Hey CC, so after evaluating the pros and cons of each school, I still don’t feel set on either school yet (although I’ll admit that I’m leaning towards Cal just a bit). So here are my perspectives on each of these schools (applying for business btw):
UC Berkeley:
Cali weather
Good undergrad business school (especially for jobs/internships in SF/Silicion Valley/Bay Area
Coed dorms/dorm life (how is the dorm life at Cal?)
More diversity
Close to home
ND:
Garunteed spot in Mendoza (pre-admitted)
“Family” feel
Seems a bit more lenient compared to UCB’s academic environment
Obviously, this list is a bit general per se, so feel free to pitch in other opinions that you may have as well.
I plan on pursuing the IB route in SF/SV/Bay Area (I honestly can’t imagine myself living/working in NYC or the east coast in general after college…), MBA (I’ve heard this from a couple of people, but is this necessary if I graduate from Haas?), or opening up a start up of my own. Also, my financial aid from both of these schools are excellent so you can ignore this factor. Thanks!
MBA is only necessary depending on if you choose a path where it becomes necessary. It many jobs, like consulting, it is almost required at some point if you want to continue rising the ranks. If you choose a job where this will eventually be required, attending Haas won’t really change that.
You’re a California resident, I’m assuming? If so, it’s obviously a great education at a good price. If not, it’s a great education at very, very expensive price.
ND definitely has an advantage that you are guaranteed into it, whereas Haas you take a gamble of never making it into the program, possibly ending up in something else like economics.
Thanks for the info! Also, I just wanted to mention to everyone if the superior alumni network of ND over UCB, especially in business, is worth committing to ND instead compared to other factors that kinda sway me from choosing ND a bit, such as the single sex parietals, it’s location, etc. Obviously, there are other factors other than the alumni network, but is this factor that big of a deal when it comes to jobs/internships for IB or business in general?
@briank82 If one fails to get into Haas and ends up majoring in Econ instead, how much of a disadvantage will that student have in terms of job/internships, or just future opportunities in the business field in general?
I know very little about ND, and even less about their alumni network.
However, Berkeley is a big name, and Haas is even bigger (in business). Keep in mind also that the enrollment at Mendoza is almost 2,000 people. Haas is 300. So it is a very small class size, but is well known and has a huge alumni network of its own. It also depends on what you want to do and where you want to be, but Haas is huge for SF and Silicon Valley.
Econ is still good and there’s still opportunities, it’s just what you make of it. Econ guys get placed all over. I don’t know enough about the Econ program or recruiting or internships, but it would be silly to think that they don’t exist.
Econ from Berkeley is good. My company hires from both Haas and Berkeley econ, but more from Haas. The accounting firm do the same.
You might want to choose Berkeley and then when you apply to Haas during your sophomore year, also apply to other big name/prestigious undergrad business schools in the West Coast or around the country.