USC vs. Cal...one more time

<p>i've seen the other posts on this topic but hey i like personalized advice =)</p>

<p>anyways im deciding between the two and i'd like some input</p>

<p>usc is giving me a full ride less 1200 in loans. yes thats 1200. that's a really good package...</p>

<p>berkeley is giving me a full ride less 4600 in loans. so thats slightly more but in the spectrum of college debt...neither school is costing me much.</p>

<p>im debating between the two based on price, prestige, and competitiveness.</p>

<p>i'm slightly worried bout not getting into haas if i go to berkeley as opposed to guaranteed business at usc. i'm not afraid of hard work but i'm just afraid i might slip and yea that's a big concern. then theres the usc networking thing and internships and etc. does berkeley help you get internships during the summer? </p>

<p>so i'm just kinda looking for some second or third opinions from the cc community. any feedback would be appreciated. thanks</p>

<p>I would probably go to USC, especially if you fit better at that school.</p>

<p>Berkeley is a bit less personal and demands lots of self-motivation. USC tends to be a bit smaller when it comes to class size, and is somwhat more focused on the undergrad.</p>

<p>I'd think about fit, as well as acceptance into your major and figure out how much that should play into you decision.</p>

<p>If you want to live in SoCal, then 'SC is the place to go -- their alumni network is phenomenal LOCALLY. If you want worldwide reputation, then Cal is on a par with that school somewhere next to a river named after a king in Massachusetts...what's its name, again? LOL</p>

<p>Given your package from Cal, then I would assume you are a Regent's scholar....if so, holding a decent gpa to transfer into Haas should be no big deal. But, if you'd rather enjoy your first two years (meaning, 'party-hearty'), then Marshall is where you should go.</p>

<p>honestly usc would be the better choice. merely spending those extra thousands on loans to attend berkeley is not worth it when both business schools are equally great at the undergraduate level.</p>

<p>one thing also to consider at ucb is that besides not being able to get into the major when you're finally over there, what happens when you can't enroll in a class because they're already taken and what not, it wwill prob take you more than 4 years to graduate.</p>

<p>at usc they give you more attention, and it's easier to switch majors.</p>

<p>the four year graduation rate is a canard. The UC's accept 33% low income kids, many of which have to work half-time during school. Thus, they take a light load and graduate in five year. OTOH, thousands can and do graduate in four years from the UCs.</p>

<p>but honestly regardless of graduation rates, even though financial reasons aren't a concern to the postern, why pay like 2k a year more to go to ucb, when you can save yourself those 2k and go to an equally if not better school, usc. besides that why pay 2k more for a school that doesn't guarantee you a spot in the major you want?</p>

<p>Liek, only a USC student would claim that USC is equal or better than Berkeley. Let's be realistic here...</p>

<p>ballblazer, you'd be much better off at Cal doing Econ or ORMS (management science, a great business-like major that's not very hard to get into) than doing business at USC. Berkeley's tougher, because it is a better school, but it definitely isn't cutthroat. IMHO, ORMS is a lot better pick than undergrad business actually. If you're serious about a business career, you'll get an MBA. ORMS would give you a fantastic technical background, something that's really useful in finance and tech.</p>

<p>i just spent the weekend at cal and just sitting in classes and what not. i really like cal but one of my concerns is being taught my GSI's. can anyone with personal experience comment on this? am i still getting a good education and wat not? thanks</p>

<p>Only the big classes will you have sections with GSIs. In my case, less than 10%-20% of class time was taught by GSIs, and most of those were very solid and decicated.</p>

<p>I've heard that some of the business classes were quite large in Marshall with hundreds of students. </p>

<p>As to GSI's, they vary like professors. I've had some who are now close friends, and others who were just teachers and that's it. Some are amazing, and I've heard some horror stories (like professors), but in general, Berkeley's graduate students are amazing, and in some ways they can communicate more effectively with students than professors. Professors, however, will teach most of your classes, and you can talk to them before, during (if one subject and if the professor's style allows this, and many do), or after classes, as well as in office hours (go to these). Many schools use graduate students as supplimental instructors. I think USC does as well, but I could be wrong. A very small fraction of the time (I would guess much less than 5% of the time) and generally within science and math classes, people have trouble understanding a GSI because of the way in which they speak (because English is not their best language or whatever). In these rare instances, it is fairly easy in most classes to change sections, and many students change sections to GSIs they like more or find more interesting.</p>

<p>Undergraduate Class Size at Berkeley: as you can see from the data here, 3/4 of the classes at Berkeley have fewer than 30 students:</p>

<h1>of students per class; # of classes</h1>

<p>2-9; 973
10-19; 883
20-29; 522
30-39; 214
40-49; 113
50-99; 259 </p>

<h2>100+; 228 </h2>

<p>Total 3,192</p>