UC Berkeley vs U Mich vs USC

Hi, I have one week left to decide... so any opinion is greatly appreciated!!

I am thinking of pursuing either finance/consulting after undergrad and maybe, if the courses I take intrigue me, I'd be interested in going to law school for commerce law or just to have an additional background. (So for law, I think GPA would matter quite a bit)

For Berkeley, the program (Haas) is obviously amazing... but I can only apply for it in my sophomore year, so admission is not guaranteed -- I'm currently accepted at the College of Letters and Science with Econ major.

As for UMich, I'm already pre-admitted to Ross school of business. The only thing that's holding me back is probably the location (weather and... does it affect job placement? Compared to Berkeley's location and LA, Ann Arbor is just not as good...?)

For USC, I got into the really selective triple degree WBB program (so I also get degrees from HKUST and Bocconi, both great schools I think). The location is also great, and the fact that it's private and I've received scholarship is good too. (I'm international so all three universities are about the same price)

Thanks for any input. Really, really need them.

 

Given that you got into Ross as a preadmit and still have to apply to Hass, it seems like UMich is the way to go. The location will not be an issue at all as most banks and a bunch of buyside and corpfin places come on to campus for OCR and the school does set up trips to Chi/NYC. Ann Arbor is a great city, imo the quintessential American "college town"; pretty comparable to Berkeley in terms of culture (very liberal) but weather for 2/3 of the school year obviously just won't be as good.

I can't speak to USC or the program you got in to, but Haas and Ross are pretty comparable in terms of recruiting and/or setting yourself up for law school, but you should ask yourself where you see yourself in 4-5 years - Haas places most grads in SF and LA, while Ross feeds right into Chicago and NYC. Congrats on your acceptances and best of luck

 

All top 10 undergrad schools, so congrats on that! Honestly, go to the school you feel would best fit you. Don't let the fact that you can't apply to Haas until your sophomore year stop you if that is where you want to be. You got into Ross, which is comparable to Haas (3 and 4, respectively, I believe).

I agree with gavin, if you're really worried about recruiting at this point, consider Chicago/NYC vs West Coast. I'm sure you can really recruit anywhere you want, but it's just easier if you're in that area.

Kill it at any of those schools and you'll have plenty of opportunities. Best of luck!

 

since you got into Ross pre-admit and you'd have to apply to Haas, I'd edge it to Ross UNLESS you want to work on the West coast

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there" - Will Rogers
 

I would say so. It just makes sense given the proximity to the areas. Think of how much easier it is to get to Chicago from Michigan than California. Or how much easier to get to San Diego from LA than from Michigan. OCR usually places into local offices almost always unless you have a good reason for wanting to be elsewhere (family, s/o)

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there" - Will Rogers
 
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