<p>UC Berkeley Haas vs. USC Marshall
1. Which school do you feel has a better business program?
2. Which school offers better job placement?
3. Which school do you recommend?
If you feel UC Berkeley is better, do you think the risk of not getting accepted into Haas (pre-Haas students must apply and there is about a 50% chance of acceptance) is worth it? USC students apply for Marshall as a freshman and therefore do not have this risk.</p>
<p>Thank you</p>
<p>By all official accounts, Berkeley has the better rated program in all three areas. But it depends on your fit rather than the prestigiousness of the school.</p>
<p>Okay so Berkeley is an overall better program. Is it worth the risk of possibly not getting in to Haas and having to take economics or something of that sort?
How difficult is it to get into Haas?</p>
<p>do you have a third and or forth option?</p>
<p>It really depends to you if it is worth the risk</p>
<p>I’m not sure about 3rd or 4th option. I applied to a couple Ivies and private universities but $60000 a year does not seem appealing. My dad makes too much money to be considered for financial aid.
I am a NMSF most likely NMF so USC will offer me a presidential scholarship (1/2 tuition)
UC Berkeley is about $35000 a year which is doable.</p>
<p>I was just so busy with applying to colleges that I didn’t have the time or thought to look into scholarships. I am referring specifically to scholarships that I apply for (most are unaffiliated with any university/school).</p>
<p>If USC offers you 1/2 tuition, then USC. As you said, Haas is pretty risky and very competitive. Marshall > Berkeley Econ, for sure, imo.</p>
<p>Haas > Berkeley Econ > USC Marshall</p>
<p>If money isn’t a problem here, go for Berkeley. Even if you get into Marshall, you’re still not guaranteed of graduation. A lot of Marshall students flunk out. On the contrary, once you get into Haas, you’re almost guaranteed of graduation. And even if you don’t get into Haas, Berkeley econ is still quite impressive. Berkeley Econ is also a target for banks and management consulting firms. There’s very little in-between Haas and Berkeley econ in terms of career placement. And, economics is a more respected course, specially Berkeley’s econ which is highly quantitative.</p>
<p>I can’t compare Haas vs. Marshall, as we are out of state, and didn’t look at the UC’s, but we thought Marshall was fantastic. Visited USC without knowing much, as it was near the area we were visiting, and were very favorably impressed with the business program, opportunities for internships, and job placement. DS loved the focus on international business, and the oppoortunity to continue business studies for a semester all over the world. They did the best job of any school we visited at showing what they had to offer, and there is an exciting vibe on campus. It shot up to my son’s 2nd choice, yes even above some higher ranked business schools. I think either school would give you a good education. Please look at fit, cost, and especially internships/career services, and don’t obsess so much on ranking for business schools. </p>
<p>RML- could you show your source for ‘alot of Marshall student flunk out’? I haven’t seen that in any of our research.</p>
<p>lol@ the “a lot of marshall students flunk out” comment</p>
<p>The freshman retention rate at Marshall is 97%. The 6-year graduation rate is 92%. (The 4-year graduation rate is substantially lower than 92%, I would imagine.) But Marshall has about 3,600 students – a population more than twice as big as Pomona College. It’s a big student block at USC. Imagine how many students are we talking about here if you have a drop out rate of 8% with a student body of 3,600. And, Marshall accepts hundreds of transfer students to cover up those “lost” (drop out) students, or those students who do not reflect on their statistics. So, all in all, I’m imagining over a hundred of freshmen do not make it to the graduation year at Marshall. On the other hand, nearly everyone, if not everyone, who start at Haas will graduate from the program.</p>
<p>USC Marshall 2011 stats - [University</a> Of Southern California: Undergraduate Profile - BusinessWeek](<a href=“Bloomberg - Are you a robot?”>Bloomberg - Are you a robot?)</p>
<p>College freshman retention rate: 97 %</p>
<p>Percentage of students who graduate from the business program:</p>
<p>Within six years of admission to the university: 92 %</p>
<p>Relative Importance of Application Elements
SAT/ACT scores: Very Important</p>
<p>Middle 50% range of SAT scores (1600 scale): 1320 - 1450</p>
<hr>
<p>UC Berkeley Haas – [University</a> Of California, Berkeley: Undergraduate Profile - BusinessWeek](<a href=“Bloomberg - Are you a robot?”>Bloomberg - Are you a robot?)</p>
<p>Percentage of students who graduate from the business program:</p>
<p>Within four years of admission to the university: 99%</p>
<p>Relative Importance of Application Elements
SAT/ACT scores: Important</p>
<p>Middle 50% range of SAT scores (1600 scale): 1320 - 1490</p>
<p>So Berkeley graduates you no matter how incompetent you are?</p>
<p>^^^ Based on stats, it’s likely a yes. I’m just not sure though how an incompetent student would get into Haas, in the first place, lol…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Haas is likely selective enough that the students who can get into the program are included in Berkeley’s ~70% of students who graduate within four years.</p>
<p>Not graduating in six years doesn’t mean that a student ‘dropped out’ however. They might have to take time off to work (considering how expensive USC is, that wouldn’t be surprising.</p>
<p>I’m not worried about flunking out of either school lol…
I’m worried about which school will offer me the best education/opportunities for internships, job placement, etc</p>
<p>You would have to look closly at the schools data to see. But I would assume about the same.
