UCLA or UC Berkeley?

College Search & Selection
1

I’ve been reading forums on this site ever since admissions for both schools came out. I have a week left to decide, and I’ve just now realized that it’d probably be best to make my own forum. Hoping I get some answers, fast.

I’ve researched both campuses a lot already and I’ve seen both of them in person, yet I’m still having the worst of troubles deciding where to enroll. I changed majors/career paths between now and November, so my major doesn’t apply. But, I want to go the Business/Math route to become an Accountant or a Financial Consultant, preferably for a large company (Big 4, Google, etc.) or on the East Coast (General Accounting Office).

I’m from Southern California, by the way, and the factors I’m considering are as follows (with + denoting a pro, and - denoting a con):

UC Berkeley

  • Near Cupertino, Menlo Park, etc. Lots of business and economic growth
  • Haas is highly credited
  • Bay Area is gorgeous
  • I hear Semester system is easier because you have more time to learn (?) and more time for ECs (but can be bad if you’re bored in a class)**** I don’t know much about systems. Please try to explain the differences between Sem and Quarter in your responses.
  • So, so many career opportunities. Berkeley is a huge feeder school into Google.
  • Far from home; I’m very shy. I struggle with meeting new people and forgetting about old people
  • Seems to have a lot of fob Asians (I’m Asian myself but not super cultured)
  • I visited campus on a weekend, so my grasp of college life isn’t as informed as I’d like

UCLA

  • Close to home, and I know people who are enrolling to LA or enrolled at nearby colleges
  • I went to Bruin day so I got to experience all the LA personalities (everyone seems very nice)
  • I know for a fact that there is a lot to do at UCLA because I got to see all the clubs/activities at Bruin day
  • Accountants get hired by Big 4 (I know an accounting minor who works for Deloitte)
  • Statistically, LA grads make less money upon graduation
  • Is the Anderson School of Management as good as Haas? Is it up to par, or drastically worse, or better even?
  • LA doesn’t feed into Google as much as Berkeley does
  • quarter system is fast paced
  • LA doesn’t have as many East Coast connections as Cal (from what I’ve found)

Alright, so that’s basically a summary of what I’m considering. Sorry for not being brief, but this decision has been very hard and I’m constantly bouncing back and forth between the two. My mom really wants me to go to UCB, and she almost looks down on UCLA just because she thought the student life was too “SoCal” (rich, white community, snobby).

I hope someone here can really open my mind up to a few things! I’d like to hear your experiences and gain some insight about each school and its programs (specifically relating to my career interest)

2

UCLA and UCB have about the same percentage of white students among domestic undergraduates (about 32%). UCLA actually has a higher percentage of undergraduates receiving Pell grants (i.e. from middle and lower income families) than UCB (39% versus 35%).

Consider the difficulty of getting into your desired majors. Business at UCB and business economics at UCLA are majors that require applying to after completing the prerequisites.
https://haas.berkeley.edu/Undergrad/class_profile.html
http://www.econ.ucla.edu/undergraduate/majors/bizecon.cfm

3

EDIT: I also should’ve mentioned that the only campus where I absolutely loved the student body and area was UCSB, but for academic reasons I’m not considering it. Does either UCB or UCLA give off the same vibe as UCSB?

4

You have great choices. Either is fine!
(Sorry I could not help you more)

5

Straight off of your pro/con list, I think you should go to UCB. Beyond that, I think you’d find UCB to be an easier place to make new friends, because it’s just a bit smaller than UCLA and a lot of students say that staying on campus there means tons of friends within a week. I think the FOB Asian thing can be a little true, but it’s not noticeable. However, Berkeley’s housing sucks. Like, I have three family members there, and it’s terrible. In your first post, I could tell that the major and future connections is a huge deal to you, and while a lot of things about the two UCs are basically equivalent, the Anderson school has been ranked around five to ten spots below the Haas school, the latter holding a top 10 spot consistently for the past ten years (either #6 or #7?). Rankings don’t mean much, but the Haas school does have a significantly higher competitiveness about it, and I think that plays a lot into what your values are. All in all, flip a coin, and if you’re unhappy with what it lands on, then you know you’ve wanted the other school all along. (: Good luck, and congratulations!

6

If you feel the vibe at UCSB you should just go there! Undergrad degree doesn’t mean as much as your grad degree, it’s more about your experience, go somewhere you will thrive and be happy! :wink:
Plus UCSB is highly ranked! It’s the 3rd best UC under UCB and UCLA !