Hello all! I have been admitted to both UC Berkeley and UNC for business. I reside in Pennsylvania. Given that both UC Berkeley and UNC are stellar in business, I’m not sure which one I should choose? For UNC, I got into Honors Carolina and Assured Admission into the Kenan Flagler Business School as an undergrad. At Berkeley, there were no special opportunities like UNC for any student in general. Both are very well known for business. At UNC, I got $40,000 in financial aid out of the $50,000 cost of Attendance. At Berkeley, I only got $10,000 in financial aid (and that’s if I do a work-study program) out of the $63,000 cost of Attendance - money is an issue for my family.
Berkeley is internationally known, but it is so much more expensive. Where do you guys think I should go??
If money is a consideration, then UNC, for sure - you must have a very impressive record of achievement to have been offered two such great opportunities! Good for you.
@garvey Thank you!! Yes, I agree that UNC would be a smarter choice, but at the same time, Berkeley is so much more well known would going to Berkeley help improve my chances at going to a better MBA than if I had gone to UNC? Also, do you think there are more opportunities for jobs in Silicon Valley than in chapel hill?
@IndianSuperman I’m not sure which concentration of business I want to do yet, but probably either consulting, management, or international business. If they’re the same, which would you choose? Thank you!
From what I understand Berkeley does not directly admit students to the b-school – they have to apply to Haas once 60 credits and the prerequisites are met. If that is the case for you should research how difficult it is to get into Haas. Without a direct admit to Haas I’d lean towards taking the direct admit at UNC where 1) you will be sure you can study business and 2) it is more affordable.
@happy1 thank you! The UNC direct admit is only for undergrad- it doesn’t assure me that I’ll get to go to kenan Flagler for my MBA. And Berkeley doesn’t have a direct admit, but their undergrad business program is still very good.
In my post I assumed (correctly or not) and based my comments thinking that you are going for an undergrad degree at this point. I would come out for UNC which is more affordable and guarantees that you can study business as an undergrad. There is no program anywhere that I know of which will assure an incoming freshman admittance to a MBA program.
To have any chance at most top level MBA programs one needs: a) outstanding GPA undergrad b) great GMAT scores c) wonderful recommendations d) a top notch application including essays etc. and e) 2-5 years minimum of meaningful work experience.
I’d also recommend that you research what percent of those applying to Haas undergrad actually get in. From what I see it isn’t a sure thing by any stretch so if you choose Berkeley you need a back-up plan if you don’t get into Haas. https://haas.berkeley.edu/Undergrad/class_profile.html
Just came back from visiting Berkeley. Don’t go for the name. If you consider going there, you should visit. I can assure you that you will know the answer once you visit.
As a Northern California native I can tell you that Berkeley is a very cool school, but I think that with the considerable amount of financial aid and additional opportunities UNC is offering, it’s the better choice. Plus, UNC has way better athletics if that’s a factor.
I have a daughter at Haas undergrad, and I would tell you it is super competitive. Go with UNC for all the reasons stated above. Haas though is incredible. Lovely school, nice community, tons of opportunities. Go Bears!
would going to Berkeley help improve my chances at going to a better MBA than if I had gone to UNC? Also, do you think there are more opportunities for jobs in Silicon Valley than in chapel hill?