And it’s not the school it is how you use their resources and connections</p>
<p>Anymore opinions? Can Anyone who graduated from USC or Berkeley business undergrad offer some insight?</p>
<p>I once taught a the Summer Business Institute at USC and I’ve worked with many USC grads over the years. I am also familiar with the UC system and their approach to teaching methodology. So, here is my opinion as unbiased as I can present it.</p>
<p>USC – Is a local So Cal school that has graduated to the big time national stage. It has a powerful alumni network and I’ve rarely met more loyal graduates anywhere. USC grads tend to wear that pedigree proudly and they really do use the alumni network for jobs, business contacts and investors, etc. When I was working in consulting/tax at Arthur Andersen and Deloitte & Touche years ago in Los Angeles, I was amazed at how many staff and partners were USC grads. Since I came from out of state it was a new thing for me. Those USC grads really did stick together and promote from within. Politically, almost every USC grad that I’ve met in business leaned Republican or were conservative in their outlook. So, if you are very liberal in your orientation you may be the odd man out. One thing that I’ve always respected about USC is that they take international business very seriously and this is evidenced by the IBEAR program that has been around for years. They were one of the first business school to take international business seriously. Location wise? It sucks. The worst part of the hood in LA is literally a stone’s throw away. North is fine as it tracks you right into downtown, the Staples Center and LA Live. A few blocks south and you need to wear body armor. No joke, an entire group of my students were mugged by a gang of other kids one block off campus at a McDonald’s. Having said that, Berkeley is in the middle of one of the worst neighborhoods in Nor Cal and the USC campus is very safe and constantly patrolled by police and security. On campus, there are no worries. Additionally, I have been told by some grads that the school practices grade deflation. So, many kids do far worse at USC than they did in high school. 4.00 GPA high school grads often get a 2.5 GPA at Marshall. By the way, I have absolutely no source for this other than anecdotal comments from grads that I know. Personally, I feel that USC is great for general business, accounting, international business and other areas.</p>
<p>Berkeley – It is the premier UC campus and has a great reputation. Global recognition as well. However, I tend to see more emphasis in the UC system (possibly Berkeley is an exception) on graduate studies, PhD programs and research. How this shows up at Haas I do not know and will require you to look into it. Politically, just by osmosis the school will be far more liberal than USC. The neighborhood is rough, but like USC the campus is safe. Culturally, it is San Francisco and nothing more needs to be said. The two schools will be very, very different in every way. Climate, culture, politics, teaching methodology, emphasis on undergrads, etc. I feel that Berkeley is stronger in technology, entrepreneurship and other areas.</p>
<p>Have you thought of applying to Stanford? That is a school that may eclipse both and has a lot of clout on Wall Street as well. Also, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has one of the best hands on business programs in CA. I know for a fact that all the major accounting and many of the big financial firms recruit there. In addition, the school tends to get students graduated having already prepared for or having sat for the CFA and CPA exams. Lot’s of start ups have come out of the school.</p>