I was admitted to both. Which campus is better? Which business program is academically stronger? All costs aside, which would u attend and why?
bump
Which campus is better?
Both have attractive campuses, but I like Berkeley better for the surrounding area. Berkeley has a lot of interesting shops and restaurants. The area around USC - while it has improved in recent years is still a bit run-down. The Cal campus and surrounding town is quite hilly in some parts, so if you don’t like walking up and down hills USC may be the better bet.
Which business program is academically stronger?
Both are pretty good but Cal comes out on top. USNews ranks Cal’s undergrad business program #2. USC is #10. Cal also enjoys a stronger overall ranking and name recognition.
Does money figure into your decision? If you are a CA resident Cal will also be significantly cheaper to attend.
@Scipio right now I’m trying to decide based on the schools themselves; overall is which school is better?
Better is subjective. I would say Berkeley’s campus, and surrounding area, is more beautiful. But both are world-class in their own way, and both have hot business programs that are well connected to their respective local (and beyond) business communities. If money’s no object, I’d pick on such subjective factors as your gut reaction, where you’d like to live for the next several years, and whether you want a mild or an ultra-mild winter 
I haven’t done a formal visit to either school, but I have been near the Berkeley campus; we drove by the Oakland side which kind of made me skeptical about the safety (which I know is safe) as for USC I’m worried because I’ve heard that the surrounding areas are dangerous
I’m gonna be going over my spring break to both campuses and I really hope that one of them is going to give me that gut feeling where I’ll just know
“…overall is which school is better?”
IMO and in the opinion of nearly all of various rankings, Cal is the better school overall.
And Berkeley itself is definitely NOT Oakland when it comes to safety.
All urban areas have their issues. Yes, there are bad parts of Oakland and Berkeley – but both cities have their share of multimillion dollar mansions, and the surrounding areas around Cal are safe. USC’s less so, but the school spends a phenomenal amount of money and effort to ensure the safety of its students.Generally very successfully. I will say, USC seemed more urban to me, Cal has hills, a creek running through it, lots of greenery and some lovely old buildings. It is a very pretty campus, with the hills directly in the back of it (great for hikes and walks) and the bay in front (not fit for swimming, but the views are stunning.) Berkeley itself is a dynamic small city so seductive many students choose to live in/near it for years after graduating. (And more than one Stanford student whined how much more interesting Berkeley is than the staid and burby Palo Alto.) The same really can’t be said about the areas around USC, though of course LA is a destination in and of itself.
Cal
Honestly, the schools are both excellent but quite different. Both my kids chose to attend USC and are happy alum (engineering and SCA).
We were also told that USC was in a dangerous area but neither of my kids ever felt unsafe in their years there, and in fact D is still living in LA.
All things being equal, USC does have a nice mentoring option for Marshal students (a friend’s S who was got a bachelor’s in finance and a bachelor’s in engineering from USC found the mentoring pretty interesting.
All things being equal, for us, the total cost the family bore for education WAS a big factor in our child’s choice of U. We were glad a lot of merit aid from USC allowed him and us to get him (& D) to graduate without debt. It really makes a difference as to choices after graduating.