't go wrong with either choice academically, but Cal's environment is better.</p>
<p>Haas Business school is top notch and very hard to get into. My friend is there right now and loves it. UC Berkeley is just a great school, from its academics to sports to its social life. Plus Berkeley is the perfect college town -- there are so many things to do and see. The vibe is just so contagious. Cal is definitely the way to go. And despite what you hear, it does not seem THAT big of a school and people there are very friendly</p>
<p>Haas is actually smaller and more personable than Wharton. You get the best of both worlds there, small-school academic environment and big-school stimulation and opportunities.</p>
<p>Yes, I've grown up in Eastern Canada though I was born in Europe.</p>
<p>The environment is important to me, but how is Berkeley's better ? I've experienced Northern Europe's very own "greek system" and loved it. It was held under a veil of secrecy, but it was actually deeply fun-, silliness- and alcohol-oriented. I wonder if it holds anything in common with the american one.</p>
<p>I don't want to end up among a crowd of conservative uptight daddy's boys, but neither do I want to be among spoiled JAP's on the West Coast. I know these are stereotypes, but I found out that many prestigious european universities (esp. in France) fit the picture, so I'm just being cautious.</p>
<p>PS: as for the money, both school are as expensive since I am not a US resident (yet?).</p>
<p>I would take Wharton. Whether you want to work on the east or west coast, EVERYONE knows Wharton is the #1 business school in America! In terms of overall prestige, Penn is still superior to Cal, and the "ivy name" always helps as well. </p>
<p>However, I think HOW you do at school will determine how far you go when talking about 2 elite schools like HAss and Wharton. Cal also has a better location and weather, and a sports program that actually exists. I think Cal would be more fun, but if you're ALL about prestige, you can't turn down Wharton.</p>
<p>If you're in a question about transfering (i.e. you haven't transfered/somehow gotten into Haas), I'd have to point out that you still have to get INTO Haas after you get admitted, while if you get into Wharton, you're in Wharton.</p>
<p>I think they are schools that are both excellent, with Haas better, as said, with international business (more internationally recognized name) and Penn better in Wall Street (but realize that there are many Penn students who went to the West Coast and many Haas that went to Wall Street--a lot depends on yourself as well). </p>
<p>Personally, I like the Cal atmosphere better as well (especially with the food--if you haven't tried the food around campus, you haven't lived).</p>
<p>But... do take into consideration that only about 10-11% of transfer applicants (those who the advisors don't strongly advise against applying due to "no chance") get in. If you're confident in your abilities, both are equal in standing... but take into strong consideration that risk of not getting into Haas.</p>
<p>Consider UMich Ross B-Shool, It seems fit you better than Wharton or Haas.
Ross seems having the combined benifits from both schools. The 100 million donation will start to working very soon and jump it's ranking even higher. Now, Ross and Haas are tied at #3 on US News.</p>
<p>Max, cool, I've lived in Montreal and have family there too. I'm also from Europe originally (Paris).</p>
<p>Both Cal and Penn have similar greek systems, but Cal is certainly much less "conservative and uptight" and has many fewer "spoiled kids" than Penn or many other eastern private schools.</p>
<p>KingJames, no way is the Penn name bigger than Berkeley, outside your circle that is (meaning the rest of the world). I'll concede that Wharton has a bigger name than Haas, but that's more at the MBA level (where its name is second only to Harvard's B school.) I got into both programs actually, but went to Haas because it is better in emerging technologies. I probably would have gone to Wharton if I wanted to go in finance or end up on Wall Street. </p>
<p>Max, the environment is better at Cal because it is more laid back, a nicer campus and setting, gorgeous area with many cultural and recreational activities. Great restaurants and food, maybe the best in N. America. Windsurfind/kiteboarding any afternoon up to November and from March on. Fantastic skiing in tahoe only 3 hours away with your big group of friends. It's still snowing right now, this season you will be able to ski till June in your shorts. Jog up behind campus on the hills, the whole eastern side of campus is a nice park/forest with great views. San Francisco is the most beautiful city in the US. Great daytrips to the wine country (an hour away), the beach in Marin (45 minutes away). The football games are a blast too (65,000 people for every game) especially if you are in the greek system, where it's a party the whole day and night. Our football team is great.</p>
<p>Philly's not that bad, but it definitely isn't as nice as SF. It's pretty close to NY, so that's a definite plus. Wharton does have a better alumni network too, but Haas' isn't too shabby either.</p>
<p>You can't go wrong with either school, but it seems that Haas is a better fit for you.</p>
<p>i'm biased as I go to wharton but in general the wharton program is better than haas' because at wharton the curriculum is the same as the MBA curriculum and classes are cross listed ( i take various classes that are predominantly MBA)...most people at wharton therefore don't need to get an MBA as the UG is on par with the MBA (less tha 20% of wharton grads get one). In addition the network of people at haas doesnt compare to wharton. At wharton you're surrounded by extremely well connected people (as many are from extremely wealth, connected, wall street families - don't be surprised if many of your classmates take their private jets out for the weekend). Wharton opens up way more doors to wall street, private equity, and vc (as stated by many above)...while Haas opens up more doors to tech, silicon valley, etc. </p>
<p>Location-wise Haas has better weather and SF is a pretty cool city (although the commute from berkeley to downtown SF can take a long time). Philly isn't a bad city...it has decent nightlife, the best food in the country... it has 5 of the top 10 best restaurants in the nation (NYC has the other 5) in addition to many other amazing restaurants (it's not known as the best food city in the nation for nothing). However Philly is only 1 hr train away from NYC and 1.45 hr to DC. So you can def go clubbing there...nothing beats NYC clubbing (marquee, bungalow 8, cain, etc.), DC nightlife is sweet too. </p>
<p>Finally the wharton name and the ivy league association really give you a leg up. People are prestige whores and dropping names like wharton, ivy league, etc. just open up more doors.</p>
<p>I thought the decision for transfer (both to Berkeley and to the Ivy League) has not been announced yet. Isnt it by the end of this month for Berkeley and in the middle of March for Ivy?</p>
<p>Wharton has a bigger alumni network, and more daddies with private jets per capita, but the Berkeley name is around the world a lot more prestigious than most ivies. </p>
<p>SF is more beautiful (only 22 min subway ride from campus), as is the area around the bay, no question there. </p>
<p>I don't think the food is better in Philadelphia. SF is the best in the US, NY included. Even professional chefs from NYC have agreed with me about that. Many will debate that, but there is no debate that the food around campus is better at Berkeley.</p>