Berkeley Haas Vs Georgetown MSB
I am lucky to have been admitted to both as well as waitlisted at UMich Ross and Williams. I will stay on for Williams.
Context: I want to do healthcare/biotech IB, will probably minor or double major in molecular biology (I know the GPA risk, but I did very well in science classes in HS)
I am heavily leaning towards Cal for the reasons below and because I believe Rich Lyons' Wall Street connections and Haas moving to a highly selective DA class will boost Cal to a target in the coming years.
Cal Pros: In-state (200k cost savings); top science programs; LSBE dual degree program; Haas class size is smaller than MSB at around 300; Top clubs are well represented across the buy side and the East Coast; most Cal people gunning for healthcare IB are women, which would make it easier to stand out and place as a guy; kids go tech/startups and consulting; family in the Bay Area.
Cal Cons: grade deflation (mainly Haas classes); top club acceptance rates are 2-10%; you're on your own; the East Coast would be hard.
Gtown Pros: East Coast Target; club culture is better; better support since a smaller school.
Gtown Cons: Hardo culture; cost (the 200k delta would be invested by myself and my parents and given to me at a later date); I feel like IB competition will increase in demand due to public sector and government consulting layoffs; the science department is less prestigious.
I would greatly appreciate any advice on this or confirmation that choosing Cal would not be a mistake.
Hey - you’ve got great options ahead either way, I usually don't respond to these but appreciate your thoughtfulness.
I had the same decision to make, and I ended up choosing Cal. Looking back, it worked out well and can't live with regrets but do wish I had gone with Georgetown. Getting to the East Coast from Cal was a grind, and now that I’m here, I really feel the network gap. Georgetown’s a massive feeder into IB/PE/HF on the East Coast, while Berkeley just doesn’t have that same pull outside of tech or West Coast-focused groups. So for most people, I’d say go Georgetown without hesitation if goal is trad finance East Coast.
Butttttt - in your case, you’ve got a super specific interest in healthcare/biotech IB and you’re considering a MCB double major — that’s where Cal starts to shine as the better pick here for you specifically.
MCB at Berkeley is top-notch, and there’s legit pipelines into SF IB Life Sci / Bio Tech groups. The people I know who took that route said the classes were brutal, but there’s great support and the environment is way more collaborative than CS or Haas. Cal’s in a prime spot to help you land in places like GS HC, CVP (they shred cap tables for bio tech its ridiculous), or EVR Life Sci — all of which recruit heavily out of Berkeley.
The $200k savings can't be ignored and can be life-changing if invested or used to give you post-grad flexibility. That said, the club culture at Cal is cutthroat, and it’s very DIY — nobody holds your hand, and getting into the top pre-professional orgs is super competitive. You gotta be scrappy and proactive to make it work.
Candidly have heard the culture at GTown is a bit similar but per capita you have a built-in path to East Coast finance, smaller class sizes, and more support. If you think you might shift out of the biotech/healthcare focus, or want a more structured path into IB / trad finance broadly, its by far the safer pick.
But if you do stick with this niche — and it sounds like you’re serious — Cal could really play to your advantage. Just know the trade-offs, especially around location and network.
i go to georgetown and am going to GS/MS/JPM for ib. we have a lot of alumni at all the top banks on the street, and most of them are eager to help out. i'd say that most people from gtown get the ib job that they're happy with as long as they actually put in the time and effort into that process
in terms of club culture, it's super competitive to get into the top clubs. honestly, i don't think clubs even matter that much because i know many people who were able to place well without being in them. at the same time, clubs, especially consulting ones, are where a lot of your social life is concentrated. each of the top clubs have like a sub 10% acceptance rate cuz everyone wants to get in.
in terms of people, everyone's super smart. you're in the center of politics. even though there's a federal hiring freeze, you'll meet so many great people who love talking about market, current events, and policies. there's now a big push to law school. since we're the best school in the DMV, we also get a lot of super cool speakers on campus (jamie dimon, hillary clinton, mike johnson, obama, presidents, diplomats, generals, and so much more). many presidents come to gtown to speak first before going to the white house. gtown is incredibly well connected and many programs give you the opportunity to talk to these people in person and consult for leading companies (inditex, sweet green, uber, expedia, more)
cons are we are not a party school. everyone here talks about internships and how to land one. it's a really tryhard school, but at least people give a shit about their future. that's why our average salary after grad is $111k. our sports are also shit and we lack school spirit. campus is also kinda ugly since it's all brick (don't be fooled by healy). also our food is terrible and our singular dining hall (yes, we only have one) had 150 health code violations, including rats and roaches and norovirus. oh and there are rats in every building, including my dorm room
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