“I found my mentoring session with André very helpful, particularly because I came into it with very little understanding of commercial banking. My background is in life sciences and healthcare, and most of my career exploration so far has focused on consulting. Although I had become interested in commercial banking, I had not previously explored the area in any depth. I therefore needed a clear starting point and an honest conversation about what I should understand before deciding whether to pursue it.
André helped me establish that starting point. The session gave me a clearer way to think about commercial banking, how it differs from consulting, and what I still need to learn. Before the conversation, I was looking at opportunities and wondering whether I should begin applying alongside consulting applications. Afterwards, I understood that I needed to take a step back and make a more informed decision about whether the work genuinely interests me.
One of the most valuable aspects of the session was how it helped me recognise the gaps in my current understanding. I knew that I was new to banking, but I did not necessarily know which questions I needed to answer for myself. André’s guidance helped me think more clearly about where I am now, what I am missing, and what I should begin doing next. Having that direction was useful because it made the process feel more manageable. Rather than treating banking as a broad and unfamiliar industry, I now have a clearer starting point for learning about it.
A particularly helpful message was that I should first develop a better understanding of commercial banking and assess whether I actually like the work. I took away a sensible sequence: understand the area, decide whether it appeals to me, and then, if it does, commit to learning and preparing for applications. If I discover that the work does not suit my interests, I should be willing to recognise that and focus my efforts elsewhere. That advice sounds straightforward, but it was an important perspective for me at this stage.
The conversation made me realise that I should not rush into applying for commercial banking roles simply because I have found programmes that look interesting. Before the session, I was at risk of moving too quickly from curiosity to applications without having a strong enough understanding of the career itself. André helped me see the value of being more deliberate. I would rather make a considered application based on a genuine interest in the work than spend time applying to positions I cannot yet explain my motivation for pursuing.
Another important takeaway was recognising how substantial the differences between banking and consulting can be. Because consulting has been my main focus, it had become my reference point when thinking about other careers. The session helped me realise that I cannot assume banking will involve similar work, suit the same preferences, or require exactly the same preparation. I need to understand banking on its own terms rather than view it mainly as another option alongside consulting.
I also appreciated that the session was useful even though I did not finish it with a final career decision. At this exploratory stage, greater clarity about what I do not yet know is meaningful progress. I now feel better equipped to evaluate my interest, identify what I need to learn, and decide whether commercial banking deserves a more focused place in my career plans.
Overall, André was very helpful, and the session met an important need for me as someone starting with limited knowledge of the field. Its greatest value was giving me direction and encouraging a more thoughtful approach to my next steps. I left with a clearer understanding of my knowledge gaps, a more realistic perspective on the difference between banking and consulting, and a better sense of how to move forward before committing to applications.”
[EDIT: forgot to congratulate you on getting a transfer to all 3! Very nicely done! + corrections in red to incorporate some comments from other posters]
Was waiting a bit to see if some people here had some experience / better info. All I can contribute to your thinking is a cursory search on LinkedIn and some basic calcs. The figures look like:
So, in pure numbers, Berkeley wins by a substantial margin, while UCLA / USC seems to make little difference. Of course to calculate success rates you'd need to know how many applied and got in per year, but that would have to come from anecdotal reports of people sharing how they & their friends did.
As a weak triangulation point for "success rates", all 3 colleges seem to have about 45K students total, but around
So, UCLA might place a little
worsebetter(after correction) than USC if it churns out ~3.7x more~1.5x fewer econ & business grads but places about as many people in MBB (a LOT of assumptions go in this statement, e.g., only considering econ & business grads and assuming they all apply to MBB, or that no other group at these universities are more important for the recruitment, likebusiness/financemajors).Overall, it might look like Berkeley > UCLA > USC
> UCLA, if I had to go by some arbitrary metrics without inputs from current/former students or local MBB recruitment teams.Another quick take away is that they all place in MBB pretty well. I hope others chime in to add some real experiences / accounts.
Tons of caveat to these figures:
Wow, thank you sir! This was the most comprehensive advice I had so far! LinkedIn is definitely a good resource for this.
Since I’m an econ major, I wouldn’t be in haas, but that’s mainly bcoz I don’t wanna study business for undergrad. Are non-haas students in a significant disadvantage during recruiting?
UC Berkeley has an undergraduate business program which UCLA does not. A lot of students who want to get into business at UCLA do the econ major, with mixed results. But at Cal, students can get an actual undergraduate business degree.
So you'd need to take into account the number of business majors plus econ majors at UCB for that analysis above.
At Berkeley, the undergraduate business degree would provide both competition (during recruiting) and synergy (Haas management consulting clubs, on campus recruiting, etc.) Especially as a junior transfer, I imagine it would be too late for you yourself to transfer into Haas. I'm not sure to what degree non-Haas students benefit or not from that synergy. So that would be a differentiating factor. Only you can determine if its net favorable or not.
Also if recruiting is more regionally dominant, you're looking at LA (UCLA and USC) vs SF/Bay area (UCB). So location may play into your decision process. I think that a lot of people are losing jobs in the bay area right now. Did that adversely impact current grads in the area? Idk, but possibly something to research/think about. Might that impact your junior year internship? Of course, by the time that you graduate, that may have all turned on a dime and the economy may be firing on all cylinders.
Lastly, I get the sense that the Trojan alum spirit is fighting fierce. I'm guessing more so than the UC alum spirit. But I have no real data to back this up. Just a spidey sense.
Lots to think about.
Some good points in there! I changed my response to include business grads (in red, so we can see I missed it initially :) )
Hi sorry I’m new to recruiting, what do you mean by “the undergrad business degree would provide more competition during recruiting”? Do MBB firms have a quota of how many Berkeley students they take per year? Hence why more internal competition.
USC imo, it’s a strong private school with less people applying than the massive state schools of ucla and Berkeley, alums are more responsive since they get less requests, I have seen usc place into MBB NY annually, it’s also more selective to be at usc than ucla or berkeley
Id agree with with this. I’ll add USC alum network is extremely strong.
Idk whether or not MBB has a quota for Berkeley or not, but obviously your competition will consist of well-prepared Haas undergrads.
The synergy of the Haas undergrad business school will definitely help the Haas undergrads. Idk whether or not it will also benefit the L & S econ undergrads. I'd guess that that would largely depend on how you manage to leverage that synergy in your favor.
Ultimately MBB wants the most talented kids.
Go to USC and change your major to biz at Marshall. Might take an extra semester but USC isnt as hardass about semester caps.
Any reason why USC Marshall over berkeley non-haas?
Bc it's smaller, more mentorship, less people applying, more receptive alum, it'd a private school. Also non haas will be super tough as haas will have advantage over non haas due to alums. Usc>non haas for sure. You’ll be lost in the sea of applications from ucb non haas easier than usc
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