<p>I'm a high school senior debating on either UChicago (economics major) or Berkeley (pre-business). For UChicago, I have to pay FULL sticker price (63K/year) while Berkeley costs $30-35k/year. For UChicago, my parents have enough saved to last me for three years, but in my senior year they will have to take out loans. For Berkeley, my parents have enough to pay up front and not take out any loans whatsoever. However, I'm assuming that I'll graduate Berkeley in five years instead of four due to the overflow of students and massive state budget cuts.</p>
<p>At UChicago I will join the Chicago Careers in Business (CCIB) and do their financial markets program, while at Berkeley I will have to apply for Haas my junior year. My concern is that at Berkeley I won't be able get relevant internships because there are so many students there (Berkeley has 25,000 undergrads; Chicago has 5,000) while UChicago has really stepped up its career services.</p>
<p>There's also the prestige factor: Berkeley and the rest of the UC's are going down the drain as California pulls more and more resources out of the UC system. UChicago, on the other hand, seems to be on the rise, currently ranked #5 (four-way tie) and in the process of adding an engineering school.</p>
<p>So my question is: Would going to UChicago be worth the extra ~100k?</p>
<p>I really don’t think there’s a pressing problem with graduating on time at Berkeley. For the price, Berkeley’s probably the more affordable deal. While UChicago may be better to break out into banking and Wall Street in general, Berkeley Haas has the advantage of being one of the top undergraduate biz programs as well as pretty much the best on the west besides Stanford.</p>
<p>I would say that 100k is way too much to place UChicago over Berkeley.</p>
<p>A few things to consider is that the actual program of study itself: in Chicago, you will be studying economics, which is not the same thing as business. At Berkeley, you would study business (if you got into Haas). You may want to look into which subject is more interesting to you. Also, Haas is generally regarded as having a specialization in finance, and even the process of preparing your resume to apply to Haas (internships as an underclassman, various experience in student clubs, etc.) will bring you a long way in preparing for a career in finance, which you may not get at Chicago purely for the reason that there is a lesser sense of urgency since you are already in the major there (whereas you’ll need to apply for Haas).</p>
<p>How difficult is it to get into Haas anyway? I’ve seen the statistics but someone said the applicants are already self-selected so getting in is much harder than it appears?</p>
<p>About 50% of internal Berkeley applicants get into Haas. Berkeley econ ain’t bad as a backup either…plus saving $100k for your future (house downpayment, grad school, etc.) will give you a head start on your dreams.</p>
<p>Getting accepted into Haas on your 3rd year is not a sure thing. So is getting accepted into CCIB program. Haas is more competitive than CCIB, I think since CCIB accepts 1 in 3. While Haas is a top undergrad business school, CCIB is a new “program”, not a school unot itself.</p>
<p>Worst case scenario: you dont get accepted into Haas or CCIB. Which school would you want to be at, if the worst case happens?</p>
<p>My parents are paying for everything, and I honestly regret coming here.
I should have gone to a much cheaper state school or somewhere where I could have gotten a decent scholarship. Prestige is overrated and not worth the cost imo. And you may not want to do banking down the line.</p>
<p>If you go to Berkeley, you’ll save like $120k in tuition, you’ll better prepare yourself for internships and jobs (as you build your resume to apply to Haas), and you’ll have access to core and elective courses in accounting and finance if you get into Haas and will still retain your pre-Haas experience/resume even if you don’t. While CCIB is a nice crash-course real-world preparation, it can’t match the time you’ll put in yourself as an underclassmen preparing to apply for Haas and the opportunities, including classes, you’ll have at Haas, a top-3 business school, if you get in. Granted, both Haas and CCIB aren’t guaranteed, but I’d argue that Haas is more valuable than CCIB if you got into both, while Berkeley is a better value (benefits relative to cost) and still rivals Chicago despite its financial situation.</p>
<p>Despite popular belief, graduating on time is not a problem at Berkeley. The only ones that stay longer than four years are those that do it willingly. Most students I know actually debate between graduating on time or graduating early. I believe Haas actually forces you to finish within four years or so.</p>
<p>Finding an internship doesn’t seem to be that hard for Haas students. Maybe I just know a ton of overachievers or something, but it feels like every single pre-Haas person I know works for some sort of bank while all of the Haas people I know has interned at Apple or Google at some point. Don’t forget that the Bay Area houses a great deal of giant companies. They love recruiting from Berkeley.</p>