Vanderbilt Economics vs. Berkeley Haas GMP

In my opinion, Berkeley Haas GMP. I am biased because I go here, but I think Haas is a great business school that will have the name brand to get you into MC. Biggest pro is that you're directly admitted into Haas as a freshman so no worries about applying and worrying about whether to you get in or not. That means you can hit the ground running with having Haas on your resume and being able to use the resources of the school. Haas sends a bunch of people to MC so no worries there about opportunities. Finally, GMP is a new program and having met quite a few people, they all seem very sharp.

Vandy

I live on the west coast, go to Vandy please.

haas gmp is very selective. Would pick in a heartbeat

I'd choose Vandy. Both schools are good and place well so for me the biggest thing would be cost (which you didn't mention so I'll ignore it) and culture. Vandy is a fun school. Better work/life balance. I'd look on linkedin to double check, but I think Vandy places only in Atlanta (which is not my kind of city, but that's personal as I'm more of a Northeast guy). I think Berkeley places wherever in California which I'd take over Atlanta. Honestly this is very personal and is less about prestige and more about fit at the school and what city you'd like to end up in.

Take Berkeley. It is a fun school. Being so close to SF, you’ll have more of an opportunity to intern at places your freshman and sophomore years. Berkeley recruits well, especially if you’re in a business frat, and since you’re already in Haas, it seems like a no-brainer to me.

If I were in your situation I'd go to Berkeley in a heartbeat, GMP or not.

(disclaimer: I'm not white)

If you want a career on the West Coast (LA, SF, Seattle, Denver), Berkeley. If you want a career in the Midwest/East Coast (NYC, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Texas etc), Vandy. It really is that simple, both are excellent schools with vastly different name brands depending on which coast you live.

Haas GMP no question. Even without GMP, Haas is a top 5 UG bschool, which vandy is a semi-target at best and has more regional placement (Atlanta, Dallas etc)

From the comments on this thread, It seems like everyone here picks schools solely on IB placement... You're going to be spending 4 years of your life here, making life long memories, and probably having some of the best years of your life. Both schools have great recruiting, and if you're this keen on IB this early, Vandy will probably be significantly less cutthroat than Berkeley and resources will be handed to you rather than having to fight for them. I.e you can be ahead of the game at Vandy and have a better overall college experience in all regards and also do well in recruiting because of less competition.