<p>Hi guys
Though I know similar discussions have taken place here, I couldn't find anything in my particular situation. I have been accepted to UCLA UCSD UCSB UCB and USC. Out of the 5, I have my heart set on USC or UCSB. This is where my dilemmas start.
I'd like to go to Santa Barbara because I have visited the campus and it is a very ideal learning environment, it is fun, a bit easier than USC, and it will cost me substantially less that USC. On the other hand, USC is more widely recognized and they have much better job placement.
My question is, with a history major, which school is best to go to for my Bachelor's?
I want to eventually get an MBA. Will my choice of school effect my admittance to a very good graduate school?
And lastly, does UCSB have a bright future as far as getting a job or would it be more wise to undergo some loans and go to USC where I know getting a job won't be too hard. </p>
<p>Also, I don't know if it matters, but I have been accepted to UCSB's honor program.</p>
<p>If you want to study history, UCLA and Berkeley have two of the top programs in the country. UCSD would be third on that list. </p>
<p>I’m not sure USC’s history program is significantly better than SB – maybe in US and American Studies. If you’re thinking about an MBA, you may want to save your money.</p>
<p>There’s nothing wrong on passing Berkeley, UCLA, USC, etc. for UC Santa Barbara, especially for a liberal arts major such as History. While schools such as Cal may be higher ranked, none of your knowledge will come to practical use and the impact on your job prospects would be negligent. </p>
<p>With that said, grad schools have a very vague perception of “prestige” and UC Santa Barbara will be viewed on roughly equal footing with USC. Also, USC typically has worse professional placement prospects than UCLA (which has worse prospects than Berkeley) and is more comparable to the midtier UCs in terms of this criteria even to this day.</p>
<p>I don’t think spending the extra money on USC would drastically affect your chances of getting into the grad school you want. Go where you think you’ll be the happiest. They’re both great options.</p>
<p>First off its great that you guys didnt tell me what everyone has been telling me “you got into Berkeley and UCLA and you aren’t going?”
Second of I love both schools, I think I’m just going to review my financial aid options for USC and if it is a lot more than SB then I guess SB it is</p>
<p>UCSB would be fine for MBA later on, and you’re right; it is a fantastic campus with lot of amazing people. But I’m not sure if a degree in history would be an ideal pre-MBA though. I’m pretty sure the business/econ program at UCSB is quite a respected program. I’d take that route if I were you.</p>
No. Of all Master degrees, an MBA is perhaps the one that cares least about your undergrad. Paramount to getting into a top MBA school is 3-5 years of good work experience after college. Top schools take people that worked in consulting or on Wall Street in droves; those that chose the Enterprise Car Rental management training program, not so much.</p>
<p>If you feel USC has better job placement, then its the school for you. Personally I think what you do in college matters more; if you get internships, are active in clubs, etc. you’ll be a more attractive job candidate than someone that just figured they could ride on the coattails of their degree and does little else.</p>
<p>I have a lot of experience in business, and have an MBA. It definitely matters where you went to college. At my top MBA program, sure there were alums from some random undergrad schools, but the overwhelming majority came from about 10-15 schools (maybe around 50% of the class). The remaining mostly came from another 25-30 LACs and universities. </p>
<p>Also going to a top school will feed you into a good job. Since you are majoring in a humanities major, where you went to school is going to be the most important factor in the type of job you get. You will likely get a good job from USC, UCLA, or UCB. UCSB, not as much.</p>
<p>You’re already throwing aside two extremely good schools (UCLA and UCB). I would hesitate to throw aside a third. If you do, know that you are making a sacrifice bottom line.</p>
<p>From Cal to UCSB would be a huge difference. But from USC to UCSB wouldn’t be as much. There is still a difference, nonetheless. I would not be bothered by not going to USC for UCSB. A lot of people have done that and it has worked well for them, actually.</p>
<p>The top MBA schools will draw predominantly from top undergrads because those are the places where a disproportionate number of those with the right kind of job experience come from. However they do cast a wide net, and if you have the job background they look for then you definitely qualify.
<p>Review the latest gifts to USC. They have just named their College of Letters and Sciences after the largest donation ever and are in the process of hiring high caliber faculty. This should be a period of outstanding growth for study in this area.</p>
<p>Something else that came to mind, how likely is it that USC may let me change my major to business/ Marshall.
I am going to speak to a counselor sometime this week but I want to know what my chances are.</p>
<p>Slipper1234, UCSB grads get into Goldman, Bain, Citi, McKinsey and the like too, albeit not as many as those from Berkeley. Someone posted the composition of interns at those top banks/firms and UCSB came out in the top 10 list, though there was a wide gap between it and Berkeley. That was for Cali data, btw. And, at those banks/firms, there is little gap that separates between UCSB and USC. Most top banks/firms/financial institutions in Cali are dominated by Stanford and Berkeley grads. They’re followed by the Claremont Colleges then UCLA then USC then the rest of the UCs, including UCSB. USC isn’t that more preferred than UCSB at top banks, basing on my observation on the data I’ve seen though I’m sad I couldn’t find the link to it anymore.</p>
<p>^ The website was a certain fraternity sponsored. One member posted the number of interns at 5 or 6 major banks in California. UCSB did well, but Stanford and Berkeley were neck-and-neck in terms of absolute numbers.</p>
<p>UCSB feeds into plenty of top notch companies. I’m in one and know endless alumni who have gotten into top grad programs or are working at the likes of Goldman, Oracle, Deloitte, the SEC, Gibson Dunn, etc. You shouldn’t speak to things you’re truly not up-to-speed with…MBA or not.</p>