UMich vs. UT Austin vs. USC vs. UC Berkeley

<p>Out of these schools that all offer great business schools and the traditional college experience, which one has the best business program for undergrads? Which one will give you the most job opportunities after you graduate?</p>

<p>And if you graduate from one of these schools, are any of them good enough to surpass the regional barrier for jobs afterwards?</p>

<p>Economics/Finance Major, by the way.</p>

<p><strong><em>EDIT</em></strong>
Throw Boston College in that list as well.</p>

<p>38 views and no response. Hm.</p>

<p>Bump.</p>

<p>The best way to figure this all out is to visit each school and see which one appeals to you the most. See which one you could see yourself at for the next 4 years. Every college prospect has their own personality.</p>

<p>I would say, however, that Berkeley will be the best school for you in terms of going outside the region.</p>

<p>well, i’m pretty sure berkeley would be #1. michigan would probably be #2 by a slight gap, and then I don’t know about the others. cal is awesome!</p>

<p>Hmm. Any other thoughts/opinions?</p>

<p>depends where u want to work. Michigan would be last - hate that weather :D</p>

<p>Bumpity bump bump.</p>

<ol>
<li>Berkeley: Slightly better than Michigan in every possible way (the college town, athletics, weather, etc.)</li>
<li>Michigan: Ross is really, really good, but I’d rank Haas slightly better.</li>
<li>University of Texas: It’s has as good of a rep as Harvard in Texas (which has a strong economy/a lot of jobs), the weather, college atmosphere, etc. is all very good</li>
<li>USC: Good program, but a step behind all the others.</li>
</ol>

<p>The thing is, I hear that a lot of people have problems getting into Haas or Ross after 2 years, so before rushing into those schools, I’d say make sure you feel confident that you’ll get in, or that you at least can get an econ degree from those schools.</p>

<p>“It’s has as good of a rep as Harvard in Texas”</p>

<p>What sort of rep does it have outside of Texas?</p>

<p>Those are all great schools, but being from an upper-middle class family in Southern California (read: conservative) Cal Berkeley is not an option (not by my choice) and I know that I would never survive the weather in Michigan. </p>

<p>Where I live University of Texas is very well respected, but that may be because so many Texans live here. Needless to say USC is very well regarded in California while Michigan is “that place where it is cold and they make crappy cars”.</p>

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<p>The Harvard of Texas comparison was bad (on another forum, someone compared UT-Dallas to the MIT of Texas…lol…*** does that mean?). If you can get into BHP then UT is VERY STRONG. Otherwise, Berkeley or Michigan are better.</p>

<p>Even so, you can do well from any school, and hopefully you can figure out which one is the best fit. </p>

<p>BTW, I don’t think Michigan is getting enough respect on this thread.</p>

<p>^lol I guess that was a bit of a strong comparison, but my basic point was that Texas has a very strong economy (I think a lot of people outside of the south really overlook that state…it has a TON of jobs, especially in the energy industry of course), and UT has a very strong reputation in that state. If you say that you are a Texas Longhorn, people in that state will instantly respect you (just as people tend to instantly respect Harvard grads, which is where I got that poor analogy from lolz), so if you want to work in the south, I really think that a degree from UT is as good as any of the elite private schools.</p>

<p>Michigan is the strongest if you want to head to the Northeast. Hass and Ross are equal and Ann Arbor is a great college town! Btw, Berkeley is NOT traditionally better in athletics than Michigan.</p>

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<p>you were saying…</p>

<p>“if you want to work in the south, I really think that a degree from UT is as good as any of the elite private schools.”</p>

<p>That goes back to my original question. What sort of rep does it have outside of Texas, or “the south?”</p>

<p>They do not instantly respect you…Austin is an excellent school, but the first reaction from anyone is not going to be, “Wow, you go to UT, you must be really smart”.</p>

<p>UT is a great school that benefits from having an extremely large alumni network, making jobs easier to get in Texas.</p>

<p>Tons of very smart people are at UT. So are tons of people that got below 1100 on the SATs. Can’t say the same for Harvard.</p>

<p>Outside of Texas, McCombs is viewed very well. Accounting is obviously good, and the BHP is also very good. The thing is, many UT grads get jobs in TX because they are either already from Texas or want to stay there after graduation. Yes, it’s going to be lower on the totem pole for NYC jobs, because of location, as well as th fact that East Coast people would consider B-schools or elite privates on the East Coast to be better.</p>

<p>That said, there are tons of UT alums everywhere, including NYC.</p>

<p>“which one has the best business program for undergrads?”</p>

<p>You mentioned finance, and Michigan, Texas and Berkeley are ranked 3rd, 4th and 5th respectively for finance majors.
[Undergraduate</a> business specialties: Finance - Best Colleges - Education - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/college/spec-finance]Undergraduate”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/college/spec-finance)</p>

<p>“Which one will give you the most job opportunities after you graduate?”</p>

<p>I know UT has the biggest job pool of any university, and that a lot of employers ask to see only McCombs students when they go there. Michigan might be more relative in the North and Berkeley in the West, though.</p>

<p>“And if you graduate from one of these schools, are any of them good enough to surpass the regional barrier for jobs afterwards?”</p>

<p>They all send students all over, and they all (as with most universities) send more students to the local region. Anyone in the US that knows anything about business schools should know all three.</p>

<p>To expand on what creamgethamoney was saying about the Texas economy:</p>

<p>Forbes ranked Houston (#1), Dallas, and Austin in the top 4 “cities for your career” last year. The other city in the top 4 was Indianapolis.</p>

<p>It’s no surprise to me, since Houston and Dallas have the second and third most fortune 500 HQs after New York.</p>

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<p>thank you openedskittles for corroborating my point. I think a lot of people here dream too much about the Patrick Bateman, Gordon Gekko business jobs. Being one of the big swingers in NYC as an investment banker, HF manager, management consultant, etc. that they overlook other regions too much. There are lots of great opportunities outside of the NE, Chicago, and Sillicon Valley (not to mention the fact that your dollar in these “less prestigious” areas goes a helluva lot further). </p>

<p>To the OP: if you want to work in the NE or Chicago, just go to Michigan and be done with it. Although I think Haas is still better, UMich will provide better opportunity in that area alone. However, I really think, since you’re talking about great schools to begin with, you really can’t go wrong with any. But, if you want to try something different and try a less popular region while having a really good college experience, UT is a great option as well. I’m not trying to influence your decision at all, just saying that you shouldn’t completely overlook it because it’s not as popular on these forums.</p>

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<p>Correction: weather is HORRIBLE. it’s always like 100 degrees F here.</p>