Berkeley, UCLA, or NYU?

id probably go UCLA but cant really speak much about their recruiting from the BBs

All the banks recruit from our school (Goldman, UBS, Lazard, Morgan, Merril, Jefferies, JPMorgan etc.), just be prepared to study the material on your own or get internships for experience.

Cal is definitely the most well-respected of the bunch from an academic point of view. You'll see a lot of ethnic and cultural diversity at all the schools that you mentioned, but I would definitely go with the prestige factor here. Plus, at Cal, all the banks recruit there for their SF offices, so if you're worried about recruiting like everyone else here who should be more concerned about academics, social life, etc....you'll be in good shape at Cal.

Oh, and BTW, I just saw your comment about financial aid -- should make one of the UC's a no-brainer. From an academic standpoint, I'd consider NYU to be on par with UCLA, with Cal better than both. Also, Cal is such a huge school, how can you possibly say you'd have no college experience to write about?

I agree with numi, you'd have an easier and better chance at IBD if you were from Cal for undergrad.

Much appreciated.

Cal's huge, and it's been a lot of fun for almost everyone I know that's gone. The problem is, the ones that didn't have fun all tried to major in business.

The experience would be there, I've just heard I'd have no time to actually experience it.

i think you will find that people blow the work out of proportion. Cal business is intense but not so intense you don't have time to do other things. I wouldn't worry about it at all and go with the best school, which I agree with the earlier posters is Cal. I don't think u can go wrong with NYU either though, good and fun school and big with the BB's. Still if I had the choice I would do Cal, no question.

With that said, getting into an undergrad business program like Stern or Haas definitely helps from the recruiting side of it.

I don't know much about UCLA, but Cal and NYU have pretty solid math departments. Cal has a great engineering and comp-sci department too.

Also, unless you're dead-set on doing IBD, I would say that doing engineering or applied math or comp-sci opens up more job opportunities in finance at-large.

Looking back on my undergraduate career, I think it's much easier to learn corporate finance concepts than to learn differential equations or C++. It's not often you'll see a business or economics student pick up a math book and read it off-the-shelf, but it's pretty common (relatively) for an engineer to transition to finance/business.

With that said, while it might easier to network and to find jobs in NY vs. Cali, college is a lot more than getting a job - I don't mean to be patronizing or cliche.

Not to stray off topic too much, but once you get to school, you might find that finance is not what you really want to do - so choose the school where you'll leave the most doors open and where you think you'll be happiest.

UCLA gets recruited by all the major investment banks, at least 20 of them recruit here. Even some private equity firms and asset managers(PIMCO). I go to UCLA and think it was the best choice I could have made. You can really get the college experience. I was in probably over five groups, extremely active in my business fraternity, had some good internships in banking and real estate, and still obtained a pretty high gpa.

I may be bias though...

triadelection, did you land an IB gig?

Here's my biased opinion on my own alma mater. I agree with everyone in that Haas has the most respect, and I think you pretty much narrowed everything down right (as far as I'm concerned) with NYU having street advantage, and UCLA being the most fun (maybe).

But in the end, I think Cal is the best way to go b/c you'll still have fun here as well. End of the day, its a big diverse Cali school with a strong hold on SF firms.

Also, just a quick note that getting B doesn't mean you don't get into Haas. I think they do honestly look at the whole package (altho yes grades do matter... i've seen a few kids get in w/ some lower GPA's like 3.2 - 3.4).

Even if Haas isn't your major, I've seen lots of Econ majors land BB gigs. A lot of these kids took advantage of clubs like business frats, internships during school/summer, and took a couple acct/finance classes at Haas as a non-major (sign up early if you want a chance of taking biz classes as a non-major!).

That's just my cup of tea. UCLA and NYU are great schools too but I think you have a golden opportunity with Cal.

Numi - Stanford's fairly amazing, although I was waitlisted. I have family near there. No offense though, but the campus looks like an oversized taco bell.

And thanks for all the responses.

It looks like I'll be attending Berkeley. On top of Haas though, would a double major in applied mathematics be necessary to stand out? I can do it, I'm kind of ashamed to say I was a mathlete in high school, but I was looking to double major in something humanities related.

Although I understand a quantitative background is more desirable.

Is it really possible to find internships in venture capital if I don't major in computer science? I'm fluent in several programming languages, I have the background. I'm just interested in English and "Environmental Economics and Policy". Can I connect that to industry knowledge?

definitely go to Cal, academically its on par with the best schools in the world. Try for Haas, but you probably need a 3.5+ in your pre-req classes. If not, there's always econ, math. Even if you major in like history or mass comm or poli sci or psych, as long as you have a high enough GPA you'll have a shot at banking. Remember SF is a major financial center and all the banks are there, plus VCs, hedge funds, PE firms, etc.

If you're interested in something math related to pick up along with Business, I've heard from some of my peers that some helpful majors were EECS (if its still possible for you to get in), CS, Stats, or IEOR (industrial engineering ops research... i believe its in the college of engineering and is somewhat related to finance and quite quantitative as a major)

The only thing I'd warn is, I have a couple friends who were ex-CS/EECS and got hit hard when applying for Haas. A lot of the guys I knew were A students in L&S/Haas but got owned consistently in the CS/EECS/Math courses (B- was typical). The grading curve in the college of engineering is rougher than most courses in the college of L&S. So unless you're superman, try to pace yourself first and see how you hang with the different courses.

