Transfer dilemma (Berkeley/Haas)
Hey guys, I was recently accepted to berkeley as a transfer for poli sci with the original intent to go to law school after undergrad. However, after developing an interest in finance and specifically ib I've decided to seek a career in banking instead.
Should I stay another year at my cc and transfer into Haas (confident that I can get in), or just go to Cal right now as a poli sci major? ( I can change to poli econ but not econ)
I have a BB PWM internship and will be doing a boutique IBD internship in the winter. I'm confident that I will get some kind of IBD job if I matriculate to Cal as Poli Econ major this year. However, my long term goal is PE and a top MBA program, so I'm not sure if waiting a year for a legitimate shot at a good BB IBD position will be worth it 5 years or so down the line.
if you guys were faced with these two choices:
1. a MM or Boutique IBD.
2. BB IBD 1 year behind
With the goal of PE and top MBA, which would you guys choose and why?
I've read a lot of posts of you guys giving great advice to newcomers like me and I hope I can receive some valuable advice as well.
Thank you.
If you are confident (EG extracurriculars, near 4.0 gpa, etc.) I would wait. You can save an extra year on tuition. Even in state, Cal isn't that cheap.
I saw maybe ~15 Cal students at superdays in CA and NY. Probably 75% were Haas, with the remainder split between Engineering, Econ, and Political econ. There is an element of self selection, to be sure, but Haas's recruiting is still better.
Thank you for the info, I really appreciate it.
I'm pretty confident that I will be able to get into Haas. However, my biggest concern is that being a year behind my peers will not be worth the difference between a MM and BB IB position when it comes to PE/HF recruiting. Anyone have any advice regarding that?
Haas vs Econ/Poli econ benefits when it comes to recruiting are exaggerated. Truth is most Poli Econ and Econ students dont want to do banking but a good chunk of Haas kids do. Im not saying that there isnt an advantage, but its not incredibly significant if you do the right things. You still need good EC and internships and be able to convey your story, the bankers are gonna know your a transfer student anyway
Related: I'm local to Berkeley, and see lots of Cal students in your target industry, and of course, applying to business school. Cal overall (Haas or not) has a strong reputation for grading hard, and that's a good thing.
My recommendation would be to take some serious math/quant courses -- as that's what's the best indicator of your smarts -- and it doesn't matter whether you are at Haas. If you get good grades in those courses, you will be able to talk to your ability to do the required analytical work, and that's more important than earning and undergraduate business degree.
I wouldn't worry much about losing a year. Try to get an internship with a regional accounting firm, PWM, anything to show an interest in finance. Even for Cal students, Haas has that rising junior summer program which functionally precludes getting an internship.
The other advantage of Haas is educational. You can easily self study IB guides, but some formal training in accounting and finance makes it much easier. It is also better to surround yourself with people interested in business. You are forced to follow the markets, because that is what your friends are interested in.
But, as dogboo said, you can certainly get there from non-Haas. I have noticed that Haas alumni tend to favor Haas students, although they will of course speak with any Cal students. It is just a matter of shared experience.
However, I wouldn't go heavy on the quant courses. Berkeley is an engineering school. Differential Equations and such will kill your GPA. M&I elaborates on why you do not need to take quant courses for banking. Do Calc 1, as Haas requires. Take Stats. Then stop, unless you can find non-engineering math courses.
Agree. sorry if I appeared to encourage going heavy on math. Unless you love those courses, West Coast Rainmaker says it all. Just take enough math/stats and get A's.
Haas doesn't require that anymore. They got rid of that a few years ago (I think back in 2008 or 2009) because people kept complaining. You're free to do an internship or anything you want during the summer before Haas begins.
I think you guys are missing the heart of the OP's question. He wants to know how waiting another year as a current rising junior in order to get into Haas (graduating in 5 years instead of 4) would effect how top MBA programs and BB recruiters view him. He also wants to know if waiting an extra year and having extra internship opportunities (possibly BB) would be worth it. Unfortunately I am in a similar position as the OP so I can't provide any quality insight on the matter. So what do you guys think?
I'm pretty sure non-Engineering math courses would be substantially more difficult.
To more directly answer your question, I think 3 years wouldn't hurt. Given the level of impaction at CCs, 3 years is hardly unusual. It also gives you some time to get work experience. If your family has connections of any kind, use them. Demonstrating that you can function in a white-collar office setting is invaluable.
I don't mean number theory or abstract algebra; those would be overkill for anyone but a math major. I mean "Calculus for the social sciences" or "Stats for econ majors". If it is an engineering pre-req, it is a "weeder" course, and everyone knows it: the curve will kill you. The same applies for things like intro to chemistry and the premed students.
Thanks for the replies.
Anyone else have any comments regarding this? My primary concern is that a BB IB position will not be worth the extra year that it will take for me to get there.
Thanks in advance.
Well if its just a worry of the worth of that one year look at it this way:
1st year IBD BB analyst is making 100-135K(w Bonus)
1st year at some other job you could probably get out of Berk(Big 4, Account manager, Sales) is around 40-60k
So really you make up for that one year relatively quick not to mention the salary grows much faster in banking and finance than in most other areas.
So from a compensation standpoint I dont think it should be to much of an issue. Now whether you want to wait around another year is up to you. Is money a priority? How badly do you want BB IBD?
Again you can still do it without Haas, the biggest detriment you might face is lack of finance experience if you just decided banking is what you want to do. Its really difficult to get those interviews at Berkeley without solid internships behind you, might want to look into boutique IB internships in the Fall. Theres a ton of boutiques not too far from Berkeley
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