Undecided!- UCLA or UCB with Regents

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - GENERAL
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First off, I would like to thank College Confidential for all of your love and support these past few years. You all have helped me get to where I am today, and I am forever grateful. I am asking for one more favor. The following are all my humble opinions, so please take them with a grain of salt.

I am deciding between UCLA or UCB with Regents. I am planning to major in economics, but if I went to Berkeley then I would apply to Haas School of Business (30% acceptance rate). I visited both schools and enjoyed UCLA’s “work hard play hard” vibe, while somewhat disliked Berkeley’s cutthroat atmosphere, less social environment, and largely academic focus. UCLA seems to have better sports, more school spirit, and happier students (mental health issues seem to be notoriously prevalent at Cal due to the extreme rigor). UCLA is much closer to home, but I am in-state so Berkeley isn’t too far either. At Berkeley, I will have priority class enrollment, 4 years of guaranteed on-campus housing, and a faculty mentor. Berkeley arguably has more worldwide recognition, but that doesn’t matter to me much. Even with the scholarship, my financial aid turns out to be about the same for both schools, so money isn’t the deciding factor. Overall, I believe that I will be happier at UCLA and more stressed out at Cal, but have an advantage in terms of my career graduating from Cal.

I would like to enter a career in business/finance or law. My dream job, as of now, would be to work in investment banking or something of that sort. Obviously there is better recruitment out of Haas, but I am wondering if going to UCLA over Berkeley will significantly decrease my chances of securing prestigious business/finance internships and job out of college.

Could any current college students, alumni, or business professionals please give me some advice?

I would greatly appreciate your wisdom. Thank you!

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Regents has all kinds of perqs. Cal Econ is numero uno. Haas is awesome. This is an easy choice.

Berkeley is no more competitive than UCLA; academic stress levels would be similar in either place if you are gunning for prestigious internships. Mental health issues? Huh? Do you have any stats for this claim, or is that just your SoCal friends convincing you to stay home?

re; COA being the same? You might want to double check that, as a Regent’s covers a lot of need-based aid.

But to answer your question, no, UCLA will not be a disadvantage to you finding a job.

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@bluebayou Thank you! Mental health issues at Cal is purely anecdotal, and I’m sure people will be struggling at all top-tier institutions. COA for me is about a thousand dollars difference between the two.

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@CollegeKid2023 . . . Does this mean that you’d be commuting to UCLA? If this is the case, I don’t think this would be advisable. UCLA is razing parking lots to build more student housing. You’d have 3 years guaranteed at UCLA as an incoming frosh.

I agree that UCLA students are generally great at relieving stress, but this might be the same at Berkeley if not exactly at the same amount or rate; there will be some who internalize it at either school and don’t do as well, so make sure that you find and associate with people who are capable of having fun.

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priority registration is huge at state schools. I can’t imagine the quality of student or culture is that different between Cal and UCLA to make a difference in the classroom

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@firmament2x Thank you for your response. No, I would live on-campus at both schools.

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@anon145 Thanks!