Forgot to mention that having a science/cs major can be really helpful for certain PE/VC's if you can play that type of technical expertise angle. I actually had an interview with a tech PE shop but got dinged b/c of my lack of technical coursework like CS.

aw crap, didn't realize you were trying to look for a humanities major. you can ignore my post if you like.

It's impossible to do a Business major with a CS double major (crazy courseload...you're talking two of the best programs in the nation, not to mention you need high GPA to get into either)

It's nearly impossible to do a business major cs minor (generally speaking business majors are quite incompetent when it comes to really hardcore tech stuff)

CS major with a business minor is most likely.

Of course you can do Business with any other easier double major, mass comm is a popular one that comes to mind. The other is poli sci. Or minor econ.

If you're set on getting into banking (especially West Coast banking) and you want to maximize your chances as much as humanly possible, your best bet is Cal for sure. Compared to UCLA, Cal students receive largely more IBD/S&T offers (in absolute #) than UCLA. In fact, firms don't even recruit on-campus at UCLA for S&T, so if that's what you're interested in, Cal is for you. If you're dead set on banking and you do decide to go there, join the DSP business fraternity ASAP. The pledge semester will suck balls but Cal's DSP chapter is literally a feeder for Haas/IBD/S&T.

That said, those truly interested in LA IBD who have the determination and work ethic all solid candidates usually innately have will inevitably land solid offers through UCLA. The major firms all recruit for IBD (15+) on-campus and each give out the usual 1-3 offers. Again, joining DSP will help and definitely put you on the right track, but it is by no means the shoo-in that Cal's chapter is. In general, this same idea goes for comparing the entire school to Cal.

The big big big plus in my opinion of UCLA is the social aspect and enjoyability of the school. The traditional (non-professional) Greek system trumps Cal's by huge margins, the location is better (nothing beats Westwood/Beverly Hills compared to ghetto Berkeley), the girls are hotter, parties rage harder, weather is warmer and there is generally A LOT more to do. You also don't have to deal with that liberal, hippie bullshit you see in the surrounding areas at Cal either. You do get the more superficial feel of SoCal but I always saw that as a pro instead of a con (girls looking hot JUST to go to class? sign me up!). Overall, Cal's atmosphere is grungier whereas UCLA is clean-cut and pristine. No one I know who chose UCLA of Cal has ever regretted their decision, it's such a great place for a fun full college experience.

Banking aside, the "better" culture entirely depends on the person in question. Some people fit the typical Cal mold and would hate life at UCLA. Some people at UCLA would never have chosen to go to Cal even on scholarship.

Granted you're already on the right track, I ultimately would side with the Bruins. Side note: If you're interested in West Coast banking you can kiss your opportunity good-bye if you go to NYU :). To be fair, I can't say much else about that school since I have no experience with it.

Hope this helps in your decision process, you're in a great spot to be in. I am part of one of these two schools but know a good number of "high finance" prospectives in both. Feel free to PM me with any detailed questions.

in eecs/cs/math and still get a 3.5+ gpa I'd advise you to not even worry about Haas. Take accounting/finance and do some standard finance internships and if you have a 3.5+ in a technical major it'll open up so many more doors in finance than a Haas degree will. Of course if you can do it all go for it, but I don't think a business degree is necessary at all. Of course, this is pretty premature considering you haven't taken a single CS or math course at Berkeley yet. They're on a completely different level than high school. Take CS61a or Math 53 your first semester and if you can hang keep it up and if you can't then get out fast and pursue Haas.

hey didn't know there were so many cal grads on this forum....awesome...go bears.

what's up with the bball team not making the tourney, sucks balls. At least football is gonna kick ass with riley at the helm next season.

Berkeley sounds great to me.

No no, I understand the terminology. I was interested in S&T recruiting at Cal. I know West Coast has a scarcity of trading jobs compared to East Coast due to the time difference, and many of the larger banks do not have S&T offices in SF. I know places like GS's TMT and UBS's M&A (before Moelis left) divisions have a great presence here but I'm more focused on the S&T side, not IBD. My question was do the larger firms recruit on campus at Cal specificly for S&T and if so for what locations, as it was my impression few if any have trading this side of the continent? I know more regional boutiques recruit here for trading so I was just wondering if you meant those smaller firms or the big guys...

Thanks for the patience though, I'm working my way through my second cup of coffee so I might become coherent in an hour or so, haha.

Berk.

If you're a herb, go to Cal. If you want awesome college sports and hot chicks, go to UCLA. If you think you can handle living in the city (and aren't a hermit), go to NYU.

All of them will give you good opportunities after school (just on opposite coasts). Think about which place you'll fit into better.

What are your thots for Haas MBA vs UCLA MBA if you wanna stay in IBD/S&T? Thing is Haas is a better name, but its more Tech focused. Plus you'd compete with Stanford MBAs for spots in SF and Southbay. UCLA has a monopoly for LA IBD, less of a name, still top 25, but better enviromnment. Which would you guys go for??

F the East...Westside till I die!

Sneakysalesman,

If the MBA recruiting is anything like that of undergrad, Cal has access to BOTH SF and LA while UCLA has access to pretty much just LA. For the SAs (analysts), practically EVERY major BB LA office has a Cal SA. You've hit the rest of it right on the head though -- yes UCLA is still a top 25 school and definitely has a better environment IMHO. For me though, when it came to an MBA, I would pick the best school I got into even if it were in the middle of a desert. It's only 2 years and at this point... well... your career and pedigree should be your primary concerns. The Thursday night boozing and keggers graduated with your bachelors :).

One exception though, if you were deadset on exiting in LA afterwards then UCLA would be the better choice. Otherwise... go bears?