Hello! I was admitted to both UVA and UC Berkeley and I want to study business, yet I have not been admitted to either Haas or McIntire. I’m stuck in between the two schools and I’m a California resident, but money isn’t a big factor in my decision. Any advice, anecdotes, or insights would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Hi: My son was also admitted to both and also considered Villanova Business School where he was directly admitted to the business school. He had a similar concern of having to apply to McIntire after two years. My advice to him was that if he did well, McIntire would not be a problem and if he did not do well that a change of major was likely. Ultimately, he chose UVA because he loved the environment and student support capabilities plus the fact that economics is a major within the school of A&S. Incidentally, we researched McIntire and the stats indicated that two-thirds of UVA applicants get accepted to McIntire and the median GPA was about 3.6. Good luck with your decision. We are Japan residents so there was not a cost differential.
Your decision should have bee made on or before May 1st! Right?
OP may have been admitted off of a waitlist.
One of the questions is whether you would like to work on the East Coast or West Coast after graduation. There will be more opportunities for good internships that lead to permanent jobs and alumni contacts on the respective coasts.
One of the questions is whether you would like to work on the East Coast or West Coast after graduation. There will be more opportunities for good internships that lead to permanent jobs and alumni contacts on the respective coasts.
@UGAdawg I was accepted to UVA EA and was just accepted to UC Berkeley off of the waitlist. I have to decide by Monday and I’m planning on going to grad school after my time as an undergrad. Any advice on which school would be better for getting into grad school is appreciated too
I don’t think there will be that much difference between the two in general in graduate school acceptance. I think Berkeley has more going into STEM graduate programs, but they probably also have a higher percentage of undergraduates in STEM.
What is the cost differential?
Considering that you are going into the Business field, I would definitely recommend going to Berkeley over UVA. I am currently finishing up my junior year at Haas and I was provided an ample amount of opportunities ranging from going to events held by Amazon to getting an internship with Youtube. Being in such a large city allows for you to expose yourself to various headquarters and offices whereas, in a small town of Charlottesville, you are quite limited. You’ll never be bored on the weekends as well! In some case, if you end up changing majors, Berkeley is overall ranked higher and has better resources. Though UVA is an amazing school, I would definitely choose Berkeley plus you get to save $27k+ a year! Keep us updated on your decision! #gobears
@IzzoOne the cost differential is somewhere between 25k and 30k but I won’t have to take out loans at either school cuz I’ve saved a lot of money in order to pay for college
I don’t really agree with acadia23 that Berkeley is better for business than UVA. If you look at Poets & Quants, McIntire is ranked higher with a slightly higher ROI than Haas and USNews ranks Haas higher. Both are comfortably in top 10. Although both are considered national schools, Haas is probably going to give you more exposure to West Coast tech employers and McIntire may for East Coast finance. You’ll have to gauge probability of getting into both.
Berkeley is better across all graduate disciplines than UVA (although UVA law and Darden are on easily on par with Berkeley counterparts). But you are talking undergraduate quality and experience here and that is a very different thing. Personally, I would not give the advantage to Berkeley in that category.
All that said, though, unless there is something you really find compelling with UVA (e.g. you want to relocate to the East Coast), I’d say Berkeley with the cost savings would be the best bet.
https://poetsandquantsforundergrads.com/2017/12/05/poetsquants-best-undergraduate-business-programs-2017/
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/business-overall
You stated an intent to go to grad school – a good MBA program is very expensive. If the two undergrad programs are approximately equal, there is something to be said about saving some of your money for grad school. While the cost of living and housing is much less expensive in Cville, you need to factor in travel costs (which can be particularly high around holidays).
This is incorrect. UVA students are doing internships all over the country and the start-up culture in Charlottesville is strong. If you look at the heat map on the most recent destination report, you’ll notice that UVA students are getting jobs in most major cities and there are hot spots in the bay area and Seattle. Clearly, the big tech companies recruit here (and at plenty of other top publics for that matter). Many students get full-time offers at the end of summer internships right before their fourth year.
Our size is actually a huge advantage. UVA students don’t have to compete with tens of thousands when recruiters come to Grounds.
In my opinion, the most important issue is regarding likelihood of admission into either university’s undergraduate business school.
Do both universities offer “direct admission” into their respective undergraduate business schools ? If so, odds of getting in if NOT a direct admit. If not, odds of getting in after requirements are satisfied ?
If not admitted to either business school, then what does OP want to study ?
In an earlier post, OP noted scholarship awards to Northeastern & to Boston University. For one wanting to study business, direct admit status is very important. Direct admit status to an undergraduate business program with a significant scholarship is very appealing–especially for one eyeing graduate school.
I think you can’t go wrong academically with attending either UVa or UC Berkeley for undergraduate business. They’re both strong in that discipline. That said, I think it should come down to two things – money & atmosphere. Obviously UC Berkeley would be cheaper for you as a California resident, but since you said money is not a factor, you should look into which university you would feel more at home. Berkeley and UVa are very different campuses. I won’t try to say what Berkeley is since I don’t really know, but I can speak to what UVa is like.
When it comes to McIntire, I think it’s important to read students’ perspectives. This is a link to McIntire’s student ambassadors. They explain why they chose UVa: https://www.commerce.virginia.edu/undergrad/ambassadors
Another student perspective link: http://mcintireblogs.org/keepingup/category/student-perspectives/
To reiterate what Dean J said, UVa grads end up working everywhere in the country and the world. Here’s a video showing where many of this year’s grads will end up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE_TRiFSoO8
This McIntire Career Destinations Report shows that 96% of business grads had a job after graduation with the average starting salary at $72,297 along with an annual bonus of $22,271. The report also shows what companies their graduates ended up working for: https://www.commerce.virginia.edu/career-services/career-destinations-report
The University of Virginia is quirky in that it’s strives for innovation, but also loves tradition. For example, according to this article, “The National Venture Capital Association recently tabbed Charlottesville as one of America’s fastest-growing cities for venture capital investment, and University of Virginia students are among the leading drivers of the city’s exploding start-up scene…” https://news.virginia.edu/illimitable/discovery/uvas-student-run-start-ups
On the other hand, if you love history, you will see markers everywhere – graffiti of the various secret societies on Grounds or plaques/displays commemorating an important moment – i.e. this is where Presidents Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe laid the cornerstone of the University in 1817 (Pavilion 7)…or this is Edgar Allan Poe’s and Woodrow Wilson’s old dorm rooms (13 and 31 West Range respectively)…or this is where the Nobel Peace Laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama gathered in 1997 (lower Lawn)…or where Queen Elizabeth II ate to celebrate America’s Bicentennial in 1976 (the Rotunda).
At UVa, the students are smart but also very social - meaning UVa is fun. I had a blast at UVa, and I’m having even more of a blast as an alumnus.
Hey guys! I wanted to thank you all for the advice and to let you all know that I ended up picking UC Berkeley mainly because of the tuition difference, but it was a really hard choice. I had turned down offers to be in the Honors College in Econ at Umich, UCSD econ, UCSB econ, a scholarship to the business school at Northeastern, Questrom at BU, and pre-Goizuetta at Emory to go to UVA because I loved the campus and the opportunities the school would provide, but in the end, I decided that it wasn’t worth the extra 25k a year compared to Cal which has a business school of equal caliber.
Makes sense, literally no real difference between UVA and UCB. Saving 25K a year was a smart move.
Good choice. Regardless of the money